Race | National Trust 10k at Hanbury Hall
One of the thing I love about running races is it helps you push distances and commit to running in a way I can sometimes feel less enthusiastic about when it is raining outside or I've had a couple of glasses of wine the night before.
Having developed a nasty cough over Christmas, I wasn't feeling that enthusiastic about getting out for a Sunday morning run. After a google of what races might be happening locally I stumbled across the Trust 10k, an entirely free 10k race organised by the National Trust on National Trust properties around the UK.
We drove over to Hanbury Hall on the Sunday morning in the pouring rain and felt excited to discover what the double distance parkrun event would be like. Parking was free which was nice surprise and the start was beautifully casual. We lined up, a marshal rang a bell and off we went!
If I thought I might be the first to finish I'd be quite worried about the route - the marking isn't great and the course is enjoyably twisty. There also weren't any marshals out on the course which didn't bother me but I've experienced lots of complaints when running parkruns before for not having an incredibly clearly marked course. Yes, I know parkrun is free, and yes I know it's absurd but it does happen a lot!
Out on the course it was three laps of super fun muddy countryside with some fun quirks like small gates you had to squeeze through. It was definitely one to run in trail shoes because it's 90% off road with some small hills too and my road shoes were causing a real hinderance although it was an impressive way to add some strength work in to my run!
We got a nice cheer from some supporters and the two marshals every time we passed the end of the lap which was a nice encouragement and it was such fun running round with the Speedster who was taking it easy and chilling at my pace.
We finished in about an hour and walked back to our hire car grinning ear to ear. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning and a fantastic way to engage with the National Trust.
Pop along to https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/trust10-trail-runs to find your nearest Trust 10k run.
Having developed a nasty cough over Christmas, I wasn't feeling that enthusiastic about getting out for a Sunday morning run. After a google of what races might be happening locally I stumbled across the Trust 10k, an entirely free 10k race organised by the National Trust on National Trust properties around the UK.
We drove over to Hanbury Hall on the Sunday morning in the pouring rain and felt excited to discover what the double distance parkrun event would be like. Parking was free which was nice surprise and the start was beautifully casual. We lined up, a marshal rang a bell and off we went!
If I thought I might be the first to finish I'd be quite worried about the route - the marking isn't great and the course is enjoyably twisty. There also weren't any marshals out on the course which didn't bother me but I've experienced lots of complaints when running parkruns before for not having an incredibly clearly marked course. Yes, I know parkrun is free, and yes I know it's absurd but it does happen a lot!
Out on the course it was three laps of super fun muddy countryside with some fun quirks like small gates you had to squeeze through. It was definitely one to run in trail shoes because it's 90% off road with some small hills too and my road shoes were causing a real hinderance although it was an impressive way to add some strength work in to my run!
We got a nice cheer from some supporters and the two marshals every time we passed the end of the lap which was a nice encouragement and it was such fun running round with the Speedster who was taking it easy and chilling at my pace.
We finished in about an hour and walked back to our hire car grinning ear to ear. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning and a fantastic way to engage with the National Trust.
Pop along to https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/trust10-trail-runs to find your nearest Trust 10k run.
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