Phil braced and endured the Gale-Force winds of Norfolk’s spectacular coastal “Nelson Knee-Knobbler” course, at his last race of the season.

(Photo courtesy of Mark Hewlett Photography)

Here is Phil’s account of the race:

“The course, which was based around the sandy beach at Sea Palling, in Norfolk, was stunning, wild and beautiful.

However, it soon became apparent that the beauty of this place was not to be underestimated! The course was very tough, as it was nearly a 100% on sand and dunes – not to mention the uphill start and the initial 3km into a 35mph headwind!

The combination of sand and wind gave me no choice but to relinquish all of it’s energy and the whole race was one hard effort – without ever getting any real pace up.  

After leading the race for the 1st couple of Kilometers, we hit the soft, undulating sand of the dunes and it was here that I realised I didn’t have enough experience to run on such terrain. I decided that I could do no more, so settled in to maintaining a more comfortable 2nd place.

The race was superb. It was very well organised and was an absolute pleaser to run. The location was so beautiful – despite it being so beastly!”