Fiona and I ran the Yorkshire Wolds Half Marathon on Saturday and thorougly enjoyed it. With three big climbs, the Wolds Half isn’t the kind of course for setting a PB, but when your PBs were all 20+ years ago that isn’t going to be your main factor for choosing a race in which to participate.
The mixture of a challenging course, beautiful rural surroundings and reputation for a good atmosphere attracted us to this race, and despite the associated Bishop Wilton Show being cancelled this year due to the show field being too wet, we had a really enjoyable run.
That combination of a challenging course, scenic route and good reputation also applies to the Heaven and Hell Half Marathon organised by Perth Road Runners. In the past I have measured the route, marshalled the race and bashed out the results on a laptop, but still haven’t actually run in the race; so can’t give a genuine first-hand opinion as to which I think is the harder of the two races.
Given that the two races are about 250 miles apart it is unlikely that anyone has ever competed in both of them, but then again it would be nice to hear if there is someone out there that has run the East Yorkshire and Perthshire races and has a view on their relative qualities. Or should that be their Toughness Factors?
I think I will give Heaven and Hell a try next year, so that I can give a better opinion on which I think is the harder of the two, but it would be interesting to see some other runners travelling up or down the country to try the “other” race and pass their judgement on how they compare the two routes. It would certainly be good to hear from anyone who does that and goes away with a view on which one they found to be the toughest.
So, is one of these two races the toughest Half Marathon in Britain? Have I identified England and Scotland’s toughest halves to compare with each other, or is there another race out there that is even harder? I’d be interested to hear from anyone with a view on this.
I’ve not run every half in the UK but the Langdale half marathon is worth considering – loads of big hills, astonishing views and great people to run with. It’s my favourite half.
Thanks for the reply Dave. Langdale does look like a tough one. It must be right up there with the two that I wrote about. I’ll have to get down to the Lakes one of these years to run the Langdale Half.
I recommend the Midsummer Munro…down in boxhill..not many, if any tougher than that…some of the hills are I runnable…amazing course and well worth the pain…The full marathon is back on next year..The Picnic….
Thanks Paul. 3000 feet of ascent on a road Half Marathon. That does sound tough. It’s a long way from Perth, but I may well try that one sometime soon. Only the half though, not the full Marathon.
The Hendon Brook Half Marathon Race based in Nelson Lancs must be the toughest road half marathon. The race was accurately measured last year at 13.4 Miles with 2100ft of ascent. The race record was set 25 years ago by Roger Brewster in a time of 1.16 21. Roger was running around 64/65 mins for flat half so it gives you an idea how hilly this race is. In 2013 the race record was beaten by Tom Cornthawaite of Salford Harriers (GB Athlete) in time of 1.15 32. Tom also ran around 64/65 in this years Gt North Run so once again it gives you indication of how tough this race is. The 2014 event will be advertised further afield than the local runners and it would be a real challenge for anyone. Another plus point is the scenery is also very special with 90% of the race passing through beautiful countryside. Why not give it a try the race is very special. 🙂
Thanks for your suggestion John & thanks also for bumping into my blog. The Hendon Brook certainly sounds like a tough one. I may well give it a try sometime. This blog has flushed out a few good races up & down the country.