Kielder Half Marathon – 6th October 2023
by Paul Orange
Steep decline signs are all around the course at the Kielder half marathon, and I thought that could be the title for the story of my build-up for this event, due to injury, poor life choices and work commitments.
Despite the most horrible inverse taper you’ve ever seen, at 7.00, I was in my car headed up to Kielder, driving through endless drizzle, and parking up in yet more drizzle and mist, so much so, standing on the dam, you couldn’t see the reservoir, so the chance of it being Britain’s most picturesque half marathon (TM) seemed to ring a bit hollow.
It was one of those days where trying to figure out what to wear was a real teaser. By the end of the race, it was getting up to 16C, so my t-shirt under club vest proved a bit too much and I was a bit over-warm. I didn’t see any other Crookites at the start area, so sorry if I missed you.
The race set off 10 mins late, at 10.25, by which time, the mist was starting to lift, and view was appearing out of the murk. The first 4 miles are a loop out along the dam, through the woods and back along the dam to the start line. Like most of the woods section, the course is undulating, rather than hilly.
The only two hills of note (IMHO) are around mile 8, one leading up to it, then a longer switch-back incline just afterwards. For those of you who are interested, my Garmin said it was 305m of total elevation – which is proportionally a bit less than Jubilee or Hackworth parkruns, so it’s not an overly hilly course.
Given the first loop, the first five miles seems to go by quickly, but miles 5 to 10 … not so much. Given that most of the course is on fairly narrow (2 people-wide) forest tracks, it wasn’t until the second half of the race that I felt I was out of the pack and had a bit of space around me.
I would say that the general vibe of the runners was of focussed effort, not much chat during. But in the finish area, there was a lot of chat and a lot of smiles. The course was lovely, mostly running through the forest around the reservoir and occasional views across the countryside. Well marshalled, with lots of water, gel and isotonic stations, plus plenty of loos out on the course, I couldn’t fault the organisation.
I was chuffed to bits with a 2.13.11 finish, anything under 2.30 was going to make me happy. The drive back along the A68 in some autumnal sunshine was glorious, and the traditional hot bath and cold beer recovery is feeling good.
Out on the trails is my happy place, but if you’re trail-curious, then this is the event for you.
If you want a picture – this is the view as I got to Kielder:
