...I could just leave my review at that as I don't really need to say any more, but i will.

It was such a great day out in the North Yorkshire Moors running through some of the most beautiful countryside along an old heritage steam railway.

The route itself is hard - REALLY hard. No, wait... in fact it's REALLY REALLY REALLY hard. But what's the fun in only doing easy flat road 10ks and half marathons when there's a super fun and friendly race like this to get your teeth sunk in to. I've not known a race with so much brutal up-hill climbing (although I should point out that this was my first off-road trail race). The downhills seemed to pass by in a flash, whereas the hills were never ending - in one place it was just a very steep staircase to tackle (or walk). The terrain was generally manageable throughout, but i was very glad to be wearing trail shoes. I don't think road shoes would have worked well on the steeper sections.

It was a blisteringly hot day (2pm race start time), and the route had little shade in the middle section over the moors. There were two water stations on route which were very welcomed, with further water at the end.

The marshalling and route signage was very clear. There was a high-vis wearing marshal at every junction, twist and turn, and they were all cheering us on. A big thank you to you all! There was also various first aiders on the route which is comforting to see, especially in the hot conditions.

The idea of the race is to beat the train back to the station, taking 1hr 20mins. I think maybe this could be expended slightly to allow a few more people a chance of beating the train. It's a fantastic concept for a race (although not original, I know). You should definitely do a race like this if you get the chance to!

The event village was well organised, with a small beer tent too! A beer was definitely needed after that race.

Assuming this race happens again next year, it'll be firmly written in my dairy as one to do again.