And hes done - Nice work @tunster
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Well done @tunster !
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An hour faster than last year - pretty pleased with that
More later when I have had a pint and some scran
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Good work buddy!!
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Excellent work mate 
Wow!! Thatâs a brilliant effort 
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Friday - get the train down from Manchester to Worthing with Mrs T and Oska - not his first time on a train but was his first time on the underground to get across from Euston to Victoria which he handled brilliantly.
Race morning - set off at 7.30 for the start at Worthing College - a 1.3 mile walk. Too early for breakfast at the hotel some I would be starting the race fuelled by 2 blueberry muffins.
Met a friend at the start who was running the race - he is also doing Brighton marathon today with his daughter so declared that he wasnât going to really push the pace.
First 10km is a steady climb with a couple of runnable bits up to Chactonbury Ring on the SDW.
I had set myself a target of 1hr 10 min per 10km which would give me a decent goal to keep focussed on while breaking the 80km down into chunks and would result in a time of 9hrs 20. Rather ambitious tbh given last year I did 10hr 48.
First 10km I was 4 mins down on the target but I knew that after Chactonbury there was a really long downhill which would get me to the first aid station at 20km. Made that net 4 mins up. So far so good.
This approach seemed to serve me well until about 50km when I was still on target when there was a section with multiple steep climbs and not enough time to make up the walking sections.
Still, the kms were ticking along nicely and a very stiff tailwind was massively helpful.
Got to the Southease aid station knowing that there was a really long gruelling climb coming up which would be really exposed. The crosswinds were horrendous but knew that I just had to grit it out to Alfriston which was nice and sheltered.
At Alfriston there were only 2 steep climbs to go. Sub 10 was still on which was a massive motivator.to get in and out quickly.
The climb out of Alfriston was a long steep hike. 10km to go arrived with 1 hr 20 to go sub 10.
Ran past the last aid station at Jevington with 6km to go - not stopping as it was only an hour max to the finish line.
Words of support and encouragement from @p00key via WhatsApp gratefully received. A more blunt message of encouragement from my son.
Last climb was 20 mins and after that a decent downhill blast down a narrow gulley and took some places there - then onto the mean streets of Eastbourne for the final 2km. I was pretty sure that at this point that the sub 10 was in the bag.
Onto the track at Eastbourne Sports park - I had 4 people behind me and wasnât about to let them overtake - felt like I was thrashing it but was 5:15min/km pace which after 79km wasnât too shabby. Over the finish line in 9:50
Really chuffed.
164/650
5761 cals burned
499TSS
99,388 steps
Picked up my massive rucksack and then walked back to the hotel 4.5km away - with Mrs T and the dog (I think that this was quite beneficial to keep the legs moving but didnât quite feel like that at the time.
All in all a grand day out.
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Top 25% finish, you were slaying. Definitely built on your past experience, well done you.
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Brilliant effort, well done buddy. Iâve tried setting 90 mins per 10km at various races, with limited success. Canât even imagine 70mins/10km!
Rest up. Whatâs next?
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Next up Thames Path 100 in 3 weeks
Yesterday was probably not ideal preparation 
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You could always do one of the canal races to get to the start. 
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Great report - very jealous I had to pull out - but have to be sensible for once. TP100 will be interesting with it being so flat - no road shoes this time eh 
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Tempted maybe to swap them out at halfway but that then means going trail for the second half which can be annoying as they are a slightly slimmer fit and can be uncomfortable changing
On reflection I think the same shoes from the weekend which served me well unless we are forecast for 3 weeks of baking heat (which I doubt)
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My Northern Traverse replacement service, the Wild Horse 200, departs Chepstow at 6am Wednesday morning, this will be a slow service stopping at every excuse for a breather. Expected to arrive at Wormâs Head sometime, maybe Saturday if there are no unexpected delays. Service updates can be viewed here:
Iâll drive down to Worms Head tomorrow morning and take the provided bus to Chepstow for registration. This is way beyond anything I have attempted before, no idea how it will go.
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The very best of luck to you Doug. 
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Brilliant - we will be following - best of luck
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Have an amazing race Doug 
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Craziness!
I love it.
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Weather looks decent, some April showers, not too windy, not too hot, not too cold.
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Aye, you keep telling yourself that. Itâs April, youâll be getting 4 seasons in a day 
.
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