Northumberland races

Empty hills and very few people. The Cheviots are rounded, grassy and deceptively hard: the going is tussock and peat hag rather than path, and there are long stretches with no obvious line at all. This is proper navigation country, and the races here treat it as such.

It is also the coldest and darkest racing on the calendar. Several events here run through the night in midwinter, and the Cheviot Goat in December is unmarked, on open hill, in the shortest days of the year. Kit lists are long for good reason and are checked.

Beyond the hills there is the Roman wall country, forest around Kielder, and a coast that is worth the drive. Races start from small places — Ingram, Bellingham, Holy Island — and the drive between them is longer than the map suggests. The compensation is that you can run a whole day here and see almost nobody, which is not true of the Lakes or the Peak.

Northumberland trail running routes (5) with free GPX, if you want to run the ground before you race it.