HERTS
Magical. Hypnotic. Peaceful… Describing the Stort 30 is not difficult, for this beautiful 50K mostly follows the River Stort as it meanders towards the River Lea then onwards to the Thames. Within a few minutes of the 9am start in Bishop’s Stortford, you’re padding along a single track pathway next to the river, wiThall signs of civilisation out of sight, sound and mind. The recent rain cleared for the day of the race, replaced by blue skies and a warm spectrum of autumnal colours, creating a dreamlike atmosphere along the river banks. There’s a smallish field of a few hundred runners, but expect speed at the top end as it’s the UK Trail Running Middle Distance Champs. Understated encapsulates the whole experience, and that’s where the magic comes from. WiTha small field, for most of the race (and especially on the way back) it’s just you, the river and local wildlife. The course is so simple you don’t really need marshals, you just run forwards for 15 miles, occasionally crossing weirs and small country roads, hit the halfway checkpoint, then reverse. There was an early nip to the air, a lot of mud, and cheery support from the checkpoints along the way. And when you hit the tough parts, there were other lovely trail runners to walk wiThyou, talk wiThyou and encourage you. Exactly what autumn distance running is all about. A small, but five star event.