Run with us

Race report by Glyn  Manton, our hard working and hard running club secretary!- This was my big challenge from last year, moved to this weekend.  A big challenge as I I get bored swimming, do not swim properly so most I had managed before I signed up was a 1k.  Camping at Holkham was amazing- Great venue and it was nice to be in a normal world of big well run events.  My huge nerves did not get the better of me and it was quite emotional lining up with what seemed like hundreds of swimmers for my wave (1407 finishers).  My best swim and beat cut off, good cycle and run-well with not running for a bit with dodgy ankle and it going again then the best I can do is finish and try to keep running (ultra pace/style)- If anyone fancies putting 3 disciplines together it can be done with adjustment to a marathon training plan (eg add swimming and more cycling)-Just the chance to camp at Holkham is worth it.  Great to see so many lovely people who gave me support Carmine De Grandis, Emily Barnston Gary Cooper to name a few.  Will I go and do the full one?  No- complete respect for those that can run 26 miles after 2.4 miles swim and 110 on bike, but not for me!

https://resultsbase.net/event/5307/results?round=12465&fn=Glyn&ln=Manton

The course begins just above Newcastle at Kirkharle Courtyard, and heads north for 4-5 miles before turning east just below Rothbury, it heads for Amble and Alnmouth near the coast, then hugs the shoreline all the way north to Bamburgh Castle. 

A 6:30am covid secure start, released one at a time, with jokes from the compere. I started easy, no rush, through fields, gates and farms, with sheep aplenty. Heavy clouds overhead, high spirits underneath. A good road section 5k in for a couple of miles, a chance to chat with fellow runners, and to let the grassy dew sodden shoes dry. 

I recall the hard section before pit stop one, about three quarters of a mile over clod ridden long wet grassy fields, so rutted and bobbled it was impossible to run (but we had been warned about this). My recollection after this point gets a bit out of order, so these are the key memories, highs and lows.

Countless fields farms and moorlands, several farmhouses where I half expected the pig Babe to be at home. 

The mist and thick drizzle reducing visibility to 20-30 meters, I’m sure these moors would be amazing on a clear day, they were impressively wild and windy as it was.

Being told at pit stop 2 that I’d done the hard bit (30k in and we’d done the big hill part of the course)...somehow I felt the hard bit was still to come.

I loved the fern forest at 45k, the thick mist made it feel positively primeval, and the coming and going of the rain was just part of the fun.

The sign ‘watch out for the bull’ - great. 

The signs everywhere, every 50 meters, you literally can’t get lost.

The stiles. The fences. Some great looking holiday homes. 

The sheep, and trying to avoid a never ending quantity of sheep sh*t. 

A small town with a crowd on the bridge cheering us on. 

Warkworth Castle, a classic, large and relatively intact ruin. We ran round the side in the dry moat, with the river running alongside us.

Some treacherous muddy wooded sections. Thinking I was glad to be in the first wave as this bit would just get worse, only to fall about 1k later, okay, but caked in mud.

Wondering where the mid way pit stop was, the halfway base camp for the two dayers, it’s at 55k! 

The pit stops, so we’ll stocked, the organisation is fantastic.

Photographers dotted everywhere, all camped out, wrapped in their protective gear.

Running through Alnmouth and over the bridge, seeing the estuary and knowing that the last leg heading north along the coast would be soon.

Cycle paths where I played cat n mouse with other runners as we all rotated through jeffing cycles.

Hitting the coast at 70k, grabbing a picture, feeling great, only to be even more battered by wind and rain, which just got worse from then onwards. 

Feeling like that was it, I’m walking to the finish line from here, with 15 miles to go. 

Dramatic coast line, crashing waves, coastal paths, dune based sections. 

The incredible volunteers who all seemed so happy so full of energy, despite the long hours and pouring rain.

Pulling myself together and jeffing to the end, helped on by the presence of other runners. 

Dunstanburgh Castle, right on the coast, in ruins, with our course over wet rocky beach like conditions.

Golf courses with people out playing, the weather was awful, thinking they must be mad, thinking the same about a group in wet suits coming out of the dunes, realising I must be mad as well.

Running the last 5k, slowly, with the same guy I’d been chatting to just 5k in.

Seeing Bamburgh Castle for the first time, the people cheering outside the pub, the incentive to not stop now, going past the castle, slight dune based detour, then finally the finish line! 

11hrs 41min of running, 12hr 46 overall (over an hour in pit stops).

Tired, cold, wet, I’d been disheartened by the rain and struggled to recall why I did this. I spent half an hour in the shower just warming up, I was asleep at half 9.

Billed as 100k across moorlands, by winding rivers, through ancient forests and along miles of dramatic coastline, heading north to finish at the magnificent Bamburgh Castle. It certainly delivered and I was glad to have to risen to the challenge.

Results link.