"20 miles of magic" - not exactly how I'd describe the thought of doing a 20 mile run, but the athletes out on the 25th of March really did have a fab time!
The weather was pretty perfect for what many classed as a training run for the upcoming marathon season and spirits were high at the very first Bedford20, both with runners and a couple of new business' I had a chance to speak with in the Event Village who were partnering the event.
As an overcast day, it really was a great opportunity to showcase the new course and, following an interesting turn of weather this snowy winter, there was a high uptake on ticket-transfers alongside the event being sold out.
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to spend time with the ace marshals and talk to multiple driven individuals training for large charity targets at events such as the London Marathon.
Stunning scenery was everywhere on the course including a large amount of woodland path running, a lakeside path, some fields and a little bit of mud (although definitely not as much as we experienced at the Dirt Half at the end of last year!) - either way, wellies were an excellent choice on my part.
The event was run by the same A-Team we know from the MK Marathon& Half, Rocket 5k, Dirt Half and so-on. The winner was James Bellward of Bedford And County AC in a time of 1:55:35, which has set the standard for future events on the course, which I'll look forward to.
You can view more about the event and similar upcoming events here
You can view all of the race photo's on Dirt Running's Flickr
Find the highlights and links to all images taken at the Dirt Half Challenge in Buckinghamshire.