Race date: 13 April 2025

Race distance: marathon

Race report by Lucy Mottram

Having completed my first ever marathon in March 2024, I clearly got carried away with myself and randomly entered two more marathons. Prosecco was probably involved here. The first was York, and despite quickly launching back into training after a couple weeks, I suffered an injury and it was not to be! The second was the Charm Bracelet Trail Marathon in Whitby. This was a brand-new course which sounded absolutely beautiful, taking in the coastal path from Redcar to Whitby and passing the Charm Bracelet sculpture between miles 7–8. It sounded beautiful and would require a weekend in Whitby with the family. The race is also a sustainable and inclusive race with the option to plant a tree and a planned coach available to take you to the start. What’s not to love!? Maybe I should have read the small print…….

“Heading south from Redcar following the King Charles III England Coast Path, you’ll finish in the beautiful fishing town of Whitby. You’ll pass through coastal villages, run on the sand, watch the world from high up on the cliffs, and immerse yourself in everything the Cleveland Way has to offer”.

STEPS. That’s what it has to offer. Lots and lots of steps. But more about those in a moment.

The route has around 3500ft of elevation and some truly tricky terrain. This was going to be a little more difficult than my last marathon. Having travelled up on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed an afternoon of chips by the harbour and a lovely meal in a posh pub, it was an early night with a cup of tea, the 1% Club and then a book in bed. The alarm was set for 4am (yes really) and then after calling for a fellow runner on the way down Church Steet and over the swing bridge (with a minor panic that the bridge was closed for a boat to come through and we were going to be late), we trudged up the hill to the leisure centre ready for the coach to depart at 5.30am. Here we also bumped into Matt Broadhead, one of four Striders taking on the challenge.

We arrived in Redcar and were dropped on the seafront at 6.30am for a kit check and to pick up our numbers. A trailer was open already selling hot drinks and the toilets had zero queue and were spotless! The only problem was it was very cold, and the race wasn’t due to start until 8am. So, we tried our best to keep warm, eat our breakfasts from Tupperware’s and Thermos flasks and chat to each other about our strategy to get around the course. Some people had walking poles and planned to Jeff their way around, the cut off was 10 hours – this should have been a warning of what was to come.

Around 7.30am Laura and Jim Rangeley strolled across from their accommodation – right across the road from the start – clever people. After a lovely race briefing and a pep talk from the race director, we made our way to the promenade and off we went! The first few miles were along the front at Redcar, nice and flat and on tarmac – lulling us into a false sense of security! Soon the tarmac gave way to trail, and the hills began. And the steps. Oh the steps! Up and down. Up and down, pushing through bushes and watching our step all the way past Marske-by-the-Sea to Saltburn (around 5–6 miles). Here was the first aid station and a man with a jug offering to fill your own water bottle. Also, public toilets and very friendly marshals. Then came bigger hills and more steps, a lovely photo op at the Charm Bracelet sculpture, before more hills and more steps. A second aid station around 9 miles offered more of the same but this time with lots of snacks, and then another hill! I made the mistake of trying to eat a flapjack and climb the steps, nearly choking as I tried to breathe through my nose and make the huge climb.

The route continued to climb to the halfway point in Staithes. This is where lucky half-marathoners were able to stop, at the bridge over the estuary. Not for us – the biggest climb so far came here, a steep walk up through the village, some more steps and a very big hill. The views were amazing! Although my fellow striders were long gone, this had to be the friendliest race I’d ever run and the camaraderie was fantastic, even if it was mainly moaning about steps and cockling over on the trail. Finally at around 18–19 miles we approached the final aid station at Runswick Bay, then a steep descent and across a beach with several streams criss-crossing the path. At this point I wasn’t entirely sure where I was supposed to be going so caught another lady up ahead of me. We took a chance and followed another runner just disappearing into the distance and discovered a waterfall cutting through the rocks in the far corner of the beach, and yes you guessed it, someone had put some steps up the side of it……this then led to more steps than I have ever seen in my life, twisting their way up the cliff and back towards a farm. I decided at this point to stay with the lady (Jo from Nottingham) for the rest of the course, just to keep my sanity! We chatted our way along the course and descended the steepest, narrowest steps I have ever seen in my life until we ran along a trail and found ourselves in Sandsend. Cue much excitement as we realised, we could finally see Whitby Abbey and had about 3–4 miles more to go.

A little further along the main road from Sandsend, down the back of the golf course and up (but not steps) onto the West Cliff of Whitby. A quick pose for a pic at the Whale Bones and then down some very busy steps, onto the Khyber Pass and the last mile of the marathon. On the busiest day of the year so far, the last mile of our marathon took us down the busiest street in Whitby, past the amusements, the Magpie Café, back towards the swing bridge and a sharp turn right up a very steep hill all the way back to the top of the West Cliff. There may have been some swearing here. We passed through the leisure centre car park where a small group, including Laura Rangeley and my family cheered us on….as we were ushered inside because the finish line was inside the leisure centre in the sports hall. Here we helped ourselves to more water from a jug, collected our t-shirt and wooden medal and I gave my new best friend Jo a hug 😊. To summarise, a truly inclusive and sustainable marathon, amazing views, a lovely sense of camaraderie and lots and lots of steps. Apparently, Matt Broadhead says he is now looking to buy a bungalow.

Striders results