Picked Pete up (see races 21, 33 and 41) at 7:30. Managed to make it to the M25 in 30 mins which is possibly a record and that was keeping to the speed limits! So it looked like we would be getting to the race rather early. Passed Guildford and then up on to the Hogs Back (A31) and some awesome views. Turning off to Searle, driving along ever narrowing lanes until we got to the race car park in Sands. Beautiful rolling countryside with some hills for good measure. I must admit I had some trepidation as to the "off - roadness" and "hilly-ness" of this race as the race map showed viewpoints which kind of hint that hills must be involved, one of which was St Martha's Hill (see races 33 & 41called The Hurt and Hard as Snail - for good reason!) The map also had marked on it 'Suggested Spectator Viewpoints' with descriptions including "A long uphill (out) and downhill (return) where runners maybe seen and photographed from a distance - good for crowd pictures!" and "runners will pass here and you may watch with a pint in your hand" and finally "the views here are spectacular and the runners will be taking a drink after their climb". Yikes!
At 9:45 we had the pre-race briefing and the warm-up. Basically the briefing was around the fact that it was Sunday morning, not everyone was being quite so energetic or even up yet so could we all be considerate? Also there were a lot of narrow paths (ominous) so could we be considerate to those enjoying their Sunday morning constitution and to other faster runners? We then all lined up for the off. Pete was going to trial a new tactic of pacing me instead of haring off at the front. Sounded fine in theory but we lost sight of each other within the first mile due to the number of runners. The first mile of the run was along country lanes so it sorted the field a bit.
Some of the paths did require single file and one in particular we were really relieved that the marathon runners had preceded us as it was knee high stinging nettles. They had fortunately been beaten down considerably so I got away with only one or two stings. We were deep into the countryside by this point, the only evidence that we were on the right course were the occasional orange arrow or the uniformly cheerful and friendly marshals that were at any point of possible confusion. Some of the marshals were obviously pros as they came fully equipped with camp chair, umbrellas, a good book, thermos, and nibbles. It was fantastic being out in glorious countryside, on a fine autumnal Sunday morning, with legs beginning to ache. Well as they say, two out of three ain't bad.
Passing through Rodsall Manor, we came to a sign stating 20 miles - which some of us thought meant that we only had another six to go. This also confused a few of the runners who were timing their pace or had a Garmin that measured how far we'd actually gone as we hadn't run seven miles yet. Soon afterwards all was revealed. The half marathon diverged from the full marathon route in order to do a couple of miles loop through Britty Wood. This was virtually all single track paths through the dappled woodland light, passed a couple of lakes in the valley bottom, before climbing to a high point - looping round to be facing runners approximately half a mile in-front/ behind and then back down into the valley. Undeniably beautiful yet rather leg-aching and wearying as the paths were either muddy or sandy. Either way the quads (top of thighs) were beginning to hurt - a sure sign that I'd completed over 10k. Talking to a fellow competitor who was doing the half as she'd already done three marathons this year and didn't feel able to do another as she hadn't trained during the summer her 'excuse' being that she'd been in the Alps mountain biking and walking! I countered with triathlons especially in light of the fact that we were passing some lakes at the time.
With about three miles to go, the course began to seem familiar albeit in the other direction as we rejoined the route we had run out on. We were very definitely now on the 'homeward' stretch. With about two miles to the finish, the pace was upped. The marathon runner, the garmin wearer and another girl cruised passed with a cheerful 'see you at the finish' and I didn't have the legs to follow. At this point the race was in my case mental rather than physical as the legs were very sore. You ask yourself whether easing off might be a good idea, whether it's head down and grit your teeth, or and this is the approach I tend to take, look around and try and distract yourself with the views/ other people - pretty much anything really, while still maintaining your speed.
We ran passed Farnham Golf Course - full of men of a certain age, size and shape (and dress sense!) hiting a little white ball into a hole or at least attempting to, around a corner to find ourselves at the field where we had parked our cars. That meant that we only had another 500m or so uphill before the recreation ground and then a 150m downhill grassy run to the finish. Its too much to say that this put a spring into my step but it certainly was a relief. I was also aware that not everyone who lined the street were supporters - there were quite a few runners who had already finished in the mix too.
