RACE 49 - HELLRUNNER - 27 November

Its been slightly over a month since the last time I raced, I've almost forgotten what it was like to get up early with adrenalin coursing through my veins! Well in all honesty, probably not the latter - more a grudging opening of the eyes on Sunday morning at 6:30 (ish).

Since the last time I've had four weeks of 'tash growing, getting odd looks as I walk down the street, mothers with small children crossing the road, sniggers following wherever I go. So here's a picture of how it ended up. Scary isn't it?  Never mind it was all for a good cause and the sheer joy when it came off was an indescribable relief.


Described as offering "trail running at its toughest and most enjoyable (hmm?) 10-12 miles (more like 9 according to other competitors Garmins) of challenging off-road running ...tough, twisting trails (oh yes and did they mention steep?) ... including the famed Hills of Hell (sand dunes - very difficult to run on especial as they come right near the end when you're wet, muddy and tired) and the Bog of Doom (like the Ronseal ads - does exactly what it says on the tin!). All in all as it states "Punishment of the sole [sic] ... redemption of the mind." There are pictures and a short video on the website - http://www.hellrunner.co.uk/

Picked up Pete Mac (races 21, 33, 41, and 43) at Brixton tube at 7:30 and made our way out of London on the A3. It wasn't too cold (unlike last year which was sub-zero) but it was a bit drizzly. Making good time we got to Hindhead to find that the new tunnel, part of the Hindhead bypass was now open and saved us a considerable amount of time.  The Hindhead Tunnel ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindhead_Tunnel ) opened in July 2011 forming part of the 4 mile dual-carriageway built to replace the last remaining stretch of single-carriageway on the 68-mile London to  Portsmouth road. At 1.2 miles the tunnel is the longest non-estuarial road tunnel in the United Kingdom,and takes the road beneath the Devil's Punch Bowl (everything seems to have satanic links in this blog), a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It was also a scheme I had worked on back in the mid 90's where I had assisted in part of the Environmental Impact Assessment.


A digression (edited from Wikipedia - where else?) - the name Devil's Punch Bowl dates from at least 1768, the year that John Rocque's map of the area was published. Prior to 1768 it was marked as "ye Bottom" on a map by John Ogilby dated 1675. The soil in this part of Surrey has two layers — an upper layer of sandstone, with clay beneath. This deep depression is believed to be the result of erosion caused by spring water beneath the sandstone, causing the upper level to collapse. With its steep sides, the Devil's Punch Bowl has become a natural nature reserve, filled with heathland, streams and woodland. Local legend has a much more colourful theory as to its creation. According to one story, during the Middle Ages the Devil became so irritated by all the churches being built in Sussex that he decided to dig a channel from the English Channel, through the South Downs, and flood the area. As he began digging, he threw up huge lumps of earth, each of which became a local landmark — such as Chanctonbury Ring, Cissbury Ring (sites visited in races 10 and 19), Mount Caburn and Rackham Hill. He got as far as the village of Poynings (an area known as the Devil's Dyke) when he was disturbed by a cock crowing (one version of the story claims that it was the prayers of St Dunstan that made all the local cocks crow earlier than usual). Assuming that dawn was about to break, he leapt into Surrey, creating the Devil's Punch Bowl where he landed.


Another story goes that, in his spare time, he hurled lumps of earth at the god Thor to annoy him. The hollow he scooped the earth out of became the Punch Bowl. The nearby village of Thursley means Thor's place. A still older story claims that two giants clashed in the area, and one, scooping up earth to throw at the other, created the landmark before missing the throw and creating the Isle of Wight.


Coming out the other side of the tunnel, two things became apparent. Firstly we were going to be comfortably early and secondly, the rain was coming down in stair rods! We were going to get wet. 


We arrived at the Longmoor army camp (see information at the end) - well a very muddy part of it anyway. In effect a large open piece of land that was accessed by a long single track 'road' for want of a better word that ran parallel to the A3 for about a mile, crossed over and then went back for about a mile - so we were pretty much back where we'd started but on the other side of the road. It was all churned up partly due to the rain but partly as they run the race both on Saturday and then again on the Sunday.  This of course also applies to the run route ~ being equally churned up from the day before.

Pete and I got ready huddling by the car until there was nothing for it but to make our way towards the start area - a 15 minute walk. We got talking to a bloke and his father who was there supporting him. Comparing races done, possible times, all those kind of runner-y things (found out the following week when we bumped into them again at The Grim that he'd finished in 8th!) On the way the rain actually stopped and by the time we reached the start area there was actually blue sky! Talk about lucky! Also they had re-organised the bag-drop, toilets, registration, in fact pretty much everything and it was far less hassle than the previous year. Everything ran so smoothly that we even had time for a pre-race cuppa. The only downside was there wasn't much space to have a warm-up jog on account of the army camp being largely off-limits due to preparing soldiers for a tour in Afghanistan.

