This is a trail run organised by the local community of Harby, Leicestershire and is aimed at raising funds for the local primary school. With this in mind, I was surprised to see an entry list of over 1,000 participants across the 26.2 and 13.1 mile distances.

The field was a mixture of seasoned trail runners and people taking a more leisurely time to walk the courses. It was nice to see quite a few families with kids / teenagers walking the route.

The day was bitterly cold, -2 degrees at the start and didn’t get above +2 degrees all day. However, the registration was swift and easy meaning I could spend as much time as possible in my car with the heated seats on.

The weather itself was gloriously sunny which meant that as long as you were well wrapped up (2 x L/S tops, thick gloves and a buff for me) you could enjoy the beautiful weather. The scenery as well was stunning as you ran through the Vale of Belvoir (pronounced Beaver apparently), with the stunning Belvoir Castle sitting proud on the hill for a good portion of the run.

The route was a mixture of bridleways, trails through woods and lots of skirting the side of or running straight through farmers’ fields. Like many, I did find running through the fields very hard. Although the ground was frozen early on, the footfall meant that the mud softened easy to that consistency where it quickly sticks to your shoes (despite wearing expensive trail shoes) making each foot weigh twice as much. Its incredible how much this takes out of your legs and I found the middle sections, where you have about 5 miles of this terrain, particularly tough.

There were 4 aid stations on the 26.2 mile route, each enthusiastically staffed by parents and kids from the community offering a fantastic choice of homemade cakes, sweets, chocolate and savoury snacks as well as plenty of drink.

The last few miles are a little easier as you make your way back down the hills towards the village and have a few hundred metres of road to stamp off all the mud.

The finish itself is pretty basic as you run across a timing mat and straight into the village hall. No medal to t-shirt for finishing (although t-shirts were available for sale) however you did get a free drink.

If you’re looking for an early season, tough trail run with stunning scenery for a cheap entry fee then you won’t go far wrong with this event… as long as you’re not hoping for a medal.