It was then over to the results tent to check my time ~ 61st finisher by electronic chip time, and off to the WI tent for tea and cake. I was keeping an eye out for Pete and was getting a little concerned as nearly 20 minutes had passed by this stage. Waiting by the finish I saw him hobbling painfully towards the finish line having hurt his thigh, calf and ankle on the rough course. He still managed to finished in the top half though in spite of all that!
RESULT: 64th out of 490 (gun time) in a time of 1:46:06
There was a good race description on the photographers blog - http://sussexsportphotography.blogspot.com/2011/09/pilgrim-marathon-and-half-marathon-2011.html
"Big congratulations to the Rotary Club of Farnham Wayside on another well marked and marshalled race - with superb co-ordination across such a large race distance. With the weather forecast looking 50/50 between bleak and very nice as a low pressure rotated gently over London and drifted eastward, the risk of rain from Wales coming south and catching the race was uncertain. At the Challenge Henley triathon only about 25 miles away and almost due north of the race it lashed it down for much of the morning, so wet weather gear was adopted just in case.
It proved however to be a near perfect day with the temperature staying in the 16 to 18 DegC range, no really harsh sunshine and almost no breeze to talk of - until much later in the day when it decided to rain really hard at the finish from about 2pm. The upshot of this was the first runners home were making good time with the marathon winner exactly 10 minutes faster than last year - and the overall times indicating just how tough an off-road route this is compared to a flat road course. This was the second ever running of the Pilgrim Marathon and Half Marathon, with 303 and 490 competitors finishing each race respectively, an increase on last years numbers.
As one runner noted - "there's pubs all the way along this route!" the answer being - well it is the Pilgrims Way..."
What race update would be complete without the traditional 'Wiki' information? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seale,_Surrey
In the valley at the foot of the Hog's Back lies the parish church of St Laurence, Seale. Adjacent to the church are farm buildings known as Manor Farm, now converted into craft shops and a tea room. Wood Lane, which runs from Seale Church and the Manor Farm centre up to the top of the Hog's Back, is probably named after the Wood family who leased Seale Manor Farm, including the land running up to the Hog's Back, from the Bishops of Winchester for three lives from 1839 (although they sold their interest in 1856).
The church was established in the 12th century as an outpost of Waverley Abbey. The bell tower houses a peal of six bells, the oldest and largest forged in the 16th century.The church was extensively restored and enlarged in about 1860. It is served by a Rector, who now also has care of the adjacent parishes of Puttenham and Wanborough. These three parishes were formally merged in 2004, although they retain their separate places of worship. Tongham was originally part of the parish of Seale, but it became an independent parish in 1866.
Seale Lodge, built as a gentleman's residence in the 19th century, was demolished in about 1970, but some older cottages now called Seale Lodge Cottages stand opposite the church. The village school is now closed and converted into a private house. However, there is still a village hall, near the old school. There are no shops or pubs in Seale and there is no railway station.
Apart from the houses near the old school, most of the houses in the parish are grouped further south, along Binton Lane, and in a settlement called The Sands, which is part of the parish of Seale, but separate from Seale village. The Sands has a public house, The Barley Mow, but its local shop and post office (Sands Stores) has now closed down. Binton Farm takes its name from a Saxon settlement of Binton, probably from a Saxon personal name.
Seale is part of the hundred of Farnham and its downland was originally part of the large and rich manor of Farnham, owned by the Bishops of Winchester, who retained rights of warren and other manorial privileges into the 19th century. Like other parts of Surrey, however, it then and since attracted people wishing to live in a rural environment within easy reach of other centres of work, including London.
Most of the agricultural land in Seale now belongs to the Hampton Estate, centred on Hampton Lodge, an 18th century mansion. This estate is an early 20th century aggregation of the land formally owned by the Long family of Hampton, together with agricultural land formerly attached to Seale Lodge, and agricultural and parkland formerly comprising the Great Down estate, centred on another mansion at the top of the Hog's Back, Great Down, which was demolished in the 1950s. The Hampton Estate was acquired by Eustace Thornton in 1929. He was succeeded by his son, Sir Richard Thornton, KCVO, OBE, who was Lord Lieutenant of Surrey 1986-1997. It is now run by Sir Richard's daughter and son-in-law, Bridget and Bill Biddell.
