The run where I meet Sasha and Anthony

-

So often running can be about the distance or time but every now and then it becomes about meeting people. Yesterday was one such day.

I hadn't run along the cliffs from Folkestone to Dover for a few weeks. Yesterday I had caught the train to work in Folkestone and so decided to run home to Dover.

It had rained torrentially all afternoon and I was hoping for a nice wet run. But by the time I left the office the skies had cleared and a sea fog, or haar, had rolled in. I ran through town and started the long climb to Capel-Le-Ferne. Two miles and 500m of ascent later I arrived, a sweating mess with legs full of lactic acid and lungs burning. It felt great.

The road led me through the village of Capel and onto the cliffs where I left the tarmac and started the trail run. As you can see the fog provided a dramatic backdrop as I left the town.



The radio antenna just visible at Hougham.


A storm over France with Samphore Hoe in the foreground

I could have been sitting in that traffic jam but instead I was running free across the cliff top!
As I mentioned it had rained hard in the afternoon. This had brought out all the slugs and snails. I had a hard time avoiding them on the narrow, windy trails and despite my efforts did hear a few distressing crunches.

So much of the route is now overgrown that most of the time I was unable to see where to place my feet and had to drag my bare legs through the undergrowth. You can see the results of this at the end of this entry. A rather uncomfortable, itchy red rash.
The ones that survived

None of these snails were hurt during the course of this run. Unfortunately a few others were killed.
Although the new vegetation does make following the trail more difficult it also make it look amazing. There are a wide variety of brightly coloured flowers lining the route - literally in some cases. If I could smell - I have anosmia - I'm sure the aroma would have been incredible. Certainly the accompaniment of skylarks and swifts singing and whistling above added to the experience.







As I approached the downhill stretch to Dover I noticed a couple of people ahead of me going in the same direction. They were wrapped in waterproof coats and carried large backpacks. We arrived at the kissing gate together and I introduced myself. Turns out they had walked from Folkestone that day as part of their walk from Canterbury to Dover.

Their names were Anthony and Sasha. Anthony is from London and Sasha is from St Petersburg in Russia. They were on a camping trip and had probably chosen the worse possible time for it with the electrical storms and heavy rain of recent days. However they seemed very content and not at all bothered by the conditions.

We chatted for a while and I took a quick photo before completing my 10 miles home.

I was so glad that I had stopped to talk to Sasha and Anthony, to get to know a little of their story and share some of mine. It made me realise how easy it is to go through life focussing on the list of things we have to do, becoming consumed by our own world and missing the opportunity to stop occasionally and take an interest in others.

This run would have gone down as just another entry in my running log but now I will remember it distinctly because of these random strangers whose lives crossed mine for a fleeting moment. I gave them this blog address so if you are reading Sasha, Anthony, thank you and all the best with your walking in Russia and elsewhere! 
Above Dover with Sasha and Anthony. Anthony is the one with the beard!

Scratching this was heaven


The hallowed running log est. 2014



Popular posts from this blog

A bridge too far?

-
Image
A post on Facebook caught my attention. This is how many of my running adventures begin. Bex Band, founder of the women's adventure community Love Her Wild had walked across all the bridges in Greater London. Obviously this meant the Thames River. Less obviously there are 33 bridges in total starting at Hampton Court and ending at Tower Bridge. Of these, 26 have pedestrian access and she had crossed them all. 'Hmm, that would make a good run' was my first thought. Seed planted. A couple of months later on a mild, bright January day I travelled to Richmond. My first run was Richmond parkrun with my friend Vicki and her pal Nicola. 3.1 miles, no dear and a warming coffee later, I ran the nine miles to Hampton Court. Twelve miles done and I was ready to start my run! My goal was to cross each bridge when I came to it. That meant crossing Hampton Bridge and a sign denoting entrance to Surrey before turning and re-crossing it to begin. Yes, I am a pedant. Hampton Court Bridge I
Read more

Bushy, crewing and an Epping ultra

-
Image
What a weekend. It involved some running, some supporting runners and a bit more running. Saturday dawned wet and windy. 300 runners were assembling in Wendover ready for a 43 mile run into London. The fields were boggy, the paths were waterlogged and it was cold. Well, what do you expect on January 8th. These hardcore runners set off while I was driving from east to west London. My first stop was Bushy Park. This, as many will know, was the birthplace of parkrun. On 2nd October 2004 13 runners completed the first 5k with support from Paul  and Joanne Sinton-Hewitt. 17 years later it is a global phenomenon. This was my running pilgrimage. I have wanted to run Bushy since I ran my first parkrun in September 2012. This would be my 291st. A gentle rain was falling as I parked up by the Diana Fountain just across from Hampton Court. To stretch my legs - and kill some time, I was an hour early - I ran around the park exploring the tree lined avenues, gated gardens and open marshland.  Tiny
Read more

The Druid's Challenge

-
Image
This weekend I signed up to be a member of the support team on the Druid's Challenge ultra running event in the Chiltern Hills. My friend Matt was running the three day, 85 mile event. I was allocated to help with set up and checkpoint duties on the Saturday and Sweeper on Sunday. The Druid has been going for 12 years. It is organised by XNRG, a family business that 'help people challenge themselves and break through their mental and physical barriers, whilst providing peace of mind with expertly run events, going the extra mile for every competitor.' They also put on the Pilgrim Challenge and a number of charity events raising money for Humanity Direct. To get there for the 7 o'clock start I left London at 3:30am. The benefit of this was clear roads and the ability to drive through the centre of London with no Congestion Charge to pay. I arrived at the agreed meeting point outside the village of Watlington.  The first wave of competitors were walkers. They were brought
Read more