The Three Shires Way seems destined to fall on the hottest weekend of the year every year! Fortunately, temperatures stayed below 30°C this year, and the cloud cover was welcomed by runners and volunteers alike. It was a very different story in 2025, when the inaugural running of the event took place in temperatures that soared to 33°C beneath a cloudless sky.
This year, however, the air was heavy and humid, hinting at the heatwave that would arrive later in the week. The muggy conditions also brought out plenty of flies around the water, providing an additional challenge for runners throughout the day!
For me, the magic of the Three Shires Way is that it often serves as a runner’s first introduction to trail running. The route follows long stretches of well-maintained bridleway, making it accessible and enjoyable without the technical terrain that can sometimes intimidate newcomers.
This year presented an unexpected challenge before race day even began. We learned that three large sections of bridleway near Santa Pod had still not recovered from the wet winter months. Deep vehicle ruts had made the route unsafe for runners and, frankly, difficult to navigate by any means. Although repairs were on Bedfordshire Council’s schedule, they would not be completed in time for race day, leaving the bridleway closed and forcing us to source and implement a last-minute diversion for the 50-mile ultra route.
The weather throughout 2026 has been particularly unusual. Flooding early in the year, followed by further spells of rain in recent weeks and then prolonged sunshine, created perfect growing conditions for nettles and long grass. As a result, sections of the route were noticeably more overgrown than in previous years.
Thankfully, the Three Shires Way remains a well-used path, meaning maintenance requirements were relatively modest. Aside from trimming back nettles around gates and tackling a particularly overgrown section of woodland beyond the A6, which consumed two strimmer batteries the day before the race, the route required little intervention. I suspect my enthusiasm for rights-of-way maintenance will diminish rapidly over the coming weeks as preparations begin for our Foxton Hound Ultra in August!
Thirty runners gathered at Hanslope Village Hall for the start of the ultra, setting off on a warm but overcast morning along the bridleways and rights of way towards Grafham.
This race is all about timing. The ultramarathon begins at 8:00am, allowing enough time for Ewen from Open Tracking and myself to travel to Yelden Village Hall and prepare for marathon registration before the coachload of marathon runners arrived. The marathon starts at 10:45am, a later start than most marathon events, but one that allows the team at Yelden Village Hall to transform the registration area into Checkpoint 3 for the ultra runners. It also ensures that the marathon field has dispersed sufficiently before the leading ultra runners begin catching them on the trails.
This was the first Race Harborough event to use live GPS tracking, and it proved to be a game changer. Being able to see exactly when runners would arrive at aid stations made race management significantly easier, while runners themselves appreciated the reassurance of knowing they were on course and progressing well.
Once the 55 marathon runners had set off from Yelden, it was time to head to Grafham Water, my third location of the day. There was plenty to do, with all hands on deck to unload equipment and prepare the finish area before the leading runners arrived.
Just over two hours after setting off, eventual marathon winner Henry Church of Vegan Runners appeared at Grafham Water for the first time. Runners pass through Grafham as a checkpoint before completing a final 11.5-mile loop and returning to finish beside the reservoir. Henry retained his lead throughout the race and crossed the line in 4:03:59, setting a new course record in the process.
Debbie Fish was running her first trail marathon with us and had no idea she had led the women’s race from the very beginning. Not only was she the first female finisher in an excellent time of 4:16:14, but she also finished fourth overall – a position she held throughout the event.
For the second consecutive year, Mark Rookledge of Octavian Droobers claimed second place, finishing in 4:12:16. Phil Elphick followed closely behind, taking third in 4:15:06.
The women’s field was particularly strong once again. Last year’s marathon had been won outright by a female runner, and while the first three finishers this year were male, positions four through six were all occupied by women. Rachel Wignell crossed the line in 4:24, while Katie Asquith of Lincoln and District Runners completed the female podium in 4:27:37.
In the ultramarathon, Calum Blow took control of the race from the outset. He reached Grafham Water and Checkpoint 5 before many marathon runners had even arrived there for their own Checkpoint 2. Calum is a familiar face at Race Harborough events, having won the Pitsford Water Trail Races Half Marathon in March and followed that with an impressive third-place finish at the Battle of the Brampton Valley Way in April, covering the 28 miles in just over 3 hours!
Although he started at a measured pace, Calum steadily extended his lead. Antony Cope arrived at the first aid station in Emberton, seven miles into the race, in second place, but Calum was already pulling clear. His advantage grew to around ten minutes by Harrold-Odell Country Park and more than twenty minutes by the time runners reached Yelden.
At Tilbrook Grange, the fourth aid station, Antony slipped back through the field, allowing several runners to move forward. One of those was Claire Howard of Roundhay Runners, who found herself not only leading the women’s race but sitting second overall. By the time runners reached Grafham Water, the race order had largely settled, with positions remaining unchanged through to the finish.
Despite describing it afterwards as a tough day at the office, Calum produced a superb performance, completing the slightly extended 50-mile course in 8:11:39.
As mentioned in the marathon report, it was a fantastic day for the women. Claire Howard finished second overall and first female in an outstanding 8:28:03.
Crossing the finish line together were Ben Morris of Ely Runners and Molly Brennand-Duxbury, who was running in memory of her father on Father’s Day weekend. Their shared finishing time of 8:49:20 earned them second place in their respective categories.
Last year’s winner, Oana Sposub, returned to the Three Shires Way wearing a tutu and sash to celebrate her birthday weekend. Having battled through the extreme heat in 2025, she returned this year to improve her time by an incredible two hours, finishing in 9:00:39 and earning another well-deserved place on the podium.
Antony Cope crossed the line shortly afterwards in 9:23:59, holding on to secure a podium finish after a determined performance.
Of course, not everyone comes to the Three Shires Way chasing podium places. One of my goals is to make our events as accessible as possible, and our generous cut-offs (eight hours for the marathon and fourteen hours for the ultra) help remove some of the pressure that stricter limits can create.
Many runners completed their first marathon with us this weekend, including Helen, one of our regular Race Harborough volunteers. We also welcomed a number of runners tackling their first 50-mile race, many using the event as a qualifier for even longer challenges later in the year.
Race weekend begins for me on Thursday, when I’m loading and sorting the kit ready for the race. Friday is spent out marking the course. This year I left home on Friday a little before 5am, to return home near to 11pm that evening having covered more than thirty-three miles on foot! Saturday is spent at the event itself, and Sunday is clearing road signs and returning all of the kit to the lockup unit before turning my focus to the post-race admin the following day.
Despite the long days spent fitting in all of the planning, route checks, course marking and preparation that goes into race day, race weekends always fly by, and this one was no exception.