Hunstanton, Beat The Tide

Richard had mentioned this one and I was immediately intrigued.

1. It’s in Hunstanton which is such a sweet little seaside town.
2. It’s in Hunstanton and therefore only an hour and a quarter away from me by car.
3. It’s running on sand
4. It’s running on sand
5. It’s running on sand – that’s so cool.

This event was run by the Stroke Association and hopefully raised a nice chunk of change for the cause. Entry fee was 20 pounds for 10k run and 5 pounds for the 5k option. I went for the 10 and my wife Carrie entered for the 5k.

We stretched out in one line and then all surged forward trying to come to terms with this strange substance underfoot. It’s not like soil and it’s not like mud. It is wet sand rippled with ridges that seem to dig into the soles of your running shoe. We were moving right and left trying to find tracks with fewer ridges and then we hit an altogether new and exciting texture which might be best described as The Mighty Gloop. Every step sank into the sand and the hole you were sinking into seemed to be trying to claw the shoes from your feet. We began to think longingly of those happier times when we had nothing to worry about other than the slight discomfort of rippling sand. The runners ploughed onwards through the mire, as they forged a furrow through the sludgy sand. We spied the turn around point of 2.5k where we would circle the flag and run back to where we had begun. Here the ground underfoot became so wet that we were actually halted in our stride. Momentum was no longer possible and we all slowed to a stride reminiscent a dazed orangutan with two wooden legs, one being shorter than the other. We somehow succeeded in circling the flag and firing back along the trail. This time however the route had fired us out on to a rocky shingle section of the beach. Ordinarily we might have met this uneven surface with some trepidation but now it seemed like the most delightful running track in the universe. We were making progress once more.

It seemed to take a long time to get back to the start as the sand continued to try and make off with my shoes. Many were the fellow runners who lost their footwear that day.

We circled the start flag and set off once more. The 5k runners were coming in to finish and looking mighty relieved about it. Carrie was one of those and we high fived as we passed by.

I was feeling a little better by now. I knew all that lay ahead of me (so I thought) and felt that I could cope with it. It got even better when I realised that they had re-routed us at the far end of the course so that we avoided the silliest section. There were surprises still in store. I had thought the ‘beat the tide’ title to have been used for dramatic affect. Imagine my surprise when I was suddenly confronted with a fairly deep section of water. Beat the tide was far more literal than I had expected.

Overall it was a terrific experience. It was a slow run but a tough one. It was full of excitement, adventure and strangeness but it all made for a fun time.

The scenery was delightful, the weather was gorgeous and we were able to cool off with a swim in the sea afterwards.

I may go back next year. I wonder if it would be easier attempting this one barefoot.