Click here for the Jedburgh 3 Peaks Ultra website

Date:  Saturday 28 October 2017

Distance:  38 miles (Medium)

Ascent: 3300ft/1000m

2016 winning time:  5:12:06, 1st woman 6:13:27

Open for entries:  7 May, 8pm

Each year we try to have a race in Scotland, and for 2017 we’re returning to one that is a lot easier to get to than most, for those of us living in England or Wales anyway.  Jedburgh’s just over 3 hours’ drive from Leeds or Manchester for instance.  The Scottish Borders have a lot of very runnable rolling hills that get little traffic, so paths are scarcer than we’re used to in most of the English hills.  This race is mostly on the waymarked St Cuthbert’s Way, however, following the old Roman road of Dere Street and the bank of the River Tweed, and apart from the crossing of the steep Eildon Hills it’s a trail race rather than a fell race.  The scenery is very good, and most of the route gives fast running conditions.  The majority of the route is ‘proper’ trail, ie runnable paths and old tracks, not Landrover tracks or forestry roads. The offroad sections are linked up by short sections on tarmac as the route passes through several picturesque Borders villages. It’s mainly fairly flat or gently undulating, but save something for the Eildons midway!  You’re unlikely to miss them, as they seem to be visible from nearly everywhere in the Borders.