At an earlier period, as evidenced by memorials in Seale church, the main landowner was the Woodroffe family (of whom two, David and Nicholas, father and son, were Sheriffs of London in 1554 and 1573 respectively), and later, by descent through a female line, the Chester family. They were seated at Poyle, Tongham, on the other side of the Hog's Back, whose landholdings extended into Seale parish (although Tongham itself became an independent parish in 1866). The mansion at Poyle Park is now demolished and the Poyle estates were broken up in the twentieth century; an interior from Poyle Park, however, is now on display in the Museum of London.
The remains of many flints, left by Neolithic man, have been discovered in the fields and on the heaths. The banks of Iron Age Hillbury fort can still be seen on the Common. The village has Saxon origins and the medieval field system has left reminders in the names of Suffield and Highfield lanes. Rodsall Manor is mentioned in Domesday Book, and Cuttmill House was originally the village mill. The church is Norman.
The village has a long agricultural history and in the 19th century over three quarters of the inhabitants worked on the land or had jobs such as blacksmiths, wheelwrights or carters. In 1874 the main crops were hops, wheat and mangolds. There is still a large acreage of hops in the centre of the village, grown in what is now the last remaining hop garden in Surrey.
Farm buildings along the village street, date from the 14th to 19th centuries but are now all converted into houses, as are their barns and hop kilns. There are many old cottages, some built of brick, others of local stone and flint. Outlying farms at Shoelands and Lascombe have been converted into business units. The old coaching inn on the Hog’s Back, where coaches changed horses on the way to Southampton, is gone; the Jolly Farmer is now a ‘Harvester’ and all the shops have closed. But there is still a village inn, golf course, bowling green and recreation ground, as well as a flourishing school and village hall.
Puttenham Common http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/reserves/show/65
Generals Pond The pond is thought to have been named after General James Oglethorpe who owned the Priory Manor in Puttenham during the middle of the 18th century. As a young officer he served in the Prince of Savoy’s army against the Turks and was commended for bravery in the Battle of Belgrade in 1717. On his return he took up the family parliamentary seat of Haslemere and took a great interest in humanitarian issues, particularly prison conditions and the welfare of the poor. This led him to found the (American) Colony of Georgia as a place for the “worthy poor (and reformed prisoners) to remake their lives”. He was well known to many of the great people of the age, including Samuel Johnson, John Wesley and Thomas Paine. In later life he was involved in founding institutions such as hospitals and university colleges, and the British Museum.
Hillbury This hill fort is probably pre-Roman and the area was extensively occupied during the Roman period. Charles Kerr, the curate of Puttenham between 1869 and 1876, carried out excavations in the area and found various artefacts from many periods but the majority were Roman. The fort is a scheduled ancient monument and provides good views of the Hogs Back to the north and the hills surrounding the Devils Punch Bowl to the south.
Lascombe The house on the hill is Lascombe House and is a fine example of an early design of Edwin Lutyens and was built in 1898. The trail drops down into a valley and up the other side to the crossroads. Turn left here and go up the hill and across the main sandy track. The route then goes eastwards along the ridge. In spring and summer, this area is usually alive with the ground-nesting skylark and woodlark, which hover protectively near their nest sites. In the autumn, many different species of fungi will be visible, the most common of these being the picturesque fly agaric with its distinctive red cap covered in white spots. You may be surprised by the sudden flight and alarm call of the green woodpecker, as these are often seen on the common.
"Big congratulations to the Rotary Club of Farnham Wayside on another well marked and marshalled race - with superb co-ordination across such a large race distance. With the weather forecast looking 50/50 between bleak and very nice as a low pressure rotated gently over London and drifted eastward, the risk of rain from Wales coming south and catching the race was uncertain. At the Challenge Henley triathon only about 25 miles away and almost due north of the race it lashed it down for much of the morning, so wet weather gear was adopted just in case.
It proved however to be a near perfect day with the temperature staying in the 16 to 18 DegC range, no really harsh sunshine and almost no breeze to talk of - until much later in the day when it decided to rain really hard at the finish from about 2pm. The upshot of this was the first runners home were making good time with the marathon winner exactly 10 minutes faster than last year - and the overall times indicating just how tough an off-road route this is compared to a flat road course. This was the second ever running of the Pilgrim Marathon and Half Marathon, with 303 and 490 competitors finishing each race respectively, an increase on last years numbers.
