Trail Report - Coverack to Helford

Coverack 

Following on from the last outing on the Lizard I thought I might take a look at the section of coast running North from Coverack over Easter weekend. Having had a couple of days of good weather my long run was, predictably, scheduled for the first day of rain in a week or so. That said, the day dawned sunny and calm and I couldn't believe my luck as I got out of the car at Coverack.

The road down to the harbour was closed for some sort of works which must be a nightmare for the locals, though there is a car park on entering the village with an honesty box and adjacent toilet block.

Looking back to Coverack from Lowland point

After a quick stop at the latter I was off; with no signs to show the way I followed the road left and soon reached a gate barring the way and sporting an official looking sign. The coast path revealed itself on the right and led down and around what my nostrils revealed to be a sewerage works but soon I was out in the open and away from the village. The next mile is simply stunning, running just above sea level over boulders and open grassland. It was very dry underfoot but the presence of well maintained stepping stones gave a hint as to what the terrain might be like in less pleasant conditions. 

Soon I was at the aptly named Lowland Point. On rounding the headland a less attractive sight comes into view - the industrial landscape of Dean Quarry. A nice official sign warns of the dangers of straying from the path though I think work here has now stopped. 

Danger Will Robinson!

A well maintained (and signposted) gravel track skirts the quarry and before long drops down to Godrevy Cove (its a common theme throughout Cornwall that place names are repeated, often at different ends of the county, as they often describe some aspect of the landscape. "Godrevi" it turns out, translates to "Small farms"). 

Godrevy Cove

This is a private beach and the last part of the actual coast that the coast path traverses for a few miles. At the back of the beach is a bridge which leads to a path running steeply up through farmland and eventually to the road. From here its a couple of miles of road running, skirting another quarry and leading you through Porthoustock.  

The Giant's Quoits

On the way I passed the Giant's Quoits, a stack of rocks that had stood a Manacles Point for thousands of years and were moved to accommodate the expanding quarry during the 1960's.

After Porthoustock the route continues a little way along the road, until a path can be taken just left of the Porthkerris Divers site sign. This passes the well sign posted Fat Apples Cafe before rejoining the road into Porthallow. Here, on the beach, is a sign informing travellers that they have reached the half way point on the South West Coast Path - which runs from Minehead to Poole.

Porthoustock

Halfway

A boat on Porthallow beach

Porthallow

Leaving Porthallow via a set of steep steps the path has been diverted slightly through farmland due to a section of rockfall. Some fields and beautiful narrow trails follow, this year the Blackthorn is full of blossom, hopefully signalling a good harvest of Sloes in the autumn, and they compete for space here with the ever golden gorse.

A headland is soon apparent with a coast guard lookout at its extremity. This is Nare Point. The inlet beyond I had thought was the Helford but this was where things went a little wrong for me. 

Nare Point

 After following the track from the Coast Guard's I soon reached a small group of houses which I now know is Flushing. 

Flushing

Looking across the creek I could see a village with a church and I followed the signs along the water through a beautiful bluebell wood in full flower. After following various paths up to, and into, various gardens and back down to the water I realised this was not the Helford (on reflection it was way too narrow). 

Lost in the woods

At low tide this is the coast path

Looking across the water I could see what I thought was a coast path sign. Retracing my steps I read the signage properly and discovered I had followed directions for a low tide only route.  Turning inland and onto the road again a hilly couple of miles ran behind Gillan Creek, via some dream properties with boats moored up close by before reaching St Anthony - the village I had seen from the other side.  

St Anthony

Gillan Creek

Lugger on Gillan Creek

Leaving the village the path climbs steeply to a headland then cuts back and drops down into woodland. The path here is covered in roots and demands your attention before, finally, arriving at Helford village. I arrived just in time to see the end of the Easter Egg pushing race!   

  

View from Helford Village

In all its about 13 miles; maybe 11 or a little less if the low tide crossing can be made. Whilst there is a little too much road for my liking the variety encountered, from wild coastline, to industrial wasteland, peaceful woodlands and picture postcard waterways this really is a classic route. turning around the clouds had moved in and before long it was raining. Still I really enjoyed the journey back and felt strong even at the finish which was a welcome change to my recent runs.

