A a couple of months ago we hopped in the car on a gloomy, grey, wintery Friday morning and followed the winding country roads down to Marloes on the South West coast of Pembrokeshire.
We pulled up and stepped out of the car, almost immediately wishing we'd picked a better day. The wind was howling in off the sea and there was a nip in the air, to put things very mildly.
However, we pulled on an extra layer of Merino, gritted our teeth and set off to recce the Spud Run route. Once we were on the move, we soon forgot the weather and began to enjoy the run.
The trail was easy going, firm underfoot and wide enough to run comfortably without worrying about falling over any cliffs (albeit with a few tricky sections and streams to jump over or splash through!).
Despite the trails not being difficult underfoot, the scenery was decidedly wild. We stopped often to use the excuse of catching our breath just to drink in the sight of the ragged, towering cliffs and foaming surf breaking on the rocks below. The coastal trail around Marloes is breathtaking... even if you're not trying to run it!
With sections of rocky bits, firm sandy bits, fast flat bits and even faster downhill bits as well as the occasional and unavoidable climb the 10K (or maybe that's 10.5k, if you're a real GPS-hawk) Spud Run route is great for all abilities. It doesn't matter if you're aiming to get around in under 2 hours or under 40 minutes, we think there's plenty for everyone and all will leave buzzing from the experience. (And if not then the the free cup of Coaltown Coffee for all finishers will surely do the trick!)
After the run, warming our fingers around hot mugs in the Runwayskiln cafe, we all agreed - the route was great. And also, those joining us in June for the first ever Spud Run will likely enjoy it even more than we did as they will be running on (what we hope will be) a beautiful summers day.
Click here to read more about the Spud Run and to enter the event.
