Bluebell Trail Run: Patching West Sussex

This is a special race to all of us who are lucky enough to live close to the Bluebell woods. I know we bang on a about the freaking bluebells but it is a magical time. It is one of the visions we hold in our minds eye during those miserable muddy runs that we do during the bleak, bleak winter. The big thing that we West Sussex County tree-huggers glory in when they bless us with their beauty and perfume for just a few weeks every year. They are something to be thankful for in a scary old world.

Thankfully Raw Energy Pursuits join the annual worship by supplying us with the most beautiful running events on the calendar; the Bluebell Trail Runs, where runners are rewarded for training all winter long with such a happy event. It is an added treat that we seem to know all or nearly all of the marshals and officials and hearing your name shouted as you approach each of them is an added bonus. 

The bluebell woods are vast, and there are a number of different routes that runners can pick from. Today was no exception in that there was the choice of 10 miles or 10 km. As a general rule we run a different route, so this is a nice change at this time of year. Steve and I opted for the 10km race and our friend Birgit, who shares our Sunday run all winter long and now and again during the summer (when we all have various trips away), chose to do the 10 miles for a change and to make more of a challenge of the day.

 

There was quite a swarm of runners milling around at the start, where there is easy well managed parking and the Fox Pub being the centre for all activities for which we all thank them. In their wedding tent, there was the chance to watch some of London Marathon on a big screen TV whilst all the competitors ran there hearts out or just wondered at the glow of the purple floral haze that carpets great swathes of the woods. The woodland is always pretty but becomes a breathtaking marvel of nature at this time. The woman waving in the background in the photo below, who I only know is called Leanne, was chased by a bull on part of the course but came to no harm. Birgit Woolley is in the foreground.

My dear husband thought that if we had slapped our money down to do the event (not that it is expensive), that we might as well try to do a good time, compared to how casual our normal runs are, when we will stop to admire this view, that family of deer, those flowers or this big bird admiring the view of us as it circles. So to that end we did not run or ride on Friday or Saturday although Birgit and I did swim on Saturday night at the club session that was most enjoyable.

We had something of a lay in this morning, though I realise that 7am instead of 5am is not everybody’s idea of a good dose Sunday morning laziness. It was late for us though and the ploy worked, because our usually over worked muscles had thanked us for the brief holiday from exertion. For myself, in the dark recesses of my mind, I had wanted to run every step of the way just to show myself that I could, since I more often than not break from run to walk on steep hills on normal runs through the woods.

There is only one really spiteful hill in the Bluebell Run, that although it is not long, it is steep and right before the finish which is a bit mean. There are other hills, in fact straight after the very nice gentle downhill start; the next two km are a gradual but endless climb. The trails were firm under foot and trainers would be dusty rather than caked with mud at the end as they are during the winter. Below is Jenny Budget coming to the finish of the 10 miles race.

 

Steve and I were more than happy with a finish time of 1.13.43 for the 10km and I think that is quite a bit faster than the last time we did the event. Birgit got to the finish of her 10 mile route in 1.53.14 which she was pleased with too. These events are such great social occasions; it was lovely to meet people that we had not seen for a while. Henry Budget who was there doing the timing and his wife Jenny who was also running the 10 mile race and who we have one of the best Ironman finish photos of together with Steve and where as I did the ITU long distance race in Fredericia, Denmark and shared a few tired exchanges during the run section of that event.

Well done to the Raw Energy Team, Mick Dicker, Niki Treacy and all the volunteers from local clubs involved in the sleek, smooth running of this mornings event.