The Course

The course is mainly a mixture of gravel surfaced woodland trails in the forest to the north west of Brockenhurst. Part of the course extend onto heathland on the old airfield on Beaulieu Heath, where it will follow existing hard surfaced tracks. There are only two road crossings.

The race starts and finishes at Roundhill Campsite using parts of the former Oakhaven Half Marathon route.

View the route on Mapmyrun: https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2499134314
Printable map – black labels are Forest track waymarker numbers. The red route is this year’s ten mile route.

 

Course Notes

We are intending to provide a great event that can be used for the build up to a marathon or half marathon, such as London or Southampton, and we have chosen a course that is relatively flat with mostly good quality gravel tracks. There is virtually no road but there are sections of tarmac and concrete around the old Beaulieu Aerodrome.

Overall the surface will allow good fast pace running for an off road event. If the course is dry then racing flats or normal trainers would be a good choice. If it’s wet then you may want a bit more grip.

The course itself starts at a campsite (closed for the winter) and continues through the working forest mostly consisting of fir plantations. After around 8 miles the scenery changes to open heath circumnavigating the aerodrome before returning to the campsite for a sprint finish on a hard surfaced track.

There is ample parking at the start/finish and an easy walk to the road crossings. For the safety of our competitors, mountain bikes should not follow the race route and are not allowed on certain sections in the National Park.

Please note:-
The whole of the course is open to other users and marshals have no legal power to control them, although they will endeavour to see that common sense prevails. Please take care near horse riders in particular letting them know, well in advance, that you are coming and be prepared to walk past if the horse becomes agitated. New Forest ponies, cattle, pigs or wild deer shouldn’t be a problem but do be sensible near them.  You are responsible for your own safety when crossing roads. Marshals will be on these crossings but have no power to stop traffic.  The toilets for the start are at the Race headquarters.

This is a cup less race with water provided at points along the course and at the finish. We have chosen this sustainable option to protect the beautiful forest paths as well as to reduce plastic waste, if you are bringing your own bottles please ensure that they are disposed off correctly.  We rely on the kind consent of the Forestry Commission to be able to run an event like this. It is very important to Oakhaven Hospice that we are welcomed back year after year.

Not only do we want to be welcomed back year after year but we want you to enjoy the race so that you would like to come back over and over again and support Oakhaven Hospice. The scenery is beautiful, the surface should be good but kind to joints and we want to make race support  as good as anything around. Have a good race.