Hardmoors Goathland marathon 2018

The weather at this event can vary. In some of the previous years if has been torrential rain and it has been cold. This year we were blessed with dry weather leading up to the event. Friday night had seen heavy rain, but that just gave a surface layer of mud, it was generally firm underneath so it was fine. The temperature was good as well, a bit of a southerly breeze but not too bad at all. Definitely the best conditions I had seen in my five visits to this event.

I was running with Kath and Elly and as usual we had a great day. We started off gently through the village to the old railway line

and down to the river where we headed towards the waterfall. As usual there were small queues at some of the early gates

Sadly there had been a landslip so we couldn't go past the waterfall so we headed up some steps back into the village emerging next to the Mallyn Spout Hotel before setting off across the moors on the usual route with some lovely views.

Just after the first checkpoint were the Sports Sunday photographers

followed by the slog up to Simon Howe and then south across the moor towards Wardle Rigg

The approach to Wardle Rigg checkpoint is often very wet , but it was fine this year and I was beginning to wonder if using waterproof socks had not been required. However later sections were a bit wet so I think I made the right decision.

Down towards the railway line the autumn colours were lovely

Across the railway line and up the climb on the other side

and on to Levisham Bottoms in the direction of the Levisham Elbow. Plenty of highland cattle around here but they showed no interest in us at all.

Another climb up to the Levisham checkpoint and then gently up past the spectacular Hole of Horcum to the next checkpoint. Down the Old Wives Way with views of Blakey Topping.

On towards Fylingdales and on to Lilla Cross and down the boggy section, which we loved, to the Ellerbeck checkpoint at 23.5 miles.

5 miles to go which would take us about an hour because of the ascent up to Simon Howe. We crossed the railway line again, no trains in sight today.

One we reached Simon Howe and the cheery marshalls there, we started the last bit across the moors to Goathland Village Hall which we made before darkness fell.

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I do love this event. As with all Hardmoors events, the marshalls and volunteers in the Village Hall were lovely and Jon and Shirley did their usual excellent job of organising the whole thing.

Hardmoors Osmotherley marathon 2018

This Hardmoors marathon has more ascent than any of the other Hardmoors marathons. 29m  roughly and ascent of round about 5000 feet. Melanie was going to run this with me but in the last week she has developed a sore hip and so she decided it would not be sensible to run this event. Instead I had the lovely company of Elly and Kath.

It is also the last Hardmoors race from Osmotherley (the parking area has been sold and there will be nowhere else to park). However, Jon, the Race Director, has changed the Wainstones route so that it goes through the village (and has given the Wainstones route even more ascent that Osmotherley....)

The start was in the usual place up the hill and out of the village

and shortly after there are lovely views to the west

and the usual queue at the next gate

Past the radio mast and the runnable descent down to Scarth Moor

As we are a little shy, we gently tiptoed past the SportsSunday photographers hoping they wouldn't notice us

and onto the long drag up Carlton Bank

with lovely views back to the west

and towards Roseberry Topping in the east

Another climb up to Cringle Moor with a view to the west

and a view back to the west towards Carlton Bank

Down the steep descent from Cringle Moor

Up Cold Moor and then the lower path (which was unusually mud free !) to Clay Bank and then up Hasty Bank now heading west

and down the Wainstones

Off to Chop Gate (again no mud !) which is halfway, before the hardest climb of the day up Trennets.

The views to the north are lovely

Finally we made it to to the top and we had a runnable section. Again we could see Roseberry Topping in the far distance

and then Scugdale

We made it to the Lordstones checkpoint for our second visit there and were greeted by one of the Race Director's motivational signs (there was about 8.5 miles to go at this point)

Up Carlton Bank again and the a lovely run down, so much better than going in the other direction which we had done several hours earlier.

Up the dreaded steps through the woods and not far to go now

We made it back in a faster time than last year so we were happy !

Jon and Shirley do a fabulous job of organising these events. The marshalls out on the course and in the hall at the end were just as amazing as ever.

The parking is about a mile from Race HQ at the village hall and when Kath and I left the Hall (Elly had left earlier) we must have looked beat as the Ambulance Driver who had been supporting the event offered us a lift back to the car park. A ride in an ambulance to top off a lovely day !

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Forest and Moors marathon 2018

We were up early for this and left home at 6.30. I had to de-ice the car before we could get going. We saw a lovely sunrise on the way down to Dalby Forest.

We arrived in plenty of time and registered (no kit check although there was a compulsory kit list). It was pretty cold waiting for the start, but it got warmer after a while.

The route is very roughly a square with the start and finish at the south east corner. Last year the signage was a bit variable, especially after the half marathon split off at 10K. This year the signage was very good, there was only one place where I thought a sign would have been useful although we knew which way to go.

After an initial climb we had a lovely downhill into Stain Dale, with the inevitable climb out

The view down Stain Dale

At the top of the climb was the Fox and Rabbit Pub and there was a lovely descent down Cross Dale to the North York Moors railway line

Here was a change in the route from last year - we missed out a hill !!! This is very unusual we are used to Race Director's adding hills not eliminating them 😏

We stuck fairly close to the railway line (no trains came along sadly) before climbing to Levisham Elbow where the half marathon runners left us.

and we had a run down some tarmac

to Levisham station where they were clearly expecting a train.

Another climb out of the valley and back to running westwards. Finally we turned north and into Cropton Forest. Last year the forest trails seemed to go on a long time, but knowing the route this year it didn't seem so bad. Finally we left the forest behind and got onto the moors

Down to the Wheeldale stepping stones

where my phone got a little hot and bothered

but Melanie's was fine

Up and over Simon Howe. It was starting to get a bit breezy with wind coming from the south and we knew the last six miles or so were going to be in a southerly direction so we tried to run as much as we could on this easterly section. Down to Ellerbeck and into the outer perimeter of Flyindales. Past Allerston High Moor to Malo Cross

Followed by probably the toughest climb up to the Bridestones

A lovely descent (we went wrong here last year but it was well signed this year) into High Stainland before the rather tough climb back to the finish. 5hr 55min so we knocked off twenty five minutes of last year's time (though we did miss out a hill this year !).

This is a lovely, cheap, low key event with fantastic scenery and it is for a good cause (mountain rescue). I am surprised it doesn't seem to sell out, but there were lots of other races on this weekend. Well recommended 😀

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