Bevendean Down parkrun - event 313

On the 10th June 2023 I ran the Bevendean Down parkrun which was the 313th event held at the venue, my 134th parkrun and 63rd different course I'd attended.

Every now and then I get a response to my weekly message on the boys WhatsApp group when I post where I'm running on the Saturday ahead. A couple of weeks back I'd mentioned to my friend Mark that I had a tough course coming up, Bevendean Down. But when he found out where it was he told me that Brighton was too far to go for a 5k. But when I wrote my WhatsApp update I made it sound as appealing as I could and I was therefore surprised when Mark replied back for further details.

What time will we be back?

What time will you pick me up?

Are you thinking about it then Mark?

Maybe...

And so I found myself with company travelling down the M23 bright and early on Saturday morning as we head down to the south coast on the hottest day of the year for one of parkruns toughest challenges.

Bevendean Down parkrun is one of five parkrun events in the Brighton and Hove area and has the smallest average attendance of around 34 people a week. For context the nearby Preston Park event averages 383.

As well as it's reputation for being a tough course, it's not especially accessible, located on the downs at the northern edge of town with no real parking access except for street parking, which can be problematic in itself when Brighton and Hove Albion are playing nearby at the Amex Stadium.

Mark and I followed the instructions as listed on the course event page and parked on the road nearby the Bevy pub. There wasn't any space in the carpark and as the pub was nestled on a hill and the footpath to the parkrun venue was further uphill I drove as close as I could before parking opposite the alleyway that leads you directly to the downs.

We arrived before 8:30 and so had plenty of time to explore the event venue. From the alleyway that leads between two houses directly into a field via a kissing gate. The field rises up in the distance ahead and you start to get a flavour of what is to come.

The meeting point and welcome briefing takes place at the south west corner of the field, a short distance from the kissing gate. It was actually a quite remarkable welcome meeting as all 34 participants were gathered around, giving the whole thing a rather intimate feeling. I've been to parkruns where the first timers briefing was over 100 people, so to have a full briefing of that size certainly was a unique experience.

With the weather being as hot and warm as it was, the long grassland of the field and the paths were bone dry. As we made our way across to the opposite side of the field in the south east corner to the start we avoided the dried cow pats and admired the views across the valley to the fields opposite and further afield across Brighton and Hove and the wind farm out to sea.

The start line is nestled right in the corner of the south east edge of the field. Heading back west along the edge of the field the path undulates gently before turning right to start the long climb uphill.

My aim was to make it around without stopping. I didn't really have a time in mind, but knew with the terrain and the weather that there wasn't going to be any PB attempts, I just wanted to say I'd run the whole thing without stopping. I didn't even make it half way around before breaking that promise to myself.

After a steady rise the path turns left and flattens out a little bit to give your legs and lungs a rest before the next slog. I had managed to hang on to Mark and keep a steady rhythm, but the course turned right again and headed back up towards the heavens.

A long, steep incline rose upwards and as we reached the half way point fatigue got the better of me and my gentle jog turned into a gradual walking pace. Mark carried on going and gradually disappeared into the distance. At the top of the hill the path levelled out and we followed the perimeter of the field around and made our way back down the gentle sloping hill back to the start in the south east corner in readiness for our second lap.

Queen Elizabeth and Lullingstone both had epic hills, but both had equally epic down hills. The downhills at Bevendean are obvious rewards for the hard work you put in going up, but it's not on the same scale of fun as the other two just mentioned. 

On the second lap, my head turned to mush and I was overheating, not coping with the temperature nor the terrain. I barely made a light jog of any distance up either stretch of hill and instead walked up wishing I could start the day over again and do things a little bit differently.

Either way, I finished the course in 32:07 and placed 22nd out of a field of 34 participants. This recorded my highest ever parkrun finish, but I could only watch on in envy as Mark finished in 10th place. Richly rewarded by perseverance, strength of character and determination - all things I've got to keep working at to improve.