Little Lifts
This week’s event report (based on the 10k) is by, me!
‘It was the inaugural event put on my Little Lifts and it had been two years in the making. Little Lifts is a charity who are on a mission to provide free, thoughtfully curated Little Lifts gift Boxes to every breast cancer patient in the UK receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment.
To make this event even more impressive, there were actually 3 different distances; 10k, 10mi and 15.5mi. The downside of this, is that it takes a lot of planning and signage. More on this later.
The event took place at Barningham Hall in Matlaske. Barningham Winter Estate is usually off limits to the public so it was by kind permission of the estate and local farm owners that the event could take place.
It was lovely to be back, as my grandparents actually lived in the park, so driving past their old house brought back lots of memories of childhood visits.
Anyway, on to the race. Once registration was completed it was good to meet up with fellow RntS, some of us (sensible) doing the 10k, others doing the 10mi. After the pre-race briefing there was a group warm-up to music with a couple of fitness instructors which was entertaining.
All three distances started at the same time, and then branched off in different directions at different points. We were lucky to have helpful marshals (including Kirsty L and Lucy H from RntS and Phillippa from Holkham parkrun) and signs along the way. As mentioned previously though, this can lead to issues and it would appear one of the locals wasn’t happy and vandalised some of the signs before the race started. This meant that some 10 milers went in the wrong directions. All lessons for next year.
For the 10k it was probably 10% (maybe a little more) road, but the rest was all field edge, farm track or country path. It certainly was challenging , I think the other club members would agree!
Although a challenge, the scenery was lovely and the support well received (although the last kilometer over a very uneven meadow couldn’t end soon enough). Each runner receiving a goody bag.
Would I do it again? During the race, it was a no, but now, probably yes. It was a lovely location, well organised and for a very worthwhile cause.
A special mention for Rob J who, just as we were discussing his predicted finishing time with Nita, the tannoy anouncer shouted that the first 10 mile runner was about to finish, we turned to look and Rob came hurtling in from another direction behind us to take second place in the 10 mile race. Luckily we saw him just in time and cheered him home.’
Mark.
‘On Sunday 23rd April, littlelifts trail runs took place at Barningham Hall, starting and finishing in the grounds of this beautiful hall. There were options of 10 km, 10 miles and 15.5 miles. All the RNTS that took part over the distances of 10km (Nita, Mark, Vikki and Will) and 10 miles (Anna, Pete and myself) did so well. With Kirsty, Phillipa and Lucy volunteering the club was well represented.
The Weather was great for running and though there were some minor issues with directions, due to someone moving some signs on the cause, fun was had by all and the day was so enjoyable. It was hilly at times, but the views were incredible, running around area’s that are not usually accessible to the public. It was for a great cause, that brings a much needed bit of happiness when people need it the most!!! the team that run the event were friendly, approachable and very supportive of all the runners today and deserved for the rain to stay away.
I for one will be looking out for it next year as it’s a great event. Plus the food, drink and goody bag were very good 😊’
Rob.
Official Results (10k):
Will – 57:43.6
Nita – 1:04:33.6
Vikki – 1:10:31.2
Mark – 1:10:37.6
Official Results (10mi):
Rob J – 1:22:42.6 – 2nd place
Anna – 1:39:54.3
Pete – 2:01:27.6
Blickling Trust 10
‘The Trust 10 Trail Runs are free 10K runs on National Trust properties. There are 10 Trust 10 sites spread across the UK. The National Trust advertises them as events which are all about enjoying the experience of running at the beautiful places The National Trust look after, whether you’re training for a challenge or looking for a sociable jog in the fresh air. The runs take place on the fourth Sunday of every month. If monitoring your running time is important to you, please remember to bring your own timing device.
As it was a Club Championship event I headed over to Blickling on April 23rd.
The weather forecast for Sunday was high chance of rain in the morning so to my surprise it was dry when I set off for the 50-minute drive to Blickling and stayed dry until I was back home. It was very busy when I arrived and there were lots of casual walkers generally on the estate. They either have lots of National Trust members in that area or the public were prepared to pay the £5 parking fee to go onto the estate.
The start was tucked away at the entrance to the estate grounds, a simple tick in and tick out system (no names) to account for the runners going out and correct number coming back. The course is two laps of rolling countryside and woods, one small 3K and the larger 7K loop on the outside perimeter on the estate. Surface was mainly crushed sand dirt/chippings with a small section across a field adjacent to the lake. The bluebells were in full flower and created a wave of blue through the woods. I counted around 30 runners at the start which quickly split into two groups – very quick group and a slow running group. I was running on my own in the middle.
