​A quick review of Cardiff Half!

Firstly I only entered this as I completed a survey for Run4Wales and won a free entry to one of their races, this was the only one I could make. 

The race
This is a very large race, 29,000 running it. The start was near Cardiff Castle and was so packed. We never found the race village but did find some toilets, could have done with more for the volume of people. I was in the  purple wave and it took 30 mins from the 10 o'clock start for us to get moving. It was a great atmosphere with music playing and flames shooting up in front of the castle. 

It was a lovely route, with different things to see, I particularly loved the waterfront and seeing the boats. Some people were in fancy dress too, a bit like the Great North Run and London. It was busy and a little congested at times.

The spectators were amazing, so much support on route. Lots of people cheering us on and lots of signs to read, children giving high 5s and boards to give power boots. Lots of jelly babies on offer. There were bands playing, a choir singing, music at various points, it was amazing. I would definitely recommend this race. 

At the end we were given bottled water, energy gummies, medals, t-shirts (a lovely one) cereal bars! It was very busy at the finish and would be hard to find people if you haven't got a phone with you. There are meeting points, which you need to arrange with family/friends beforehand. I took my phone which was a bonus. 

My run
I didn't go into this to race it, but to take it steady and get round, this is what I did. I have a few injuries/issues so not at my best. I ran the first 5k, then adopted a run walk method. Which got me to the last bit, I then I had to walk 2k downhill with hundreds of people running past me which I really struggled with mentally. Anyone who knows how competitive I am will understand. My slowest ever half marathon but no regrets. 

It was all worth it though for the medal and t-shirt and to say I did Cardiff half marathon!!

Bev Barnes

​This was my first real test of the Norwegian Singles Method, which I switched to after my backyard ultramarathon earlier this year. The approach works lactate threshold from below rather than above — mostly easy running, almost every day, with gym work added in, rather than fewer sessions pushed hard. I'd had twelve weeks of the method under my belt before race day. 

The taper brought a bit of disruption — my mum visiting meant a few missed runs, and I picked up a cold in race week — but I went into the start line feeling anything but fatigued.
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About three to four weeks before the race, I ran a flat-out 5K time trial to get a read on where my half marathon pace actually sat, since the new method meant I was flying blind on that front. I came out with 18:58, which told me a sub-1:30 was on, but a full PB would be tight — and that's almost exactly how the race played out.

Race day started with good company. I lined up alongside Stuart from KADS, who was pacing the 1:30 group, plus Jay and Ryan — faces I hadn't properly raced alongside in years after we'd all drifted into different distances and paces. I eased off slightly at the start and got briefly split from the group, but closed the gap again within a couple of kilometres.

Through the Park Estate, past the castle, I probably pushed a touch too hard trying to stay with Stuart, Jay and Ryan — I reached the top around the 5K mark feeling like I'd dug slightly too deep. The long downhill onto Derby Road sorted that out fast, though; my heart rate dropped away and the miles started ticking by nicely through the university and up to Wollaton, even through a brief spell of rain.

Coming out of Wollaton around halfway, Jay and I decided to push on. The plan all along had been to sit with Stuart's 1:30 group to that point, then assess whether a sub-1:28 push was realistic. By mile eight, reality was setting in — the legs were starting to talk, and a PB push was off the table, but the course PB was still very much there to be taken.

Mile ten onto Castle Boulevard brought the first real dip — a quiet stretch that gives you too much time to dwell on how tired you are. But approaching mile eleven, Jay and I found the crowd again, got the adrenaline going, and used it to power up the next incline. Honestly, I owe a massive thank you to Jay and Ryan for those closing miles — without them leading the way, I think I'd have really struggled to hold the pace together, and they kept me motivated right to the line. From the train station onwards, the last mile and a half was about holding on through sheer effort, the three of us pushing each other on. We crossed the line within seconds of each other, with Stuart arriving about 30 seconds later, having paced the 1:30 group perfectly. A huge shout out to all three of them for their efforts on the day.

Crowd support has got noticeably better over the last three years compared to earlier editions, and it shows — people turn out in force now. One of my highlights is always Wollaton Hall, where the path narrows on the climb and the crowd presses in close enough either side that you could high-five your way up if you wanted — our own little Tour de France moment. And the finish funnel onto the grass, with everyone cheering through the last two to three hundred metres, never gets old.

