Willow Miner Trail Race 2021

Elvet Striders are delighted to once again host the Willow Miner Trail Race, on Wednesday, 21st July 2021, at 7pm.

This year’s race is kindly sponsored by Start Fitness. 

We are proud to be holding the race in aid of Mind (reg. charity 219830) and The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation (reg. charity 1057213), supporting mental health and cancer research.

The Course

The course covers 5.7 miles of beautiful trail through woodland and nature reserve, those returning to the race can witness how the woodland trust has grown and matured since the inception of the event. After a winding start through Houghall woods, the course drops into the undulating section of the Durham Woodland Trust, climbing up to views over the River Wear and Croxdale Woods before descending to wildflower meadows and around to the Willow Lady. A single-track section along the bank of the River Wear leads to a climb up towards the Willow Miner, before traversing back to Houghall Woods and the finish. The route will be fully marked and marshalled.

Entries

Entries for the race cost £9, or £7 for attached club runners. Please visit our SiEntries page to enter.

Please note that to enter as a UKA attached athlete you must enter your own UKA number, available to look up on England Athletics’ site.

Event Details

Parking will be at the Graham Sports Centre (Maiden Castle), DH1 3SE as in previous years. Note that New Elvet Bridge in Durham is currently closed, which may affect your route to the event.

Toilets will be available inside the sports centre. It is likely that face coverings will still be required in order to enter the sports centre buildings. Depending on government and local restrictions on race day, showers may also be available and this will be made clear in the lead up to the event. 

Registration, start and finish have moved from the football field to the farm at Houghall College. This will be signposted and marshalled from the car park. Registration will open at 6pm. The specific start arrangements will be confirmed closer to the race date in accordance with current government guidance but we hope to be able to provide a mass start.

There is no required kit list, however the course covers some steep, muddy and uneven sections so trail or fell shoes are highly recommended both for grip and reducing the chance of ankle injuries. In the event of inclement weather a waterproof top may also be required. There will be space to leave luggage not needed for the race by the start.  

Sadly, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty around restrictions, there has been no social event or post race food arranged at present while we work to deliver the best race we can, though water will still be provided at the finish. We hope to return to the after-race celebration next year!

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One thought on “Willow Miner Trail Race 2021

  1. I believe I won my age category 70/75 for which the prize was presented to me by my friend Fiona on Saturday 31st July .Thank you and will see u next year .

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