As one runner noted - "there's pubs all the way along this route!" the answer being - well it is the Pilgrims Way..."
What race update would be complete without the traditional 'Wiki' information? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seale,_Surrey
Seale is a village in forming part of the civil parish of Seale and Sands. It is located on the south side of the Hog's Back between Farnham and Guildford and is part of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It also lies on the Pilgrims' Way. The parish covers about 8 miles east to west and 3 miles north to south, but most of this is open countryside. The parish of Seale (combined villages of Seale and Sands) has a population of 900, and the name Seale derives from the Anglo Saxon word for "hall" or, alternatively, for "willow".
In the valley at the foot of the Hog's Back lies the parish church of St Laurence, Seale. Adjacent to the church are farm buildings known as Manor Farm, now converted into craft shops and a tea room. Wood Lane, which runs from Seale Church and the Manor Farm centre up to the top of the Hog's Back, is probably named after the Wood family who leased Seale Manor Farm, including the land running up to the Hog's Back, from the Bishops of Winchester for three lives from 1839 (although they sold their interest in 1856).
The church was established in the 12th century as an outpost of Waverley Abbey. The bell tower houses a peal of six bells, the oldest and largest forged in the 16th century.The church was extensively restored and enlarged in about 1860. It is served by a Rector, who now also has care of the adjacent parishes of Puttenham and Wanborough. These three parishes were formally merged in 2004, although they retain their separate places of worship. Tongham was originally part of the parish of Seale, but it became an independent parish in 1866.
Seale Lodge, built as a gentleman's residence in the 19th century, was demolished in about 1970, but some older cottages now called Seale Lodge Cottages stand opposite the church. The village school is now closed and converted into a private house. However, there is still a village hall, near the old school. There are no shops or pubs in Seale and there is no railway station.
Apart from the houses near the old school, most of the houses in the parish are grouped further south, along Binton Lane, and in a settlement called The Sands, which is part of the parish of Seale, but separate from Seale village. The Sands has a public house, The Barley Mow, but its local shop and post office (Sands Stores) has now closed down. Binton Farm takes its name from a Saxon settlement of Binton, probably from a Saxon personal name.
Seale is part of the hundred of Farnham and its downland was originally part of the large and rich manor of Farnham, owned by the Bishops of Winchester, who retained rights of warren and other manorial privileges into the 19th century. Like other parts of Surrey, however, it then and since attracted people wishing to live in a rural environment within easy reach of other centres of work, including London.
Most of the agricultural land in Seale now belongs to the Hampton Estate, centred on Hampton Lodge, an 18th century mansion. This estate is an early 20th century aggregation of the land formally owned by the Long family of Hampton, together with agricultural land formerly attached to Seale Lodge, and agricultural and parkland formerly comprising the Great Down estate, centred on another mansion at the top of the Hog's Back, Great Down, which was demolished in the 1950s. The Hampton Estate was acquired by Eustace Thornton in 1929. He was succeeded by his son, Sir Richard Thornton, KCVO, OBE, who was Lord Lieutenant of Surrey 1986-1997. It is now run by Sir Richard's daughter and son-in-law, Bridget and Bill Biddell.
At an earlier period, as evidenced by memorials in Seale church, the main landowner was the Woodroffe family (of whom two, David and Nicholas, father and son, were Sheriffs of London in 1554 and 1573 respectively), and later, by descent through a female line, the Chester family. They were seated at Poyle, Tongham, on the other side of the Hog's Back, whose landholdings extended into Seale parish (although Tongham itself became an independent parish in 1866). The mansion at Poyle Park is now demolished and the Poyle estates were broken up in the twentieth century; an interior from Poyle Park, however, is now on display in the Museum of London.
For a different slant: http://www.exploringsurreyspast.org.uk/themes/places/surrey/guildford/puttenham
On the western fringes of Surrey, the village, is hidden in the valley below the southern slopes of the Hog’s Back, five miles west of Guildford. The narrow chalk ridge of the North Downs slopes gently down into the village but the land soon rises again to a wide area of heathland on the lower greensand of Puttenham Common. The River Wey forms the southern boundary of the parish.
