Brigstock Dirt Run: 'Runnable' - the most frightening adjective in a race director's armoury
It was Dirt Run Series Round 2 at the weekend - luckily it hasn't rained every day this year otherwise we might have got really muddy...
Is it time to worry when a race director emails pre-event to say the course has been re-routed as “one section is plagued by deep ruts and the section through the woods is knee deep in water’?
If you’re tempted to say yes, then beware. The really dangerous word may just be more mundane - perhaps something along the lines of saying the new route is “runnable”.
This is the single spine-chilling word that experienced runners everywhere know spells trouble. It’s up there with ‘undulating’.
And it was that very word which competitors at the Brigstock Dirt Run had to contend with at the weekend.
Sundays’ race is the second in organiser Go Beyond Challenge’s Dirt Run Series, which also includes the always-muddy marvellous Irchester Dirt Run.
Having completed Part One in the rain of January, I’d originally hoped the Brigstock leg of the series would come with less mire, muck, sludge and slurry than had been provided in the picture perfect surrounds of Irchester Country Park.
But then that email from race director, Simon Hollis, arrived and it only meant one thing: Trouble. Muddy trouble.
Sunday’s race date had been proceeded by rain every day of 2027, and with the route round Fermyn Woods Country Park having already been designed as a challenging series of trails, then you know you’re in for a day of heavy legs and heavier trail trainers.
Brigstock Dirt Run boasts of a choice of 7.5km or 15km races, each consisting of a single lap. Being the sort of masochist who secretly enjoys the idea that a course has become even tougher than usual, I opted for the longer version.
One of the most notable parts of these races is that the distance covered seems that bit further than if you traverse it on a nice, solid road. I always think the 15k distance at Irchester, and here, feels more like a half-marathon.
At times, the sludgy and squelchy nature of the course means running full pace isn’t an option - not to say that some of those at the front end of the race didn’t put in some awe-inspiring times. Matt Ginieres finished first in the 7.5km run in just 33 minutes 58 seconds, while Isaac Walter won the 15km event in one hour 16 - very special times given the conditions.
My plan, though, was to put any ideas of speed on hold, manage to stay upright, and - most of all - enjoy the beautiful countryside contained in Fermyn Woods Country Park.
From farmer’s fields to pretty villages and tempting trails, this is a race which is as kind on the eyes as it is tough on the legs.
Perhaps the highlight is the opportunity to run past the stunning Lyveden New Bield, a unique, unfinished Elizabethan Lodge.
The brainchild of Sir Thomas Tresham, work on the Grade I listed building stopped when he died in 1605. Despite that, it stands as a proud reminder of Sir Thomas’ vision and forms a powerful feature amidst the surrounding gardens and meadows.
It is just one aspect of the escapism and peculiarity of Brigstock Dirt Run, the type of race which those more used to sanitised and solid road events might recoil from.
But if you’re the sort of runner who enjoys getting down and dirty, taking in stunning scenery, and maybe even getting that little bit excited when a race director says “runnable”, then this could be just the event for you.
◾FULL DISCLOSURE: I work with Simon Hollis at Go Beyond Challenge on PR for their races. That said, this is an honest, warts, mud and general filth race report from the event! It’s a great run, do it next year…
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