Lindfield Village Day 10km Cross Country

ONE OF THE great events in the Mid Sussex run calendar is the Lindfield 10km cross country, held as part of their Village Day.   The run, organised by volunteers, is one of the largest funraising evens for Kind Edward Hall.

Both runs mostly follow paths and tracks through the West Sussex countryside near Lindfield village.   They are traditional cross-country runs with varied terrain and some slippery surfaces.   Running past cowsheds, you might encounter herds of cows in the fields (I counted two with one up close and personal), adding to the enjoyment of being in nature.

The run takes athletes through the countryside, across single-track bridges, sharp ascents with built in staircases, small streams, and challenging hills, ultimately reaching the grounds of Ardingly College.

The weather leading up to the run was sunny and warm, with a bit of rain overnight.   However it wasn't enough to turn the run into the usual mud bath.  Is the Lindifled 10km a proper cross-country without the mud?   We missed it, but it wasn't essential.

Parts of the run goes across private land and this is the only opportunity that you can get to use some of these routes that make this such a great event.

Lindfield 10km - King Edward Hall

SUNDAY 22nd May 2022 was the date for the return of the Lindfield Village Run.   Having been missing from the Mid Sussex running diary for the last two years, it was good to see it return in spectacular style.

This is the fourth time I have entered the Lindfield Village Run which is a well-established event setting out two cross county runs: a 10k Village Run and a 5k Family Fun Run.   Both take place mostly on paths and tracks through the West Sussex countryside in the immediate vicinity of the village of Lindfield.   It has often been described as an old fashioned cross-country run with plenty of multi-terrain, some slippery surfaces, and the odd cow in fields!

Once again I entered the 10km course which is a tough course from roads, to trail and then across country. Athletes have to run stairs that take them up hills and down the other side to multiple bridges, even to the point jumping streams. It's a beautiful and unique run and takes in the sights of Ardingly Resevouir and College. 

Some of the route you can only run if you enter the event as it goes across private property and you need permission to do it.   I ran a part of it recently, but it was quite dangerous with a lot of exposed tree roots (this is where I had my accident recently) and a number of trees down.   I felt I spent a little time trying to climb over trees instead of running.   But that's the fun of going off road!   Lindfield had to alter the route accordingly, but it's a route they have used before and I was familiar with.

You walk away from Lindfield always feeling proud of your achievement and feeling that is was professionally organised from the start to the finish with plenty of marshalls out in the fields (quite literally).

I feel I should offer my apologies to fellow Haywards Heath Harrier, Ben, (left on the photo opposite).   He had not done the run before and asked, "Can you get lost?".   "No," I said, "It's really well marshalled and if I don't get lost then you have nothing to worry about."   Turns out he was in front, took a wrong turn (someone standing in front of the signpost) and went the wrong way for a while.   He still came second, great work.

Welcome back Lindfield.

 

 

Lindfield Village annual 10km run

BANK HOLIDAY Monday saw the annual Lindfield Village run.   It offers a family 5km and 10km run.   All profits from the run goes to the King Alfred Hall keeping it a local charity for the village.

When I started running I was using the C25K app.   I then moved onto Park Run and was doing this for a while before signing up for this run.   That was three years ago and this was my third 10km run with Lindfield which means it has a special place in my heart and was a big part of my development as a runner.

The run is a real "undulating" cross country run with real hills. It's a traditional style run, multi-terrained with some slippery surfaces and the odd cow.   The event is fully marshalled and well marked out.  It starts and finishes at Hickmans Lane Recreation Ground.   Stretching out to Ardingly Reservoir, it has some beautiful scenery.

You don't go into this run looking for a PB.   There are three reasons for this. 1.  It is very hilly with some climbs that are steep and long   2.There are a number of places where the footpaths are single track and you cannot overtake.   3.There are a number of stiles and bridges that really slow you down.   All of these things make Lindfield Village run what it is and give it character and make it a challenge.

With a number of races taking place on the Bank Holiday including the Rye 10 miles in East Sussex and the Vitality 10km in London we still managed to get a good team together.   It really was a case of Beetroots Assemble!   We all met up at the Recreation Ground and got ready for 10km run with the sun coming out and the heat beginning to build up.   For the second year running they were using timing chips on trainers to get the finish times.   This is something that is becoming really popular as it records the timings quickly and accurately and works really well.

I walked away from the event with a PB, so I was very happy with the final result.   We then held a debrief over a "compulsory" pint at The Bent Arms public house.

To get an idea of the run see the link below for a video from 2015.

Lindfield Village Run 2015

I also managed to cover the event in the local paper, The Mid Sussex Times aka The Middy.   Amazingly I even managed to get the byline of "Athletics by Michael Parish".