Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, two cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Kielder 10k
by Russell Turner - 10:59 on 05 October 2026
The Kielder race weekend promotes itself as “Britain’s most beautiful” – quite a claim. The marathon course may be a contender for the title, because the Northumbrian landscape surrounding the Kielder Forest is undeniably spectacular, but the 10k route is not quite so dramatic. Unless you’re a lover of coniferous trees.
Matchgirl had considered coming to support my latest run. However, cats come first and as Pandora is still recovering from veterinary investigation into a loss of appetite (now gradually increasing) the concerned mum stayed home to administer medication and tempting tidbits. As far as the drive south on Friday was concerned, it was a wise decision.
All was well until I passed Dalwhinnie on the wonderful A9 when traffic began to slow, then crawl, then stop and start for the 45 minutes it took to reach and pass through a 100-yard stretch bounded by temporary traffic lights. No work or workers were to be seen. I was lucky; later drivers reported up to four hours to pass through the bottleneck. Further down the road, the Edinburgh bypass was the usual stop-start nose-to-tail fun so it was a relief to finally turn on to the A68 and a more open road to the Redesdale Arms near Rochester, my lodging for two nights.
The view from the Redesdale Arms car park
I wouldn’t normally choose sausage, bacon, beans, hash browns and toast for a pre-race breakfast but one of the attractions of the Kielder 10k is that it begins at 1pm on the Saturday, allowing plenty of time for digestion and preparation before the 35-minute drive to one of several temporary car parks outside Kielder Waterside Park. From there it was a short walk to the park itself and a bustling event village.
Race villages are often a disappointment but this was more interesting than most: stalls selling runnery gear (socks, shirts, bobble hats) and shoes (Altra is the big sponsor), national park info, and lots of food and drink outlets including pizza and burrito vans and a huge refreshment marquee stocked and run by locals offering tea, coffee and cake. I did the rounds, checking out the route to the start line and the portaloos (no queues) and the views of Kielder Water before sheltering in the marquee, reluctant to take off my hoodie and hand over my baggage. There was a cool breeze coming off the water.
With 15 minutes to go I manned up, removed the hoodie, stashed my bag and joined the procession to the start, five minutes away, where I found myself halfway between the 60min and 80min pacers. That seemed about right. The breeze had dropped and there was a hint of sun through the clouds. Promising. Mr Altra (all the way from America) and North East mayor Kim McGuinness (who was running) finished their inaudible speeches and shortly after that we were off.
Less than half a kilometre after that we were walking cautiously down a steep and muddy slope (the only mud all day) to reach the trail that circles Bull Crag Peninsula. Running resumed, the track surface uneven and barely three people wide – not a race for a PB – and the promised spectacular views blocked by trees. It would be 7k before we got more than a glimpse of water and hills. I (and plenty of others) were walking again when we hit the steepest section of the day a little after 1k: around 60m climb in half a kilometre. There would be many more uphill treks along the way; I didn’t envy runners taking on the half and full marathons next day.
Despite all that, I hit my predicted time and finished happy on a course much tougher than a road 10k, 497th out of 667 finishers. The winner took 33:13, the first MV60 10mins behind that, the first MV70 three minutes later. The freak.
A surprisingly chunky medal and goody bag (drink, protein bars, Zero tabs, menthol sweets and a few promotional odds and ends) collected, first stop was the baggage tent to swap damp shirt for hoodie, then into the refreshment tent for cake. A burrito was hugely tempting but I had dinner booked for 5pm so I’d have time to eat before Strictly – a fine end to the day.
Getting into the car after the race proved a challenge – I was stiffer than after a marathon, and still sore the next day – but the Northumbrian trip was worth the effort and recommended. Once was enough, though, and I’ve no inclination to take on even the half marathon. It’s the roads for me (unless I ever take on the second half of the Race to the Stones so I can say I completed it).
I’ll now take a week off before beginning the warm-up training plan ahead of full marathon training. Time, unlike me, will pass quickly.
https://2027tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/russell-turner
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