We positioned ourselves fairly near the front, as a problem with these large scale events (over 1800 runners on Sunday) is one of congestion on the narrow trails. So you need to go off fairly fast in order to spread out the field and not end up queuing through some of the obstacles or narrow steep bits. The start consisted of a devil (on stilts)striding towards us with his staff belching red and green smoke. He exhorted us to do something but the noise was too much to hear exactly what and then the fireworks went off and so were we. The first mile was mainly on tracks so you could find a rhythm and sort out your pacing before hitting the wooded heathland. The ground got rougher and the inclines steeper ~ but hardly enough to justify the name "Hellrunner".  For the first four miles or so it was 'just' a cross country run. Then came the escarpment. We ran up, along the edge with the amazing views over the heath towards some cheering spectators. We found out why. We went straight down a very steep rocky gulley, turned around and then had to run/scramble straight back up another. One runner complained "what's the bl**dy point of that?" To be told that as it was Hellrunner "what did he bl**dy expect?" However following that it went back into cross country mode, albeit the 'inclines' were considerably steeper and some people started to resort to walking up them. Also there were one or two puddles, no more than calf-deep that had to be negotiated which added the "really wet feet" dimension to the race. 

The noise from the A3 was gradually becoming more apparent as we headed westwards, as was the noise of cheering crowds and thunder flashes. The "Bog of Doom" approached! We approached it on twisting trails through woods which tripped the tired and unwary as we were at about mile seven at this point and beginning to tire. The doom laden bog consists unsurprisingly of a bog with added features of fireworks suspended above, smoke bombs going off, cheering spectators ~ the loudest cheers for those who for one reason or another, either voluntary or involuntarily managed to immerse themselves totally in the mucky chest-deep ooze. I can only assume this is a key part of army training and not just built for the "enjoyment" of us competitors. As you can see I emerged reasonably unscathed. 

Having just run approximately seven miles you were needless to say reasonably warmed up, to then to plunge into rather cold muddy water, was a bit of a shock to the system. Emerging we found then we had to run up a hill with barely moving limbs. A bit more cross country, just to get the legs moving again and the lungs bursting as it was mainly up a gully then down a gully, before another ridiculously steep ascent to be faced with an almost sheer drop  into a narrow, waist deep lake. the look on my face is one of apprehension as we then had to climb back out up an equally steep slope, along a bit and then another, shallower but muddier traverse. This done, it was then the sand dunes. The previous year it had been freezing, so the water was numbing but the sand was frozen so made running/staggering that much easier. This year, while the water was 'warmer' i.e. there wasn't any ice, the sand was nice and loose and ankle deep. I don't know if you've ever tried to run on sand dunes but it isn't easy and saps your strength. Try that following a hard seven mile cross country, followed by dunking in mud/water/other stuff in between which you stagger up and down some hills, and the name of the race suddenly becomes more understandable. Basically they tire you out and then make you suffer! However the name "Hellrunner" might just give it away? 


After the dunes, encouraged onwards by some very pretty marshals (I was tired - not blind) through another water filled gully and back on to the track. Seeing the crowds ahead and knowing that we were only 500m from the finish, a couple of put on a spurt of speed - well a relative 'spurt' at any rate and pulled ahead. A sprint / stagger to the finish to see me beaten by -another 'grey-haired gentleman' - that'll show the youngsters!


Unlike last year when the bag drop was a nightmare of queueing in freezing temperatures and a biting wind, this year it was a example of efficient planning. Virtually no waiting around meaning you could get warm and dry clothes on quickly and enabling you to get back to the finish to cheer on the other competitors. Cups of tea completed the warming up ritual prior to us making our way back to the car for the drive home.

RESULT: 136 (4th in 50+) out of 1842 in a time of 1.23.44

I did have a good 'rummage' through Wikipedia but couldn't find a lot about the area, I suppose unsurprisingly as it is an army base. However I did find a few snippets - edited below:


Longmoor Military Camp is a British Army training camp and training area on the A3 road between Liss and Liphook in Hampshire. The village of Greatham lies to the south.

The camp includes Nissen huts, a school house, messing facilities, cinema and theatre. The main street of the camp is built on an ancient Roman road, the Chichester to Silchester Way [see below]. The training areas consist of 1783 hectares of wooded areas, heath, wetlands and hard standings.

The majority of the area is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and forms part of the European designated Wealden Heaths Special Protection Area and Special Area of Conservation. In addition to military use, the area is used by the Goschen foxhounds, Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray foxhounds, and the Hampshire hunt.

The camp was formerly home to 79 Railway Squadron (United Kingdom) The modern day 79 Railway Squadron is part of the 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps of the British Army. They are responsible for maintaining and providing the British Army with its railway transportation requirements.

Originally, the Railway Squadron started life in the Royal Engineers at Longmoor where they were known as the Longmoor Military Railway and operated steam locomotives. The Squadron eventually moved to Monchengladbach in West Germany and in the fullness of time became 79 Railway Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport. The locomotives were all diesel and for a while the future of the squadron seemed uncertain until 1983, when a multi-million pound makeover was begun. New locomotives started to arrive and the operating yard at Monchengladbach got a makeover.

Longmoor Military Railway formerly connected the camp to the mainline rail network, but was closed in 1969.

The Chichester to Silchester Way is a Roman Road between Chichester in South-East England, which as Noviomagus was capital of the Regnenses, and Silchester or Calleva Atrebatum, capital of the Atrebates. The road had been entirely lost and forgotten, leaving no Saxon place names as clues to its existence, until its chance discovery through aerial photography in 1949. Only 6 kilometres of the 62 kilometres  long road remain in use. The road forms the central track of Longmoor Military Camp, then north of the A3 road passes west of Woolmer Pond near Greatham, with an alignment change as it crosses the A325 road.