For anyone who's interested here's the route on Strava:

Red Venom Calf Compression

The first time I saw calf guards being worn I laughed and pointed. But, following a series of calf strains and in desperation I bought a pair for myself and never looked back. In my own experiment of one I have concluded that they work. I have never had a calf strain while wearing calf guards and wear them pretty much all the time now. Its up to others to scientifically measure and verify the various claims about their benefits; there is already some evidence that suggests their effects may be somewhat less significant than some have claimed. For me though I feel better when I run and recover better afterwards.

Of course there is a drawback - there always is - and in this case its the price. Frankly, £30 to £45 for a pair of elasticated tubes feels like a liberty.

So imagine my excitement when I found a company offering compression gear, including calf guards, at a significantly reduced price. In fact the company - Red Venom - have a tag line of "Same quality, 1/3 price". Too good to be true? Well this is what I wanted to find out and at this price I was prepared to take the risk.

Red Venom produce all sorts of compression wear - which I have yet to try out - including more than one type of calf compression. The ones I bought are the graduated compression calf guards. These sell for £12.50. Yes, that's £12.50! They are similar in appearance to Compressport's offering with a grey cuff at top and bottom; since I have a pair of Compressport calf guards already its only natural that I compare the two products when measuring Red Venom's claims of quality.

My ultra running persona

I should take time to compliment Red Venom on a really great name; if I'm going to be a walking advertising hoarding for a clothing company then one that shares a name with a Marvel comic character is always going to get my vote. Unfortunately, the large red decal used on most of their gear is replaced by some rather indistinct embroidery for the calf guards which is a shame; with a name like Red Venom there can be no font too small in my opinion.

So un-wrapping the calf guards my first thoughts were that they looked small. for anyone that hasn't met me I should point out I am 6 foot 2. Compressport calf guards are just barely long enough - the Red Venom ones are definitely shorter. Its an unusual thing, sizing. for some reason none of the major manufacturers, with the exception of Salomon, offer multiple lengths for the various girths (sizing is based on a measurement around the fattest part of the calf muscle). Compressport, bizarrely, provide slightly longer length for the widest fittings. My experience is that the people with the biggest calfs are often short and stocky whilst many taller people have skinny legs so why this decision was taken I don't know. What this means is that, for a lanky bugger like me, the Red Venom calf guards only cover the larger upper calf and don't reach down over the lower leg to the ankle. Most of the calf strains I've had have been low down on the Soleus, so this does cause me a bit of a problem. However, if you are not super tall, or primarily want to protect the upper calf - the Gastrocnemius - then these concerns will be largely irrelevant.

Showing the relative sizes - and a lovely pair of legs!!

Its also clear when handling them that they are made from a thinner material than Compressport. This requires a little more care putting them on but there seems no difference in the feeling once on. As far as I can tell the compression is very similar and perfectly adequate.

So, in conclusion, if you are of average height or less, or only concerned with protecting the upper calf, then the Red Venom graduated compression calf guards are well worth a try. At less than half the price of the Compressport product you can't go wrong. I wear mine for shorter runs mid week but, because of the shorter length will tend to wear a longer model on long runs and races (to be perfectly honest I've just bought a long pair of Salomon Exo Calf as even the Compressport ones aren't really long enough). However, If Red Venom ever start offering a long version of each size as Salomon do there really would be no contest.

The chance of a lifetime

Oh my, I don't know where to start - well I do but this is quite surreal and my head is in a bit of a funny place right now but here goes:

A month or so ago I saw an ad on the right hand side of my Facebook feed for a competition to become a member of the Berghaus trail team.  Crucially this was open to runners of all abilities and would give four non-elite runners access to the kind of kit, training and advice that is usually only available to the top athletes.  For those that are selected the following year offers a number of perks:

• £1000 worth of Berghaus kit
• Nutritional products from TORQ Fitness
• A three day training and preparation trip running in the Alps around the UTMB course (weather dependent) around Chamonix from 1st to 3rd July 2014
• Appearances in features in Trail Running Magazine
• Support and advice throughout the season 

There was a bit of form filling to do including a personal statement about who I am and what my running goals and experience are and that was it, done.  Now, to be honest I enter quite a few competitions as you never know eh? But really, I didn't expect anything to come of it.

