Tag: trail

Headtorch runs schedule

For those having withdrawal symptoms from our summer outrun season coming to an end, there is hope….  Headtorch runs are nearly here!  For those new to this, the runs follow a similar format to summer outruns – just in the dark (so headtorches, sensible clothing and footwear for whatever the weather throws at us are needed).  As we know these don’t suit everyone, they are only ever in addition to our usual road run in Melton.  This year’s schedule is below:

  • 5th October – Stathern, Red Lion
  • 19th October – Hambleton Peninsula (followed by Grainstore)
  • 9th November – Scalford, Kings Arms
  • 30th November – Melton Sports Village
  • 21st December – Hose, Rose and Crown
  • 11th January – Curry Run, Cafe Mash, Burton on the Wolds
  • 1st February – Old Dalby, Belvoir Brewery
  • 22nd February – Somerby, Stilton Cheese Inn
  • 15th March – Ab Kettleby, Sugar Loaf

29 Aug 2016 – Old Dalby Hill Race

A great local race that has suffered with heavy rain for the last couple of years, this year’s Old Dalby Hill Race was greeted by sunshine, blue skies and a horde of Striders – all there to take on the 4.5 mile (500 ft ascent) race.  As the name suggests, this involves a long climb up the main hill, a few bonus lumps and bumps on the loop through Grimston and then the quick descent through the woods back to Old Dalby.  If you’ve joined our Old Dalby and Grimston outruns this summer, you’ll know the paths.

Jason Barton was first Strider back, in 2nd place overall (29:17).  Luke Eggleston (32:21), Alan Thompson (33:20), Mike Bryan (33:47 and second local male), Paul Geeson (35:25), Clive Kent (35:45), Michael Atton (36:17), Katie Hateley (36:48 and first local lady), Dan Valencia (36:59), Rich Gray (37:07), John Houghton (37:44), Ben Pickard (37:44), Christie Jones (39:16), Sarah Procter (41:46), Tony Allen (47:19 with Merlin), Kaye Mead (49:36), Lou Houghton (50:03).  With Jenny Kent, Matt Chalmers and Laura Pickard impromptu marshals and other Striders supporting we had around a quarter of the total field, a great day out.

7 Aug 2016 – The Jenny Kent Inaugural Jubilee Way Run

All the best ideas are the result of idle conversation in the pub after a run. I happened to mention that I’d always wanted to run a long distance footpath from beginning to end. Why don’t we then? The Jubilee Way from Burrough Hill to Belvoir Castle…it’s local, plenty of pubs to stop at en route. A couple of conversations in the café after parkrun garnered interest, so Matt put an advert on Facebook and much to my surprise people signed up! So we got baking and sorted out all the logistics, and on 7th August 15 intrepid striders and Mischief the dog assembled at Burrough Hill on a sunny Sunday morning, ready to take on the 21 mile route plus ~2 miles to the pub…

The trig point on Burrough Hill


The first 6 miles were along familiar footpaths to those who’ve done the Somerby outrun, but with significantly less mud – No lost shoes today! Through the woods to Little Dalby and then across the fields to Burton Lazars. Again familiar territory following a nettle-filled path across Lag Lane and into Melton Mowbray, crossing the railway line by the bridge, up the industrial estate and through the country park to Matt’s house – our first pit stop at 6 miles.

Arriving into Melton Mowbray 

Anyone fancy jelly, guacamole, chocolate cake, bananas, crisps or jelly babies? There was quite a spread, and I was already hungry!! We drank plenty of water, juice and tea, topped up water bottles and headed back into the country park and along the old railway line before picking up another footpath across uneven fields full of scratchy crops and nettles. Only a minor diversion where nettles and a thorny hedge blocked the path, but we soon picked it up again. We survived the cows and soon arrived into Scalford and our second stop at Tom and Nicky’s at 9 miles.

Croissants, crisps, malt loaf, chocolate fingers and loads more cold drinks were very refreshing on such a warm afternoon. We were soon on our way again, out past the church and along a lane into the fields. Arriving into Goadby Marwood there was a group posing session outside the village hall.

