The Bath Skyline is a series of 300 metre, 5km, and 10km races on Bath's Skyline trail by the University of Bath. There are four races in the series, which runs from November to February, and if you run all of them and collect the medals they interlock.

Relish Running puts on a great race. Runners leave in waves that aren't sorted by pace to disperse the crowd throughout the course and it went off without a hitch. Each wave got our own race briefing with a description of the course and, more importantly, it's muddy hills. Perhaps the most worrying bit for the 10km runners, making sure to turn off for the 2nd loop, was nothing to worry about due to the excellent course marshals and signage. The 10km course was two laps of the 5km course and as the 5km runners set off with the first wave of 10km runners it could have been confusing. 

The course loops round Bathampton Down and the Bath Golf Club. It sets off through the University's West Car Park, over a pedestrian bridge and along some fairly tame campus trails until heading downhill into Bathampton Woods - an absolute quagmire that caused a traffic jam on the first loop. Eventually the trail leads up into the course's steepest section along the old quarry tramway. After the hill runners cross some beautiful fields with a fantastic view of the city before crossing the Bath Golf Club parking lot, heading down a short road, and climbing up to the famouse Sham Castle. The course follows a country road, with the deepest puddles you'll encounter the whole race, before climbing back up to the pedestrian footbridge and around the sports field to the finish area or the split for the 2nd lap.

Finish area was great. Because of the staggered start there wasn't a huge lineup for medals or water and food and it was easy to find friends. I finished the race covered from head to toe in mud, got a unique medal (not why I run races, but always a bonus), and raced a stranger in a sprint to the finish. 

Tips:

• Don't worry about falling. You're going to get muddy at some point and it's really quite a soft landing.
• Wear trail shoes.
• Run through the puddles.
• Go to the university sports centre for lunch afterwards. Cheap healthy food, big portions.