The Sussex Downs Half Marathon is an accessible 21.1km trail event that takes in some of the county’s most picturesque views. But with over 500m of elevation, as well as some tricky inclines, it can be a challenging event to take on.
It’s Tom’s second year doing the race and this year the temperature was pretty chilly.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
01:25 – The Sussex Downs Half Marathon Race
06:35 – Scarpa Ribelle Run Kalibra HT
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Scarpa Ribelle Run Kalibra HT:
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Hey Tom here I'm in Plumpton today doing The Sussex down half marathon for the Second year in a row I've actually Finished it now um I just forgot to do One at the start cuz it's quite busy uh I have been taking out the uh scarper Rebella something something KT trail Shoes I forgotten the name um but you'll Know what that is because it'll be on uh The screen I am now going to the pub and I'm going to head home and I'll let you Know how the race got on catch you later [Music] [Music] [Music] Okay so I am back now from the susex Downs half marathon and I have done this Race before I did it last year and the Uh weather was completely different it Was really dry Sunny bright You Could See For Miles from the top of the South Downs uh last year perfect conditions For a trail race on the South Downs this Year wasn't quite like that it was very Misty very foggy you could probably see About 200 m in front of you at most uh Which was actually a bit of a plus point Because you couldn't see some of the big Hills and there are quite a few big Hills in this race Um but it did mean that you you didn't Really get any scenery either so it was Quite beautiful in the same way there Was Frost across the ground um some of
The Woodland and stuff look really Impressive but you didn't get any Scenery so um that was a bit of a Down Point for me on that but obviously not Not the fault of the organizers um it Was also pretty good conditions for Running a trail race it wasn't wet um it Was quite cold so I think it must have Been almost 0 degrees cuz I was running Um and sweating a bit and my sweat was Freezing over my arm so when I finished I had quite a lot of ice over me um and Stupidly I ran the race in a t-shirt uh Which wasit not a good idea because most People I think everybody there was Wearing a jacket uh and me and my friend Were were doing in t-shirts um which was Fine but I think I probably would have Preferred wearing a jacket especially on Some of the downhills uh when you the Elevation picks up um but other than That it was absolutely fantastic day uh The race is part of the Run Red Bull Trail series uh Run Red will do loads of Different races around the UK tend to be Quite accessible races so if you are new To trail running or you want to go and Have a nice day out as opposed to going For like a full-on uh hardcore racing Event then they're really nice option For that uh it starts in Plumpton which Is a little village in on the South Downs um and I think it it starts at Plumpton race course which is a perfect
Place to start a race like this because It has toilets has Cafe it has lots of Other stuff so it's really easy to set Out the route itself um it was fairly Accessible terrain so most of it was um Muddy paths there were fields in it Little bit of sort of gravy Rocky bits But not a lot overall it was a very Comfortable um non-technical ground if You're wanting to hit the trails there Were some bits especially in the wooded Sections where there were tree roots and Things so you did really have to keep an Eye on where you were running I didn't See anyone fall over or anything but I Did see a lot of big Roots sticking out So it's definitely um it it was a Likelihood that that would happen uh the Other thing I would say about the race Is that if you are starting further back Then um there's quite a lot of thin Sections so there's a lot of single file Running uh which means that you can't Overtake so I started back um I wasn't Racing today uh but I started a bit Further back and there were points where I wanted to overtake and I just couldn't Uh and there was even one point where a Lorry had parked in the middle of the Road not the fault of the organizers but Everyone had to sort of shimmy pass the Side of it and I went to the pub Afterwards and I saw the same Lorry and It had handprints all over the side so
If you if you one of the people that had To do that the Lori probably spent the Rest of the day with all these Handprints all over and a lot of people Probably asking questions about what the Lori had been doing um the route goes Across Fair bit of the South down so It's sort of like this weird Crosssection of the um of the South Downs around Plumpton takes a little bit Of ditchling Beacon and stuff like that Not that you could see any of it today It was pretty much much impossible to Work out where you were on the route but It's a lovely route there are probably I Think there's five about 550 M of Elevation I got on straa it's a pretty Tough race um if you're not used to the Trails or if you're not used to Elevation there's some really hard Sections in it and there are also some Really nice downhills so what I would Say about the race is that the uphills Tend to be a bit steeper than the Downhills so you get that nice gain Where once you've powered up or you've Walked up you can really Coast for quite A while on a nice um subtle downhill and Pick up a nice bit of pace uh so that's One really nice feature of it I remember That part of the race last year and I Really enjoyed those those long downhill Sections um and you can really pick up Some some nice speed on it my time this
