My Race review of The Hurt Half Marathon Saturday 6th June 2015.
On Saturday 6th June myself and 3 others took part in what I can only describe as the toughest race without any obstacles that I have ever run called The Hurt which took place in Peaslake, Surrey.
The start of the race was a nice run across a field making or way down to a clearing in the forest below which caused a slight delay due to the amount of people entering a narrow forest path before the muddy track opened up to allow overtaking. What seamed like an ordinary trial run soon changed just after the 2 kilometre mark when we started our 1st climb I which was gradual at first then a brief plateau before a very steep drop with the footing getting very tricky due to the width of the path and the hundreds of tree roots and uneven ground that made the Quads, Hamstrings, Calves start to burn and me turning my ankle which I managed to run off after about 10 minutes,although it was still painful when I turned . As I approached the bottom I was met by marshals who safely guided the runners across a quite country road and everybody was relieved that we were now running on flat ground or so it seemed for about 100 metres and then we realised what comes down must go up as we started to attempt to run up what I thought was the biggest hill I had tried ever run up. But unfortunately I was forced to stop and walk, along with everyone else due to the sheer steepness, terrain and heat. After reaching the top I managed to resume more of a pace before realising that it that it was only phase 1 of the climb as the pathway became narrow again forcing me to really dig deep pushing on my legs just to finally arrive at the top and the 1st welcomed drink station which was manned by some very encouraging volunteers who were also giving out energy gels and jelly babies. I put a handful of jelly babies in my pocket before running back into the forest winding in and out before doubling back on ourselves crossing the same road as earlier although further along. Once safely over the road we approached another steep climb, although this time it was wider which gave room to overtake a few more people as they stopped to walk, although as I approached the top I started to regret pushing so hard as my legs were burning like never before.
This meant having digging in like never before as I realised despite another small group passing me I was still on for about 2 hour 15 minute finish despite the hills from hell!
The forest path of tree roots, loose ground and other trip,hazards now became gravel which became tricky underfoot before a slow descend back down, in and out the forest again doubling back crossing the road up another hill and down back through the narrow path we entered at the beginning of the race across the fields back towards the start to finish the 1st lap of this 2 lap course and another welcomed drink station. This is where again I loaded up with jelly babies as I knew I would definately need them on the 2nd lap, as I was now starting to wilt in the scorching heat and my hay fever was adding to the difficulty.
Shortly after starting the 2nd lap I saw one of bootcamp girls approaching the the finish point of her 1st lap and all I kept thinking was I better dig deep or she will catch me. This really drove me on as over took more people than any other time of the race as we approached the first hill and managed to keep pushing on.By this time I spotted the other Bootcamp girls who were clearly finding it tough but determined to push through their pain barrier and continue.
As I approached the next and last drink station after 2 more steep hills and downhill forest runs where due to sheer tiredness seemed to go on for ever and the footing become tougher to maintain balance at times I remember thinking this is undoubtedly the hardest run I had ever done as my legs were on fire, my heart was beating and everything seemed to ache in some way. However after another 4 or 5 jelly babies and a couple of quick cups of water, I realised that I must push on and tackle the last 5 kilometres of the course at a quicker pace if I was going to achieve 2 hours and 15 minute target. Despite appearing to be quicker over the last 5 kilometres including the hills and a fast finish through the forest into the clearing and over the fields to the finish line I finally managed to cross the line broken in 2 hours 22 minutes. After stretching off, encouraging the bootcamp girls across the finish line and enjoying my recovery shake and banana I felt pleased that I had completed The Hurt Half Marathon whilst really appreciating where the name The Hurt can from as this was a hard course.
Absolutely great challenge though, that I thoroughly enjoyed despite how hard it had been and recommend to anyone that enjoys off road running with 2 distances available, 10.5k or 21k ( Half Marathon) . The views are spectacular at the top looking out over Surrey and I look forward to doing this event in the future with the aim of breaking the 2 hour mark!
