THE ADIDAS TERREX TRAIL HALF MARATHON – SATURDAY – 11TH SEPTEMBER 2021 (KESWICK MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL)

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The Keswick Mountain Festival is a weekend of live music and sport spread over the weekend from the 10th to the 12th September raising money for the National Trust. David Goodyear entered the trail half marathon representing the mighty Err’s taking his sister Annie for support and back up Festival reveller. This 25Km Trail half marathon (and a bit!) is graded ‘Hard’ and it sits halfway between the 10k and 50k routes in the same series as far as ascent & terrain run on.
Technical, fast flowing and rugged trails take you around Derwent Water and the beautiful Borrowdale Valley with the Watendlath Valley thrown in for good measure. Runners who are looking to do slightly more then the 10k option but not quite the 50k ultra marathon tend to try this distance which is just slightly over the half marathon distance. In terms of ascent 866 metres will either test runners to their limit or prepare you for longer trails later in the season. Starting in Crow Park the site of the Mountain Festival village then meanders through to Cockshot Woods, Castle Crag Woods and Great Wood where it picks up the European-like trail to run under Falcon Crag. After checkpoint 1 it’s onto the stunning Watendlath Valley leads to a climb out over Grange Fell and a descent of the fast and furious pack house trail to CP2. Whilst there runners are watered and fed by the expert marshals before heading North down Borrowdale to Hawes End. Finally the Lake shore paths to Portinscale and back to the finish line in the Festival Village.

David Goodyear by his own admission said the race was a tough one but still finished the race in a respectable time of 3:51:09. Well done David!