The aim was to run the next 17 miles on the Serpent Trail, starting from where I left off last time and aiming to get to Petworth.
It was a cold spring day. One with patches of sunshine which give you hope, which are then stolen away by gusts of icy wind and big grey clouds. But based on last weeks run I was pretty sure the distance wouldn't be an issue and I was expecting a well marked route.
But this section was not well marked at all. Markers were missing or pointing in odd directions and I kept missing turnings and having to go back on myself. In one fantastic section I actually managed a 2 mile detour when I missed a turning.
Then there were the hills - 3 so steep there was no way I could run them. Oh and did I mention the mud?
So not the best of runs. There were some lovely bits, like running along the boundary wall of Petworth park out of the wind and in the sun, downhill. Bliss. And some of the wooded bits were lovely and will be even better in the summer.
But its hard to enjoy something that is hard as it is when you are cold, and you have wet muddy feet and you've just made it harder by adding a couple of miles that you didn't need!
However, I mixed the nutrition up by adding penut M&Ms and Haribo Tangfastic to the mix which went down well and I did make it to Petworth in the end. 2 more long runs should finish this trail.
You can read about what happened on part 3 here.
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