Greensand Way Run Day 4 - Losing the Zebra Sleeping Bag, Pricks in our ears at 1000ft, a 850ft high doody, smacking, trig point planking and our First Fivesome

This was the final day of running of our four day run. There were more surprises in store too, including a few special surprise guest runners joining our group before lunch.....and one staying on for the rest of the whole run.

If you remember you left us 'sleeping' in our tents as the rain hammered down all night and the tents nearly washed away. I got about 30 minutes sleep. I got up in the morning very damp and we packed up our gear wet without caring as it was our last day.  I remember tweeting ' I feel so rested and energised and the weather is so nice I think Ill go for a little run'

We started off an hour earlier at 8am to buy us more rest time over the hilliest part of the Greensand Way. 

Dave had a zebra print sleeping bag that smelt like a badger had died in it. He wanted to throw it away (abandon it) in the woods to stop the smell and save weight.  Ive read Michael Crichton books and know what happens when you mess with nature so we convinced sherpa Dan to carry it until we could find a morally acceptable place to throw it away.

If you live in a house on the ascent to Leith Hill Tower near Snakes Hill and found a zebra print sleeping bag that smelt like a dead badger in your wheelie bin and wondered where it came from.......er......sorry. That was us. 

Tillingbourne Water Fall. on the Greensand Way 

We ran past Tillingbourne Waterfall and began the slow steady 3 mile ascent towards Leith Hill Tower. It was raining and the visibility was very poor. This was dissapointing as we were about to run through the scenic hills of 'little switzerland' in low cloud with zero visibility.

Lee Claire Dan and Dave enjoying a coffee and breakfast at Leith Hill Tower  on the Greensand Way

We had some coffee and flapjacks for breakfast at Leith Hill Tower. On a good day you can see across to 17 counties from the Tower. When we were there we could barely see each other. 


Dave took the opportunity to do some acupunture on us in our ears. Claire has a few piercings in her ears , I have none. It helped re-centre my chukra and made my ears hot. 

Claire with Pins in ears on Leith Hill on the Greensand Way 

Lee having Acupuncture in his ears on Leith Hill on the Greensand Way  

We ran on over and down Leith Hill, We then climbed Holmbury Hill where I 'needed to go poop' . I disapeared into some bushes just off a path , got tangled in thorns with my leggings round my ankles and nearly fell down a slope. I chuckled as it occured to me I had had the highest Greensand Way doody at around 850ft up.

Dan in classic 'Greensand Way' pose on Pitch Hill

We got to Pitch Hill where Dan got the chance to pose for the classic Greensand Way 'Smack' bench picture (with no scenery due to the whiteout). He also got to do a trig point plank nearby......facing towards Fratton Bridge or 'true portsmouth magnetic'.

Dan Trig Point Planking on the Greensand Way at Pitch Hill

We ran down Pitch Hill ( I got us lost twice) and through Holmbury St Mary where we came across some interesting jubilee decorations in the form of baby tights on a line!

Jubilee baby tights in Holmbury St Mary on the Greensand Way 

Climbing up to Winterfold Heath we found we were very tired and running slower than expected. We were on a tight time schedule as we planned to meet friends at the White Horse at Hascombe at 1pm for a run to the Merry Harriers pub in Hambledon.


After some befuddled brain estimates we realised we had to really get our heads down and not take any breaks to get there on time. We slogged past Ewhurst Windmill where a walking event was taking place where people were walking 100 miles non stop and through the night. 

Running towards Graffham on the Greensand Way 

As we descended Winterfold heath I was really starting to flag again and the symptoms of low sodium were taking their toll again.  When we crossed the A281 I reckoned we were 15 minutes ahead of schedule so we took a well earned break where after eating some food and laying down felt a little bit better. We were all finding this part of the run very tough....except Dan....who never does.....ever.


We got to the White Horse about 15 minutes late. A packet of crisps made a real difference to how I felt ( a shot of salt to the system). A few of our friends were there to run with us for the 3 miles to the Merry Harriers and have lunch with us. Many of the guys were those that ran on the Easter Runday including my wife Dr G , Tim (of Greensand Way HQ fame) , Amerbob and Lydia. 