Until today. I got an email at 5:30 pm to say I had been short listed! There are one hundred of us and we are required to attend a training day either in the Lakes or London (no contest, Lakes every time) and following that the list will be whittled down to four.  We all get an amazing opportunity to run in the Lakes with the Berghaus crew, including Steve Birkinshaw - a top trail runner with a string of major achievements under his belt (he's previously won the Lakeland 100 and OMM, among others). So, even if I don't end up as one of the lucky four I still think this will be the chance of the lifetime, I can't wait!

Trail Report: Lizard to Coverack

I've run the west coast of the Lizard more times than I can remember. Its one of my favourites, plus I can get to Gunwalloe in fifteen minutes from home so it makes a good starting place.

I fancied a change this weekend so I headed down to Lizard with a view to running a few miles up the East coast. Whilst I know some of the tourist spots along this coast and, some years ago, dived a fair bit from Porthkerris, I've never run - or walked - this stretch of coastline before.

On arriving at Lizard village there is ample parking (at this time of year anyway) on the green - an honesty box awaits your contribution - though there is also a paying car park closer to Lizard point, by the lighthouse.

I opted for the former and the dog and I were soon under way, following first the road, then a track down to the Lighthouse where a steep path leads on to the coast path just east of the Lizard. Its possible to walk straight down to Lizard point by following the road a little further should you wish to tick the box of visiting the Southern-most point but been there, done that so I took the most direct route.

Turning left the path runs under the imposing wall of the lighthouse before skirting around the picture postcard perfection of Housel Bay and on to Bass point, where the Loyds signal station awaits - this rather odd looking half house half castle is the oldest surviving communications station in the world and was used in the first transmissions by Marconi at the turn of the twentieth century.

From here a couple of ups and downs lead to the newly built Lizard Lifeboat station which is periodically open to the public. This was only built a few years back and replaces the long defunct structure at Lizard point.

Soon after you will drop down to a little treasure - Church Cove (not to be confused with ... ahem ... Church Cove at Gunwalloe on the West side of the Lizard) - where a few cottages sit above a tiny slipway flanked by high cliffs.  The path actually runs behind the houses but its worth a detour to check out the slipway.

Moving on the path continues on towards Cadgwith, passing the incredible collapsed cave of the Devil's Frying Pan. Cadgwith itself is a beautiful village, with a small fishing fleet and an abundance of thatched cottages. This is the architypal Cornish coastal village and is often busy with tourists in the summer.

Leaving Cadgwith I could see the rain was on its way. However the sun found a break in the clouds and for a moment or two the coast was flooded with an eerie orange light before the flat grey clouds descended once more and closed the gap in the sky.

The next feature encountered is the Poltesco valley. Once a thriving port due to the abundance of Pilchards and later the site of a Serpentine factory there are many ruined buildings to explore, plus a very impressive wooden bridge across the stream.

Its a good climb up from here - one of many on this stretch of coastline. But before long you are popping unexpectantly out onto a pitch and put golf course below a caravan site. From here the path leads you to the road and down to Kennack Sands. This is a really lovely beach split by a small headland and with wetlands behind, a toilet block and during the summer at least a cafe.

If anything the going gets tougher now with some very steep climbs. At one point the path drops down again to sea level and I was surprised to find the bridge across the stream had been ripped from its moorings in the winter storms.

After a while the houses of Coverack come into view but its not all over yet. The final mile into Coverack is very steep, technical and, frankly, not that run-able, at least not when its wet.

By now the rain had set in and on arriving at Coverack we did't hang around before turning round and heading for home. All in all, its eleven miles from Lizard to Coverack. There are a few options to cut the return journey short, either cutting inland at Church Cove, Bass Point or Housel Bay should your legs or timescale require it.

All in all this is a superb run taking in a rugged, varied piece of the coast path with some beautiful coves and villages along the way.

Dark thoughts

I spent last Saturday running around the woods avoiding the dead and the dying and coming close to death myself, at least it felt that way on occasion.

This was the inaugural appointment with "The Dark", the latest offering from Mud Crew Events - 13 miles or so of running, by head torch, along the Beast of Bodmin mountain bike course in Cardinham woods near Bodmin.

