Surrey Hills

Abigail won a Salomon sportswear competition and the 'prize' was to go to the Surrey Hills with all of the other winners and test a range of Salomon kit. Never one to miss an opportunity, I saw this as a perfect chance to a) get a new parkrun in and b) do a long run through the Surrey Hills.

I ran Cranleigh parkrun; an undulating and grassy little parkrun close to the town centre. I came fourth, which I was happy with considering we'd arrived with only eight minutes to spare. Abigail had dropped me off at the parkrun and then headed off six miles away to Birtley Green where she would meet up with the Salomon folks. I knew I had until around 1pm to keep myself occupied so I'd plotted a long run that would eventually take me over Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill, making my way over to Birtley Green where Abigail was. "There's no real hills in the South", I thought. How wrong I was.

The run started in Cranleigh, straight after the parkrun. I meandered out of the village and onto trails heading through woodland and open pasture. I passed through some really pretty little villages; Ewhurst, Mayes Green and then Forest Green. After Forest Green the climbing started. Following the track up through Etherley Copse and Leith Hill Wood, the gradient increased significantly. The track comes out on Abinger Road, where I then took a direct line up the extremely steep wooded embankment to the top of Leith Hill - the county top. This was a climb of around 600ft within around a mile of running. As I emerged at Leith Hill Tower, a group of mountain bikers watched as I emerged straight up the side of the embankment. I heard someone mutter "he must be training for something".

Leith Hill Tower

A hazy view from Leith Hill

I was, by this point only ten miles in and already feeling knackered. Leith Hill Tower has a tiny refreshments hatch beneath it and I cheekily asked whether they'd fill my water bottle up for me, which they kindly did. 

From Leith Hill, my route undulated West towards Holmbury Hill. Holmbury Hill is 690ft compared to Leith Hill's 850ft, however, to get from one to the other you have to drop down a good few hundred feet and then climb back up. I traded places with a number of mountain bikers taking part in an event. The views from Holmbury Hill were great, however I was too concerned about my energy levels to take any photos. I ate the banana I'd been carrying in my bag and drank the last of my water. I had another eight miles to go and I was seriously flagging. "There's no real hills in the South"? What an idiot...

Anyway, the rest of the run something of a blur. I meandered my way to the final high point of Pitch Hill. I remember collapsing onto the grass only to think better of it as a group of walkers came around the corner. The elevation profile on my Garmin showed that it was all downhill from here. Imagine my despair when I found that, whilst net downhill, the route still had some steep surprises in store.

Anyway, I plodded onwards, ticking off the miles. I knew I was dehydrated and considered drinking from a puddle. I sucked the water off a leaf at one point. I think my under-performance was a combination of the early start, the long drive, the parkrun and the lack of food/water that morning. Then, just as I thought I'd pass out, I arrived in the tiny village of Shamley Green and spotted a little village store. I had two miles remaining and knew I needed to get some fluids in me. I bought a Lucozade Sport and a Snickers. Heaven.  Anyway, the final two miles were an embarrassing shuffle. I managed to find the car, as parked by Abigail, tucked away in the events centre car park.

So, there are indeed real hills in the South, and they're very pretty too. It's a shame this run was such a struggle, but it's all good experience no doubt. After I cleaned myself up in the event centre loos, we went for a lovely meal in the Pheasant at Buckland.