"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

West Mendip Way recce run - March 2023 - Somerset

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Over the years I haven't been affected by many race cancellations, but I had my second in about six months when the Tour of Torpantau fell race fell foul of, well, foul weather. Not the sort of thing that usually puts fell runners off you might think, but ice and snow on the roads would make driving to the relatively remote start (a car park high in the welsh mountains) pretty dodgy, then the race itself would have been more risky than usual with ice on the descents. Looking at photos of the route I could see that much of it was on a path that was quite exposed to the cliff-like scarp of the high Brecon Beacons. All in all I'm more than OK with that cancellation, especially as it came with a refund. I feel for the organisers who doubtless put a lot of work in and then had to have a zen-like detachment when the race clearly couldn't go ahead.

That left me with my mind and body very much geared up for an off-road experience and the Mendips within touching distance, unaffected by the wintry conditions (my Mendip-dwelling daughter, based at Priddy, had sent me shots of a heavy snow covering a week before but I knew that the mild conditions and rain had washed all that away). For years I've had designs on the 30-mile West Mendip Way trail from Weston to Wells, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to recce the first 10 miles of it then run back to the start. Who knows, maybe I'll run the whole thing sometime soon and take my first steps back into ultra-distance?

I drove to Uphill and found that of about 5 parking spaces by the start (at Uphill Sluice), three were taken by dog walkers and two were free. Literally free. That's what I look for in a trailhead, especially in a seaside town within a stone's throw of the beach, where parking is usually monetised. It was around 2 degrees so I was kitted out in 2 pairs of tights (the top ones having a handy phone pocket), a baselayer and a midlayer and a jacket, plus my old and trusty 3-litre camelbak mule which I had dug out of retirement. It's showing its age (of around 20 years) but still in one piece. A good lesson in the old principle of "buy the best, buy once". How many other backpacks have I bought and worn out in that time?

After contemplating the prospect of the run for a short while in the car, I was out into the cold and ready to run at 8.30. I had no idea how long 20 miles was going to take, but time was not of the essence on this occasion and my only goals were to learn the route, practice my climbs and descents and build my endurance. The half-marathon for Chico a week before had gone really well and encouraged me that I might be ready to step up to marathon, the 7-hour walk in New York, maybe even something longer on the trails in the early summer.

I started the run with my phone in my hand to navigate using my old and free favourite, Bike GPX. I'm not keen on subscribing to a GPS service, not sure why, so I get most of my routes from RWGPS and convert them free to Bike GPX routes. The navigation is basic and works well on the bike, so I assumed it would be fine on the run. I had heard that the trail was well signed so I hoped to stash the phone away once I was out of the first section on the fringes of Weston. From beneath Uphill Church, which looms dramatically at the top of a quarry face, the route began on tarmac, looping around the nature reserve. Soon that tarmac spilled me out on to boggy droves across the low-lying land between Weston and the hills, which I squelched through happily - pausing only to deal with numerous styles and kissing-gates. A ramp up to the remnant of an old Toll-Road led to a short section along the A371, on pavement, but fortunately the route soon switched to a back lane running parallel to the highway and then on to a trail that brought me to Purn Hill (a stiff climb at first then a path that contoured around the hill rather then climbing it to the top) and then down again to Bleadon where I left the traffic behind and began the proper Mendip ascent. At first it was a testing climb through the fields, then things flattened out as the route foillowed a lane I knew from my cycling explorations, the route of the old Roman Road from the Mendip lead mines (long since abandoned and grassed over) to the sea. After what seemed like a long and profoundly straight road run, where I had a chance to muse on the age-old question "what have the Romans done for us?", the road turned steeply downhill and the Roman route carried on in the shape of a muddy trail. This was what I had come for and it was a joy to be on soft ground, running rolling hills.