It was such a boost to have the guys with us. All my tiredness went away and the next 3 miles were really good fun. We got to the pub in high spirits and i had a massive lunch with loads of salt on my chips ( I mean loads) . Claires parents turned up as did the lovely guys from McAllister Thomas Fine Art Gallery. 

Meeting up and running with friends on the Greensand Way 

After lunch and on a whim our friend Lydia decided to run the next 12 miles with us all the way to the finish in Haslemere. This meant she would run a total of 15 miles with us that day. An amazing achievement.

Lydia continues the run with us from hambledon on the Greensand Way 

Famous Five on the Greensand Way at Hambledon

We ran through Hambledon and Witley and out towards Brook. We estimated we would get to The Swan pub to meet up with more friends around 8pm that evening. 

View from Hambledon on the Greensand Way looking out towards Black Down and our destination in the distance

Crossing the wide fields heading towards the A3 on the Greensand Way 

A Lee sized house in Hambledon on the Greensand Way 

We took our traditional break by the bridge under the A3  before gathering ourselves mentally for the long slow climb of Gibbet Hill overlooking the Devils Punchbowl.

Taking a break near Furzefield Wood on the Greensand Way 

The climb up Gibbett Hill was everything we knew it would be , long, tortuous and on very unsteady terrain. Over time Dan and Dave got well ahead of us . I knew that once we had cracked this summit the run was nearly over and it was basically just a 3 mile descent into Haslemere with very little more uphill. 

It wasnt a Race but Dan and Dave beat us to the top of Gibbett Hill on the Greensand Way

Having a celebratory 'sports drink' on the summit of Gibbet Hill. 

The Summit of Gibbett Hill was ace. The rain had backed off since lunch and we were awarded with views in most directions. Claire had brought little bottles of beer with us from her parents so we drank them to have a mini celebration at finishing the last big summit of the run. 

Lydia trig point planking on Gibbett Hill on the Greensand Way 

We also introduced Lydia to trig point planking which she was a natural at. The next few miles didn't take long in my head. Our feet had been wet all day and hurt a lot from a kind of runners trench foot which left my feet feeling raw and hot and painful. In no time at all we were in Haslemere running through the streets. As we got to the last passageway before Haslemere High Street we could hear our friends cheering us on. We got pictures and shared a bottle of champagne by the alleyway and the last Greensand Way sign.

Claire Dave Dan and Lee finishing running the whole 108 miles of the Greensand Way 

We had a meal in the Swan, I don't remember a huge amount about it. We were all in a great mood but very quickly I got very tired and just wanted to go home to bed.....................which I did.


Without having a shower.....I was too tired.




...................So that is the end of the days run.....the end of the Greensand Way run and the last blog post I will do for this blog.  I look back on the last 6 months with all the training with lots of smiles. We made lots of mistakes in training, laughed about them and blogged about them, learnt from them and achieved what we said we would do. We also beat the fundraising target of £4000 which I'm immensely proud of. We took great pictures, ran some amazing paths in training and all four of us earned our 'wings' as ultra long distance adventure runners. The run itself wasn't how I imagined it. It was different and more interesting because of it. 


Ive decided I wont be sad about not blogging here anymore. I'm going to continue blogging about my off road running ....and add to it my experiences as a pilot and diver too. 


I can 'feel' there will be other epic runs in the future. New paths, new challenges and maybe even new countries. 


Join me soon at www.airlandandsea.blogspot.com.....

Sunday Runday Gathers Momentum

We're fast approaching that celebrated day... SUNDAY. And as well all know, when comes a Sunday, comes a RUNDAY!

This Easter Sunday we're inviting you, and you, and you, and you, and everyone you know, to join us on the Greensand Way for our very special Easter Runday.

We want you to learn about and love the footpath that will be our home for 4 days later this year.

We also want you to come and search for some Easter Eggs, as I've heard the Easter Bunny will be hiding some along the Greensand Way this year...

We'd love for you all to walk or run our 4 mile circuit and join us in the Merry Harriers afterwards for some cheers, maybe some beers, and our massive raffle. We've got some amazing prizes generously donated by local businesses who are so keen on supporting us.

