The toughest race of the entire Purbeck Trail Series set celebrated its 30th year of existence in this year’s edition of The Beast. It’s been 30 years worth of pain and suffering but also of outstanding vantage points an unforgettable experiences for each of those who have been brave enough to take it on.

The race is famed for its brutally steep and energy sapping climbs along the South West Coast Path and the steps at St Aldelms Head that will stop even the most hardy of runners in their tracks.

It’s seen some outrageous feats of strength in the past including Jacek Cieluszecki’s stunning 2022 win when he got round the 12.5 mile route in 1:24:46. That put him eight minutes ahead of Egdon Heath Harriers man Christopher Peck who was runner up.

Serial trail race winner James Baker won it in 2023 in 1:27:33 with Bournemouth AC man Stu Nicholas taking 3rd in 1:37:33.

The course was shorter last year due to a landslip that saw part of the mega flight of steps up Houns Tout fall into the sea. That was a significant aspect of the previous course that contributed to the extreme difficulty. The revised route was only 11.8 miles but was still of course very testing.

Stu Nicholas had a nasty fall in last year’s race which saw him lose a few places when he had been in 2nd place. He managed to claw his way back up to 2nd in the end though and finished runner up to Chris Peck.

After finishing 2nd to City of Salisbury man Stuart Holloway in the 2023 Purbeck Trail Series, Stu Nicholas went one better and claimed the series win last year. Now he was looking to defend is crown at this year’s event.

It got off to a rocky start after a marshal sent him the wrong way when he had been in the lead at the Coombe Keynes 10k. He ran an extra mile before realising he’d gone wrong and turning back but that cost what would have been a certain victory.

He bounced back with a win at the Lightbouse Loop though in the second race of the series. In that one, he was the only man who got through the outrageously hilly 5k course in under 19 minutes.

With the addition of the Blue Castle Run in November, this year’s Purbeck Trail Series consists of six races and it’s the best four of six that count. Whilst it was a blow to have suffered that mishap at the Coombe Keynes 10k, it wasn’t the end of the world for Stu. He was still well capable of getting the three results he needed from the four races remaining. It meant he needed to do well at The Beast though ideally.

A new stretch of path has opened now, replacing the fallen steps at Houns Tout meaning it was back to a 12.4 mile route this time round with 1,800ft of elevation. Stu was joined in the race by fellow Bournemouth AC associates Patrick Kingston, Kate Bowers, Caroline Rowley and Kirsty Drewett.

No stranger to tough climbs and challenging routes, Patrick had spent some time in the Pyranees recently, scaling the high mountains. In July he completed the 70km La Moins’Hard race in Chamonix which incorporated 5,600m of ascent.

Loving a tough trail route, Kate Bowers is often out running over the Purbeck and finished second at the Maverick Dark Castle event, which was a night race round the Corfe Castle region. She recently finished first female in the Maverick Goat Exmoor 15km race, with her husband Stu, who also runs for Bournemouth AC winning it outright. That race featured 800m of ascent.

Caroline Rowley and Kirsty Drewett are also participating in the Purbeck Trail Series this year. Caroline finished 31st female at the Coombe Keynes 10k and 33rd lady at the Lighthouse Loop. Running with former teammate Jayne Wade at the Coombe Keynes 10k, Kirst Drewett was 142nd female.

There were some thunderstorms on the morning of The Beast race but luckily it cleared up before the proceedings got underway.

The route began on Corfe Castle Common before heading towards Worth Matravers and onto the coastal path before veering back to Corfe.

The first couple of miles contained some climbs but none of the really tough ones. Hence, Stu Nicholas was still able to get through those at 6:24 and 6:19, although that was much faster than most mere mortals could manage.

The third mile featured the longest climb of the race, with 300ft of ascent. Stu powered his way up that, registering an 8:36 for that mile before heading back down the slope for most of the fourth mile. He got through that in 6:49 before tackling another smaller climb in the fifth mile.

That was followed by a long downhill stretch, with Stu getting through the fifth mile in 6:43 and the sixth in 6:35. Another big climb came into play on the seventh mile, followed by a sharp, almost vertical descent.

