After running the inaugural Hartlepool parkrun on Saturday, we then drove down to Stamford, a place neither of us had been to before. What a lovely place. We wondered around, drank coffee, ate a meal and just relaxed. Definitely worth a visit.
Then on to Corby to spend the night before the main event of the weekend, the Valleys and Views, an LDWA event. This had three different distances and we had opted for the 26m route. This event was a little unusual because there was no route description issued before the event and no map available either. So we had no idea where we would be going. On arrival at registration at Wilbarston Village Hall, we received a route description and there was a map on the wall with the route marked. We marked up our map (which we hardly used) and waited for the start (runners weren't supposed to start until 10). However, we found out that the reason for runners not starting until 10 was to ensure that the checkpoints would all be open for the runners. As we wouldn't be running fast, we set off at 9.20 roughly - our starting time was recorded and off we went on our own. A lovely way to start.
The course wasn't marked at all and we largely navigated using the excellent route description. It was a very undulating route, almost all off road. Sometimes the path was indistinct and sometimes it went straight through fields of crops. One particular field was full of oil seed rape about a metre and half high. As we approached it we could see the bobbing heads of runners in a mass of yellow. Quite a bizarre sight. We assumed there must be a wide path, but it turned out to be very narrow and you almost had to brush aside the rape to get through. Melanie loved this section.
There were three checkpoints. The event details said there would be basic refreshments, but there was more food than we expected. Also each checkpoint had lollipops which Melanie could not resist (this was definitely an event in which to discover your inner child)
It took us a bit over 3 hours to get to halfway, but we speeded up in the second half and finished with 5hr 48min. Often you get a meal at the end of LDWA events, but this time we had to pay extra for food. The entry fee for this event was only £4 so this seemed more than reasonable ! Egg on toast was available for £1. The bar in the village hall at the end was also open which was a bonus. There were a few people I knew from the marathon circuit running this event and it was good to chat
A lovely run and well worth the drive down from Durham.
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