To buy a raffle ticket and be in with a chance of winning prizes donated by the people below, simply visit our donation page at www.charitygiving.co.uk/greensandway2012 and donate £1 per strip of 5 tickets you wish to purchase, and leave a message here with a contact so we can let you know if you win. Remember, do not include gift aid on your donation!


Prizes donated by:
http://mcallisterthomasfineart.co.uk/ McAllister Thomas Fine Art, Godalming @McThomFineArt
http://www.catwalk.uk.com/ Catwalk Boutique, Godalming @CatwalkShop
http://www.rebeccascupcakes.co.uk/ Rebecca's Cupcakes, Godalming @Rebeccas_Cakes
http://www.thesnugbar.co.uk/ The Snug Bar, Godalming @thesnugbar
http://villahut.co.uk/ The Little Lamp Shop, Godalming @LittleLampShop
http://www.lorimers.co.uk/ Lorimers, Godalming
http://www.kungfucleaning.co.uk/ Kung Fu Cleaning, Godalming @kungfucleaning
http://www.westwoodrocks.com/ Westwood Rocks, Godalming @WestwoodRocks

So don't miss out! Buy your tickets, leave a comment, SHARE THIS BLOG WITH THE WORLD!

Hash, Flour Power, Bunny Costumes and My Little Pecker

Monday night this week was the first time I got to lead the Hash with the Guildford Hash House Harriers. As the 'Hare' I got to pick my own route for the run. I chose the woods nearest to me because I know them so well.

I set off at 5pm from my house with 6kgs of flour in my rucksack and ran from my house to Hydons Ball where the route i was planning would run.

laying a circle in flour means runners must seek out the correct path from this point

I ran up Hydons Ball with flour in hand getting funny looks from people as I laid small piles of flour at convenient spaces all along my intended route.

As well as laying marks for the route you lay circles at various crossings of paths with multiple options. In doing this the front running bastards (fast runners) have to run down all of the possible routes for a distance until they find the next flour marker and shout 'On On' ! This also gives the knitting circle (slow runners) the chance to catch up so the group as a whole stays fairly close together during the run.

X marks the spot where youve been stitched up

You can also be a sadistic Hare and run people up a very steep hill only to find and X at the top denoting a false trail. This means they have to run all the way back and try again.....and yes....I did this.




Smearsing (smiling with my ears)


The sun set while I laid the trail which totalled 4.5 miles which is the recommended distance for a hash. I had my headphones in and had a great time running out the trail. When I finished back where I started at the car park at Hydons Ball I ran down to the Merry Harriers Pub in Hambledon where all the hashers would be meeting at 7.30 pm. I had 45 minutes spare when I got there so in true hashing spirit I relaxed with a nice Pint of Pilgrim and chatted to the locals with a pink bunny tail pinned on my bum and bunny ears on my head.

The Merry Harriers is a really lovely, friendly country pub in Hambledon and well worth a visit. Its a rare gem that balances good beer and great food but avoids the 'Surrey prices' . Its also got its portrait in the Tate Gallery in London! They are quiet on a Monday and usually take the chance for a well earned rest and shut early but they were willing to stay open just for us.

The Hash went well and I couldnt resist making part of the route along the Greensand Way . Scrum Muffin (Claire) and I got a great pic of us at one of the Greensand Way Markers .

Greensand Way Night Hashing

As the run came to the end and we got back near the pub the traditional 'On Inn' mark I had left near the pub had been butchered by Popeye. This seems to happen on a lot on hashes. Although the hash went well and no one got killed/lost/injured I learnt that I needed to leave longer gaps from the circles so that it took more time for the front running bastards to find stuff so that the group stayed together more. In total I had run 11 miles setting the trail , running the hash and running from my house.

As I had my suspicions about a potential naming ceremony I made sure I dumped ALL of my flour before I finished.

An anchor means 'Popeye Woz Ere'

In the Car Park at the end of the run we had the usual end of run 'huddle' . As various people started asking me if I had any flour left I wisely put my phone and camera in my bag and prepared myself for a 'naming'




Pancake day comes one day early

I was deeply touched that the hashers had spent so many weeks thinking about my potential name. It shows in what high regard they must hold me. Unfortunately for me they had brought plently of extra flour. Most hashing names are rude and loosely relevant to the person, for example a lady that works in customer services is called Satisfaction Guaranteed or Claires dad is a lawyer and called Loose Article.
The options considered included 'turned out nice again' because I play the banjolele and am a window cleaner, 'cock' because I keep chickens, ' Oh Bee - Have' because I keep Honeybees but based on my 'microbiology' degree (actually I am a molecular biologist!) and the fact that I keep chickens and found a parrot on a hash once they decided on my hash name as.....

