Thousands of runners descend on Kielder for marathon weekend events

The sun came out as Kielder Marathon weekend returned, with thousands of runners lining up to take part in one of five events – the marathon, half marathon, 10K, Gravel Duathlon and the Junior races.

Known as “Britain’s most beautiful marathon”, the main event takes place alongside Kielder Reservoir and sees participants running a gruelling 26 miles on and off-road through Kielder Forest.

This year, Ricky Lightfoot, of Ellenborough AC, and Jane Hodgson, of Morpeth Harriers, took home the titles of male and female marathon winners, with times of 02:34:24 and 03:16:05 retrospectively.

Callum Hanson, of Pudsey & Bramley AC, was the first male to cross the line of the half marathon, while Luisa Hartley was the female winner.

One of the female half marathon runners was also treated to a huge surprise as her partner dropped to one knee and proposed on the finish line.

The 10k race saw a double Morpeth Harriers victory, with Amble-based Over-40 veteran Ian Harding taking the title in 33 minutes 51 seconds, while club colleague Cat Macdonald was the first woman home.

David Hall, head of commercial strategy and transformation at Northumbrian Water, said: “Kielder Marathon weekend is always a true spectacle, but this year has been the biggest and most magnificent yet.

“Hearing stories from participants, and knowing how far people travel for this special event is amazing, and we absolutely love welcoming so many fantastic individuals to our site.

“Of course, it wouldn’t be possible without all of our brilliant volunteers and event teams, who work incredibly hard to make the weekend what it is, so thank you to all of those involved.”

Steve Cram, the founder of Events of the North, added: “We’ve worked hard with Northumbrian Water, Northumberland County Council, Places Leisure, Northumbria Health Care NHS Foundation Trust and all of our other partners to deliver another very successful Kielder Marathon weekend.

“The course and our army of volunteers coped really well with a record number of participants.”

The event helps raise money for Northumbria Healthcare’s Bright charity.