This is the second event by Big Feat Events that I’ve done. I did their Big Pilgrimage back in 2024 which was quite unique and I really enjoyed. With it almost Christmas, I had a little itch for one more ‘big’ run before the end of the year. The timing worked out so I signed up. 

The next week it was an early start to drive to the New Forest in the pissing rain on Sunday morning for an 8am start. Arriving at the Holmsey Campsite I was already pretty wet after walking from the car park to the registration tent. Thankfully the rain stopped just in time for the start of the race. 

The route promised lovely crisp and glistening frosty winter trails. From the off though it delivered wet and soggy muddy winter trails instead. The muddy patch at the start line held runners up before a brisk run on tarmac. Although it was covered in surface water. This was to set the tone for the day. With wet feat from the start though, it made for great fun not giving two hoots as to where I placed my feet and trying to avoid the mud or wet. It was amazing though how many people were actively trying to avoid both the mud and puddles at the start!

I’ve been to the New Forest twice before but never have I covered this sort of distance there. The trails were mostly on marked footpaths that were wide and forgiving. They were however either water logged or caked in mud throughout. Whilst I had good grip on my shoes, it did make it a little tougher on the legs constantly trying to stay up right and push off the softer ground. 

I set off running and maintained the run pretty much the whole day. I walked briefly on the longer of the hills and after aid stations when I was still stuffing my face. Given it was wet  I tried not to hang around at the aid stations for too long as it was clear I’d get pretty cold rather quickly. About midway through the run the heavens opened and it pissed down. I couldn’t get any wetter so it wasn’t too much bother. 

As beautiful as the route was, my mind was very distracted. The day before I had the amazing fortune to b drawn on the waitlist for the Western States Endurance Run in America. As great as this is (the chances are so slim and I’ve been applying for 7 years now!), the frustration is that I am number 49 on the waitlist (out of 75). The reality is that I’m more ‘out’ than ‘in’ and only a few times before has the person in 49th got an entry to the race (and each time that was all in the last few days before the race!). So my mind was crunching the options and scenarios all day long! It made the time fly by!

Towards the end of the route we had to cross a ford. We’d been warned in advance about this crossing and it was funny listening to people moan about as we approached like we weren’t already soaked from head to toe!  Given the weather it was fuller than expected – they’d suggest ankle deep but it was more like thigh high. It was icy cold, but refreshing. As I crossed a shorter lady behind me needed assistance from another runner as there was quite an under current. 

Towards the end of the route the different courses all came together and I found myself running near more and more people. I was still moving strongly until the last 5 km when stomach cramps hit me out of nowhere. I tried to ignore them but the last 1km they won the fight, grounding me to a halt a few times and playing on my mind. I was so close to the end. As I crossed the finish line I grabbed my medal and kept running straight to the facilities!

Despite the weather (I probably haven’t run in that sort of weather since I did Lakes in a Day!), it was a really fun day and I made my way around far quicker than expected which was good as I could get home earlier! I was planning on getting as close to 6 hours as I could but end up coming away with a 5 hr 20 finish. A lovely end to wrap up another year of running.