The 4th Annual Howick 5 mile Trail run followed a week of solid rain and was very muddy, wet and slippy throughout the course. We were blessed with a dry day for the actual run though and we had an increase on entries from 2014 including a lot of familiar faces from last year who came to support us again which was brilliant so a huge thank you to all of you for your continued support!
Again we would like to thank Lord and Lady Howick for allowing us to run the race in their beautiful grounds. We'd also like to thank all of the volunteers who helped organise this event. W Company Cadets, the volunteer caterers and everyone who gave up their free time and worked really hard to make this charity event possible. We raised £791 via the race for W Company of Northumbria Army Cadet Force and thanks to the amazing donations from our kind supporters the Barclays fund matching scheme our final total raised will be in excess of £1500 - a very welcome sum for us in the light of all the current funding cuts. It will be put to very good use within W Company and help fund their activities throughout the year.
We had continued support from Alnwick Harriers this year which we very much appreciate. We saw running vests from other clubs including Blyth and Low Fell too which was great. Again lots of people commented that they love the setting of the Howick run and all the wildlife they saw during the race.
Unfortunately we had some issues this year with the course markings that meant a lot of entrants went off route and found it very frustrating that they had to stop or double back, many running further than the course 5 miles. We sincerely apologise if you were one of those people effected. The course was marked out in heavy rain on the previous day and some of the markers moved and took a battering from the rain. Some markers went missing completely. We had less marshals than we anticipated and a result, the course from 4 miles onwards was not clear enough and we accept that failing and apologise for it.
On a positive note, Alnwick Harriers have offered to help us mark out the route for next year, sharing their many years of expertise and top tips on marking a course clearly and ensuring a competitive, safe and fun route through the unique Howick Hall grounds.
In summary, whether you ran the 5, 6 or 7 mile version of the course, ended up in a bog or leaping over a fence, we hope you will continue to support us in our efforts to raise money for a worthy cause and we will try our very best to get it right next time. With the help of Alnwick Harriers, I have no doubt we will!
From chatting to the runners post race, I found that most people finished in high spirits and enjoyed their bacon butties :0)
We hope very much to see you again at the 2016 Howick 5 mile trail Run and please feel free to send us any feedback that will help us be even more successful next year.
Again we would like to thank Lord and Lady Howick for allowing us to run the race in their beautiful grounds. We'd also like to thank all of the volunteers who helped organise this event. W Company Cadets, the volunteer caterers and everyone who gave up their free time and worked really hard to make this charity event possible. We raised £791 via the race for W Company of Northumbria Army Cadet Force and thanks to the amazing donations from our kind supporters the Barclays fund matching scheme our final total raised will be in excess of £1500 - a very welcome sum for us in the light of all the current funding cuts. It will be put to very good use within W Company and help fund their activities throughout the year.
We had continued support from Alnwick Harriers this year which we very much appreciate. We saw running vests from other clubs including Blyth and Low Fell too which was great. Again lots of people commented that they love the setting of the Howick run and all the wildlife they saw during the race.
Unfortunately we had some issues this year with the course markings that meant a lot of entrants went off route and found it very frustrating that they had to stop or double back, many running further than the course 5 miles. We sincerely apologise if you were one of those people effected. The course was marked out in heavy rain on the previous day and some of the markers moved and took a battering from the rain. Some markers went missing completely. We had less marshals than we anticipated and a result, the course from 4 miles onwards was not clear enough and we accept that failing and apologise for it.
On a positive note, Alnwick Harriers have offered to help us mark out the route for next year, sharing their many years of expertise and top tips on marking a course clearly and ensuring a competitive, safe and fun route through the unique Howick Hall grounds.
In summary, whether you ran the 5, 6 or 7 mile version of the course, ended up in a bog or leaping over a fence, we hope you will continue to support us in our efforts to raise money for a worthy cause and we will try our very best to get it right next time. With the help of Alnwick Harriers, I have no doubt we will!
From chatting to the runners post race, I found that most people finished in high spirits and enjoyed their bacon butties :0)
We hope very much to see you again at the 2016 Howick 5 mile trail Run and please feel free to send us any feedback that will help us be even more successful next year.