bopeepA beautiful March day and with the Brighton Marathon only 3 weeks away,  what better than to drive down to East Sussex for a run across the Downs. The start point was Ripe church and then a run cross the turf fields towards Chalvington before joining the country lane that leads towards the A27.

After my exploits in the Beachy Head Marathon, I knew what was coming next – the tortuous climb to the top of Bo Peep hill! I did manage to run the whole way but I was blowing a bit by the top where I had a slug of water and a goo to revive the spirits. The view from the top was spectacular – green  and brown fields as far as you could see and I could make out the sea in the distance through the haze. Next was my favourite part of the run – along the ridge and then down the valley towards Alfreston.

True to form I got lost and took a wrong turning but not to much damage was done and I was soon back on the path and on the way to Alfreston. On the spur of the moment and because I was feeling good I diverted towards Lullington and then ran along the river to my final destination and a well earned ice cream.

For the statisticians it’s about 10.5 miles with an elevation of about 680 feet but the views are spectacular and it’s well worth paying a visit down here as there is so much great running. 

Scenic runs – Ripe to Bo Peep to Alfreston was originally published on Masai Running