Hello,
Does anyone know of any trail half marathons on the go this year that may be worth a look?
I did Race to the Base in Lochinver last year and it was absolutely fantastic (if not baking hot for the time of year!).
Thought about the Blair Atholl one too, but I have spent a lot of my time in Glen Tilt so keen to try something a bit different. Thought briefly about the Malvern Hills Trail Half as well as I have in-laws down there and I like that part of the world, but it's a long way to travel to come bottom half in a 2 hour race, so Scotland and north England probably preferred if anyone has a good recommendation I may not have seen.
I actually find it quite hard to find a sort of "directory" for running races on Google.
Wild Deer Scottish Trail Running Festival 2026
I can't paste the link on my work PC, but its at Dalkeith Country Park in September. Its a 10km lap, so a half marathon will be two laps.
Wild Deer Scottish Trail Running Festival 2026
I can't paste the link on my work PC, but its at Dalkeith Country Park in September. Its a 10km lap, so a half marathon will be two laps.
Thanks for that! Only a half hour drive from the house too so a bit less of a b*llache to plan!
Jedburgh has a running festival don't know when. Lots of "backyard ultras" where the lap is 10kmish and you get 8 hours to run as many as you want. Usually measured to give a half in 2 laps.
There was one at newcastleton recently.
There are trail races at Glentress in Feb.
5km ,10km and 21 km
The Newcastleton trail back yard ultra is organised by Nu Limits running .
A stunning lap. Was very muddy this year, but will be a bit earlier in the year in 2026 . Maybe a bit drier?
Does it have to be a Half Marathon distance? The Glen Tanar Trail Running Festival and its darker sibling - The Illuminator - have a range of distances you can go at. Similarly Run Balmoral.
https://glentanartrailrunningfestival.co.uk/
I'vae actually signed up for Race to the Base this year. Really looking forward to it.
Run Balmoral is a great weekend. It’s got a 5km , a 10km and a 15 mile trail events. I’ve done the 15 miler for the past few years and it’s a really beautiful route.
Got my eye on the Glen Tanar event this year too.
[Declaration of interest - I'm the organiser]
We (Durty Events) are about to open entries for a new trail running event at Bowhill near Selkirk in the Borders. 5K, 10K, 25K and Ultra distances. It's a great location and a slightly unexplored corner of the Borders.
We have our Selkirk Gravel Classic bike event the previous day. Expect hills, and an interesting (technical in places) course..
As already mentioned, the High Terrain Glentress trail half marathon in February . It's a great event with a challenging route that has lots of elevation. Tough but enjoyable.
Durty Events has a half marathon at Tyninghame in February which I will be doing this year. Tyninghame is one of the best beaches in Scotland and the East Lothian coastline is gorgeous.
The Wooler half in October/Nov would be another one to do. I haven't ran the half, I ran the Wooler marathon. That's the toughest run I have ever done, even tougher than any of the Ultras I have ran. So many hills!
Thanks very much all - lots to look through here. Doesn't have to be a half just something around that (20-30k doable). I'm not in shape for an ultra or anything just yet, and not sure I have the desire anyway right now.
I did actually see the Glentress one, but I am quite keen to train up for a bit longer; only got back into running in Japan in November, takes a while for me to condition myself against injuries etc.
i had a similar requirement.
- i ended up at the dramathon.
unfortunately its full now 🙁