A long way to go for a Sandwich
Since moving to Kent, I have slowly been covering more of the coastline. However, there is one gap that still needed bridging - from Deal to Ramsgate. Once completed I would have run from Margate to Hythe, which covers most of the east side of the County.
John and I planned to run it last weekend as a warm up for next Saturday’s Beachy Head Marathon. John came over to Dover and we set off at 7am. Half an hour later we were on top of the White Cliffs in time to see the sun emerge from below the horizon, a red ball lighting up the clear morning sky.
It was a chillier start to the day than of late. The summer weather seems to have continued well into October. That said, we were still ok in t-shirts and shorts and once the sun had risen it soon warmed up.
We ran along the cliffs to Margaret’s Bay chatting and enjoying the stunning views. Once there we had covered all the climbing for the day and began to descend towards Deal. The miles flew by and we both felt in great shape as we reached the beach and made our way to the parkrun start.
This was my second time at Deal parkrun and we agreed to take it slowly as we still had another 13 miles to complete afterwards. It was no surprise though that as soon as the run started, we both set off at a fast pace unable or unwilling to be sensible.
There was a good turnout and by now it was a beautiful sunny day reminiscent of early September. As usual I started counting places and realised that I was in 30th. I looked for number 20 and started to close the gap, my competitive nature taking over as usual. By the end of mile 2 I was in 25th and closing in on a group of 6 people. I sped up and caught onto the back of the pack. After a minute of recovery, I pushed on lifting myself into 19th.
John was a couple of places ahead but catching a few people that were slowing. We both put on a push for the line with 400m to go. John eventually finished 13th and I was in 16th, both sub 21 minutes. Stupid, stupid, stupid, but fun!
After the traditional post-race coffee, we set off for Ramsgate. It was a completely flat section according to the map and all we had to do was hug the coast for 3 miles before turning inland to Sandwich and then back along the beach to Ramsgate. Simple.
The first three miles were very enjoyable. The smooth sea sparkling in the sunlight to our right, and a manicured golf course to our left. We passed some huge houses on the beach. The whole way we could see Ramsgate as it juts out to the right following the curve of the coastline. It got closer and closer.
Eventually we reached the club house and the path ended. We seemed to have missed out turnoff and a river barred our progress. We decided to go off road and head for the industrial park on our left. Our way was blocked again by a boggy stream. After spending a few minutes deliberating whether we could either jump over the slimy, dark green trench, or use a tree as a makeshift bridge we came to our senses and followed its course back the way we had come until we found a crossing point.
Once on the other side we discovered a path which led into Sandwich. By now we had already run 24 miles and it would be at least another six to Ramsgate. Unusually at this point, and given how tired we had become, we made a sensible decision and decided to call it a day in Sandwich.
For the last few miles we had both fallen into silence as our bodies tired and our brains began to go into that strange place they find when all the blood and sugar is needed by other muscles. It’s a kind of twilight zone where the mind shuts down to conserve energy and allow the body to persist in its efforts.
Once we had made the decision to call it a day in Sandwich our energy levels shot up again and we ran into the town with smiles on our faces. I headed straight for a shop to buy a sandwich so that I could get a photo in front of a sign that read Sandwich. Then it was time for coffee. We also found a market stall selling home made cakes and demolished a lemon sponge in seconds.
Now refuelled, we located the train station and were soon back in Dover. This means I am still a few miles short of connecting the Margate to Ramsgate section to the Hythe to Sandwich section, but I can go back and do this another time.
My focus now is on next week’s run across the Seven Sisters in East Sussex.
John and I planned to run it last weekend as a warm up for next Saturday’s Beachy Head Marathon. John came over to Dover and we set off at 7am. Half an hour later we were on top of the White Cliffs in time to see the sun emerge from below the horizon, a red ball lighting up the clear morning sky.
It was a chillier start to the day than of late. The summer weather seems to have continued well into October. That said, we were still ok in t-shirts and shorts and once the sun had risen it soon warmed up.
We ran along the cliffs to Margaret’s Bay chatting and enjoying the stunning views. Once there we had covered all the climbing for the day and began to descend towards Deal. The miles flew by and we both felt in great shape as we reached the beach and made our way to the parkrun start.
This was my second time at Deal parkrun and we agreed to take it slowly as we still had another 13 miles to complete afterwards. It was no surprise though that as soon as the run started, we both set off at a fast pace unable or unwilling to be sensible.
There was a good turnout and by now it was a beautiful sunny day reminiscent of early September. As usual I started counting places and realised that I was in 30th. I looked for number 20 and started to close the gap, my competitive nature taking over as usual. By the end of mile 2 I was in 25th and closing in on a group of 6 people. I sped up and caught onto the back of the pack. After a minute of recovery, I pushed on lifting myself into 19th.
John was a couple of places ahead but catching a few people that were slowing. We both put on a push for the line with 400m to go. John eventually finished 13th and I was in 16th, both sub 21 minutes. Stupid, stupid, stupid, but fun!
After the traditional post-race coffee, we set off for Ramsgate. It was a completely flat section according to the map and all we had to do was hug the coast for 3 miles before turning inland to Sandwich and then back along the beach to Ramsgate. Simple.
The first three miles were very enjoyable. The smooth sea sparkling in the sunlight to our right, and a manicured golf course to our left. We passed some huge houses on the beach. The whole way we could see Ramsgate as it juts out to the right following the curve of the coastline. It got closer and closer.
Eventually we reached the club house and the path ended. We seemed to have missed out turnoff and a river barred our progress. We decided to go off road and head for the industrial park on our left. Our way was blocked again by a boggy stream. After spending a few minutes deliberating whether we could either jump over the slimy, dark green trench, or use a tree as a makeshift bridge we came to our senses and followed its course back the way we had come until we found a crossing point.
Once on the other side we discovered a path which led into Sandwich. By now we had already run 24 miles and it would be at least another six to Ramsgate. Unusually at this point, and given how tired we had become, we made a sensible decision and decided to call it a day in Sandwich.
For the last few miles we had both fallen into silence as our bodies tired and our brains began to go into that strange place they find when all the blood and sugar is needed by other muscles. It’s a kind of twilight zone where the mind shuts down to conserve energy and allow the body to persist in its efforts.
Once we had made the decision to call it a day in Sandwich our energy levels shot up again and we ran into the town with smiles on our faces. I headed straight for a shop to buy a sandwich so that I could get a photo in front of a sign that read Sandwich. Then it was time for coffee. We also found a market stall selling home made cakes and demolished a lemon sponge in seconds.
Now refuelled, we located the train station and were soon back in Dover. This means I am still a few miles short of connecting the Margate to Ramsgate section to the Hythe to Sandwich section, but I can go back and do this another time.
My focus now is on next week’s run across the Seven Sisters in East Sussex.
