Has anyone else on the forums ever competed in this weird, yet wonderful, half-marathon??

http://www.crossbayrun.org.uk/index.htm


It's possibly unique (to my limited knowledge anyway) in the British running calendar, because;

- It starts, & finishes, in different counties

- It crosses an extremely dangerous expanse of sand

- It requires a road-journey of over 30 miles (closer to 40?) to get from start to finish

- There is absolutely no shelter from wind, or sun, once you're out there

- Judging distance is almost impossible, without a GPS/knowing your time taken-per-mile

- It must be the only race where the Marshalls travel in HaggLunds, & also have access to the RNLI Hovercraft (based on Morecambe Promenade) for the stragglers/injured!!

It starts at Flookburgh (Cumbria), & headed over the sands of Morecambe Bay to Hest Bank (Morecambe), roughly shadowing the public road
* over the Bay.


Allegedly it's the only race in the World that traverses a tidal bay!
Obviously the start-times vary each year dependant on the tide times



Quite aside from all that, the course-marking is fairly simple............ a few sets of fishermans Quad-bike (& tractor) tracks, with the simple rule of "Stay Inbetween Them, & You'll Be Okay!!"


'Runners World' event reviews/ratings



I ran it in 2009 as my first (& still the only!) half-marathon

Well - I actually talked myself into it, simply because of its location/uniqueness

I was told I was barmy for selecting it as a 'first half', as it can be extremely tough!

When I was a kid, we spent a lot of holidays in Morecambe, & I had always wanted to do the guided walks onto the sands but my parents would never agree to it

So, it 'killed two birds with one stone'








A review of the journey up/the race from another (Land Rover) forum that I use a lot
We went up on Saturday morning, travelling up (what is) the usual route from the West Riding.
Bradford, Shipley, Bingley (now thankfully bypassed), Keighley (A629), Skipton (which we wandered round for a short while)
Then joining the A65 through Gargrave, Hellifield, Long Preston, Settle (called in), Clapham, Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale - where we turned off west, over towards Whittington.

(we went up in the XKR - which certainly was fun up the A65, overtaking was a doddle!)

It's only about 12 -15 miles to Carnforth from here, so decent time was made.

Our place for the night was at Tewitfield, some apartments on the bank of the Lancaster Canal.


I even persuaded Joanne to join me in a walk around Morecambe, as I was very eager to see how the multi-million pound refit of the Midland Hotel had gone, as I remembered it being awfully run-down & seemingly semi-derelict in the years gone by
I was pleased to see that even the exterior had been finished, as per original (with mica chips in the cement rendering to make it sparkle)


Inside a lot of the original features remained
In fact I liked it so much that I spent £35.00 on 2 books about the Hotel that were on sale at reception!!



Come Sunday morning, the weather was very blustery, damp & completely clouded over.
Not very promising at all............

Joanne decided against doing the 6-mile walk (that we'd entered her in)
So it was decided that (instead of getting the 'laid-on' transport) she'd accompany me to the start; wave me off & high-tail it back to the finish


Once we'd got to the start-point, with over 90 minutes to the start!, the strength of the wind became apparant!



Joanne stayed there until we started (which allowed me to keep my training top on to the last 2 minutes)



Once onto the sand themselves, the first half-mile or so was awful! it was very soft & almost like running in a 'play-pit'.
Then we reached the firmer (if not dry) sand, with the constant movement of the Bay-Guides on their Quads, & the 'Search & Rescue' in their HaggLunds rattling past to the major river crossing.

http://www.baysearchandrescue.org.uk/ (watch the video-clip on the home-page)


Quite surprisingly, I found the pace over the first 5-6 miles fairly easy, my legs/breathing & heart-rate were all good (I felt better than I usually do running the 4 miles to work)
The sand varied in texture, from 'concrete', to rippled, to jelly at points




Then......... we could see the river crossing (Kent Channel) in the distance, intially we were running in ankle-deep water for about a 1/2mile approaching it.
On entering it, it was impossible to run, or even 'speed-walk' as it was about 400 yards wide & varying from knee-deep to 'crotch-depth' (hence very wet short-liners!)
(I'm sure you all know how hard it is to walk in water of that depth!)

From the 7 mile board, there was even more water then, as the sands were draining to another river & 3/4 mile was splashed through.
Up to this point, I was in about 25th-30th position, but started to fade slightly.


Then the head-wind hit us, as we turned south-east to 'shadow' the coast, that was nasty!!! - 6 solid miles into that 20MPH head-wind

Another river crossing (Keer Channel), shallower this time, & only 100 yards wide

After what seemed like an eternity, the 12 mile sign appeared, & we were almost on the shore-line.

We left the beach at the point where the official road over the bay leaves the sands & then followed the fishermans track to the finish-line



Joanne had driven back to the coast (through Grange-over-Sands, & along the A590), then down to Hest Bank, arriving just in time to see the first 3 approaching the line!!!
That's how far it is to drive around the Bay (including her using the M6 part of the way)

Looking over the Bay, we'd started out of the left hand side of the shot.



And then she started to see a 'yellow dot' staggering over the sands....


I'll admit that I didn't look at my best as I wandered back up to meet her.....


But, once I'd got my top back on, had a drink, blown my nose, I felt slightly better (only just!)





Prior to the event, I'd told friends/relatives/work-collegues that I reckon I can run a 1.38:00 half-marathon on the road, but had to allow extra-time for the river-crossing/wet sands, so I'd stated that I could beat 1.45:00


My actual time was 1.42:52, giving me a position of 51st/237

So, I wasn't too far out in my 'guestimation'











*
Yes!, that's correct, there is a route over the bay that's still a legal vehicular right of way!
It dates back to the times of the Post-Coaches/Staging-Coaches, & the ability to cut hours (& miles) off the route to the towns of the Cumbrian coast
Even 'HRH Duke of Edinburgh' has driven a 'Coach & Four' over the sands in the 1970's!

A friend of mine drove over it in the mid-90's for a 4x4 magazine he wrote for at the time, & still recalls the day with a mixture of satisfaction & woe
(his friends 90 required a new chassis within a year of the trip, due to terminal rot!)


Sadly, I don't think I'll be able to get up there this year, so haven't risked entering yet (it's a fair old price too! @ £25 unattached)