Coast challenge update week 6

So another week has passed and another section of the Coast Path is in the bank. Due to other commitments on Sunday I had to move my long run to today, which turned out to be unfortunate as yesterday was beautifully sunny whilst this morning was wet and windy. Typical. Still, week after week of sunshine and great views would get dull wouldn't it? Today's route took me from the popular surfing destination of Croyde to Braunton, which is more inland and the start of the South West Coast Path's sojourn along the Taw river. Over the next few weeks I'll have to trek the Tarka Trail to Barnstaple and on through Bideford and Appledore before the Coast Path actually looks out to sea again. Life might be easier if I could just have swam across the mouth of the estuary. When I was running along the beach at Saunton today I could see through the mist and rain a mound of land representing Appledore and the rest of my route for the next few weeks and it looked tantilisingly near. On a clearer day I felt I could almost have made out the footpath signs on the other side! Unfortunately, as I've said, the weather was terrible and the wind was driving the rain directly into my face for the length of the beach; there was nowhere to hide! The sand was pretty tough going too and seemed to last forever. I drew my route on the map as a straight line but in reality I kept weaving all over the beach trying to find the firmest sand to run on, and it was never really firm enough. It felt like running on cotton wool. I kept thinking it would end around the next corner and I'd find the footpath I remembered from walking in the Burrows, but then I'd turn the bend and there'd be more! The adverse conditions were messing with my head; at one point I thought I saw a seal on the beach ahead and got all excited, and it wasn't until I was a couple of meters away that I realised it was only a rock. But I could have sworn it moved!

Why is it hard not to feel a bit anxious around the military? Skirting the edge of the training zone behind Saunton was, as usual, a little unnerving and intriguing at the same time. There are signs warning not to stray into the zone when the flags are up but the problem is how do you know where the flags would be? It seems like they'd be easy to miss amongst the miles of sand dunes. I also dislike how there is no clear boundary- I think I'd prefer a neat high fence rather than shadowy warnings of 'zones' and stumbling across tank tracks in the sand. Luckily the only military machine I actually saw was the rescue helicopter circling in the sky above, and that's a common enough sight down here that I barely noticed when it landed in a field next to me, despite the racket it was making.

The good thing about today's run was that the path has flattened out, and the Tarka Trail is almost completely level so after the grueling sand ordeal today at least there will be no hills to wear my legs out for a while. Also since I am now pretty near home and in familiar territory the runs will be a bit easier to organise and I'm going to try and do smaller segments of the route during the week so that I can get a good wedge of milage done. It feels a bit scary that I am only a third of the way along!

Route week 6:

Started in Croyde (Down End car park where finished last week)- Saunton Sands Hotel- Saunton beach- around military training zone (I ran all the way along the beach but however I try to draw it on the map the line comes out in the sea; Although the rain meant I did get very wet, I did not swim!) - Braunton Burrows- along the estuary to Velator roundabout (Braunton). I then had to double back along the road to collect my car from Croyde, making the total distance I ran 14 miles, a respectable 10 of those on the Coast Path.

Distance on Coast Path:

48 miles to date

Map: