Finding a different path to the Kielder Marathon
Finding a different path to the Kielder Marathon
I’m quite a nostalgic person and must have watched Get Carter about twelve times. It was partly nostalgia which drew me back to the shores of Kielder Reservoir in deepest Northumberland in October, just before my 53rd birthday, to run their trail marathon organised by Events of The North.
Reservoirs
The last time I’d run it was 2014, so enough of a gap to build some serious nostalgia. And OK I’m going to admit it, I quite like reservoirs. What’s not to like? They are barometers of climate change, as well as seasonal changes. They can top up rivers when water is low, produce hydro electricity and attract precious wildlife at a time when the red list is growing year-on-year. Added to this, I am currently living in a reservoir, which used to feed the northerly part of Totnes. So you could say there’s a connection there. But there’s also nothing on Dartmoor, to compare to the vast expanse of Kielder Reservoir.
In a kindly worded blog interview, EOTN said I hadn’t really raced seriously in years. Well that’s not strictly true. I do race from time to time, enough to win The Grizzly a sixth time last year and the Dartmoor Fell Series twice on the trot. But it’s true to say i don’t travel much to races any more.
These days I mostly go for the routes that I like and the landscape, as well as the general vibe of a race. I’m not too keen on the manic energy of many bucket list events and am too tight to pay a £200 plus entry fee, so I don’t have to factor in my carbon footprint too much! I also like the fact I can get on a plane from Bristol for my once-a-year flight, in my adidas tracksuit and don't need to take any extra baggage.
What’s so special about Kielder?
The Kielder marathon is special. The atmosphere is incredibly friendly and inclusive. There’s a real buzz. And the North East running community is so active – you feel the energy straight away.
You can almost smell the Cheviots on the horizon and the Scottish border lies just 3 miles from Kielder Village. At Journalism College, we visited Kielder as part of a simulation exercise. And I’ve always been interested in the Scottish borders, having worked in Berwick On Tweed and had written my history A level dissertation on the Border ballads at High School. I’ve been reading a book called the Debatable Lands by Graham Robb, which has seriously piqued my interest in hosting an ultra somewhere in these untamed lands, whose nearby borders (you have to start nearer to Carlisle really) have changed hands so many times.
Kielder is a haven for wildlife, boasting 50% of England’s red squirrel population. You can also spot ospreys, wild goats, roe deer, salmon, otters, and water voles if you’re lucky, but probably not while running the marathon.
Being a trail marathon, whose paths are strewn with pine needles from the sitka pines, Kielder is forgiving on your joints. There are enough hills to make it interesting. But you have to respect it, it’s very easy to misjudge a trail marathon. The wheels can come off if you get it wrong. There’s a longish climb just before half way and a mile long tarmac section at mile 17 as you cross the weir. But the real race doesn’t start until mile 20 and it’s an inner one.
Tips
If I had to offer some tips on running longevity and how to run a marathon well in your 50s, I’d say it depends how well you’re accustomed to listening to your body. In a marathon you are forced to listen. Unlike say an ultra, where at some point you just have to ignore the pain, the relative intensity of a marathon, requires you to keep something in reserve but not too much, else you won’t have done yourself justice on the day.
As an advocate of barefoot running I’ve learnt that long runs require cushioning, as do speedy efforts on harder ground. I rarely run on tarmac but when I do, I try to make sure it’s something fast. And by fast I mean somewhere on the border of Zone 3 - 4, or to put it another way, running intervals at near to race pace, at a speed which would make conversation difficult (although not impossible!).
As a PT, I now frequent gyms much more than i used to and try to go once or twice a week. Suitcase carries, leg extensions (for downhill running), kettle bells, squats and lunges with weights, as well as the Bulgarian split squats are all now part of my running vocabulary. Coaching others has given me the excuse I needed to indulge my love of exercise.
What else is there to do?
We didn’t have much time for sightseeing but Hadrian’s Wall and the Roman gateway of Housesteads and Vindolanda is nearby. We chose the Reading Rooms in Haydon Bridge, which was only 45 minutes drive from the start. Except an excess of traffic from rearranged races (moved from the previous day because of bad weather), meant that there were tailbacks. I had to get out of the car and run the length of the jam as a warm up, while Rachel took the wheel. Luckily the start had been delayed by 20 minutes. Otherwise we may not have made it.