IF you are running through native beech forest at night, the last thing you expect to come across is a half-drunk rugby team.
Eastbourne’s annual night race up Butterfly Creek was made more difficult than usual last year when the local rugby team decided to wet their palates before the race.
 “Some great clowns turn up [to the event], and the rugby team had warmed their souls beforehand,” laughs Eastbourne resident Sandy McLean.
McLean and his son James have been running the Butterfly Creek Nighttime Madness event for the past six years.
McLean explains, “It’s just a mad concept, going out in the middle of the night to run up a hill in the middle of winter”.
The race is a highlight on the Eastbourne calendar, with over 100 people competing, and profits going to the local Lions and Scouts clubs.
“Eastbourne’s hills light up for a night with all these bobbing headlamps. It’s like a spooky and surreal light show.”
The race must be completed in pairs, and McLean first took James up the creek when he was 10 years-old.
“We’ve run it under brilliant starry nights, and in pouring rain – each one has its own pleasure. It’s such a different sensation running through the bush in the dark; everything is very immediate and jumps out at you.”
This year 16 year-old James is pairing up with one of 10 other Scout Venturers competing in the after dark adventure.
“He has ditched me because I’m too slow – I was sacked,” laughs McLean.”But my daughters are also doing it this year, and I can still claim to be faster than them”.
There are three courses ranging from 15 to 8km, and McLean says it’s achievable for people of any age and fitness level.
The race takes around one and half hours to complete, and this year a longer “Vasque Extreme” course has been created for the more competitive runners.
Eastbourne based events management company Paardekooper and Associates has organised the event for the past nine years, and prizes, including one for Most Outrageously Dressed Team, are up for grabs.
Butterfly Creek Nighttime Madness, Eastbourne, August 14