We had spot on conditions for this year’s Clipston Trail Races! The ground was soft, but still firm underfoot – and the ‘ploughed’ field at the end of both distances had just been lightly cultivated, and was in fact, very good to run on this year!
I do feel like I should make it clear that not all trail races come with cake at the finish though! It’s definitely a perk to entering the Clipston Trail Races event! What an exceptional spread the WI put on for everybody. Some of the sizes of those slices of cake…
There were some rapid finishing times this year, aided by the good conditions underfoot. We even saw a new female course record being set for the half marathon, with Hazel Polge completing the distance in a fantastic 1:42:58! (Gun Time)
A huge thank you also goes to Race Harborough volunteer Robert Clark, who was out snapping photos of everybody on site throughout the morning. You can find Robert’s photos available free to download within our Google Photos album.
Some of the eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted a drone flying over the recent Clipston Trail Races. We’ve kindly been given a link to the photos and video footage taken on the day, so that you can have a look back and see if you can spot yourself out on the course.
You can find all the footage here: https://photos.icloud.com/shared/album/0fc7CVSWFOvSgElimt4_0ulEA
This event is organised in conjunction with the Clipston Recreation Field Trust which is a charity that has owned the playing fields at Clipston since the early 1980s and is responsible for their maintenance and development. Currently, football and tennis are played here. Over the last few years, the field has been developed for other outdoor activities. There is a woodland that’s used by a local forest preschool and walkers of all ages; new play activity equipment for both very young children in one area and people of any age in another and the pavilion has also been upgraded.
All of this is very expensive to run and the £1200+ raised at this year’s Trail Races event will be spent on the maintenance of these facilities.
This event is a little different for me. Because the charity organise and race direct the event themselves, it gives me the chance to chat to the runners throughout the morning without the pressure of being ‘in charge’ on race day! Although this year, I also had a poorly child in tow, who then ‘helped’ me take down the signs from the 5 mile race at a very slow rate!
And, if you want to get ahead ready for next year…
Entries are now open for the 2027 Clipston Trail Races event, taking place on Sunday, 19th September.