Simon and I got there fairly early having overestimated the time it would take and had plenty of time to get ourselves registered and race ready. I've never been to Cardinham woods before; its a lovely spot, with a cafe and toilets, a play area for the kids and paths through the woods for cyclists and walkers alike. I'd strongly advise a visit and intend to return myself with the family sometime.

In addition to the usual amenities there was a food stall and a Yurt, the latter hosting the registration and the bar.  On registering we were supplied with luminous yellow vests to be worn as our top layer. 

Have you seen this man?

Simon gearing up

As usual I was faffing about a lot trying to decide whether to wear my race pack, gloves or no, which hat and of course the obligatory trip to the toilet. Thinking I was parked close to the start line I largely ignored the calls from an official to make my way there. As I locked up the car and put on my head torch though it became apparent the start wasn't where I expected it to be and I had to run across the car park arriving just in time for the briefing.

Alongside the normal safety stuff we were informed of "strange goings on" in the woods and to be on our guard.  Then we were off, a brightly lit river of day-glo yellow runners flowing up the path and into the night. 

Lambs to the slaughter

We crossed a small river to no small amount of protest from those unprepared for the cold water and doubled back, arriving at the point I had previously thought was the start after about half a mile. So far so good. The path was wide and fairly flat and the pace slow enough that I had already started to weave my way through the pack. And then we turned into the woods and the first climb began. 

Soon it was possible to see the front of the pack switching back, but still climbing. In all that first climb was the best part of a mile, moving later onto single track, which undulated but still seemed to be climbing. This type of track made up a good portion of the race, with no option to pass or be passed except on the turns if you were quick. I settled in to a good pace and allowed myself to be dragged on by the runner in front. We dropped down a bit but soon were climbing again. Mostly there were steep banks to one side and steep drops to the other. Lots of sudden dips and camel humps, no doubt hilarious on a bike, were already taking their toll. Running by torchlight takes away a good deal of your usual depth perception and I kept misjudging the drops and could feel my footfalls were heavier than usual.

On a wide section I pulled past a few runners as we dropped down again, only to slow significantly at the next climb. With only a few miles under my belt I was all to aware of my laboured breathing and the fact that the terrain meant I was finding little relief in the down hills with all their turns and uneven ground.

By now I'd already heard a few screams in the distance. On one ascent we were greeted by some girls beating a drum and murmuring, later on we would see bleeding bodies, confused ramblers calling for help or running away from unseen horrors. This was brilliantly done and really added some atmosphere to the whole thing.

At about mile 4 I decided to down a gel which I regretted instantly. I'm not too used to running later in the day and hadn't been taking things too seriously. As such the massive pasty, chocolate browny and bananas I'd had for lunch merged with the gel and were shaken into a perfect storm of indigestion which stayed with me the whole way round. Add to this the inescapable fact that, yet again, I'd gone out way too fast, combine that with this brutal horror of a course and the results were oh so very predictable. I was starting to hurt! I'd not wanted to take this run seriously but sub consciously decided I would run every step and push as hard as I could and now it was starting to tell. Never mind, soon we hit what was, for me at least, the best part of the course - a huge downhill section, a little technical in places and with numerous switchbacks, I loved it! 

To be honest I can't really remember all the details of the course for obvious reasons, but not long after that big descent we were back at the start and ready to head out a second time. Turning up the first big climb a second time with some very enthusiastic encouragement from the sidelines, I knew I was going to struggle. Still running, but much slower I laboured up the hill and onwards. 

To add to the feeling of increasing tiredness I was caught up by a couple who were chatting in a relaxed fashion, while my breathing sounded like the death-rattle of a dying man. So it was quite surprising shortly after that I actually caught up another group of runners. Its funny how little things can change your outlook. Having had a few people pass me I'd felt I was inexorably slowing to a crawl. Slotting in behind this group though I re-evaluated; if nothing else there were others feeling the effects as much as me. As the path opened out the two behind me came past and the group ahead spread out. Much to my surprise I found myself surging past and for the next few miles I felt strong again. 

There were still plenty of "happenings" - a "dying" girl in the middle of the path scared me half to death and more blood stained teenagers ran past us through the trees. Later a group of girls screamed out at a runner ahead and I tried to get my own back, running up quick and shouting at them as I came round the corner. I don't know if I made them jump but it gave me a good laugh.

