Would Hadrian’s Wall be the perfect venue for an ultra marathon?
There are many areas in the world which offer beautiful views, exquisite scenery and a history to go with it but there are few which can match the beauty and presence of Hadrian’s Wall in the north-east of England. The wall, built by the Romans, stretches from Wallsend in the East to Bowness-on-Solway in the West and the vast majority is easily accessible to the public. So would this make the perfect venue for an ultra marathon?
The vast majority of runners today want to take in scenery which is beautiful to observe as well as challenging conditions and differing terrain. There is no doubt that Hadrian’s Wall offers everything you could wish for as well as a number of stopping off points for refreshments and potential rest areas. The Northumberland Tourist board have been very proactive in their promotion of Hadrian’s Wall which has attracted massive attention to areas such as Haltwhistle which now thrives on its tourist attractions.
While obviously there would be a need to protect the wall, which has been around for hundreds of years, it should be fairly easy to produce a course which is accessible, safe and tracks the path of Hadrian’s Wall as closely as possible. Would you take on the challenge left behind by the Romans?
Strangely I’m part-way through organising just such an adventure for myself and a few mates. Our plan is to run it in three days, three 30-mile days by using the Hadrian’s Wall Walk route.
We’ve set up a website, have begun some training and are planning it for next year. None of us are normally ultra-runners so that’s why we’ve broken it down into three days but one day I plan to run it in one!
This would be a fantastic idea! As someone who lives and trains on the trails of Northumberland, I can assure all prospective competitors that they would enjoy not only a challenging event but stunning scenery too…well worth seeing if something can be organised.
Hadrians Wall Heritage is a body with a track record for establishing and promoting events all along the wall so they would probably be the first port of call I would think.
Hi,
I’ve walked/jogged the Hadrian’s Wall national trail twice and can confirm that it would make an ideal route for an ultra. Much of the wall is non-existent but there are some areas which are highly sensitive and I presume permission would have to be sought to arrange a running event along its more sensitive areas. Saying that, a running event would no doubt bring some attention and perhaps attract some visitors to the area. It would make for a fairly tough course – fairly hilly as far as I remember but I would definitely enter if it was arranged.
C J Brent
I think for the moment our group will be limited to about 10 people maximum but after this year, if it’s a success we’ll need to speak to the relevant people about making it a proper event etc. If it gets bigger I agree that we’ll need to speak to the Heritage group for sure, we want to run it to enjoy the scenery, not damage it.