I picked Shaun Edwards up at 5.30 am from the Smelters car park in Castleside on Saturday 2nd March and we set off in the dark for Threshfields in Wharfedale (joined on to Grassington) A good drive down saw us arriving before 8 am so well in time for the 9 am start.
Registration was simply done in the village school and then we helped ourselves to hot drinks and toast etc before the start. I met up with a few guys and gals I’m doing the K2B with in May so had a good bit of banter before the run.
Oh I love the Trollers Trot, why? well It’s a 25 mile ‘trot’ over some fantastic hilly fells in the north Yorkshire moors.

Don’t get too stressed by that as for all the uphill bits there are some lovely down hill clatters. Navigation isn’t too much of a problem if you track the runners around you. This year they had done away with the marshalled clip points and just had self check points (nothing to do other than run through them) Worked ok for most though a few of the back markers with no one to follow got lost and put in some extra miles in the wild bits.
A bit of indecision before the start, to run in trackers or bare leg shorts? So I ran in Nora Battys (Sara S will know what I mean) The weather was actually ideal, hardly any wind, cool to start with and probably got up to 9 or 10 so nowt to complain about.
Well you run up a few giddy big hillsides but you also run down some hillsides with viewpoints to savour so put it all together and it’s a pretty enjoyable way of spending a few hours in the open air.
At one point on the tops with the sun shining I got quite light headed and was looking for the ice cream van……well it was that kind of day.
The last 3 or 4 miles sees you back on the level and you run alongside the river Wharfe into Freshfields, a short climb back up into the village from the river and hey ho you’ve cracked it.
Like all Long Distance Walker events it cost you very little to enter, they look after you on the way round and at the finish in the school hall we had hot grub waiting for us, pie and peas followed up with rice pudding. Now if that’s not a commercial for next year what is!!! Come and do it you’ll enjoy.
Shaun did well and finished ahead of me in 4.22 I came in at 4.43 which was 13 mins better than last year so happy with that.
The winner was Richard Pattison of Pudsy and Bramley in 2.50 the first lady was Jo Waites of Calder Valley who was 3rd overall in 3.11. 230 runners took part.
Next year I’m hoping that more Bounders will prise the douvet off and make the early start and go ‘Trotting