Leg 3: The Bell Hotel, Great Western, Epping to Days Inn, South Mimms Services, Potters Bar (16.6 miles approx.)
Feeling pretty exhausted- today was the most arduous (and longest) yet. On the good side I think I encountered everything I’ll possibly encounter in terms of difficulty- I don’t think it will get much harder than this. It also brought to home the problematics of land boundaries and public access (or not), most of which is so unnecessary and actually quite barbaric with over use of barbed wire fences and deliberately cultivated overgrown bramble hedges. Also very few public footpaths or footpaths suddenly appearing out of nowhere or equally suddenly disappearing. On top of that I knew that I was going to have to make a bit of a detour near to Waltham Abbey due to the Lee Navigation Waterway/Canal which I was going to have to cross, which meant heading south a bit and following the canal to find a crossing and then moving back up again to continue to follow the motorway.
The day was not without its challenges either starting with steady rain, which bar a couple of glimpses of sunshine later on was pretty steady. This meant getting quite wet quite early on and having to contend with running in fields of very soft, clingy mud- not an easy task and very heavy on the foot.
Other difficulties were mainly due to the boundary issue- very early on in order to be able to follow the motorway I entered some scrub/woodland only to find myself unable to go any further without clambering over a wire fence to get to a wooded area adjacent to the motorway. There was no option but to climb over it. In the event my shorts got caught on a prong at the top and in order to enable myself to get unstuck I had to just pull away, ripping my shorts in the process. So relieved was I to get over, I didn’t realise that the zip on my rucksack must have come undone and crossing into the next field I became suddenly aware that my things were falling out of my bag as I was running at an alarming rate!
Later after finally finding my way round the Lee Navigation Waterway and finding my way back to the edge of the motorway, I came to a dead end with some very high metal fencing and padlocked exit next to a warehouse building adjacent to a large Tesco store on the other side. Unable to go back as I had just intreppedly crossed over a bridge over a railway line on a walkway right next to the traffic, I found myself completely stuck. The fence was far too high and impossible to climb with no footholds to speak of. The only possibility seemed to be a concrete wall next to the gated exit, which gave onto the street on the other side but this also was fairly high and there was nothing there to use as a foothold to enable me to hauk myself up and over. After trying to knock on a couple of closed doors to no avail, I spotted a youngish Tesco employee who was making his way towards the gate. I called over to him and explained my dilemma. After some persuasion, he finally agreed to give me a hand or rather a foot up on his hand so that I could get onto the wall and he also helped me down the other side onto the street. Goodness knows what he must have thought but good on him for trusting me and ‘thank-you’ whoever you are!
All of this and also a longer distance inevitably slowed me down somewhat and I didn’t make it to the motel until close to 5pm. Also, my anticipated distance had been 16.6miles, but in reality it was closer to 18 or 19 miles. Was I glad to see the motorway sign for South Mimms when I finally saw it!
Tomorrow’s run is thankfully potentially shorter at a mere 12.7 miles. Hopefully the journey will be easier than today’s, but who knows?…
