Discovering ‘The Beast’ –  6 September 2009

Kevin Elliott reports

The castle at Corfe provides the backdrop for our team photo.

This is an extremely well named event!  This was my first time running ‘The Beast’ and I had no idea what to expect from it.  Here a few words to sum it up - fun, exhilarating, beautiful views, extremely hard (not a run for the faint hearted) and most of all very rewarding.

The race started very well, I began at the back to avoid the congestion, which worked very well. Through the next six miles I ‘picked at the pack’ and got into a good position and rhythm. It seemed to be very pleasant apart from the bottlenecks at each stile to which there where quite a few.

Nothing could have prepared me for what came next. I had heard some mutterings about Chapman’s Pool and they were right … and then some!  It was a monster of a hill, I tried to run up the steps but my legs had another idea, they decided to turn to jelly, so I, and the majority of other runners had to walk.

 After scaling the heights near Chapman’s Pool, I slowed my pace to recover, which gave me a bit of time to take in the breathtaking views. I had just recovered, only to be greeted by yet another huge hill with more steps! By now my legs felt as though they were packing up on me, so I had to stop a few times revive them. I had just given up all hope of reaching the top when I heard the spectators shouting and cheering us on, which was fantastic and worked a treat.

Again it took me some time to recover from the hill but it did become easier. The course had flattened out by now and I had about three miles to go, I was exhausted! I soldiered on with the help of other runners, spectators and team members (thank you). I continued on, and with the final burst of energy I came through the last few miles to be greeted by the cheering crowds. BRILLIANT! I must admit I have well and truly been bitten by ‘The Beast’ and will return next year.

Kevin approaches the finish line.

Kevin Elliott

WACers results from the Beast:

3^rd – Colin Read – 1:26:59
60^th – Peter Wood – 1:42:14
69^th – Richard Atkins – 1:43:02
83^rd – Andy Porter – 1:45:30
108^th – Jon Braund – 1:48:11
122^nd – Pete Lemon – 1:49:56
131^st – Craig Dixon – 1:51:17
140^th – Daryl Davies – 1:52:18
198^th – Graham Whiffen – 2:00:26
206^th – Ian Kennedy – 2:01:32
218^th – Kevin Elliott – 2:02:27
229^th – Niki Roe – 2:03:37
295^th – Paul Hougham – 2:10:40
314^th – Andrew Olden – 2:13:15
320^th – Tim Box – 2:14:04
328^th – Ian Buckingham – 2:15:06
380^th – Georgie Hougham – 2:23:47
413^th  - Debbie Whittle - 2:30:32
422^nd– Julie Mead – 2:31:33
423^rd – Adrian Mead – 2:31:33
451^st – Annemarie Fachiri – 2:37:03
470^th – Denise Craddock – 2:43:46
471^st – Juliet Mellor – 2:43:51
493^rd – Julie Gosling – 3:05:03