The remains of many flints, left by Neolithic man, have been discovered in the fields and on the heaths. The banks of Iron Age Hillbury fort can still be seen on the Common. The village has Saxon origins and the medieval field system has left reminders in the names of Suffield and Highfield lanes. Rodsall Manor is mentioned in Domesday Book, and Cuttmill House was originally the village mill. The church is Norman.
The village has a long agricultural history and in the 19th century over three quarters of the inhabitants worked on the land or had jobs such as blacksmiths, wheelwrights or carters. In 1874 the main crops were hops, wheat and mangolds. There is still a large acreage of hops in the centre of the village, grown in what is now the last remaining hop garden in Surrey.
Farm buildings along the village street, date from the 14th to 19th centuries but are now all converted into houses, as are their barns and hop kilns. There are many old cottages, some built of brick, others of local stone and flint. Outlying farms at Shoelands and Lascombe have been converted into business units. The old coaching inn on the Hog’s Back, where coaches changed horses on the way to Southampton, is gone; the Jolly Farmer is now a ‘Harvester’ and all the shops have closed. But there is still a village inn, golf course, bowling green and recreation ground, as well as a flourishing school and village hall.
Puttenham Common http://www.surreywildlifetrust.org/reserves/show/65
Puttenham Common is managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust as a place for people to visit and enjoy as well as for its extensive wildlife. The Common is owned by Hampton Estates and is open to the public under an access agreement with Surrey County Council.
Much of the common has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest because it lies on the acidic Folkstone Beds of the Lower Greensand and represents the fragmented remains of what was once a much larger area of heathland. Heathland is virtually a man-made environment. There is a hill fort at the highest point of the common, which is thought to be pre-Roman with some evidence of iron-age peoples. This indicates that the land has been occupied and worked for thousands of years. The soil is nutrient poor and free draining. Clearance of the tree cover by early man led to a heathland landscape comprising of low growing shrubs such as heather and gorse. This would have been maintained over time by grazing animals, wood collection for fuel and turf stripping for thatch. Many species have evolved and adapted to this environment and are now dependent upon it for their existence.
This practice has declined over the last century and particularly in the last thirty years. If the area is not grazed or cut regularly, the heathland quickly reverts to scrub and woodland and the heathland species suffer accordingly. Today Puttenham Common is mainly covered by birch, oak scrub and bracken but two large open areas of heathland do still remain. Work is currently being undertaken to restore and connect these by small-scale tree removal, reducing the bracken and scrub and encouraging heather growth. This work is supported by DEFRA and Natural England.
Generals Pond The pond is thought to have been named after General James Oglethorpe who owned the Priory Manor in Puttenham during the middle of the 18th century. As a young officer he served in the Prince of Savoy’s army against the Turks and was commended for bravery in the Battle of Belgrade in 1717. On his return he took up the family parliamentary seat of Haslemere and took a great interest in humanitarian issues, particularly prison conditions and the welfare of the poor. This led him to found the (American) Colony of Georgia as a place for the “worthy poor (and reformed prisoners) to remake their lives”. He was well known to many of the great people of the age, including Samuel Johnson, John Wesley and Thomas Paine. In later life he was involved in founding institutions such as hospitals and university colleges, and the British Museum.
The pond was hand dug and lined with clay, to be used as a ‘stew pond’ to allow young fish to grow to a sufficient size before they were released into the larger lakes on the estate. It is an important area for dragonflies and in the summer months you can see them flying around and catching insects on the wing or fiercely defending their territories.
Hillbury This hill fort is probably pre-Roman and the area was extensively occupied during the Roman period. Charles Kerr, the curate of Puttenham between 1869 and 1876, carried out excavations in the area and found various artefacts from many periods but the majority were Roman. The fort is a scheduled ancient monument and provides good views of the Hogs Back to the north and the hills surrounding the Devils Punch Bowl to the south.
Lascombe The house on the hill is Lascombe House and is a fine example of an early design of Edwin Lutyens and was built in 1898. The trail drops down into a valley and up the other side to the crossroads. Turn left here and go up the hill and across the main sandy track. The route then goes eastwards along the ridge. In spring and summer, this area is usually alive with the ground-nesting skylark and woodlark, which hover protectively near their nest sites. In the autumn, many different species of fungi will be visible, the most common of these being the picturesque fly agaric with its distinctive red cap covered in white spots. You may be surprised by the sudden flight and alarm call of the green woodpecker, as these are often seen on the common.