Looking back, this was exactly what I'd hoped it would be: proof that the Norwegian Singles Method works for me, delivered off just twelve weeks of training. There's clearly more in the tank — I'm already looking ahead to going faster at Robin Hood next year.

Starting from Alwinton, Northumberland ran by the Mountain Rescue, walkers set off earlier while runners waited until 10am.

Small run along the road then straight off up some big hills but got them out of the way in the first half. Very mixed terrain with grassy hills, bogs, flagstones and very loose bouldered paths.

​I think we lucked out with the weather but the scenery was amazing. You can see for miles and even run along the border with Scotland on one side and England on the other.
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Plenty checkpoints on the way manned by the Mountain Rescue. They had water at some stops but not all and no food or supplies so needed to carry your own. Lovely wooden medal and bag at the end with snacks and water. Lovely run for a great cause. 

Victoria Sutton, Kimberley & District Striders

Event summary added below for those not familiar with this race:

The Cheviots Challenge Long Race is a tough but hugely rewarding trail event, with the 2026 edition covering approximately 22 miles and more than 4,265 feet of ascent through the spectacular Upper Coquetdale and Cheviot Hills.

Starting and finishing at the Rose & Thistle Inn in Alwinton, the event combines a challenging mountain route with excellent support from marshals and checkpoints, while runners must be prepared to navigate and carry their own essential food, water and safety equipment.

​Organised in partnership with Trail Outlaws to raise funds for the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team, the event offers a choice of running or walking and has a 10-hour cut-off. With stunning scenery, varied and demanding terrain and a friendly atmosphere, it is a memorable challenge for anyone looking to experience the Cheviots on foot.

Thanks to our chair Ryan Stocks for this trio of reports from a small selection of his recent spree of races. ​👍

• Distance: 6.3 miles/817ft elevation
• Venue: Bakewell Recreation Ground (parking in centre but I used Justpark for a driveway)
• Fee: £9.00 which included a Bakewell Pudding at the finish

What started out as a lovely morning soon materialised into a rare downfall of rain whilst we were about to start the race. The irony was I’d ran back to the car minutes beforehand to grab the cap as the sun was blazing. As we stood on the start to embark of a short loop around the field the rain stopped and the sun came back out.

The first mile was building into the climb which we hit hard in mile 2. A solid climb meandering through the woods, just over 500ft for the first 2 miles, something I had to walk in places. Then came a nice bit of downhill across paths and fields before another steady climb which brought us into mile 4.

Then a bit of fun over the next 2 miles, a gradual decline firstly through the woods which was quite technical before a welcome bit of road where I could build up a bit of pace and picked off a couple of people. A jaunt through a camp site brought us back into Bakewell for mile 6 before the fun of a river crossing. It’s only a short, sharp dip which halfway across got slightly deeper (think going from ankle to knee deep quite quickly… we were warned).

It’s a great bit of the course where the spectators gather to encourage you through it. The scramble up the bank involves either using the rope or the arms of the marshals! Then a short sprint finish on the grass to bring us back to the finish funnel and collect your Bakewell Pudding. P39 out of 312.

​Felt I ran ok here with not knowing what to expect. Looking at the field it was quite a competitive one to be fair. Interesting with this race from looking at the finish results, 50 DNS! No photos of me from this race but the people before and after did. I‘m assuming I had my sweaty Sloth look on :D!

I know this is a popular event with KADS, this was my first experience of it, in fact of any event consisting of stages.

After obsessively checking the weather all week to see when the heat wave going to break, it was a relief to see cooler temperatures expected on the day. Although I can’t say it felt cool in the park at the start with the sun beating down on us as we queued for our numbers and timers.​

The route is made up of 11 running stages totalling 13 miles, broken up by walking sections of around 2 miles in total. It was a pleasant surprise to find that a large part of the route was on wooded trail paths. Less pleasant was the elevation, majority of the course was either going very sharply up or very sharply down! Made it hard to get into a rhythm as even going down you had to be careful of tree routes etc. Which unfortunately got the better of Karen who ended up face down! Thankfully she has perfected her landing, and got away with only a few grazes, cleaned up by a first aider who seemed to appear out of nowhere! 

This report is a mirror on reflection of me joining KADS - Why didn't I do this before!

We set off from Dom's house at 5 and travelled to the Trunce HQ shortly after six.

I brought £3 cash for entry, and a change of shoes and socks because I knew we would cross three streams during the race.

