Race To The Castle is the newest race in the Threshold Trail Series, taking runners 100km along St. Oswald’s Way in Northumberland. Originally meant to have been run in 2020, it was one of many races to be postponed due to Covid, and had its inaugural event on 26th and 27th June 2021.
Newport runner Ellen Deighton took on the non-stop option, choosing to cover the 100km (62 mile) distance in one go. Starting in Kirkharle, the route took in the hills and woodlands of Northumberland National Park before going along the River Coquet. Past the halfway point, runners joined the coastal path, heading north to finish at Bamburgh Castle.
Up until the evening before the event the forecast was for dry weather, though cooler than predicted a few days earlier in the week, but runners woke up to a cold and rainy day.
Conditions didn’t improve, with only a couple of periods of brief respite from the rain, and the persistent rain and wind caused a number of runners to retire due to hypothermia.
Medics at the checkpoints resorted to handing out makeshift hand warmers made from surgical gloves filled with hot water to try to help the runners through the night! The rain also made the terrain more difficult, with lots of mud to contend with along the way on paths that were already narrow, uneven and overgrown.
One section even involved scrambling across slippery rocks around Dunstanburgh Castle by the light of a head torch.
Considering all the challenges of this race, Ellen was pleased just to make it to the finish, and completed the route in a time of 18 hours and 35 minutes, reaching her goal of finishing before the first hint of daylight on Sunday morning.
