Hardmoors Rosedale marathon 2014

We did this one last year and of the marathons in the Hardmoors series that we have done, we considered this to be the easiest. It starts through undulating countryside and a few quiet roads until it gets up onto the moors and then there is a long drag upwards to the 10m point at Blowarth Crossing, a windswept junction familiar to many Hardmoors runners. Then there is relatively flat section along old railway lines before a short climb to an isolated pub (the Lion Inn), then down to more railway lines, followed by a plunge down to the valley and a steep climb up the other side, back to an old railway line. The final downhill 3m includes short sections of quiet road, but is mainly on paths across the moor.

There was an alteration to the route from last year, the steep climb came at about mile 18 rather than 20. Not much difference really, but I think it wasn't quite as steep as last year. This led me to think that this year I wouldn't get any cramp issues after the climb, but it did happen again. Not sure why, I had been taking S-caps regularly, drinking a reasonable amount. 

It slowed me down a bit, but it wasn't as bad as last year and I finished about 8 minutes earlier which was pleasing. Melanie went on ahead at mile 22 and flew along the remaining 5.5m - Hardmoors marathons are well know for being a bit long.

It was a good day for running, cloudy but you could see for some distance, so there were some lovely views down into Farndale and Rosedale. A nice breeze on the tops.

One of our clubmates, Anita D, chose this to be her first marathon. She only completed a Couch to 5K programme less than a year ago and see forgot her running shoes for this event, so she ran it all in sneakers. She finished, a great achievement