LITTLE PECKER

Arise 'Little Pecker' (complete with pink bunny tail)

When naming all the women hashers get to pour beer and flour over the named persons head. I can tell you that once this 'batter' sets it takes A LOT of washes to get it out. I also had to down beer for being the Hare AND for being named. By the time I got home I was very drunk.

Battered

It was great to get named. I really feel like part of the club now, especially as I have now led a hash too. I got named at the place where I did my first ever hash run and also got to do it on a night when we ran part of the Greensand Way.

I hear Dave is joining The Hash House Harriers near him in Portsmouth soon.... Cant wait to see what name he gets !



On On !


Little Pecker

:)

Windmilling

As a 'Rock Music Fan' I used to love watching clips of Pete Townshend of The Who 'windmilling' with his arms in front of his guitar. I went to Kent Uni which was also attended by Jonathan Creek star Alan Davies (whos character lived in a windmill) . My Univeristy Lecturer Frank Burnett also lived in a Windmill, As did Windy Miller who was in Trumpton which has a great episode about Window Cleaners . I also 'hung out' with a band called the Amazing Windmills when I was at college. The chance to add another windmill encounter in my life was about to occur......

The next stage of our training exploration of the greensand way was to get to the end of 'map 4' on the surrey website. I was very pleased to learn this would include a 'run by' of the Windmill in Ewhurst. It sits atop Pitch Hill and is the highest Windmill in Surrey and was built in 1840.

Claire and I set off on Saturday morning where temps overnight had been minus 9. We had sensibly taken it easy the night before by staying out until 2.30 am and going to the 10th anniversary of the rock club night 'Schism' in Woking. We had loaded up on energy drinks (with cute little shots in them) and the odd lager so we had plenty of calories avaiable the next day for our run.

Dave texted whilst doing a training run in Portsmouth where the minus 9 temp had frozen his camelback drink solid and made his hair crunchy and solid. I avoid freezing in my camelback by using 'human friendly'  antifreeze in my water.......ribena.

Greensand Way view just east of the White Horse Pub

The very low temperatures and 'slight hangovers' took their toll on this run, as did me forgetting to take my running jacket and being forced to opt for an additional fleece instead. As we started from the White Horse pub I had estimated the distance to the windmill at about 7 or 8 miles. It turned out to be closer to 10. It is becoming a trait of mine to massively underestimate distance and fail to notice 'steep terrain'. I would probably call Everest a slight uphill 4 mile jog.

As usual the route was easy to follow with all the Greensand Way signs and we soon crossed a disused part of the Wey Navigation Canal.

crossing the disused Wey Navigation on the Greensand Way

As we began the steady climb into the Winterfold Heath towards the top of pitch hill the run felt very similar to the first time we slogged up towards Gibbet Hill. The views from this area are amazing and the Heath is owned by the Bray family who have had it since it was gifted to them by King Henry VII 500 years ago. The scenery was so epic and distracting that Claire was a 'tumbling tosser' (a hash house harriers term) and fell over without hurting herself.

Climbing into Winterfold Heath on the Greensand Way

Getting to the top of Pitch Hill involved running along the ridge and eventually after zig zagging through the paths near the top we reached the Ewhurst Windmill. It is privately owned so we couldnt look round it. Instead we sat in the freezing cold and drank some coffee and stuffed ourselves with food and having taken 2 hours to run 10 miles set off again 15 minutes later to try to get home before 4pm.

The only angle I could photograph the Ewhurst Windmill on the Greensand Way

Despite a few miles of the journey back being downhill it was obvious to both of us on the way back that the conditions, temperatures and physical state was making progress very hard. We were running along with ALL the clothes we brought with us on including the extra clothes to wear just when we were standing around having lunch.  Running in these temperatures is very, very draining on your energy levels.

