On the 28th December at 3.30, a small number of hardy Striders as well as one or two guests gathered outside the Nag’s Head in the Loxley Valley. Their task was to visit as many of Bradfield Parish’s Christmas trees (and a couple of local Trig Points) within a 90 minute period – the further a tree from the Nag’s Head, the greater its points value. There isn’t time to visit them all (unless you can run 17 hilly miles in 90 minutes) so it’s a matter of route as well as pace. Anyone taking longer than 90 minutes faced a 10 point penalty for every minute or part of minute late. There was plenty of opportunity for trail running as well as local roads, though a day of heavy rain, meant that conditions underfoot could best be described as good to soft.

An hour and a half later and the darkness around the Nag’s Head was punctuated with the twinkling of head torches from all directions (well, two) as groups runners made their way back to the start. The winner was Peter McCoy, who secured an impressive 130 points and more importantly, just avoided any time penalties. Nick Hails secured an excellent 140 points worth of trees, but was penalised 30 points for his tardiness, still securing strong second. Sian Evans once again missed out on the top spot but came in third with 100 points and no time penalties – though arriving 10 minutes before the deadline may have been an unwise decision. Drinks were taken (still just £2.50 for a pint of Farmer’s Blond) and prizes handed out in the Nag’s Head. Hopefully the event will return next Christmas; it would be great to get a few more teams involved – but competitors should note that Sian was last seen finding Nick’s route on Strava, for future reference.