At the finish

The last couple of miles were a blur, I shambled along, mostly alone and was soon crossing the river for the third and final time. In the last half mile down to the finish I became aware of someone approaching from behind and pushed hard to keep him at bay. In the end it was a fruitless attempt and I was passed in the last few hundred metres but at least I finished strong.

I must take a moment to commend the marshals who were excellent throughout and whose words of encouragement meant even more as the night wore on and the legs began to tire. This was just another little piece of the puzzle that makes an event great and something Mud Crew always do well.  In fact the entire route, lit at times with glow sticks, was sign-posted and marshalled to perfection. Its a pretty tall order to direct 200 plus people through the woods at night and at no point did I feel lost or confused as to the route.

With the race done I grabbed some delicious curry and a beer and met up with Simon who'd had a good run and come in a few minutes behind me. Unfortunately my stomach found the curry disagreeable and I knocked the beer over when I sat down at the table so not a good finish. 

All in all though a thoroughly brutal, utterly enjoyable night and one for the diary for next year.

Make do and mend

At the bottom of a hill on a narrow trail during the initial miles of the South Devon Ultra, I stumbled, literally, on an inescapable truth: lightweight fabrics come at a cost. Be it financial (it be!) or through sacrificing other properties, you pay a price for the lightest garments.

And so, in crashing wildly across the path in the face of a howling gale I, or rather my newly purchased Montane Minimus Smock, came into sharp contact with a still sharper bush; the bush won and I ran from the scene with a T-shaped gash in the arm of my latest purchase.

Needless to say at the time I was pretty annoyed; especially as this was four miles into a thirty two mile race in hideous condition but also because I knew I couldn't afford to run out (sorry!) and spend another hundred plus pounds on a replacement.

In the hours following the race I thought of Duct taping the hole closed, but reckoning this was likely to be temporary at best and unlikely to pass muster at certain upcoming events I aspire to running, I decided to see what Google had to offer.

A quick search suggested LSR (Lancashire Sports Repairs) would be my best option and so I completed the form and sent off my top to be worked on.

Now admittedly it took two weeks, though they did warn me of this up front, but I have to say I'm pretty bloody pleased with the result. Stitched and taped, the repair is as good as any seam on the jacket and cost me twenty eight quid. I think that's worth it.

Just hope I don't rip the other arm next week!

Brooks Pureflow 3

I've recently handed back a pair of Brooks Pureflow 3 trainers after running around in them for a week as part of the Brooks Try It On promotion.  Basically, Brooks let you have a pair to try, you pick them up from participating stores and get a 25% of voucher at the end of the week to use against the cost of a new pair should you like them.

This is a bloody brilliant idea.  More companies should do this. Take note, shoe companies, this is the way forward! Breweries too maybe? Ok, so maybe that wouldn't work.

This particular offer was limited to the Brooks Pure Project range comprising of the Cadence, Flow, Connect and Drift. These shoes are designed to promote "an efficient and natural foot strike", with the Cadence offering most stability and cushioning and the Drift the least.

I got a pair of the first version of the Pureflow a little over a year ago. I love 'em. I've run over 600 miles in the first pair I bought and have a second lined up and ready to go. Not bad for a shoe which Brooks say, due to its light weight construction, is only good for 200-300 miles.

With this offer coming along, I was keen to find out whether Brooks had screwed up what has been, for me at least, one of the best road shoes out there.  Because let's face it, "new and improved" isn't always what it says it is now, is it? New, yeah no problems there, but improved, well that remains to be seen.

Well the good news is that Brooks have stayed close to the original design. Although there are some differences to the shape and some tweaks to the features that make the pure range unique, I couldn't really tell the difference between version 1 and version 3. Which is a good thing.

So, to summarise why I think these are an awesome shoe here are a few of the things that make them stand out:

Lightweight
Roomy toebox (though you will need to go up to one size up from normal to really see this)
Low drop (4mm)
Snug, comfy heel
"Nav Band" grips the mid foot keeping everything secure
Well cushioned - sufficient to run as far as necessary, certainly marathon distance.

Go try a pair, you might be surprised.