Located in a secluded woodland on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, nestled on the Purbeck lowlands between Swanage, Wareham & Corfe Castle you’ll find Burnbake Campsite. And on the weekend of 9/10 September it played host to White Star Running and another instalment of their popular Bad Cow weekender. Saturday consisted of solo & relay twelve hour slog fest known as the 'frolic' and Sunday was the half and marathon distance races.

The relatively flat route consisted of a 4.4ish mile lap though beautiful Dorset countryside. Sandy trails carved their way through a wide expanse of heathland with a tiny spattering of road, a sprinkle of hard packed trail and a short stint through some woodland single-track. 

There were two main fuelling stations on the route. The start / finish line fuel was Mountain Fuel provided by XMiles, Dorset based endurance sports store (www.xmiles.co.uk). Half way around the lap was the ever popular ‘Love Station’, a staple of White Star Running events, hosting all the usual favourites including sweet and savoury nibbles, water, coke, as well as keg based drink for the more adventurous racers.  With access to twelve pit stops for a marathon this format of event ensures you can rely on aid provided or if you prefer access to your own drop bag every four miles or so means refuelling is never far away.

As with all White Star Running events, fancy dress was in full effect giving the usual relaxed feel. These races are jovial from the start, far from intimidating and there is a firm focus on fun and inclusion. If you are a seasoned racer and feel the urge for a full on race then there are plenty of speedsters to take on but the friendly nature of these events mean you will feel just as at home if you are tackling your first ever event.

Finishers received a fab cow head medal designed by Dorset’s Lucy Tidbury (https://www.lucysfarm.co.uk/) , a bottle of Piddle brewery beer (http://www.piddlebrewery.co.uk/) , a cow print buff-thing and a big hug.

White Star Running also have a fantastic Facebook community, with their group awash with banter ahead of each race which really helps build the excitement. Along with free race photos & an ever growing list of well organised, excellent value sell out races you could do a lot worse than enter a WSR event.

I’ve dropped a point for course uniqueness simply due to the lapped nature of the event. I’m not crazy about lapped races but don’t let that put you off. Another point off for natural beauty simply because the location doesn’t have that much variation, that’s not to say its not a fab quiet out of the way place to run.