Airedale races

The ground between Leeds and Skipton: canal towpath along the Aire, mixed woodland on the valley sides, and moor edge above Ilkley and Otley. Varied within a single race in a way the map does not show, and accessible enough that most of it can be reached by train.

Every race listed here expects you to navigate. That is worth knowing, because the valley itself is benign and the moor above it is not — Rombalds and the ground towards Wharfedale get featureless in cloud, and the transition from towpath to open moor happens quickly.

Surfaces run from hard-packed towpath to wet moorland within the same event, so shoe choice is a genuine compromise here rather than an obvious call. Otley is the base for most of it. Ascent is moderate by Yorkshire standards, in the high hundreds rather than thousands, which makes these good stepping-stone races between a road marathon and a Dales ultra.

Airedale trail running routes (2) with free GPX, if you want to run the ground before you race it.