This was certainly more than your average trail half marathon!

Starting from the Tank Museum at Bovington there were plenty of impressive looking tanks around to look at before the start of the race. 

Everything was well organised beforehand with numbers sent in the post so you could literally go from car to start line in a matter of minutes (via the ample portaloos). The lack of a bag drop was an annoyance to some people but didn't bother me as I just left everything in the car and then took my car key with me.

The first mile or so was on tarmac before getting out on to the trails which started off as nice compact earth before getting to the ground which were easily identifiable as the tank training ground. Huge ruts, puddles (small lakes?) and mud glorious mud!

There were 3 aid stations along the route (the now-famous amazingly stocked lovestation during mile 4 and mile 11 plus a basic water and gel station about halfway). 

After the 2nd trip through the lovestation you feel like you're almost home but little did you know at that point that you still had about 5 miles to go, hence the "ultra" half marathon comment in the headline.

When running on trails you know your races aren't going to be bang on the distance, but an extra 3 miles on top of the advertised half-marathon was bit of a shock! I was already a bit sweary when my watch ticked over to 14 miles so having to run through 4 (or 5) knee high puddles / ponds in during the bonus miles made me a bit more grumpy.

However, all grumpiness was forgotten when I crossed the finish line. The medal was phenomenal and you also got a buff / snood as well as a bottle of local ale. There was even a couple of hugs dished out too which is always a nice touch at White Star events.

Would I run this race again? Probably not as I have ticked it off the list (plus I don't think it is happening again next year) but I would certainly recommend it to trail runners who know what they are signing up for. And as event orgnaisers go, White Star certinaly know how to put on a good crack.