Race Date: Sunday 23rd December 2018

I arrived at Clumber park at 8.45, plenty of time to park up and check my number (or so I thought). After a while of queuing, driving round the full car park, manoeuvring around other waiting cars and a hairy moment where my tiny C1 almost got mired in a muddy field, I dashed round to the start with what I hoped was the right race number clutched in one hand, pins stuffed into a pocket. The large crowd (in a variety of Santa hats, elf costumes, flashing lights and reindeer antlers) and packed car parks showed that no mere rain would put us off.

The weather eased off for the run itself, and Clumber is just as picturesque under grey skies.  Lots of mud of course, but I’m one of those slower finicky runners that meanders round the larger puddles to avoid the worst of it. My legs were almost shamefully dirt-free by the end (not so the poor car, which I had to wash later).

For those of you who haven’t run Trust 10 or Parkrun here, it’s a multi-lap course which takes in a downhill through woods and along the side of the lake, along a muddy path along the edge of the woods, up a sharp hill to the right and along past the cafe to the start. Trust 10 has 3 complete laps, with an extra loop through the woods. This event was made more festive by Santa marshalling in the woods, with a stereo playing Christmas music. Normally I would have enjoyed this, but on the second lap ‘Last Christmas’ marked my departure from Whammageddon (from 1 December, as soon as you hear it you’re out).

One of the things I really enjoy about this run is the number of people who stay at the finish to cheer their fellow runners on – more than just those waiting for friends or family members – and it gives the whole event a nice community feel. A sneaky peek at Strava later showed that there were one or two Striders about, but if you haven’t tried it before I’d recommend Clumber Trust 10 to any of you who could use a break from the hills of Longshaw. Just make sure you turn up nice and early to get a parking spot and register, and wear trail shoes.

My time: 1:04:38