How far is the Besotted at Bingley?

The Besotted at Bingley offers 6 distances: 5K (3.1 miles), 10K (6.2 miles), 10 Mile (16.1 km), Half Marathon (21.1 km / 13.1 miles), 20 Mile (32.2 km), Marathon (42.2 km / 26.2 miles).

Is the Besotted at Bingley course marked?

Yes, the course is marked. Navigation skills are not required.

When is the next Besotted at Bingley?

Sat, 20 Feb 2027, 08:30. Entries open.

It's Grim Up North Running Besotted at Bingley

Fisherman Inn, Wagon Lane, BingleySat, 20 Feb 2027

The February running on the Leeds & Liverpool towpath from the Fisherman at Bingley: 5k to marathon, flat apart from the Three Rise and Five Rise locks.

Distance	Ascent	Per km
42.2 km Marathon	—	—
20 Mile	—	—
21.1 km Half Marathon	—	—
10 Mile	—	—
10K	—	—
5K	—	—

canalflatMarked course

Nobody has reviewed this one yet

No reviews of the Besotted at Bingley, and nothing on what people wore. Both are things no organiser publishes and every runner wants before they enter — how it actually went, and what was on your feet.

Ran it? Write the first review

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Pick your distance

starts 08:30

What you’re in for

The February race from Bingley, six distances from 5k to marathon, on the same out-and-back as the summer event with colder hands. The course is the Leeds & Liverpool Canal towpath out of Bingley, an out-and-back that turns at a marshal. It is flat apart from the two famous bits: the Three Rise and the Five Rise locks, the Five Rise being the steepest staircase lock flight in Britain, which the towpath climbs beside. Registration and the start are a ten-minute walk apart while the Canal & River Trust are working nearby, and Bingley station is about a mile and a half away. The marathon is the half twice.

Terrain and trail

Surfaced towpath, well kept, and the organiser rates it the best underfoot of their canal courses. The lock flights are the only gradient and they are short and sharp — a proper ramp at the Five Rise and a lesser one at the Three Rise, each way. Otherwise flat, even and fast, with the usual puddles. Feed stations roughly every three miles with drinks, sweets and cake, and the events are cup-less, so bring your own cup or bottle. A GPX is supplied and not every junction has a marshal, so know where the turn is. Over-ear headphones are not allowed, and some road crossings are unmarshalled.

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Train for it: routes near the start

Routes starting within 20 km of Fisherman Inn, Wagon Lane, Bingley, nearest first. Each one has a free GPX file and a TRP grade, so you can rehearse the ground before race day.

MODERATE

Shipley Glen and Baildon Moor

12.7km · 215m climb · Loop · 2.1km away

You start at the World Heritage village of Saltaire, run the canal and the wooded ravine of Shipley Glen, then climb to the trig on Baildon Moor for a proper moor-top view over Airedale.

VERY HARD

The Ilkley Skyline

35.1km · 808m climb · Loop · 7.5km away

Eleven kilometres of unbroken moor crest, then you cross the valley and run the skyline back the other way with your entire morning laid out in front of you. It is the biggest day available from an Ilkley train station.

MODERATE

The Twelve Apostles and Rombalds Moor Trig from the Cow and Calf

7.7km · 248m climb · Loop · 8.5km away

You touch the highest point of the moor and a Bronze Age stone circle inside eight kilometres, on paths good enough to run nearly all of. It is the best hour available on Ilkley Moor.

HARD

Burley Moor Stone Circles from the Cow and Calf

11.6km · 320m climb · Loop · 8.5km away

Four thousand years of prehistory in one loop. Rombalds Moor carries over 400 cup-and-ring marked stones, and this route strings the best of them together before dropping you onto two kilometres of Burley Moor that almost nobody runs.

MODERATE

Ilkley Moor from the Cow and Calf

9.5km · 287m climb · Loop · 8.8km away

You run straight up onto the moor of the famous song, past the Cow and Calf crags and out to the Twelve Apostles stone circle, with cup-and-ring carvings scattered underfoot.

Checked Jul 2026

HARD

Ilkley to Rombalds Moor Loop

15.6km · 373m climb · Loop · 9.5km away

Over 400 prehistoric cup-and-ring carved stones are scattered across this moor, and you'll pass several without trying - a working archaeological landscape disguised as an ordinary heather moor.

Checked Jun 2026

All routes near Ilkley →All West Yorkshire routes →

How to enter

Sat, 20 Feb 2027 · Entries open · £18–£43

Enter on their website ↗

Entries are handled by It's Grim Up North Running, not by us. We take nothing for sending you there.

Add to your calendar · with the start time

Common questions

: The Besotted at Bingley offers 6 distances: 5K (3.1 miles), 10K (6.2 miles), 10 Mile (16.1 km), Half Marathon (21.1 km / 13.1 miles), 20 Mile (32.2 km), Marathon (42.2 km / 26.2 miles).
: No course file for the Besotted at Bingley yet, so there's no measured climb here. When It's Grim Up North Running publish one, this fills in.
: Not graded yet. A TRP grade is worked out from distance and climb measured off the course file, and there isn't one for the Besotted at Bingley yet.
: Yes, the course is marked. Navigation skills are not required.
: We don't hold a compulsory kit list for the Besotted at Bingley. It's Grim Up North Running confirm mandatory kit in their race information, usually in the final instructions.
: We don't hold published time limits for the Besotted at Bingley. If It's Grim Up North Running set cut-offs, they'll be in the race information.
: We don't hold a checkpoint list for the Besotted at Bingley. What's on the table varies a lot between races, so check the It's Grim Up North Running race information rather than turning up expecting food.
: Not yet — we don't hold a course file for the Besotted at Bingley. Some organisers only send the GPX to entrants. If we get one, it goes up free, with no sign-up.
: Sat, 20 Feb 2027, 08:30. Entries open.