Dan Jenkins’ latest challenge came in the form of the Wooler Trail Marathon which is set in the heart of Northumberland National Park, the heart of the Cheviot Hills and boasts many splendid uninterrupted views to the far horizon and many undulations along the way. Hosted by Trail Outlaws, the race starts in Wooler before heading towards some of the best views in the country, if not the world. Billed as a challenging Trail Marathon (98% trails, 1% path, 1% road!) with just over 6000 feet of ascent, but the views are usually well worth the effort, however, the race was in jeopardy, after looking at the weather forecast and the conditions on The Cheviot, the organisers were forced to make the difficult decision to abandon the usual marathon route in favour of adopting a safer two laps of the half marathon course, giving the marathoners the same distance and elevation. The half marathon route also offered a challenging run with some of the same great views. All the routes were be marked with tape and signs, navigation is the sole responsibility of the runner. Dan declared he would rather have taken on the snow and ice over the mud and river fest that it was, struggling to stay upright, we hear he went head over heels a couple of times but still managed to finish in a respectable 5 hrs 22 minutes (unofficial time). Well done Dan!