We all ran to the start. Sam and I did a shorter warm up of 0.75 miles, while Dom and Ryan did a long warm up of 1.25 miles.

It was warm but not too hot and I started the race with some trepidation.

We ran along the tarmacked path for a bit and then gradually started ascending on dirt tracks with increasing gradients.  After a while as we entered some woods we had to walk because there was a gate ahead of us.  A short stretch of road followed a nice downhill section before we started our first major climb where everyone walked.

Eventually the hill flattened out and I would have been very happy to run, but I was held up by someone in front who wanted to walk - the path was very narrow, so very difficult to overtake.  Next we descended through the woods which was lovely and crossed our first stream(quite shallow).  Some more climbing led to a long downhill road stretch where with the benefit of hindsight I would have picked up the pace a bit.  We eventually went back into the trees and the second stream appeared - this w\s deep (above the knee depth) and tricky to navigate as a first timer!) 

We climbed a bit more and eventually returned to our first stream to cross again from the other direction then entered our second climb which seemed to go on forever.  Eventually we exited the trees via a dirt track and had a lovely downhill finish.  

Would I do this again? Definitely!

What have I learnt from my first Trunce experience?

• Take more water and a gel before starting
• Run faster at the start, knowing there are big sections of walking later.
• Run faster in the final downhill sprint!
• Be braver in the second stream but don't take your mobile phone with you!
• 600 feet of elevation gain is a lot and felt like it sometimes!

Would I recommend this race to other KADS?
Definitely - it will suit all abilities. I am certainly not the fastest runner in the club but there were many people slower than me

Thanks to Ryan for driving, Sam for chatting with me in the back of the car and Dom for his infectious enthusiasm - this was a great fun evening and typifies everything great about KADS!
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We arrived home at 9 o'clock.

Myself, Dom, Sam and Dan B headed up to Black Rocks Parkrun for leg 1 of the 'Cromford Double.' We met Vicky at the start who was camping nearby. Nothing much to say about the parkrun other than it's got some lovely views on the way out and it's flat and fast. It's an out and back in one direction, an out and back in the opposite direction and the first out and back only slightly shorter. 
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But the real excitement is leg 2 of the double, The Cromford Killer. Whilst we drove the short way there, Vicky ran to the event! So she ran to parkrun, warmed up, ran parkrun, ran to the Cromford Killer start, ran the killer and then ran back to the camp site! 

The Killer starts at the village fete which is a fantastic community effort. The junior and full race both start at the same time so whilst there was a bottleneck in places passing kids, it was great to be able to give them some encouragement. After half a mile or so of climbing on roads, paths and various driveways the fields split.

The kids headed off on the flat, whilst the full race headed up the dreaded hill. It's grass, it's hilly and it's one of those hands on knees jobs, powering to the top which eventually brings you onto the High Peak Trail. It's roughly a 400ft climb over half a mile or so.

Now the fun part is heading down Cromford Junction before branching off into the woods. There's another bit of cheeky climbing through the woods before another bit of downhill under the junction. It eventually leads back onto roads with a small climb towards the end. The finish is on a sports field which has an uphill running track. No wonder those local kids are so good at running! 

For an entry fee of £4 which goes back into the community it's a fantastic little race over 3.2 miles and a good entry level race for those looking to dip into trail running. 
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The results page has changed several times due to errors but the final positions look to be....

7th Ryan 24:49 (3rd in age category)
13th Dan B 26:39 (4th in age category)
14th Dom 28:19 (5th in age category)
26th Vicky 31:58 (2nd in age category)
32nd Sam 33:13 (1st in age category F45)

Afterwards we frequented the village fete for food, the tombola whereby Dan and Sam took home wine and then the real competition began. The 2nd annual Cromford Ryder Cup, England represented by myself vs Ireland represented by Dom. 5 shots for £1 each. The local kids had laid out a putting mat and provided us a putter and ball. There was a lot of competitiveness in this, reading of the green, checking wind direction, analysis of distance etc. And after all that.. it finished 0-0. Nil sodding nil for the second year running it ended in a stalemate. 10 shots at glory and we flopped it. And we claim to be golfers.... 

