When someone says "Garden" I think manicured lawns, maybe some bedding plants. So it’s easy to scoff at the propaganda coming from the White Star Running facebook group pre-race. Huge hills? Muddy Trails? Not possible, after all this is the Larmer Tree races held at the beautiful Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset, or is it Wiltshire, or is it both. There’s a rumor that the start line covers the Dorset / Wiltshire border, but I digress. Where was I, oh yes, gardens. In this instance I’m glad the Facebook scare mongering was true, after all, I’m a trail runner. I don’t need grass! I need mud and rocks and roots and plodding accents and slippery sketchy descents and the Larmer tree races had it all. If there were picturesque gardens then I for one didn’t see them, not even with my panoramic views from the top of the infamous “pregnant sheep hill”. What a blast! Who needs croquet lawns when you can run through single track woodland with the pungent wild garlic? The only grass I did need was something to park my car on so I didn’t get bogged down post-race and the organisers managed this well despite the recent wet weather and warnings that the site had become churned up. With easy registration, free post-race hot food, excellent marshals, well stocked aid stations, great signage, awesome ‘proper’ off road trails, a fun atmosphere and the all-important bling this is a staple on my annual events calendar. Welcoming to first timers and seasoned trail junkies with distances over the weekend to satisfy lovers of the 10Km up to marathon there is something for everyone. Want to run in the dark? Oh yeah, they have that covered too! I’m only dropping points on the score for local support since, as is with trail races, don’t expect the locals out in force cheering on the idiots ankle deep in mud.