Golden Fleece Circuit 2018

It was never the plan to do this event six days after the Hardmoors Wainstones marathon. Originally, this event was to be held on March 3rd, but the there was too much snow so it was postponed. I didn't want to miss it as it a lovely event and I wanted to see the route at a different time of year. Melanie also could not make the original date but she could make the new one, so it the second time for her and the fourth time for me.

It is an LDWA type of event run very well by a local Scout Group. Everything is well organised although hardly any of the route is marked, except for a complicated section in Walkington. There is a 15 mile event as well as the 27 mile and lots of people seemed to be doing the shorter distance as there is quite a hard cut off for walkers on the long route.

The forecast has been white cloud all day with a light breeze, but when we got up in Goole there was no sign of white cloud, just lots and lots of blue sky and at that point no breeze.

We had a tally card rather than race numbers, but Melanie lost hers after the third checkpoint, but the organisers were fine with that as long as she remembered her number.

Registration was in the Church Hall in South Cave and as usual there was free tea while we waited for the start.

The start was in the year outside the church hall.

The first 7 miles are pretty flat. We went through many pretty villages and along estate roads

Checkpoint 3 at 7 miles  is where the route splits. The checkpoint is laden with home made food and we were eating small bits of quiche and granola bars. Hot tea was on offer. We seemed to be the only ones around us who were climbing up the hill on the long route. This is where the hills start, they are nothing serious but with the temperature rising and still a long way to go, there was no way we were running them. Then down into a typical Wolds valley. At the top the breeze started to pick up, which helped keep us cooler.

The food at the next checkpoint was also spectacular.

and they asked us not to forget to rate them on TripAdvisor.....

It was very quiet in this section, hardly any runners in sight. We had a lovely gentle downhill tarmac section where we managed to get under 8.5 min/miles, not something we normally do on the sorts of events we go to. Then a bit of drag upwards on tarmac, but we were surrounded by colourful oil seed rape fields

Finally we were back onto field edges and heading towards the Walkington checkpoint

The organisers had marked the route through Walkington where they were expecting the Tour de Yorkshire

Then forward on to more farm tracks. There had been a tiny bit of mud so far, but nothing along these tracks

We reached Skidby and turned in the direction of South Cave which was about 7 miles away. We soon reached the railway bridge pond which was easily passable this time.

On to the final checkpoint, I ate some carrot cake at this one and shortly after we joined the Wolds Way

More gentle drags upwards through woods

before the descent down to the lovely Brantingham Church where there was a wedding taking place

Soon after there are couple of bigger climbs before the descent to South Cave and through this spectacular field

and on to past the Cave Castle Hotel to the finish

There was a lovely vegetable stew awaiting us at the finish, together with tea and cakes but apart from the stew we didn't have very much as we were fairly full from the checkpoints. Fantastic value for £14. There was also the usual badge and certificate

Although both of us have had a couple of busy weeks and I did the Wainstones last weekend, we were very surprised and pleased to work out we had achieved a 14 minute course PB.

I hope we can make it again next year.

Thanks to Melanie for some of the photos.