Tough 10 - Off Road 10K - Trail Run

After my recent race for life half marathon I decided to sign up for a cancer research Tough 10 through Epping Forest. This run series is an off road 10K trail run to help beat cancer sooner and there are three levels of toughness to choose from, you can go for tough, tougher or toughest...

I found out about the Tough 10 run at Parkrun when I volunteered recently and went on the cancer research website to learn more and signed up.

The Course

Before starting the run I must admit I was a little anxious because I hadn’t ran through the forest before or done a trail or fell run. I usually run in parks, on the roads or on a treadmill…

The 10K course had a few hills and uneven slippery terrain. It was 45% woodland trails, 30% marked paths and 25% grass.

London Tough 10 Course

Source Cancer Research UK.

1K in the first hill awaited us and it was a beast but we were greeted by the most stunning view at the top - perfect selfie spot…

There were marshals, signs to guide us along the way and I even spotted a deer at one point!

At c7K was the steepest hill and the highest point of the entire course which was followed by another hill and then it was all downhill from there.

London Tough 10

Source - Cancer Research UK

Benefits of trail running

I really enjoyed this run and it has inspired me to do more trail running. Plus, it felt quite refreshing running through the forest despite the muddy surface. I think I actually prefer it to running in parks and road running as the air is so much cleaner too! This type of running is very much about balance and stamina and felt less strenuous on my joints than running on the road or treadmill.

Results

I finished the 10K in 59:07 so an average pace of 5:54 min per km and yes there was some walking involved up those hills so I tried to make up for it whenever the course was flatter or downhill…

At the end all participants received a medal, bottle of water and a Kind dark chocolate and sea salt cereal bar.

I would definitely recommend this run or running in the forest if you want to try out trail run.

Have you tried trail running before?

Thanks for stopping by!

Krista x