Race 11 : The Steyning Stinger

Race: The Steyning Stinger

Distance: 13.1

Time: 2 hours 22 mins

The Stenying Stinger is here again! I’d been so excited about getting to run this race for the second time. I ran it for the first time last year and it was one of the best racing memories I have. The relaxed staggered start, the ultra challenging course, the water stops complete with bite size Mars Bar chunks for energy, the amazing music I had getting me through it, the fry up at the end and of course the beautiful crisp cold day with nothing but sunshine and blue skies…. All this and more would be guaranteed again this year right? I moan a lot about uninspiring weather in this blog, but the morning of the Stenying stinger this year was a real blow. (quite literally gale force winds at points!). It was CHUCKING it down, and as we huddled in in the canteen of Stenying grammar school getting ready for the race I gawped in horror when the lady giving the pre-race announcements advised that “up on the hills I can report that the rain is HORIZONTAL and there are at LEAST 40MPH winds….”

I didn’t feel nervous as such - just sad about the fact that it was potentially going to ruin the memories I had of this race from the previous glorious year. Alex and I chose to start quite early on in the staggered starts- very soon after 8:30. The rain was pelting down as we got off on our way through the flat and boggy field to start. Alex soon disappeared way off in front of me and left me to find my own pace. The start of the race is relatively flat- first through a muddy field and then paved footpaths that wind through the Wiston Estate.

The climbs start soon after this with the first major one taking us up through some extremely muddy woods. For some reason I decided I was going to dodge the puddles- which was absolutely fruitless- but I kept at it anyway. Some of the puddles in the woods really looked like you could disappear right up to your middle in them! One of which i dropped one of my gloves into.There is a nasty chalky hill that follows the wooded section and then by mile 4 you drop back down and find yourself running through the very beautiful village of Washington before the first ‘Sting’ aka mega bi*ch of a hill. It was pretty sad running up this hill this time around as I remember getting to the top of it last year and just being hit with the most beautiful view! None of that this year! Best just to keep on running I suppose.

The half way point of this race is my favourite. After a few ghastly climbs there is a little bit of relief in the form of some undulating hills up on the top of the downs. The sun decided it would honor the memory I had of this part of the race from the year before and came out. It was glorious and if anything (am I ever happy?) a little TOO warm as I was wrapped up for wind and rain.Miles 9 and 10 find you in the middle of the worst hill of the race. It just goes on and on and on. I tackled it with the 30 walk and 30 run technique but despite my best intentions I sometimes had to walk for a little longer than 30 seconds.

Once at the top you are rewarded with the lovely sight of Chanctonbury Ring- which i always love to see. The final 2/3 miles of the race are all pretty much downhill which slows me right down! Underfoot it was rocky, rooty and VERY muddy - I also twisted my ankle during this part of the race last year so was a lot more cautious than perhaps I would have been had I not done this race before.

The weather decided I would like to end the race the same way I started it- in the pouring rain. Thanks for that weather. I finished the race feeling pretty strong and once the ground levelled out for the final run through the flat boggy fields I was able to pick up my pace. I couldn’t quite catch the two Burgess Hill Runners I’d been having a little race within a race with though- they just got to much of a lead on me on the downhill section.It was lovely to celebrate with the famous Stenying stinger fry up and I also got some kisses from a border collie puppy so all was wonderful in the world. I also finished 7 minutes faster than I did last year. All these races are finally paying off!

#Running #trainrun #girlsrun #race #halfmarathon #steyningstinger #trailrace #sussextrailrace