I will also be repeating my Kielder Marathon experience when the race is run again on the 7th October.
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| Salomon Kielder Marathon Elevation Profile |
The marathon is unique in that it follows the Lakeside Tail around Kielder Water with one lap of the water equalling the marathon distance. It is a beautiful spot in rural Northumberland in the North of England most of the time you are running through pine trees
The marathon is not easy, it is the most hilly marathon I have run. As you can see from the elevation profile I recorded on my Garmin GPS watch below, there are no real killer hills just lots of small one - lots of ups and down that slowly sap your strength.
This is definitely not a flat city marathon! this can make it hard to train for as where I live there are many steep long hills rather than the short sharp shocks at Kielder. It is not a marathon I would recommend for first timers. The general rule of thumb is that you need to add on at least twenty minutes to your usual expected marathon time and that holds true for me.
This is a trail marathon but the quality of the trail is very good. It is generally a man made path that can be run with road shoes. It rained hard for most of the race last year but the surface held out well and did’nt get muddy.
The marathon is small marathon by participants (I think around 1000 people entered last year) particularly in comparison to the Edinburgh and London Marathons. This is also a really well organised race, plenty of water/energy drink stops and helpers along the course. Buses are also provided from the car park to the start line as you can’t park at the start.
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| Start Line Salomon Kielder Marathon 2011 |
If you are looking to compete in an autumn marathon and want to try something a bit different then the Salomon Kielder Marathon might be for you. I would highly recommend it although it is not for the faint hearted!
For more information on the Kileder Marathon and to book a place click here.