Arriving into Goadby Marwood

Harvesting is in full flow with tractors and combine harvesters everywhere as we head up to Eaton and our final pit stop in the village hall car park. Fortified by Chocolate brownies, lemon drizzle cake and only a bit harassed after sitting on an ants nest, we headed out of the village and into the woods along Tofts lane.

Some undulating miles, I found it hard going for a while, but eventually we got to the top. The path followed the ridge through the woods, you could see for miles across the Vale of Belvoir! We gradually dropped down to the road and then crossed into more woodland that wound down towards Belvoir. We heard lots of shouting and rounded a corner into a human tunnel of pats on the back, which cheered us all up no end. We emerged onto the road past Belvoir castle and morale was high – we were almost there! Admittedly, we were almost there a few more times before we actually were!!!

We turned onto a path through the fields towards Woolsthorpe and could see the castle floating atop the hill above us like something out of a Disney movie. The village unfortunately preceded a steep hill behind the cricket pitch (interrupting a game as we ran past), but we reached the top and then ran up the road singing “Don’t stop me now” to the layby that marked the junction between the end of the Jubilee Way and the Viking Way.

At this point Brian decided that he wanted to run a full marathon, so he, Clive, Katie and Jon went on ahead to get an extra lap in, the rest of us adopted a more leisurely pace, taking advantage of the downhill path to the canal and the nice flat towpath that led us all the way to the Mucky Duck pub and the finish line, where we were greeted by the welcome sight of Nicky and Laura on the bridge and a pint in the lovely garden.

Welcoming home the marathon runners a few minutes later

6 Aug 2016 – Tour of Bradwell

The ‘Tour of Bradwell’ is a self-navigating race around the beautiful Dark Peaks. There are two races ‘Half Tour’ 16 miles with 3000ft of ascent and ‘Full Tour’ 33 miles with 6300ft of ascent. I decided to go for the ‘Half Tour of Bradwell’ to start testing my navigational skills.

The drive alone to Bradwell was beautiful so I knew I was in for a treat with stunning scenery and I certainly was not disappointed. The start of the race was in the village park and with a countdown of 3,2,1 and with a honk of a clown comedy horn we were all off. There are 7 Checkpoints to reach throughout the race and most of the runners were together at Checkpoint 1 and equally all took the wrong turn after this point. 

After 1 mile someone realised and this was when I realised I had broken Rule No 1 or Self-navigation, never follow the person in front of you in case they have taken the wrong turning!  The race continued through Castleton, Hope, Aston, Thornhill, Hope Valley and back to Bradwell and with only 1 other episode of getting lost were I ended up on a Quakers private garden, I made it back in one piece and loved every minute of it, even the stinger hills!

The Finish was met with Tea, Flapjack, Soup and an unexpected prize of a bottle of wine. A great race with a very friendly group of people.

The Full Tour will be a must next year. Anyone else??

[Katie]

24 Jul 2016 – Snowdonia Trail Marathon

I`ll leave the mysteries and glitz for the gossip columns and focus on the big race itself, that we had what 20 Stilton Striders at this event racing the 10k, Half Marathon and full marathon (ok it’s an ultra) in Wild Wales is absolutely fantastic.

What isn’t so fantastic is again we would be doing the event in heavy rain as half an hour before the event the heavens open, at least it’s a tad warmer than last year when the weather caused some rather massive anxiety and self confidence issues. Our big group of runners are pretty well kitted out, really not sure if some of them know what they are facing but hey ho they are smiling! The half and full start together leading out the village before a very sharp climb on Snowdon’s lower slopes that has far too many people walking in the first mile, its heavy traffic and good agility is needed in case of death by bum bag or backpack. Making good progress as pass Mike Bryan and Jim Hatherley early on, enjoy the first four miles of just grinding up the endless hill, there`s the masochist in me. Long fell like downhill brings us out near the Snowdon ranger before over a mile of tarmac on the way to Rhyd-Du and the turnoff to Beddgelert forest. Before I know it I’m looking at signs for 8 and 11 miles, have to say I was thinking of the team out there doing the half how they were finding it, when Luke would get back etc.

