Kielder Half-Marathon, 5th October 2025
A group of Claremont ladies headed up to Kielder Reservoir to run in this tough half-marathon, where they came up against the doyenne of distance running, the one and only Paula Radcliffe. Paula finished as 5th female, but wor Sarah Kerr was only just behind her in 6th! Sarah was also first in her age category, and Hazel Juggins did well to finish 2nd in hers.
One of our 6-strong contingent, Julie Cross gives this account of her experience on the day:
“You know you’ve had a good race day out when you are moved to buy the event t-shirt which you thought you didn’t want and which never fits that well anyway. It’s a good time to ask a favour I think, milk that post race endorphin high – or is that a risky share with my fellow Claremonters?
I had been looking forward to the Kielder half marathon for a good few months, but by the time it came, I was happy to get to the start line, beginning to think it might not happen – The Fall in Jesmond Dene in August, family stuff, then Storm Amy, so lucky for us that we hadn’t entered the duathlon on Saturday: a} because who would want to ride a bike in rough track in 55mph winds and, b.} it was cancelled. I actually got my entry after volunteering for the duathlon last year, I was lured in by the low sun shining through the autumn trees, nice quiet and well managed paths, fresh but not too chilly, and a reason to venture that bit further north.
That all said, we had to question our choice while we waited at the start line, then waited a bit longer, then went back into the tent to shiver a bit less, then wait a bit more for the ‘go ahead from race HQ’ – a delayed start we assumed was down to late entries and/or parking issues due to duathletes transferring to the Sunday races (see Storm Amy above). But Steve Cram et al finally counted us down and off we all went, over the damn, into the forest, glorious sunshine, wind, views of the reservoir and the first of many climbs. Now, I had made a deal with myself to be content with getting to the start line, enjoy a novelty Sunday Runday and stay injury free – no racing today Julie! But many of us know what that number pinned to our vests (I can vouch that it was vest weather in the end) does to our rational thought. Go steady and see how you feel, no don’t push too hard, we’re only 2.5 miles in, oh there’s Tara on the snakey turn at 3 ish miles, well I feel fine so let’s just see, shall we? I know this train of thought will chime with anyone who is still reading this. You can catch the woman in tight socks up there, no go steady, and so it went on…no doubt all 1002 (ish) runners were having similar internal monologues. My own inner chat got decidedly pathetic towards the end – I can’t go any further, I just can’t, who cares if she overtakes, this wind is ridiculous…ah, there’s the finish line!
Kielder half marathon was undulating, some might say hilly, and I like this. Some short slopes, some longer ones, some which went on a bit, but they all come down again, and every single one was against a stunning background of pine trees, autumn leaves, and that cracking huge reservoir. And do you know the best bit? Meeting fellow Claremonters at the end, swapping stories of the adventures we’d had in the 2 hours since we’d last spoken, and putting the world back on a level. Thank you all.
However, the most curious bit was the bus back to the start – 3 seats in a row with just about enough space to side step up the bus to get off! What a day. “
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 45 | Sarah Kerr | 1:37:28 (1st F40) |
| 106 | Catherine Young | 1:46:00 |
| 158 | Julie Cross | 1:49:52 |
| 342 | Tara Hipwood | 2:00:50 |
| 353 | Hazel Juggins | 2:01:30 (2nd F60) |
| 973 | Becky Webster | 3:06:12 |
