Race 21: Lindfield Village Run

Race: Lindfield Village Run

Distance: 6.4 Miles (Roughly 10K)

Time: 68 Minutes

Race 21 came the day after race 20. I woke up absolutely FULL of beans and for some crazy reason 100% up for another day of racing. I must be mad! (or buzzing off the endorphins from the day before still). We left Shoreham in the rain but arrived to Lindfield in the BLAZING sunshine, it was hot hot HOT. The race was incredibly well attended this year- with over 1000 people descending on Pickers Green in sleepy Lindfield to run either 5K or 10K on a very hot and muggy Bank Holiday Monday.

There were so many people trying to register on the day that the races were actually delayed by 15 minutes each to allow enough time to get everyone signed up. While waiting around for the race to start it was lovely to see so many faces- both friends and family were there to either offer support or to run the race also!

We waved off my bro in law’s girlfriend on her first 5K trail race and we huddled in the shade for a further 15 minutes while we waited for the 10K to start. Despite all this waiting around when the start came I was not ready. I was still faffing around trying to get my music to work. The race starts with a pretty nasty gravelly up hill which slows a lot of people right down. I tried to pick my way around the side as I started further back than I would have liked. It was a crowded start not best suited to the narrow public footpaths and numerous stiles/ kissing gates so I knew right then and there that I just needed to relax and enjoy it… it’s not a PB course!

The queue for one of the stiles was so bad that Oli (my brother in law) and I actually had a full on chat before our turn came to climb over! It was incredible how absolutely drenched in sweat we were so early on in the race. Humid! Once we were over the race opened up slightly and I tried to get in front of a few people so I could find a comfortable pace. It was a slip slidy race in places due to the thunderstorm that occurred the night before and I was very happy to be wearing my trail shoes as I took the ‘through’ option rather than dodging the puddles. Mud mud, glorious mud!

It’s a great course, and beautiful to boot! Mostly off road with some great sights (and a couple of stinger hills) thrown in. I always love the part of the course that cuts past the lower half of Ardingly reservoir - a breeze was coming off the water and it was the only drinks stop of the race - two lovely little bits of relief for the price of one. The next part of the course I like is running through Ardingly college, aside from the massive tarmac hill we have to climb to get through the campus, the buildings and the grounds are very beautiful.

The end of this course is always an unwelcome slog. You think that you are nearly there when you hit 6 miles and enter the village but the course is almost 6.5 so you have to grit your teeth and push on through (mostly up hill and through narrow footpaths) to get back to Pickers Green. The race ends on a downhill on the slope where we started. I picked up the pace in a big way on the down hill and sprinted my little heart out to the finish line. Overall it was a slow old race in terms of average pace- mostly due to a very crowded course and the sheer heat of the day but I had a big smile on my face as I finished. I gave my friend Billie a very sweaty hug and posed for a few group pictures before heading to some family friends for perhaps the best shower of my life followed by heaps of food. Happy Bank holiday indeed.