John Ray Trail Marathon & Half Marathon

10 April 2017 - By James Blackshaw

While most of the marathon-running world toddled off to the South Coast yesterday to run the Brighton Marathon, four WRC members stayed a bit closer to home to take part in the John Ray Trail marathon and half marathon. This running event was organised by the Mid Essex Casuals, and went through the John Ray footpath which runs from Witham to the Flitch Way in Braintree. The event was certainly a lot more low-key than most other races I have run. There were no course markings or marshalls; instead the runners self-navigated by following a set of written instructions to guide them around the course.

The marathon runners were due to be starting at 9:30, but the RD was allowing runners to start earlier, probably so that less runners would be out on the course in the high heat of the afternoon, and so at approximately 9:10 Giles Sowerby and myself set off. Unfortunately, this meant we missed Tracey Denby and Penny Clarke, who were running the half marathon and had turned up early to cheer us off (sorry ladies).

The course was scenic and the surface switched between road, trail and track in equal measure, taking in some classic WRC areas, such as River Walk and Chipping Hill. There were three checkpoints on the course where you could get water and snacks and a volunteer would note that you’d made it that far. Following the course directions was not easy, especially during the later stages of the run when exhaustion was setting in, and Giles and I both got lost on a number of occasions, having to double back and retrace our steps. At around 18 miles I found myself wildly off course, and could see Giles about half a mile in the distance, but found the only way to get back on track was by kicking my way through some nettles and jumping over a ditch. This was definitely not in the course notes.

Despite the heat and the added difficulty of following written course instructions, all four WRC runners made it back to the finish at the Swan in Rayne, with Giles coming in 1st place in the marathon and myself coming in 2nd. I’ve never been placed so highly in an event before; even when I go running with my dogs I end up 3rd.

I would certainly recommend this event to anyone who fancies a different sort of running challenge. The combination of orienteering and trail running makes a refreshing change from road marathons. You’ll probably never set a PB, and there are no medals at the end, but it was well organised, only a £7 entry fee and the prize for completing was a £3 drinks voucher for the pub!