I transferred my place into this half marathon after a friend pulled out. They offer transfer at a small fee, which is always a nice touch. The pre-race info was good and on raceday the car park marshals organised the car parking very well.

This was my first trail race and it definitely won't be my last. The full marathon started at 10am, and was slightly more than a marathon at around 27 miles.

I ran the half marathon and that was started at 10:30 by the town crier! My friend had warned me about the hills and he wasn't lying. Over the 13.1 miles there was around 1500ft of elevation gain, but it was worth it for the views.

There were a good number of aid stations offering water, jelly babies and biscuits. They also kindly filled my water bottle up.

The support was sparse on the course as expected, althought the cows and sheep seemed pleased to see us! At the aid stations and at other points on the course the marshals provided excellent support.

There were a great selections of cakes and treats at the finish and a nice medal.

The official photos had me in about 60 photos, at a reasonable price. This may be the first time I ever purchase a set of race pics!

The difficulty of the course meant it took me around 15 minutes or so longer than a flat road half; but pacing has to go out of the window on some of the hills.

Overall I loved the event. The weather was perfect and the course was stunning. I'll definitely return next year, the only decision is to do the full or half?