I have run the Park Run at Clumber Park seven times however I never went to their Trust 10 event I am more a road runner than trail runner. However, the Blickling Trust 10 would be a nice training run with fellow club members.’
Malcolm.
Kinder Downfall 2023
‘This is a Category BM race. The route does traverse high mountain terrain and weather conditions at this time of year may be bad. Weather is often unpredictable. Runners must have experience of this type of event. The route is mainly unmarked. Navigational skills are required, especially in mist, and prior knowledge an advantage (it’s all open to recceing in advance). The kit list is mandatory and if you don’t have the correct kit (including map and compass) please don’t try to take part’
https://www.t42.org.uk/hayfield/
‘Myself and Richard Monksmith entered this, again a late entry from me as it’s difficult to plan stuff around family activities.
I’ve ‘ran’ up and on Kinder plateau a few times so know what’s involved. I’ve never managed to do this race, always missing it for some negligent reason. Very basically, you start in Hayfield, up Snake Path then Williams Clough up Kinder Scout, along the plateau past Kinder Downfall and back to Hayfield. 10 miles with 600m of elevation.
The start was a bit chaotic as we started in Hayfield centre which is a village in the Peak District and it struggled with 300 runners along with a load of Kinder Swimmers who were trying to do the equivalent of Kinder Trespass from 91 years ago.
We headed up Snake Path which is wide but elbows were jostling for space. I kept my ground and took it steady. It levelled off and then headed down towards Kinder Reservoir and I tagged onto a runner on the lovely single track. I could just about see the lead runners ahead and commented how they can be so far ahead already as we were moving at a fair pace.
Ascending Kinder was via William Clough which is a technical single track up the stream. I tried to pace myself here as I’m not a strong climber, walking up the steep technical sections and running where I could.
Soon enough we got to the top of Kinder and then it’s about 5k along the plateau before we start descending. It’s deceptively trickly to try and run along here and can be frustrating. The optimum path isn’t always obvious and there are lot of boulders and obstacles to slow you down.
I got to CP2 and started descending the single track stone slabs which my Inov-8 trail Talons hated, it was pretty sketchy but then I made it to some stoney technical stuff where they were much happier.
Soon the final CP3 arrived and I headed down and was racing a MTBer who helped drag me along. Through some fields where I managed to claim a couple of scalps who I felt were just out for a jog then I hit the final road section where unfortunately I lost a place.
I finished 50th out of 313 in 1:25:48. Looking at previous times I was hoping for sub 1:30 so I’m pleased with how I got on.
This is one of the classic races which attracts a strong field. For £9, I love these races 😊’
Llangollen Fell Race 2023
‘Llangollen Fell race is a 17 mile fell and trail race that takes in around 3000ft of elevation, Taking in the beautiful views across Trevor Rocks, Eglwyseg Mountain, Rhuabon Mountain and then towards Cyrn Y Brain & Watkins Tower. Then down the Offas Dyke and along the beautiful Worlds End Trail back towards the finish..’
https://llangollenfellrace.co.uk/
‘Myself, Richard Monksmith and some other Spartans entered this race. I entered it last minute as I wasn’t too bothered about doing it again and just happened to have a free Sunday so needed something to fill it up.
This time I was in the 09:00 (faster wave) rather than the 08:30 wave like last year. Having done this race previously I knew the route, where to push and where to recover.
The race announcer did the briefing and we were off and about 400m later we hit the first climb up a steep but short road section. I chose to walk it, even though we’d only done 400m and others chose to try and run it. I didn’t see any point in trying to run it as I wouldn’t have been much faster than walking yet still had 17 miles to go so would save myself.
As soon as we got to the top of the road I started running and must have passed 15 people easily. I then carried on running upto the open fells where a latched onto a small group. As it’s a bit chaotic at the start it’s difficult to tell what position I was.
We then carried on the undulating open moors to a road crossing and then on a boggy moor section upto CP1 being half way. There is a lovely downhill section here where you run down a stream and then onto some slabs to CP2 to head home.
I’d been on my own for a couple of miles now as the field had thinned out however I’d passed a lot of the 08:30 runners which was a good boost. Another lad caught me as we hit the road section to head back on the last 5 mile down Offa’s Dyke.
As we hit Offa’s Dyke there is a small technical section where I passed him. I continued to hurtle as fast as I could down Offa’s Dyke which is a narrow bit of single track cut into the mountainside. It’s such good fun and makes the race worth it.
I managed to prevail over the lad who was chasing me and finish 5th in 2:19:56 taking 5 minutes off last year’s effort.’
Alex M.