This year for this Half Marathon Distance was 1 hour 52 I think uh last Year I did it 1 hour 42 but I did Remember going quite hard on it last Year this year I took it a bit easier uh And just wanted to have a nice day out Um but I would say overall it's Fantastic half marathon to do it's very Accessible if you wanted a half marathon That um eases you into trail running Without being too technical it's a great One for that also you've got that Shorter option as well so you can come Along with somebody maybe doing the half Marathon or you can just come along with Some friends and do the the the 12.5k Option I think it's that distance uh and Just test it out um so it's well worth Giving giving it a go and checking out Some of the other races that run Rebel Have got I definitely wouldn't mind Giving try a few more of those out Because I'm a big fan of uh this one Right let's dive in and talk about the Kit I [Music] Tested so I ran in the Scara reel HT Calibra uh I think that's right uh it'll Have the I'll I'll put up the correct Name I always get the name of the shoe Wrong because it's it's just a Ridiculous name no shoe brand should Make a a shoe name that difficult to Remember the name of um so I tested this
Out for the first time last week I did a Run across the South DS which is pretty Easy uh and I wanted to see what it was Like Race Pace or um over over more technical Conditions during a race and I really Enjoyed this shoe I it's it was Absolutely what I wanted it's not the Lightest shoe in the world um but it did Feel really Nimble and nippy out there Um it felt like I could really pick up The pace on some of the downhills I got Down to about 3 minute 35 uh 335 minute km uh so I was really Picking up the pace quite nicely I had No issues with grip at all and were Sections where there was some quite Steep inclines that were a little bit Muddy absolutely fine on it I didn't Slip once in the shoe I thought it was Really really good the Bowa upper which Is this like snowboarding um dial which You can like um close and and and open It just felt like it had really lock my Foot down nicely it it was very Comfortable um and it was so easy to do As well it only takes like two turns and You're basically done um the only thing I would say about this the shoe and I I Did read this in some other reviews as Well uh the ankle color is really high Now I tend to have a problem if there's An high ankle color on a pair of shoes It always rubs my ankle bone and I
Really noticed this rubbing my ankle Bone um I'm I didn't have any um cuts or Um uh rashes or anything like that on on My feet afterwards but I could Definitely feel it was too high so That's that's something to pay attention To if that's something that affects you This shoe might do that um but overall I'm really really impressed with this Shoe um I it's a little bit of a it came Out of nowhere i' I'd never really known Much about the the the scarpet trail Shoe range um I didn't really know what To expect from it um and in the two runs That I've done with it so far I've Really really liked it um this new the Boa thing which I think a few running Sho brands have been doing um over the Past couple of years I really like it uh I'm a snowboarder so I'm used to the the The boa construction but um yeah really Enjoyed it it just felt like a solid Great shoe for hitting the trails and Going faster in nice lock down fit uh Good grip um all in all really impressed With it um definitely going to use it For some for some more runs as well Might have to wear a slightly more Padded sock though just to make sure That I don't have any issues with this With this ankle color other shoes that I Would say are similar would be something Like the socony peragine very similar to This in the way that it feels the grip
All that sort of stuff but what I would Say is that the perigrine uh has a bit Of a looser fit for me I do prefer the Fit on this one just because it feels a Little bit more locked down um and Really holds the foot in place um but Yeah no other issues at all with the Shoe uh and looking forward to testing It out again that's it from me thanks a Lot for watching don't forget to like Subscribe click that little bell and if You go to the caption below you can find A link to our podcast which comes out at The end of each month and if you're Listening to this in December then it's All about super trail shoes so trail Shoes that you're probably going to use For races um so nice and fits well with This video right catch you next Time
