WSFRL - Valentines Run

Yesterday was the West Sussex Fun Run League's Valentines Run from Southwater.

This is the first time I have run this race so I didn't really know what to expect. The race instructions warned everyone that the car parking was about 5 mins from the Race HQ and the Race HQ was about 15 mins from the start...

One thing I will say is that it was lovely to be able to use the IBM car park, this got rid of all the normal parking problems and it really was only a few mins walk to the Race HQ.

Yesterday it rained. Not just drizzle but that horrible cold heavy rain. And it rained all day.

I met up with the other Steyning AC runners in the village hall to get my race number.... you know it is going to be muddy when everyone keeps warning you to make sure your trainers are tied up tightly....

We used the short distance to the start as a warm up jog... it seemed to be uphill all the way and I found it hard work. I always find the first mile of any run hard work, somedays it feels as though I have never run before in my life. Perhaps a late night the night before wasn't the best idea....

The first part of the race is on quiet country roads before it turns off in to the woods and the mud.

There was no way of avoiding the mud.

With the amount of rain we have had over the last 6 months there really was plenty of mud, and it was the type that goes over the top of your trainers and then grabs hold of them making every step so much harder..... In between the mud was the deep freezing cold puddles. It got to a point where I couldn't feel my fet any more and my legs just felt so heavy.

There were 2 good points though. 1) I didn't lose my trainers and 2) I didn't fall over !

After the woods we were in to water logged fields..... and then back on to muddy farm tracks, a bit more road and then the last farm track that led to the final stretch across a field to the finish !

I really enjoy the WSFRL races and it is the people from the other local clubs that you meet that make the races what they are.

By the end of this one I was soaked through, very muddy and when I stopped I got cold quite quickly.

But at the finish you got given a little heart shaped chocolate, what more could you ask from a race than chocolate at the finish !

Anyway, this was my race :) (I should add that I forgot to stop my watch at the finish and only remembered after I'd eaten my chocolate and had a drink !)