The second competitive event was football darts. 3 penalties at the dartboard, 3 shots at glory for £1. This time it was Dom, myself and Dan who stepped up. Dom continued his trend of nil points (no wonder Ireland aren't at the world cup), myself I managed a paltry 6 (I think..) as controversially the final shot suffered a bounce out. Dan then stepped up with a miss, 51 and I have no idea about his final shot as I'd lost and stormed off like a petulant child :D! Dan B took the prize of a bag of sweets. 

I'd put that day up there as one of my favourite KADS days out (with Bushy and Dublin in a Day). We often just go to races, say a quick hello and then disperse after so always nice to have a chat with folk. There is rumour next year we may try and incorporate a KADS Camping weekend up there! 

​Ryan

Thanks to Helen Woods for her race report from the Rasselbock Hardwick Hobble 6 mile at Hardwick Hall on 13 June 2026.

During... (thanks to ​Andy Mutley-Photos)

It seems only in fell races that bits of the course have names. Monikers which inspire awe and fear. They’re spoken with hushed reverence as the runners wait around at the start, pretending not to be nervous. At the road races I usually attend it’s usually, "there’s a bit of an incline towards the end" maybe, but no-one calls it ‘Shaggy’s Doom’ or some such. It’s just a bit of a hill.

At Bamford (race website here), it was different. With whistles and shouts from the sheepdog trials echoing in the background, runners hid under shade discussing the forthcoming effort. The name ‘Parkin Clough’ came up time and again. Teeth were sucked, faces were pulled, fingernails chewed, feet were shuffled about. I sat and listened in wonder and no small amount of trepidation.

Being a newbie to this race, and this area of the peaks, I’d read up a bit about the race beforehand. This threw up nerve-twanging descriptions of a mile-long ascent with sections so steep you’re scrambling up clinging onto tree roots. That’ll be Parkin Clough then, our route up Win Hill which sits high above Bamford with views over Lady Bower Reservoir far below.

We all gathered in the start pen, our fear temporarily replaced by bemusement when one official tried (and failed) to shout audible instructions while the chap next to him used a load hailer for his bit? Weird, maybe it was his personal loud hailer and he didn't want it sullied by anyone else?

Anyway, I’m no mountain goat and was very edgy about falling off a cliff face, so took the first flattish mile and a half of the race nice and steady. I wanted fresh legs when I hit that mythical climb. The mercury was pushing 30 (it was the hottest May day on record), plus I’m (hopefully) coming back from an 8-month injury, another couple of reasons to hold back.

Dom had driven me and Ryan up there, about an hour from Kimberley. Ryan’s riding a peak of performance after his 3:04 at London. He’d had a nasty fall at The Trunce though, which battered most of his body and might have led a lesser runner (me, say) to give this one a miss. We all knew he’d be off strong, which proved the case as he disappeared in a cloud of dust at the start.

Dom and I ran that flattish bit together, up some slight inclines before turning sharp left up onto Parkin Clough. Here we go! Dom’s our resident Trail Leader, one of the club's most experienced hill runners, and he was mega excited about the Clough. I’ll be honest: I didn’t kill myself getting up this thing. From the bottom the steep series of stone and earth steps appeared to swing off into heaven like something from SpaceX. Endless unforgiving ascent. I’d no idea how my legs would respond but I was pleased to see (a) no-one was making any attempt to run (b) it was a decent path, not much chance of falling off the hill and (c) it was shaded under trees.

Dom legged it off like he was running down Church Hill, working his way through the string of competitors and out of sight. I got my hands on my knees and kept up with the Beeston runner just ahead. A few day hikers had their downhill progress stalled by us lot piling up and were stood to one side (if you're reading this, and this was one of you, many thanks!). Some had taken to heckling from the side of the trail. Good natured stuff. I shared a high five with one bare-chested, high spirited lad after accusing him of being an ‘evil b*stard’ for telling us we were nearly there, when we clearly nowhere near.

Eventually, having failed to kill us, the Clough spat us out in disgust onto open moorland. We all took to running again to get away before it sucked us back in. Half surprised we could get our legs shifting again (in my case anyway). Only a wee relief it turned out as the trail turned evil again. More steep hillside towards the trig point, back to hiking. More heckling too that we ‘were supposed to be runners’. Fair point, and I suspect the leaders had indeed run up here, but back around 60th place, no-one was running up that bad boy.