As we got to within a few miles of the White Horse we decided sensibly to end the run early as Claire had picked up a painful foot injury which was making running very difficult. We had already run 15 miles at that stage which was further than I had planned anyway. Risking making an injury far worse for the sake of a few more miles just wasnt worth it. Fortunately Claire was fine by the evening.

We stood like cold school kids by the A281 in Grafham and got picked up by my wife who brought a warm car and biscuits!

Greensand Way near Rooks Hill Farm in Grafham

This run has allowed us to map out and get familiar with another stretch of the Greensand Way. It was also the first time I used my android app Backcountry Navigator which is an excellent GPS app that superimposes your location on an Ordnance Survey Map so you can see real time exactly where on the footpaths you are.

We are beginning to get a bit tired of the large sugar intake required for these distance runs so I'm going to spend this week looking for savoury snacks that are calorie rich we can maybe try instead of the endless jelly babies.

 I also learnt that if you use 'tiger balm' as a deep heat remedy on tired muscles and then dont wash your hands then jelly babies taste 'odd'.

Our First Threesome

Yesterday was the first training run we did with all three of us running together.

Pushing ourselves further and longer than last week we decided to combine the Map 2 we ran last week with Map 1 which meant we got to run from Hambledon Church all the way to the end of the Greensand Way on Haslemere High St and then back again. A total of 21 miles.

We set off at a very punctual 8.30am and quickly found we settled into a much faster pace than the week before. The ascent up towards Gibbet Hill Viewpoint was easier this time and we even took the time out to get a picture of ourselves standing on what used to be the busy A3 (now defunct due to the tunnel) It was very eerie to stand somewhere that we have all driven along so many times, with no cars or tarmac!

Standing on the old A3 as it swept up to the hindhead trafiic lights just below the Greensand Way

We got to the viewpoint at Gibbet Hill in under 2 hours and fond that running as three means whilst one of you may be a bit tired at any given stage there is always two others to spur you on.

An excellent Plank on Gibbet Hill on the Greensand Way

Dave took the opportunity to enjoy the obligtory Plank at the navigation marker and we also left an offering to the running gods in the form of a jelly baby to mark our respect.

Our offering left facing towards Godalming at Gibbet Hill on the Greensand Way

The 'downhill' and 'short' 30 minute run down to Haslemere I promised was not 'downhill' and not 'short'. It proved to be up and down and took us over 45 minutes to run. I was berated all the way for promising optimistically that we were ' only about 8 minutes away' when we were not.....at all.

Our halfway mark...and Bruch

The Greensand Way spits you out in Haslemere into a car park. Its a very big anticlimax. You go from peaceful scenic hills and epic views to so many people and cars and noise its like being in Cairo by comparison. We all felt very out of place running up the HIgh St and were pleased to go hide in The Swan Pub for 'brunch'.

Whilst Dave and Claire ignored my recommendation for a suitable light runners lunch by having a bacon, sausage and egg bloomer I opted for the much more sensible large full cooked breakfast.

We ate, drank coffee and water and rested for just under an hour before setting off again at about 12.30pm.

running down the quiet lane off gibbet hill on the Greensand Way

The return journey was run at a furious pace with Dave up front for most of it as he had promised his girlfriend he would finish the run by around 1pm. This was slightly optimistic.

I did not suffer any ill effects from my light sensible brunch on the return run, I did not burp black pudding every few minutes for three hours, didnt feel the beans slopping around for most of the run, didnt find the waistband unusually tight round my waist.  I didnt feel hash browns dancing a merry jig.

A few ailments with cramp and chaffing made us realise that we need to add a few items to our medical pack when running.  I also brought 2 packs of jelly babies and a litre of water and a bottle of red bull this time but i still need a bit more water on these long runs. I carried drink in my camelback stuffed inside my new larger more comfy rucksack and this worked really well. I obviously got the balance of calories and water nearly right because this week I returned weighing the same as I did when I left (last week I was 5 lbs lighter after my run)

my favourite photo of the day taken in a road mirror on the Greensand Way in Hambledon

We got back to Hambledon for about 3.20pm which was really good. Dave had to shoot off fairly quickly as he was 'a few minutes behind schedule' and Claire and I stayed at the Merry Harriers pub in Hambledon and had an 'Ice Cold in Alex' moment with the best pint Ive drunk in ages.

sports drink in the Merry Harriers Hambledon on the Greensand Way

We were all really pleased with our pace and are already getting ready for the next large run together which will be exploring the Greensand Way westwards from The White Horse at Hascombe towards the Windmill at Ewhurst.

