Adam in Runderland

The second bank holiday weekend of the month and another long run was planned for Saturday morning. (Photos are all at the end as there seems to be a problem adding them into the text) I rose early and scoffed down a shot of coffee and a bowl of Weetabix (other wheat-based breakfast biscuits are available) before driving over to Folkestone to meet John. It was misty and grey, but sun had been promised for the entire bank holiday weekend. John was already outside his house stretching and we wasted no time in setting off. We ascended Castle Hill/Caesars Camp and were at the top of the hills by 7am. Our chosen route was west towards the Channel Tunnel. Over the last few weeks the Cowslips had been replaced with a carpet of buttercups and we ran through them as we traversed the narrow grassy trail. When we reached the road to Newington we turned inland rather than take our usual route descending towards the village. In an attempt to leave the asphalt we tried a couple of o...

Most of the time I run during my lunch break or on Saturday mornings so it was nice to get out for an evening run last night. I left the house at 7:30 and ran towards Dover Priory station. The old road to Folkestone runs from here out towards, yes you guessed it, Folkestone. While running over Western Heights I had looked across to another long hill running parallel to me. There are three of these between Dover and the village of Capel-Le-Ferne. One along the cliffs, one the other side of the A20 and this particular one the other side of the Old Folkestone Road. Three hills intersected by two valleys containing roads. This particular hill is identifiable by a massive 800 feet tall aerial on its peak. This is the Dover Transmitter which broadcasts throughout the South East of England and further afield. I wanted to run to the antenna. After heading out of Dover for a mile I turned off at Cow's Lane, a narrow road which eventually led to an off-road trail which asc...

Today I decided to run home from work. I left the office and headed through Folkestone town centre, down the Old High Street, along the harbour and past Sunny Sands beach. Once at the far end I climbed up the hill past the Martello Tower, over the railway line and finally reached the top of the cliffs. From here it was straight through Capel-Le-Ferne on my normal route for another 4 miles. It was windy and my legs felt very heavy. Was it because I hadn't run for three days? The fact I wasn't wearing my compression socks? Four hours in the car the day before? Lack of fuel? The more I thought about it, the more lacklustre I felt. I wasn't enjoying myself and put it down as one to endure. At this point I noticed a subway that went under the A20. A woman was walking her dogs and I asked where it led. She said it would take me over the hills into Dover via the Redoubt Fort. I had noticed this line of hills before. They run parallel to the cliffs on the other side of the moto...

The hottest Bank Holiday weekend on record. Blue skies and sunshine. The perfect Saturday to have planned a training run for the Cliff Top Challenge in June. I left my house to the sound of birdsong. Despite it being 7 o’clock in the morning I had my shades on to protect my eyes from the morning sun and a welcome breeze made it nice and cool. I was due to meet John and Claire at 8am for the drive to Folkestone for parkrun. From there we would run back together to Dover. With an hour to get a few extra miles in I ran to the sea front and along the promenade. It was quiet and wonderfully peaceful with only one other person around – a man filling two large bags with pebbles from the beach. The tide was out, and the water was a clear blue through which I could see seaweed being washed in. You arrive at the sea front from under a subway that emerges from under the A20 which carries hundreds of 16 wheelers every day from Dover port to the rest of the country. There is a portrait bench at t...

What started out as a normal jog to work turned into something a little more eventful. The day before had seen a month's worth of rain fall in one day resulting in flooding and many miserable faces. However, on this Tuesday morning the sky was clear and the sun was out. I decided it was a good day for a long run to work - what day isn't?! With a change of clothes on my back I headed into the prevailing west wind and climbed the steep hill towards the top of the North Downs between Dover and Folkestone. I chose to take the steady climb up the track as opposed to the grass cliff edge for safety reasons. As the climb levelled out I found myself approaching a large puddle. When I say large, it stretched from the side of the A20 on my right to a spot half way across the field to my left. There was no way around it and to go back meant descending and re-ascending 500 feet. I decided to wade through. It started easy enough with the water lapping at my ankles. No problem, it...