I soon found that although there were blue signs at each turning, they were easy to miss and I really had to have the phone in my hand to be sure of sticking to the trail. That was no bother though and easier than carrying a paper map. The trail swung south, descending alongside silent forest on a narrow path which came out in the equally silent village of Loxton. Here the uploader of the GPX file had parted company with the official route, probably because they were following it on a mountain bike and chose the road instead of the footpaths across low-lying ground between Loxton and Webbington, but I could see it was quicker to go straight on via the official West Mendip Way and I took the low road. It was here in Loxton, just before I ran down to the church to cross into the fields, that I caught my first good view of Crook Peak, the most eye-catching hill in the Mendips. I paused to grab a shot of it here and again when I got to the bridge over the motorway.

I've always wanted to do the Crook Peak Cake Race but never been free and in the UK at the right time. Maybe they'll hold it early or late one year and I'll get the chance? Anyway I have run up this delightful hill a few times and the temptation this time was to run straight up the side but instead I followed my pre-planned route along the lane past the Webbington Hotel until the West Mendip Way began its ascent to the shoulder. This was a proper runnable climb, reminiscent of a fell race, just the thing I was wanting to acclimatise my legs to. Around half way up I saw what looked like a short cut to the summit and I took it, but it soon became impassable as I found myself caught up in gorse and brambles with no visible path to follow and I had to force my way through the brush to rejoin the waymarked trail. I decided to visit the top on the way back, seeing as it was going to be hard going from this side.

At the top of the climb the scenery switched from peri-urban hill country to proper "mountain, moor and heath" territory, with the open downland ahead of me and the sheep-cropped grass a gorgeous running surface. A skylark ascended just a few yards away, singing for all it was worth as it flew. I followed the wall that runs along the ridge, a great handrail in any weather, taking in the ups and downs of Wavering Down and arriving at the trig with around 9 miles on the clock. By now I was determined to make this a 20 miler, so I soldiered on along the ridge then began the descent towards the A38 but found that I didn't get all the way there before I got to my ten mile mark. The turnaround was on a muddy, rooty slope under thick tree cover, with no clear landmark, but I made that the limit of my recce run and turned around to head for home. On the way out the conditions had been murky but they were clearing now and I could glimpse Glastonbury Tor outlined against the grey cloud. In the other direction Crook Peak looked even more glorious than before and the sea was in view beyond it. I ran the ascents at a steady pace, taking a short scramble to the summit of Crook Peak even though it was a diversion from the trail, then ran purposefully down to Barton Lane. I was fuelling myself with a mix of energy gels and polish caramel shortbread bars (one of the few items that is cheap in my local corner shop AND easy to eat on the move) and I was needing those calories. I'd turned around at about 1 hour 53 minutes and the way back was longer thanks to the diversion to Crook Peak.

As I ran back along my outbound route I felt my fatigue and stiffness slowly building, as my body adjusted to being out on a run for much longer than anything I'd attempted in recent months. The fuel I was taking helped of course. The previous weekend I'd been reading Sri Chinmoy's recollections of his first marathon, where he said he was drinking ERG energy drink and plain water and it was the pure water that made him feel energised. I drank from my camelbak tube with that in mind and really did feel it. Usually I always drink electrolyte to replace the minerals lost in sweat, but the plain water did seem energising.

I missed one turning with around 5 miles to go, which added 10 minutes to the time as I had to backtrack, so following the trail based on remembering my outbound route was clearly not a great idea. The phone came back out of the pocket and stayed in my hand until the closing stages. Better safe than sorry! The more tired you get the easier it is to make a daft decision at a junction and do miles in the wrong direction. After that one slip-up there were no more errors though and although Purn Hill (which I had forgotten about) proved a bit of a sting in the tail, I finished feeling strong and holding a steady speed. In the final mile, the sight of Uphill Church, marking the finish line, gave me a boost and I ran pretty well for that last half mile or so on the bouncy tarmac.

Stopping my watch a few yards before the car park (as there was a convenient cafe right there) I saw that I'd been out for 4 hours exactly and clocked up 20.75 miles of hills and trails. The next day I booked up a hilly trail race in the Cotswolds for 3 weekends later and resolved to keep the long runs going in between. My aims for the year now include something longer than marathon on the trails - perhaps right here in the Mendips. Two more recce runs covering the other 10-mile sections of the WMW seems like a decent way to make those long runs more interesting and give them a bit of purpose.

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