Belvoir Challenge 26.4m 2016

This was my sixth time running this event. They vary the course, but this was the third time I had run this particular route. However, the last time I ran it was 2013 so I could not picture the exact route. I find having different routes appealing, you never know what is coming next.

We were both expecting lots of mud as this is fairly normal for this event. However, there was very little and you could mostly avoid it. There was a bit of a breeze in the second third, but nothing very strong. Plenty of gates and stiles, especially on the 16m route that Melanie did. As usual the start and finish was in Harby and all proceeds went to the local primary school.

This year they had chip timing so the start moved back from the road into a field so everyone crossed crossed detection device. It also finished there which meant that the route was a little longer than in previous years. There was less parking this year, so we got there about an hour and half before the start. Melanie and I were starting at the same time and we would follow the same route for the first 4m

I had my new gaiters on to stop any grit getting into my shoes and they to worked well. We climbed up the escarpment for the first time and ran alongside fields and on farm tracks - the vast majority of this route was off road with just the odd short road section. To our surprise the sun was coming out through the clouds and we were warming up quickly - it had only been about 2 degrees when we started. 

After Melanie and I parted, I went through the first of many pretty villages. This church was in Goadby Marwood

The next village, Scalford, contained the first checkpoint which was laden with cakes and sandwiches

A bit of a climb out of the village, along attractive paths across fields

through Waltham on the Wolds. 

Shortly after this I caught up with Darren and we chatted a away for a while before I pushed on a bit to the next checkpoint at Croxton Kerrial

There is a lovely descent down the escarpment after the village and it usually ends in a very muddy field. This year it was fine

Then on Harleston where there was blossom on the trees

I was starting to tire at this point which was disappointing as there was still 10m to go. I had been eating cheese sandwiches and maybe I needed a sugar boost. The third checkpoint had as much food and drink as the first two

This was followed by the long pull up to Belvoir Castle

Another climb up the escarpment and into the woods whether I started to catch some of the 16m walkers. However, there didn't seem to be so many of them this year. Then I arrived at the last checkpoint and it like a party. There must have been about twenty walkers there chatting away. Apparently they had cheese biscuits and stilton on offer, but it was so busy I didn't spot it

The last four miles and pretty easy, more paths through the woods with lovely views to the north and then a lovely downhill into Stathern and then across fields towards Harby. This section normally has a pond where you cannot avoid wet feet, but it basically wasn't there this year it was so dry. I made it back in just under five hours thirty minutes which was pleasing. As usual, there was soup and roll followed by bread and butter pudding and custard waiting for me at the finish - there are lots of opportunities to eat at this event !

Melanie enjoyed her run though she was a bit frustrated by some of the queues at some of the stiles, ten minutes at one stile ! She had time to go back to the hotel in Melton Mowbray, shower, change, have some coffee before returning to pick me up in Harby.