Make it to Beddgelert village wondering how far Stuart Shaw is in front as haven’t seen him since 5-6 miles thinking the mud and terrain near Llyn Dinas may have slowed him down only to find they had trailed the surface like Beacon Hill! Mud still to come though as we crossed the road to the far side of Llyn Gwynant and quite a merry adventure it is round there. Simon Bottrill I found out later somehow picked a wrong turn somewhere and ended up thigh deep in the lake losing 20 mins running time in the process, not good as it was tiring enough at this bit. 17 miles in and the course was changed, the long slog upto Pen Y Pass took another route although it was a damn lot steeper, some people preferred it, personally I didn’t. 20 miles and you’re at Pen Y Pass the highest road in the UK, some people may have said this year’s course was shorter than the 29.3 miles of last year but unless they’ve shaved the mountain down somewhat from here on it was exactly the same as last year’s course.

Instead of plumping for last year’s heroics in a vest I admit I was tired and went for a base layer, an energy gel and a protein bar as I started climbing the very hard going Pyg track up Wyddfa, a fresh looking Jim Hatherley passes me at 21 miles. Even the Half Marathoners had a hard climb going up the Snowdon Ranger path but the Pyg is the hardest route: full of scrambles, hand holds and parts of the route are very exposed to the elements, as well as the feeling it’s never ending. Pretty sure about 30 people must have passed me on the way to the summit, my pace was slow if persistent and it took a good mile downhill to get going again after the top, quads were burning on the descent after all the elevation.

Finally start descending a bit better and sadly the road back into Llanberis again doesn’t happen as we are sent through woodland trails around the back, taking my waterproof off cost me a good minute I can tell you. Past Dolbadarn Castle and I can smell the finish even starting to laugh as one runner goes the wrong way and heads towards Electric Mountain! Over the line to a great applause from the crowd and and the Striders faithful, a bit quicker than last year also.

Nothing on photo can tell you what this race is like, if you ran the full, the half or the 10k you deserve massive respect; it is a very tough race or perhaps event. You really have to have been ¾ up a Welsh mountainside exposed to the elements with badly aching legs and fading energy to imagine what this is like. I have massive respect for everyone who did this weekend’s races, everyone in my eyes achieved, although there were some stunning results also.

See you next year? [Rob]

29 Jul 2016 – GrimReaper Ultramarathon

Friday 29th July saw this year’s GrimReaper Ultramarathon take place at Grimsthorpe Castle, just over the border into Lincolnshire.  A laid back event, with options to run either 40, 70 or 100 miles on the marked 10 lap traffic free loop – with team options available and camping for those that want to make the most of the 26 hour cut off for all distances.

Rich Gray represented the club in the 40 mile solo race – after a solid first lap of 10 miles in 1.38, the sun came out, the pace gradually slowed and the gently rolling hills ended up feeling like much bigger inclines!  14th place, 7hrs 52mins.  [Rich]

17 Jul 2016 – Brooksie’s Bash

On a personal note, this was a 10-mile trail event that I did not want to do. Originally posted by Rob in the Striders group, I decided that I would accompany him on this one and have a run around with him (such is his relaxed “enjoy it/training run” approach with local trail runs). Shortly after entering it, I checked the entry list only to see the complete absence of his name from the entry list. He wasn’t in, nor was he going to be. I didn’t want to do it on my tod!

