The event was advertised as “a 26.3 mile, 5 lap, event for individuals/teams around the Colworth Estate in North Bedfordshire, on gently undulating trail and unclassified road, some woodland paths with uneven surface/roots. Some narrow sections of path, hence limit on entries.”
 It comprised 5 laps, based on

• a small loop around the playing field, followed by
• a larger loop, based on the “Colworth 5”

Conditions on the day were cold (8°C) and grey, rain at 9am, drizzle by 11am, dry by 2pm, followed (after everyone had finished) by a glorious sunset and then clear skies.
There were 38 individual entries, of which 29 started (28 completed) the marathon distance, and 4 teams, made up of athletes doing single or double relay laps. First finisher was Nadine Lewycky, of Newport Pagnell, in a time of 3:22:04, very quick considering the weather and mud. Last finisher (David Moles, a veteran of 511+ marathons), arrived back in a time of 5:57:45, still quick in the conditions and terrain. Of the teams, Colworth Hares came in first at 3:13:58, followed by Colworth Donkeys at 3:22:25. Bedford Harriers based team, Wanden’s Wanderers finished in 3:49:48 and Colworth Tortoises in very respectable 4:06:23.
A huge thanks to marshals, Moira Ledbetter and Jack Hoddle, First aider Amy Briggs and timekeepers Amy Briggs and Carol Hoddle, and to Colworth Striders, for the help, support, facilities and inspiration.
Some feedback from runners:
“Well done and thank you for Sunday. I had a great time and it was good to see you all again…. just great to be stomping round Colworth in the mud! And doing a time that I thought was beyond me with my current fitness level!!”
“Excellent run - many thanks to you and your helpers……great day out, the weather was very kind and certainly much better than predicted”
“Thanks for a first class event. I give you ten out of ten. Hope you put it on again next November. Thanks again to you and your support team for a really great day.”
“Really enjoyed the event! Thanks for putting it together”
“Well done on yesterday – very enjoyable event!”
“Just wanted to thank you for all your efforts today… a big thank you also to everyone who helped. As always another great event at Colworth, the weather is all part of the day, a bit of mud and rain never hurt anyone, great drinks and snacks and a fabulous medal”
“Just want to say thank you very much for the excellent marathon today…well worth the trip and overnight stay. It has been an great achievement to run this in comfortable pace all the way. All your volunteers has been fantastic as well. Thank you for providing the bananas and sweets. I would like to run this one again next year.”
“…thank you for the superb event today which I thoroughly enjoyed…really nice well signposted course; the marshals encouraged us throughout not letting the damp and cold conditions dampen their spirits; refreshments provided were spot on and the facilities at the start / finish were superb.”