The trig point is a short out-and-back and a bit of a buzz. We were all given wrist bands at registration which we held against phone-like devices as we entered the start area, beeping our way in. Another device at the trig point registered we’d actually gone up there and not just hidden in the bushes and nipped back to the trail home (tempting). The terrain up here was rocky, easy to catch a toe and go down (well, easy for me), so it was a steady jog staring at the floor, ignoring the no-doubt magnificent views.

Given the heat, the organisers had somehow dragged cases of water bottles up near the top. I’d drunk enough to satiate an elephant before the start so ran past. Glad I did as there was nowhere to chuck the bottle and I needed my hands on the descent. Not for clinging to tree roots now, more for flailing about trying to maintain control.

I enjoyed the way back, a couple of miles, all of it down. It felt fairly safe, grass and trail, not too steep. A few gates to navigate. The occasional ‘oh sheet!’ moment when a fast section gave way to a tricky bit. It’s notoriously muddy in wet weather, but the ground was rock hard for us. Dom had borrowed a pair of trial Inov8 shoes from a stall at the start, which he found too aggressive for the hard ground. Much to my surprise he didn’t buy a pair, to add to his collection of ‘hundreds’ back home. He’s had to build an extension, where he keeps them all in glass cases, including the ones which are truly past it.

I could just about make out Dom’s maroon vest in the far distance. He was teeny-weeny, maybe half a mile away when I was at the top and moving fast. It gave me a target, but I didn’t hold out much hope of catching up. Using the ungainly-but-effective windmill technique, I was making decent progress downhill, gradually reeling in a few runners.

Dom appeared to be getting just that bit closer. I got tucked in behind a lady who dragged me along, making sure I didn’t get too close on the narrow path. If someone ahead falls on this stuff you’ve no choice but to try and vault them. Hurdling’s not my forte, so I held back a bit. A chap hosed us all down from his garden as we passed. Another nice touch and something we’ll all remember on a scorching day.

Eventually the trail dropped us back onto the wider paths we’d run out on, the end wasn't physically in sight, but mentally it was. Dom had grown that bit bigger, perhaps half actual Dom-size. The lady I was behind took off, again pulling me along and with just two or three hundred metres before we ran back into the event field, I overtook him. He somehow had the breath to utter words of encouragement.

Hat’s off to Dom. On flat courses I’m quicker than him, but he really showed his mettle in those conditions and was the devil’s-own job to catch. I could sense him working to try and get back past me as we went full pelt towards the small crowd at the entrance to the field. I was very relieved when I crossed the line a few seconds ahead. Checking afterwards my heart rate was over 180, which equates to my ‘nowt left’ zone, I was deep in the red by the time I staggered about beeping my wrist band at the end (used for position, not timing).

Ryan had been hanging about for hours by the time me and Dom got in. We’d joked at the start he had a massive weight advantage as he sweats out roughly 2kg of water a mile. Over a hilly 4.5 mile course, he’d dropped roughly 20 to 30kg and was left prune-like. In all seriousness he’d run magnificently which, we all knew, meant he’d soon be issuing a stream of self-criticism. This time he was unhappy he couldn’t physically fly or something, no matter how hard he flapped his wings. He’s got high expectations our chairman!

We all fist bumped and jabbered on a bit before stumbling back to Dom's car to try and achieve mission impossible of drying off under a furnace sun. Back into the event field we got refuelled. Having supported various cold drink, burger, ice cream, golf ball and cookie stalls, we plonked down in three seats and tried to establish what the shepherds were up to.

Five dogs later, we were cooked (shade was in short supply) and headed over to watch the gnarly lithe-looking winners being called out. The crowd was applauding like they personally knew them, which we think they generally did. Most of the podium placed runners sported the brown vest of the Dark Peak, this is their turf after all. The main category winners were allowed to pick from a selection of delicious-looking enormous cakes. Finally, we made off to the air-conditioned heaven of Dom’s motor for the drive home.

A cracking day out in a very friendly atmosphere. I was nervous of the course, of course. It turned out to be fine for me. Although I’ve had a few falls recently, deep down I know I’ve done this kind of stuff over the years and can handle it, if I'm careful.

I did feel for the runners coming in a full hour behind us, they’d perhaps been caught out by just how tough that climb was in that heat (I saw two youthful looking lads dropping to one side as I climbed). Maybe not a course for absolute newbies, but I am intrigued whether I could knock a few minutes off the dreaded Clough? Anyone up for Bamford 2027?  
   
 Cheers, Jay