MONDAY 19th AUGUST 2008

Peter Burfoot reports ....

"I hope you are are enjoying your summer break.

I was the sole Waddie taking part in the Henfield Half Marathon yesterday. This is a useful pre-season warm-up for the Autumn Half Marathon race season.

The Henfield course changed this year and made this a rather gruelling course. The times of most runners were adversely affected and according to the RW forum the length was about a quarter of a mile over distance.

The race is off-road apart from a half mile stretch of country lane and is very mixed terrain. The course is centred on a disused railway line and the banks of the river Adur, which run north-South to the west of Henfield. The old railway provides a smooth running surface and the riverbank is generally firm, grassy and uneven and peppered with stiles. A section running around some fields had been cut out at the start but was replaced with more riverbank with tussocks of grass and nettles on either side and a section of narrow rutted and muddy bridleway (complete with horse and rider).

The general concensus is that it was a tough challenging race. The 2 water stations were considered too few and it does heat up in the valley along the river, though some of the railway sections are shaded. There are some small undulations to keep runners on their toes, but no hills as such.

I enjoyed this hard race and was happy with my time and 3rd V4 position. I was 5 places down the sheet from last year, but I was then 2/3rds of the way into my training for the Berlin Marathon and in peak form for the distance.

My 2008 official result was:

61st Peter Burfoot 1:46:23

Remember that on Friday at Rye Harbour is the 2nd race in the Rye Classic Series, a 5k which starts from the Sailing Club at 7pm.

Also, the Will Page Newick 10k Sussex Grand Prix race takes place this Sunday. Details and an entry form are on at:



We are hoping for a record Waddie attendance at the event which has a village fete atmosphere.

Peter"

Berlin Marathon

Peter Burfoot continued his globetrotting with his Wadhurst vest when he took part in the Berlin Marathon a couple of weeks ago.

Here's his report:

"I had a great time, with the Express by Holiday Inn in the Stresemannstrasse serving us well. It was within walking distance of the start and about 10 mins walk from 2 Underground stations and 3 mins from the bus stop and S Bahn.

The weekend started off with the Expo at the Berlin Trade Fair where you attend to registration. The expo is a lot bigger than London but has a slighly different emphasis as manufacturers stands mix with those for sports retailers and the organisers of countless other marathons. Also it caters for the in-line skaters whose marathon takes place on the Saturday.

On the Saturday morning we went on the traditional Breakfast Run, a slow jog from the Charlottenburg Palace. As you line up (assuming that you do not arrive as they are already setting off) there is time to marvel at the nearby palace. You run slowly to the Olmpic Stadium where you finish on the track inside the stadium. As you leave up the steps you instantly recognise the Arena where Hitler gave his famous rousing speech.

The Marathon started off at 9.00 am, with my body clock still on 8.00am and ahead of me lay a flat course around the whole of Berlin taking in the sights from East and West.

The following are some statistics from my run:-

Overall position: 5,563 out of 32,533 Finishers
Male position: 5,283 out of 26,034 Male Finishers
Class Rank 401 out of 2,817
Timing ... 3:28:53

At 8.00 pm there was a free party for participants in the FritzClub am Postbahnhof and at 11.00pm the winners of the race were presented on stage. A video was shown of the race and the warehouse type rock venue reverberated to the sounds while the runners danced the night away."


Peter proudly displays his Berlin medal in front of his unlocked cell door.

Confirmation of the new world record set by Haille Gebrselassie. Mind you, according to the sign in the car window, is there a chance that his performance was wind assisted?