London to Brighton ultra run

    Hi all i've just entered the London to Brighton Ultra. This is my first Ultra event so would appreciate any training tips or advice on the course from previous runners. Also anyone in the eastboure area who wants a training partner  for it my usaul training partner isn't intrested in this sort of distance for some strange reason !!!!!! I'm running 25 - 30 miles a week  at the moment slowly increasing it as the weeks pass.

Hi Lingster, I am also doing this event and while I can't offer you any advise (I'm in way out of my depths for this one!), I was wonder when you entered this event and if you have heard anything from Extreme Running. They seem to be ignoring me! Good luck training, I'm in Rye and would like to meet up some time this summer to do a first Ultra training run, 30+ miles?, if you like?

Did this event last year, yep practice your map reading. it is worth getting a couple recce runs in on the route, especially the latter stages when people are really spread out.

The hill mr immune is talking about is black cap, i live right near it so am up and down it a lot. Not as high as ditchlign beacon but after 50 miles its big enough

A couple other points as it is your first ultra :
- Practice eating on the go and find out what works for you during long runs
- Train on trails where possible. I would say the route is 75% trail.
- Practice running with your kit (everything you expect to be wearing/carrying) on to get used to it and test it for any problems. You don't want to find a problem 20 miles into the race and still have another 30+ to go!
- Give yourself at least 2 days complete rest before hand and plenty of sleep the night before.
- During the race stay on top of your food and fluid intake. Little and often to keep yourself topped up. Once again, try the eating/drinking strategies before hand in your long run.

As i said, i live near the tail end of the route so any questions let me know or if you really want drop me a PM and can arrange to show you the last 15 or so miles pretty easily.

Hope that is some help to you.

Lingster, would you like to grab a map and compass and meet up for a long drag?  I'm free Sundays and Tuesdays and would need two weeks notice before each run. Could take Wetter is better up on their offer of a guide? I don't particually mind location, just want to try out pacing and fuelling stratergies over a long trail run.

Wetter is Better, I know your comment was more towards Lingster but thanks for the advise and offer of a guide over last few miles.                                                                                                          

Ryan 

Mark,

I am usually back quite late from work during the week, arranging a Saturday run would be best for me and by sounds of it is the best weekend day for you? There are a few bits worth recceing at the end, once you get up to the race course its pretty easy going but still nice to know where you are going at the end. I didn't get to recce the whole route but I was able to tuck the map away about 15 miles from the finish and its a nice confidence booster to just know the way.

Hi all,

Does any previous runner have a copy of the route or check point locations to hand? I'd like to go on a 'try before you buy' recce ;o)

Lingster

As already stated make sure your map reading is up to scratch for this one.

One of the best tips I can give which I wish I had been given is to keep your map in your hand and your thumb on your position. Make sure you know exactly where you are at all times. It is too easy to think you know where you are and follow the pack only to find you have done a wrongen. There will also be parts when you are alone and if you don't know where you are it's kind of worrying.

Extreme runnings checkpoints were pretty crap. Water and the odd pack of biscuits and the occasional banana were fare for the day. Don't expect much for your money and get used to carrying what you need.

Thanks for the great tips esp Dill and Wetter. I'm a 1st timer at ultras, and found it really hard to get the route map for this (GPSies being the only site where anything seemed to be left from previous years). I'll be out doing a recce from East Grinstead this Thursday if anyone is up for it.

 DK

Thanks for the heads-up, Lingster.

 I'm off to recce on Thursday, so I'll post how I get on here. My mate has mapped out the route, and it looks great, but the maps confirm what people have been saying about navigation here.

 If you guys are doing a Saturday in August, I'd be keen to join.

 Been training in 'trail sandals' to improve form and trying to adapt diet to add more pulses. Not sure if it's helping yet, but the ultra sites seem to suggest these things will.

Beyond sticking to weekly mileage and hitting the hills, does anyone have good suggestions for cross-training that would help?

Did the recce today from East Grinstead to South Chailey. Plenty of bad weather to set the scene, and navigational 'mishaps' (I discovered it might be a good idea to run with a compass, and not leave it till the night before to look for one in my garage). The paths are almost invisible because of the vegetation grown over them and the 'Public Footpath' signs.

 I imagine the L2B race organisers picked the most direct route, regardless of how many paths or roads the racers have to navigate. It's great that so much of it is on trail, but by God is it a messy route!

 Great pubs in Sussex, by the way. Shame we won't be stopping in them! I was offered a lift back to East Grinstead by a kind punter who put up with my stench in her car. It's just weird to see how friendly people are when you get out of London.

Just put away a bag of jelly babies, and off to sleep like a sack of s***. Can't imagine what I'll be like after the whole route!

That section is the hardest to navigate i reckon. Out of London is easy and there are loads of people if you are really stuck.

There are a couple of tricky bits through chailey, fortunately I live near there so I knew it well anyway but once you are at the road crossing at the bottom of the south downs (black cap) it is really easy 5-6 miles in from there... navigation wise anyway.

Thanks, Wetter. You rock my world.

 Here's hoping I'm made of the stuff of ultramarathons. My quads don't seem to think so today, but I guess only time will tell.

Anyone planning a recce in August, I'd be grateful for another outing. West Sussex is pretty magical!

 Hi Prep, 

My mate who is running this too found a map from 2010 so I've been working from that. Here's the google map version of it. http://maps.google.fr/maps?q=https:%2F%2Fsites.google.com%2Fa%2Flyceefrancais.org.uk%2Ffermat%2F6eme-1%2FL2b2010.kml%3Fattredirects%3D0%26d%3D1&hl=fr&ll=51.306365,0.079651&spn=0.115685,0.308647&sll=46.75984,1.738281&sspn=8.113792,19.753418&z=12

Bear in mind google can muck up the route sometimes by throwing it onto roads, so if any l2b finishers could look at it and feed back, that'd be helpful. 

I don't know if the organisers are trying to keep this year's route a secret or something, but it seems nigh on impossible to find anything on internet about it.

 Go through this route and check it against the ropey, long-winded paragraph which narrates the route on the l2b website, just to be sure. Then get a compass, an ordnance survey map, a map holder, and a whole lot of patience, and head out as soon as you can to East Grinstead to do a recce run. Seems to me that's the only way anyone finishes this race (this is my first attempt, but I'm going by previous posts).

 Hope this helps!

 D