Bewl Water Autumn

I had been looking for an actual race (not a virtual one) for a long time as everything got cancelled or postponed during the pandemic. I was delighted to be able to sign up for my first marathon (there are other distances available, from 10k to ultra marathons). Race bibs were sent by post prior to the race so there was no need to queue at the registration desk. That worked great and I believe every race organiser should do the same, Covid or not! There was still an organisers desk where people could ask last minutes questions, get safety pins, etc… My only complaint would be that there were no changing facilities, just the toilets of the Bewl Water café which were not great. Most people changed in their car but if you can’t do that (I came by cab) that’s a bit impractical. It’s quite a small race in terms of number of participants. The departure area is rather large so it didn’t feel crammed and there was no race briefing due to social distancing. The course itself, which consists of 2 laps around Bewl Water, is absolutely beautiful. I would rate it as a “tough” race but it was my first marathon so I can’t compare it to another race. A couple of things to keep in mind if you are a marathon beginner like me: The course is hilly (my Garmin recorded 675m elevation gain) with one last climb less than 1km before the finish line. It’s mostly trail which gets very muddy in case of rain (and it rained a lot on the race day). Bring trail shoes if you have a pair. As a result, I found it quite difficult to pace myself because I had trained mostly on flat roads. I basically decided to stop looking at my watch after 5K since I was a lot slower than during training. There were 3 stations with water, gels, etc… I prefer to run with my own water and food so it didn’t affect me but I think there could be more stations. All in all, a very enjoyable race. I would definitely recommend it.