From Rumana Chowdhury….
Worthy of the name ‘Britain’s most beautiful’, this is a lovely autumnal event running around Kielder Water in Northumberland. The half marathon is point to point, with easy parking at the start and a quick shuttle bus back at the end. I suspect if you’re the kind of person that likes running round Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs, you’re going to love this. The trail is easy to run (in road shoes!), not too congested, with little of pockets of very enthusiastic spectators every so often who put on a smile on your face, but also lots of peaceful moments of just hearing yours and your fellow runners footsteps through the beautiful forest. It is definitely undulating, with a fun switchback section where you zig-zag up a hill (perhaps less fun for the marathoners who were at mile 21), in my case whilst “Eye of the tiger’ was blasting out of some speakers, with a cowbell you jump and ring at the top which I just about managed to do without falling over! All good fun. I wasn’t feeling my best on the day, but it was the perfect event for running with a mate and feeling part of a wonderful running community.