First Test Run Along the Greensand Way - Hambledon to Gibbet Hill Viewpoint

Banjo Day

Claire and I cant find a word to rhyme with Saturday. We have hashtags for our twitter posts like #sundayrunday and #hashhouseharriers but weve never come up with anything better than #saturdayshithead day (mainly because any run following a friday night out tends to be 'impaired').

When we went online to look for words that rhyme with Saturday we got Banjo as a potential word........

So this Saturdayshithead day we ran our first test run along a new stretch of the greensand way. Dave had a run the next day in Portsmouth for 16 miles and so wisely stayed out of this one. The excellent Surrey County Council website shows this run as map 2 of the greensand way and measures a distance of just over 7 miles from Hambledon to Gibbet Hill Viewpoint in Hindhead overlooking the Devils Punchbowl.

Hambledon to Gibbet Hill

We started from the car park by Hambledon Church and began running out towards Sandhills.Both Claire and I carried rucksacks with 5kgs in to simulate the kit we expect to be carrying on the actual run. We were armed with a bottle of water and a pack of jelly babies too,

Its always all smiles at the start of a long run

We ran well following the route using a map saved on my phone as well as watching a moving map image of our route on the android My Tracks app. Most of the time the footpaths are marked well with greensand way markers. We got slightly slowed down/lost around the Sandhills area, caused mainly by us coming off the tracks and having to follow road for a while but mainly the route is fairly easy to follow with plenty of signs on the way. We flew through Witley and Brook in no time heading towards the A3.

crossing under the A3 near Thursley

The new Hindhead Tunnel has caused the A3 to change drastically before the tunnel. The actual greensand way route now has a slight detour at the Thursley area to get under the A3 but it does present a chance for an unusual photo for an off road run.

the well signed route

After the A3 the route the Greensand Way turns southwards towards Hindhead and we ran through varying terrain and through a few farms on towards the Devils Punchbowl.

The run up towards Gibbet Hill is a bit of a slog. The combination of wind and overcast weather, large falling branches and low glycogen left us feeling a bit low as we climbed towards the summit. It took much longer than we expected to run up this stage.As we ran up we could see the old A3 leading up to the old hindhead traffic lights being 'decommissioned' with all its tarmac removed. It was odd to see a road I have driven many times being returned to nature.

our halfway mark

Getting to the summit after 7 miles of running rewarded us with a well earned 25 minute break and fantastic views towards London. We donned some extra clothes to stop the wind, finished the jelly babies had a sit down and got a bit of 'planking' done.

Planking

The Return Journey - Gibbet Hill to Hambledon

The journey back required less effort with navigating as we had run the route already. It gave us a chance to reflect on what we had learnt from todays run, thinking about what we had learnt also helped take our minds off how tired we were running back.

My rucksack is small and does not have a waistband. It rubbed too much against my back and the combination of the X Bionic top (which keeps you damp on purpose) meant I ended up with a chaffed back. I have now swapped the rucksack for a different one with a waistband and more comfortable straps.

I also ran out of water and jelly babies. With no food or water on the return journey the run was much harder on the way back. Carrying a few kilos of lead in my rucksack instead of water and food is total madness and a mistake I wont make again.

We agreed that a good selection of tops, hats and gloves helps, as over runs that last many hours you can be caught in varying types of weather and temperatures.

Finally its important with the style of running we will be doing on the actual full run that we take the opportunity at any chance we get going through villages and hamlets to pick up drink and food. We were VERY lucky to have the lovely people at Bongo give us a can of tango and a free Club chocolate bar at Witley Station on the way back.

Claire has an Orangegasm

Next weekend ( SaturdayShitheadDay) we are running a longer run as a three. We will do the same route as this run and continue on to Haslemere where we will have lunch and then run back. Itll be the longest run we have done yet and the first time all three of us have actually run together.