This was my first ‘Tough Runner’ race. They seem to take a bit of a different (more fun/modern?) approach to their races (certainly in their marketing) to the more traditional events, so I was pretty intrigued.

There was plenty of parking at the nearby ‘Mountain View Ranch’ (but had to pay £5), and a few portaloos which never had big queues. There was also a walk of about 15 mins from the car park to the start line. The weather was really warm so it was fine to walk and wait around for the start in your running gear. If the weather had been bad/cold then this may have caused a slight problem, as there was no bag-drop.

The atmosphere at the start was very friendly and inclusive. The race clearly welcomes all abilities.

The race itself was fab. All set in the stunning woods near Castell Coch on the outskirts of Cardiff. It had everything you want from a good trail run; long sweeping downhills, brutal and very steep climbs, fast corners, fallen trees and streams to leap over and eye gouging tree branches to dodge.

Some of the climbs were really steep so make sure you do some hill training beforehand!

There were two opportunities to get water and considering it was a Sunday morning in the woods, the crowds were pretty good!

There were loads of great photos of the race which appeared online a couple of days later and they were free to download, which is a rare treat! Make sure you reference the generous photographer’s Flickr page if you use any.

No T-shirt but a very jazzy/shiny medal at the end.

I highly recommend this race and have signed up to 2 more Tough Runner races this year. I’d forgotten how much fun trail races were. Forget about PBs and just have a blast!