As a club we had a truly fantastic night at the Rainbows 100-lap challenge on Friday night, and that sprinting resulted in some tired legs on Saturday morning. On Saturday morning, I was roped into accompanying one of our juniors at race effort at parkrun – and so on Sunday I definitely did not want to do the event that I did not want to do.
Sunday morning came around and the feeling in the legs confirmed that I definitely did not want to do it. By this point, I had found out that another Strider (Simon Proctor) would be joining me, and that he was willing to drive. This kind of meant that I had to do the event that I didn’t want to do.
We got checked in to the registration in the picturesque grounds of Foremarke Hall, and the sun was beating down. I knew that there was no part of me that wanted to do this event.
Having convinced myself that I was just going to jog around it to complete it, we took to the start line – Simon was far more keen than I was to be completing his first race as a paid-up Strider. The run took us around the grounds of the £8,000 per term boarding school before exiting over some nearby fields. After a fairly open first mile, there is a long two mile stretch of single file running due to the lack of path width through crop fields and by streams, ditches, and hedges. This single file traffic meant that there was no option to take it easy – you simply had to keep up with the person in front as no-one wants to be the one to inconvenience the person behind (#verybritishproblems). At the 5 mile marker there is a testing hill across an open field with the first of two water stations at the top of it. I was starting to feel weirdly OK about doing this race by now.
A lovely run around the outskirts of Ticknall Village brought us into a mile long stretch of woodland – and everyone who knows running knows that on a good run there is always a wood!!! Another tough hill up to the 2nd water station at 7.5 miles and I was starting to love this event.
The hills fell away to a fast  downhill path which covered almost the entire last 2 miles of the course brought us back in to the school grounds and across the line. I crossed the line in 1.27.30 (43rd), and Simon in 1.38.47 (85th). We were both really pleased with our times, the route, the atmosphere, the organisation, and the complimentary boot-bag to all finishers. We were there for the inaugural event with 144 runners, but this event is already a staple race for next year’s calendar and a strong recommendation for anyone with a spare weekend next July. It’s only going to grow from here. Absolutely loved it, and knew that I would!
[Shane]

2 Jul 2016 – Beacon24

We were actually in Charnwood on an outrun last year when we saw the initial Beacon24 hosted by Poplar Running Club, little did we know we`d be doing it a year later! The Beacon24 is a fundraising based event based on doing 10k laps around Beacon Hill, Leicestershire`s 2nd highest hill with all proceeds to the Falcon centre which is a charity that deals with helping and supporting the local homeless.

Pretty much I`d been pushing this from the start as I thought would be excellent training for those doing Snowdon trail/Equinox as it’s a totally non-competitive event and would be superb training (even head torch!).

On the day itself we got myself (Rob), Rich Gray, Clive and Jenny Kent, Sarah Procter , Simon Proctor (no relation!) and Katie Hateley, the weather was very mixed going from heavy showers and winds to scorching summer day in two minutes. Can you believe for the mere £20 entry as solo we all got a T-shirt, medal and plenty of nutrition/hydration that was actually much better than many corporate events. Poplar did a great job of organising the whole event, making everyone feel welcome and appreciated and creating a great ambience.

Knowing I had an outrun at Rutland water the next day I clocked four laps which to be honest was hard enough, similarly did Rich and Katie. Sarah did her longest ever run distance doing three laps and Simon Proctor who did parkrun also that morning(!) did two.

Our two day `team` running a relay Clive and Jenny did superbly also, with Clive doing 42 miles (7 laps) and Jenny 24 miles (4 laps).

I really hope this event grows, it really makes great training and believe me the ascent of climbing the Beacon a few times soon makes it become very tough. If you would like to know more about the Falcon Centre homeless charity please click on the following link, and do look out for this one next year.

http://www.youthshelterhosting.veryclever.co.uk/

[Rob]

29 Jun 2016 – Club Handicap

With 37 runners (double last year’s figure!) in the event, well done to everyone who came along and gave it a go. It was a really positive evening, with some great running on the path around the Hambleton Peninsula. Great to see so many socialising at the Grainstore afterwards as well.

The growing membership makes calculating appropriate handicaps trickier than ever – the intention being that start times are staggered so that anyone could finish first, if they are on form, feeling good, give it everything and have that little bit of luck we all need. With predictions based on recent race times and parkrun PBs, there was 16 minutes between the first and last starter – and more than half the field finished within a minute of their predicted time.

It’s a deceptive course, sharply hilly from the start, with a flatter stretch towards the end that never seems to be over – with 5.2 miles total distance. The staggered start means that it is then a straight race for who can be first over the finish line.

For the first time in a few years, it was one of our quickest runners who worked his way through the field to finish first – so well done to Darren Glover, outsprinting Andy Nicholls in the finishing straight. They were closely followed by Simon Proctor in third and a host of Striders hot on their heels.

With so many runners, there are a few gaps in finish times where people were crossing the line in quick succession – if you recorded your own time then please send it to us and we’ll fill in the gaps in the results below.

Finally, thanks go to Michael from Melton Sports for once again donating vouchers as prizes for the first three finishers.