Registering a 9:01 for that mile, there was then another steep slope to scale on the eighth mile. That was a further 225ft of climbing which Stu got through in 8:50.

The ninth mile contained a descent followed by a flattish section. Managing an 8:06 for that one, Stu then had to tackle the last of the really big climbs. That saw him work his way up another 200ft of elevation at a pace of 8:13.

It was then mostly downhill for the next mile which saw Stu get back on pace with a 6:43 before then facing another small incline on the 12th mile. Clocking a 7:33 for that, there was then one other small hill to get up and over in the last 0.4 mile section.

Finishing in a time of 1 hour 33 minutes and 22 seconds, Stu had ran really strongly and taken 2nd place in the overall standings. His average pace for the run was 7:29 which is amazing on a course with that much elevation.

There was only man in the field capable of bettering that and that was Southampton AC man Jon Pepin. Jon is an athlete with Bournemouth AC connections as his dad Nick runs for the club. It was a quite incredible performance which saw Jon get round in 1:27:25, so that was six minutes quicker than Stu.

Patrick Kingston was in fourth place at one stage but lost a few places over the second half of the race. It was still a very strong run from Patrick though and he’d finished in 9th place with a time of 1:43:13. That put him 3rd in the M40 bracket with an average pace of 8:11 per mile.

For Kate Bowers though, it was a different story. She was having a bad day and unfortunately didn’t complete the race. Seeing some runners who she would usually expect to beat coming past her was a demoralising experience and she didn’t like the thought of enduring the many tough climbs to come when she just wasn’t performing as she’d hoped.

She had battled up a couple of the big climbs but decided to call it a day at just shy of five miles. She was gutted as she felt as after she’d pulled out, she felt like she should have still persevered and completed it. It’s one she now needs to put behind her and move on from though and perhaps have another go at it next year.

Stu’s wife Anna Trehane did manage to complete it though and she got round in a time of 2:12:48 which made her 23rd female and 10th in the W35 category.

Caroline Rowley also got round successfully, completing the course in 2 hours 25 minutes and 16 seconds which put her in 178th place overall. That made her 40th female and 12th in the W45 category.

Getting round in 2 hours 36 minutes and 28 seconds, Kirsty Drewett finished 228th overall and was 63rd female. In the W45 division, she came 19th.

Littledown Harriers man Mark Packer had a brilliant run to take 3rd place in a time of 1:35:37 and he was first M50, with Westbourne man Pete Doughty taking 4th place in 1:36:02. He was first M40.

Daniel Thomas of Bridport Runners took 5th place in 1:37:19 and he was the man who finished 2nd to Stu at the Lighthouse Loop.

There were some good quality runners finishing behind Patrick Kingston, including Steve Kellaway of Egdon Heath Harriers who was 11th in 1:41:50, Steve Claxton of Poole Runners who was 13th in 1:42:41 and Christian Rodiger of Littledown Harriers who came 14th in 1:43:06.

Fliss Tournant of Watford Joggers was first female in 1:42:30 which put her 12th overall and Ali Young was 2nd lady in a time of 1:48:27, coming in just ahead of Purbeck Runners woman Jenny Lee Marshall who was 3rd female in 1:48:34. They came 24th and 25th overall.

Emma Mogridge of Dorset Doddlers was 4th female and 28th overall in 1:48:56. Teresa Green of Egdon Heath Harriers was 6th lady and 1st in the W45 category in a time of 1:50:45. That put her 35th overall.

After the first three fixtures of the Purbeck Trail Series, Pete Doughty topped the men’s standings after finishing 12th at Coombe Keynes, 10th at the Lighthouse Loop and 4th at The Beast.

Impressively, Anna Trehane was top of the female charts after finishing 16th at Coombe Keynes, 20th at the Lighthouse Loop and 23rd at The Beast.

Despite the Coombe Keynes calamity, Stu Nicholas was still top of the standings in the Men’s Under 40 category. The next race of the series was the Black Hill Run 10k which takes place in Bere Regis. Stu Nicholas was back in action for that one, as were Patrick Kingston and Caroline Rowley. That was another important race in the quest for Purbeck Trail Series glory.

Thanks to Ken Hewitt for another collection of brilliant photographs.