Rock fall piles on five extra miles for Jurassic Coast triple marathon runners (From Dorset Echo)

Rock fall piles on five extra miles for Jurassic Coast triple marathon runners

11:10am Tuesday 31st March 2009 in News By Dan Goater

RUNNERS completing the equivalent of three marathons in three days on the Dorset coast were forced to take a detour following a rock fall.

Some 170 runners took part in this year’s Jurassic Coast Challenge, including New Look IT specialists Graham Smith and Simon Shaw, who work at the company’s Mercery Road site in Weymouth.

Runners this year were forced to add five miles to the standard 78-mile route after part of the Kimmeridge coastline collapsed and was closed to runners.

Graham and Simon raised around £1,000 through event sponsorship for the charity OrphFund, which helps children orphaned by war around the world.

Simon, 44, of Dorchester said: “The run was good but quite painful.

“I’ve lost a toenail on my left foot and Graham has been hobbling a bit since we finished.

“We also ended up doing around 83 miles after a detour through Kimmeridge village on the third day.

“The coast path we were supposed to run on had suffered a rock collapse and was closed.”

Simon said he and Graham completed the total course, which has an elevation of around 15,000 feet, in just under 19 hours.

He added: “It wasn’t very fun when it started hailing on Saturday on our way through Weymouth but overall you keep each other going.

“I went through periods where I was struggling and Graham was helping me and vice versa the day after.”

Simon added: “I completed the third day of the challenge last year and decided then that I wanted to do the whole thing.

“Graham, being competitive, decided he couldn’t let me do that alone.

“I got chatting to some colleagues about the run and they suggested supporting OrphFund, because all the money raised goes to the kids because it’s run only by volunteers.”

The race began at Lyme Regis and, including the detour through Kimmeridge, covered 83 miles of coastline in three days.

Runners undertook a safety briefing at the Lugger Inn, Chickerell, before being transported to Lyme Regis to begin the race, which ended back at Chickerell on day one.

On the second day, runners traced their way around the Portland coastline and through Weymouth to Lulworth.

On Sunday, the last day of the event, runners stepped out from Lulworth to Studland.

Graham, 33, of Weymouth, said: “It was good but the route was a bit longer than we expected. We’re used to long distance running but this was definitely one of the hardest we’ve done. I would say the challenge is 60 per cent physical and 40 per cent mental.”

Simon began running with Graham after joining New Look three years ago.