It was so good to be back in Sydling St Nicholas for the Giants Head races in June 2022. We’ve missed this event so much and it was incredible!
We had the award-winning Giants Head Marathon, the Sydling Hill Race, the brand-new Giants Half, a chaotic Bell Race, an epic barn dance, a lot of amazing food and a whole lot of fun. A true White Star Running event through and through.
To get a feel for this amazing weekend, we have another great review of the Sydling Hill Race from one of our wonderful Cheerleaders Shell Lawrence. Read on to find out more.
In true White Star fashion, another epic race weekend was produced, this time in the little village of Sydling St Nicholas.
As we gathered on the start line, Andy announced that this race wasn’t a 10K race and it was in fact a 12K race. I mean, of course, I wouldn’t have expected anything less.
If you’re a quick runner and looking for a good time, then head to the front as the first section is a bit narrow and does bottleneck for a short time. If you’re happy just being there, then just enjoy the little walk until it widens out again.
You reach concrete hill 0.6 miles into the race. Personally, I think this hill is the toughest over the route so it was nice to get it over and done with. It feels like it goes on forever and it is quite steep. I was just reaching the top to soak up the amazing views when my watch ticked over at a mile.
For the next 2 miles it’s barely noticeable downhill, but downhill none the less. I’ve learnt to make the most of the downhills with White Star races because you just don’t know when you’ll get another one.
At around the 3.1 miles you start the next incline up through the fields. You can see for miles the whole way up and once you reach the top at roughly 3.5 miles the views really are breathtaking!
For the next 1.5 miles all I remember are the views; I must of stopped to take 100 photos because every angle you look there was another truly stunning view.
Mile 5 is the start of the last hill, but this time once you reach the top make sure you watch your footing as the path to the Lovestation™ is a bit dodgy underfoot and there were a few people who took a tumble on this section.
You know you’re not far from the Lovestation™ because you can hear it before you see it. But once you reach it I highly recommend sampling the goodies because there are plenty! Oh and grab a selfie with the scarecrow!
6.5 miles in and you realise Andy wasn’t lying, as the finish line is no here in sight… but there is nothing like a sign saying ‘BTW there’s a bull in this field’ to get you doing a sprint finish. Luckily it’s all downhill from here, BUT if you’ve got glass ankles like me then you may want to take it steady on the final descent as the path is again a bit precarious in places and difficult to build up too much speed.
In conclusion, the views were breathtaking including views of the Cerne Abbas giant himself. The hills were epic (738ft elevation) and the medal is the best medal ever and one I’ve had on my bucket list for several years! The spinning willy!!
