A looped course is probably my favourite type of route. A big ol’ loop being a preference and one that circles a particular place/town/point of interest being the cherry on the cake. The Big Way Round by Big Feat events does just that – a 50km loop around the historic town of Winchester.
It has been a very long time since I ran near Winchester, possibly even as far back as when I did the Race to the King which finished at the cathedral back in 2018! I was keen to get another 50kish distance in the diary as early as I could, it really is time to keep on top of the running and build for the events to come in summer. This event was perfect timing on the May Bank Holiday and also allowed me to do a longer run on the Saturday before so I could have a big weekend but still have a little rest in between. Likewise for Natalia it was sandwiched between her London Marathon and North Downs Way 50 events, so no rest for her either.
We arrived early, registered and sat in the car until they started releasing runners. With multiple different race distances, they started runners in self selected waves based on rough pace. We started towards the back and over the first few kilometres found ourselves overtaking runners ahead of us. We weaved through the town, then along side the river as we went through Saint Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve. It was beautiful here and the cold morning started warming up as we reached the trails.
For most of the day we were treated to glorious, tranquil trails like those of the South Downs, Itchen Way and Watercress Way footpaths. There were a lot of fields, a few long tarmac road sections and beautiful small villages like Itchen, Easton and Abbotts Worthy. My entertainment from the day came from shouting out house names as we ran through the villages and gaping in awe as we ran through the impressive grounds of Lainston House (a hotel).
As always with Big Feat the support and volunteers were fantastic. Each aid station welcoming with a good spread of options to keep runners fuelled and motivated. The course itself full of great countryside views and undulating trails until the last 4kms or so where you run back through Winchester towards the rugby club.
Run With Dai 