Magical Dark Skies and Jelly Beans

On Saturday  I found myself on the start line of a marathon at 17:30 – a very random start time indeed. It was quite strange having to wait around all day to get going, but much easier getting lunch down me than the usual breakfast battle. I was at Kielder reservoir and about to tackle the Trail Outlaw’s Kielder Dark Skies ‘run’ (note not ‘Marathon’ Crammy!)

For those of you who don’t know Kielder very well, it was awarded the Gold Tier Dark Sky Park status by the International Dark Skies Association – the highest accolade the IDA can give = An awesome location for a dark skies run.

The skies did not disappoint, probably had near to perfect weather and the beautiful bright crescent moon, surrounded by the clear starts lit up the very still reservoir for the whole duration. At the start, running through the forest and looking up through the tip of the trees to see the stars was pretty amazing – at this point I was probably about 10 miles in and feeling good. At the other side of the water, at about 20 miles, running through the forest in the dark on my own was like a scene from a teenage horror film ha ha – amazing what your mind can do when you are tired. It was a good incentive to quicken the speed to catch up with a headtorch in front. I still haven’t decided if I was grateful to have music on so I couldn’t hear any noises, or thinking I shouldn’t have music on so I could hear any noises!

I took it easy, but I finished strong and legs were feeling good the day after, so overall not a bad training weekend.

It was a great experience, and I would urge anyone to give it a go. I am glad I took the time to switch off my music and my torch, to just marvel at the stunning scenery in the moonlight.

Oh, and the jelly beans at the check points were amazing…

10in10 update – Am I ready?  Not at all.  Am I nervous?  Not quite yet. Am I confident in my running ability?  Don’t be daft…

Marathon #29