Medway Megalith Marathon
The third of my twelve marathons of 2019 took place on Sunday. This time I was back in north Kent, near Rochester running along the Medway valley. I say along, but it was more like up and down. 2500 feet elevation over a 27 mile route.
This run was organized by Hit the Trail Running who also did the Lenham one last month. Some of the same people were there and the whole set up was excellent again.
We started in Trosley Country Park at 9:30. The sun was out but it was cool - perfect conditions. There were 64 people doing the full marathon.I was running with fellow Bald Monkey John and he set off at a fast pace. I managed to ignore my competitive instinct that wanted to catch up and kept a nice easy pace for the first few miles enjoying the atmosphere and beautiful woodland scenery.
The path was narrow and so we all arranged ourselves in single file. The first couple of miles was all downhill and included some very steep steps which I noted as I would have to come up them after 25 miles! There was a slight uphill section of a few hundred feet and then we continued to descend into the valley.
After 6 miles we crossed the Chatham Mainline on which the Eurostar services streak past. We bypassed the village of Cuxton before emerging beside a busy road - the M2 motorway. Here the route took us along a cycle path next to the road and across the bridge that spanned the River Medway. The river continues out past Chatham and Rochester until it merges with the Thames at Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey and becomes part of the North Sea / English Channel.
Once over the bridge we started to climb. I missed a marker and went the wrong way. Once I realised - about a quarter of a mile later - I had to run hard to catch up with John. I hadn't heard him warn me and was cursing him under my breath for letting me go. I used the anger to motivate myself and kept my mouth shut for fear of what I would say.
A couple of miles later I asked if he had noticed me going the wrong way. He said that he had shouted but I didn't hear him. I felt ashamed at jumping to conclusions and was relieved I hadn't said anything at the time - a lesson learned!
We continued the relentless climb that took us from mile 9 to the half way point on top of Bluebell Hill going from 0m to 180m (a little over 500 ft). The views from the top were stunning but we didn't hang around. After a quick photo, fig roll and handful of peanuts we set off again as we were about to be passed by another runner.
As we began to descend the hill we passed The Robin Hood Pub and stopped for a quick photo of myself and Little John. This enabled Mark to catch up with us and we soon learnt that he was from Hythe just along the coast from Folkestone. We spent the next few miles running with him and chatting before he surged ahead over the bridge as we ran back the way we had come.
At this point I was feeling strong but John was struggling. We have an agreement that we will run together but if one of us feels stronger then we should just do our own thing. I began to leave him behind and soon passed Mark too. I knew we were near the front and wanted to finish high up the placings. I also just wanted to get to the finish!
It was now uphill again and I kept a high cadence and pushed on. Soon I began to overtake half marathon runners who were still returning to the start/finish. Their encouragement pushed me on and as I approached a checkpoint to refill my water bottles I thought I must be only a couple of miles from the end. When I asked I was told it was 6 miles to go. Urgh.
I gave myself a talking to and realised that this was now a mental battle. Physically I felt good and I wanted coffee and cake. The quicker I ran the quicker I would have it. I pushed ahead.
Back in the woods I could hear the birds singing and see the shafts of sunlight filtering through the trees. The new buds were beginning to open and the first signs of spring lifted my spirits. At this point I reached a gate and the option of going left, right or straight on. I couldn't see any signs. Thankfully a couple were walking their dog and said they had seen others running to the right. Could I trust them? I had no choice. I ran to the right.
It seemed an age before another marker came into view but eventually one did and my faith in human nature was restored. Then I turned a corner and was met by the steep flight of steps that I had come down 24 miles ago. I walked up with my hands pushing down on my knees to try and propel myself forward. About 50 deep steps later I reached the top panting and sweating. Just a mile to go....
The next mile was one of the longest I have ever run. In fact it felt like 3. Finally I saw the car park and knew I had made it. I crossed the line and was given my finishers medal. I headed straight to the café for my coffee and cake. John came in a few minutes later and was given the spot prize of a hydration vest.
I felt good, tired but strong. I had finished 4th in just over 4 hours of which 7 minutes had been taken eating, drinking, taking photos, getting stones out of my shoes and relieving myself. I was pleased with that. John came fifth and the Bald Monkeys had done themselves proud.
Unfortunately we hadn't seen any of the Megaliths the route was named after. Apparently these large sarsen stones known as the Medway Megaliths were moved there between 2500 - 1700 BC and were part of ancient burial tombs.
Next stop is Paris for me. I am running the marathon their on 14th April. It is a road marathon on a pretty flat course so I hope to go below 3:30 depending on the weather. John will be running in Brighton on the same day.
Hit the Trail Running have another run in June but it is the same day as we are doing the Clifftop Challenge. However, apparently they are organising one for August with about 5000 feet elevation. Count us in!
