Last week I had the good fortune to spend a week on holiday near Crackington Haven. For those of you who don't know, Crackington is a small village on the North coast of Cornwall, about 15km South of Bude. I went with my wife, Beccy, and two dogs, Molly & Ginger- our trusty Rhodesian Ridgeback crosses.
Whilst this was a great opportunity to relax in the little chalet/cottage we had rented in Minehead- a stone's throw from Crackington- it was always going to be an active one too: right on the South West Coast Path (SWCP); Bude's 92m sea pool just up the road; and not to mention the fact that we'd taken our mountain bikes on the car using our Thule roof racks.
Mid-holiday I decided to do a long run from our accommodation, up the SWCP, and into Bude, where I would meet Beccy and M&G for lunch (and a planned dip in the sea pool). According to one walking route I'd checked it was 16km, which I thought would take me about an hour and a half, factoring the up and down of the route...
Setting off from Minehead a nice easy start through a couple of fields and then along a small track lead me into Crackington. From there I joined the SWCP for the first ascent of the day: a fairly tough start with about 600m in the region of 20%, I was disappointed to find afterwards that I'd missed out on challenging for the Strava segment as it finished further on than I'd guessed. However, with some amazing views at the headland overlooking Crackington I didn't mind and I did get one CR a bit later on!
It was quickly followed by a steep drop down the other side, and this pretty much typified the profile of the whole run! I made my way along the coast, passing by St Genny's, Dizzard, and Millook (love these names), with some tricky descents and brutal climbs that almost brought me to a stand-still- at one point as I left Millook it got to a ridiculous 37%! (see the detailed profile in my Strava record or an overview in the picture at the bottom).
This run was the first really tough test for my relatively new Salomon Fellraisers which I previously reviewed here, and they passed the test with flying colours: they coped well with the steep downhills and the challenging uphills; they were comfortable over the long distance; the lacing system maintained the shoes' good, snug fit; and they were good on loose scree, dry grass, and wet mud alike. The only criticism is that they struggle on smooth, damp surfaces like wet tarmac, wood, and flat rock, with a tendency to slide, but I doubt any sole will cope with every condition.
It's funny how your perceptions change though, as after that it seemed pretty easy- the baptism of fire that was the first 11km meant that the remainder of the run felt relatively flat (it wasn't). However, when I got to Widemouth Bay I opted to leave the path and run along the beach for about 1km. For those of you who have ever run on sand, you'll know that this can be much more draining than almost any other surface- not quite what I needed 13km in, but what can you do? I though I would be getting quite close by this point but a friendly lifeguard told me I had another few miles to go!
In the end I covered 20km in total, with 765m of ascent in a shade under 2h05min. Given the terrain I was pretty pleased with this time and pace. When I eventually arrived I was tempted to do a little 600m extra to loop back to the car park where I'd arranged to meet Beccy in order to make up half marathon distance, but I just didn't have it in me. There's also something nice about the round 20km!
After what was a pretty testing run I (perhaps understandably, perhaps lacking in moral fortitude) didn't have anything left in the tank to do a swim as well, so I stayed with M&G while Beccy enjoyed the sea pool.
I can't recommend getting out for an amazing trip along the SWCP enough, whether it's a long run or a short walk. It's such a beautiful place and quite accessible from most parts of Devon and Cornwall. I am already looking forward to exploring more of it over the winter.
Whilst this was a great opportunity to relax in the little chalet/cottage we had rented in Minehead- a stone's throw from Crackington- it was always going to be an active one too: right on the South West Coast Path (SWCP); Bude's 92m sea pool just up the road; and not to mention the fact that we'd taken our mountain bikes on the car using our Thule roof racks.
Mid-holiday I decided to do a long run from our accommodation, up the SWCP, and into Bude, where I would meet Beccy and M&G for lunch (and a planned dip in the sea pool). According to one walking route I'd checked it was 16km, which I thought would take me about an hour and a half, factoring the up and down of the route...
Setting off from Minehead a nice easy start through a couple of fields and then along a small track lead me into Crackington. From there I joined the SWCP for the first ascent of the day: a fairly tough start with about 600m in the region of 20%, I was disappointed to find afterwards that I'd missed out on challenging for the Strava segment as it finished further on than I'd guessed. However, with some amazing views at the headland overlooking Crackington I didn't mind and I did get one CR a bit later on!
It was quickly followed by a steep drop down the other side, and this pretty much typified the profile of the whole run! I made my way along the coast, passing by St Genny's, Dizzard, and Millook (love these names), with some tricky descents and brutal climbs that almost brought me to a stand-still- at one point as I left Millook it got to a ridiculous 37%! (see the detailed profile in my Strava record or an overview in the picture at the bottom).
This run was the first really tough test for my relatively new Salomon Fellraisers which I previously reviewed here, and they passed the test with flying colours: they coped well with the steep downhills and the challenging uphills; they were comfortable over the long distance; the lacing system maintained the shoes' good, snug fit; and they were good on loose scree, dry grass, and wet mud alike. The only criticism is that they struggle on smooth, damp surfaces like wet tarmac, wood, and flat rock, with a tendency to slide, but I doubt any sole will cope with every condition.
It's funny how your perceptions change though, as after that it seemed pretty easy- the baptism of fire that was the first 11km meant that the remainder of the run felt relatively flat (it wasn't). However, when I got to Widemouth Bay I opted to leave the path and run along the beach for about 1km. For those of you who have ever run on sand, you'll know that this can be much more draining than almost any other surface- not quite what I needed 13km in, but what can you do? I though I would be getting quite close by this point but a friendly lifeguard told me I had another few miles to go!
In the end I covered 20km in total, with 765m of ascent in a shade under 2h05min. Given the terrain I was pretty pleased with this time and pace. When I eventually arrived I was tempted to do a little 600m extra to loop back to the car park where I'd arranged to meet Beccy in order to make up half marathon distance, but I just didn't have it in me. There's also something nice about the round 20km!
After what was a pretty testing run I (perhaps understandably, perhaps lacking in moral fortitude) didn't have anything left in the tank to do a swim as well, so I stayed with M&G while Beccy enjoyed the sea pool.
I can't recommend getting out for an amazing trip along the SWCP enough, whether it's a long run or a short walk. It's such a beautiful place and quite accessible from most parts of Devon and Cornwall. I am already looking forward to exploring more of it over the winter.
 |
| Pleased to have made it to the top of one (of many) climbs! |
 |
| A bit less smiley 13km in :( |
 |
| Overlooking Crackington Haven. If you want the Strava segment you have to go another 30m! |
 |
| A tough profile but an amazing run |
