Halton Hills

The Halton Hills is an off-road race which takes place in the woods surrounding RAF Halton. Good news for those non-military people in the local area is 99% of the route is on public byways so you can have a go yourself! 

The race was first run in 1979 and its founder was the late WO Don Cobley, an RAF PTI and British Olympian in the Modern Pentathlon in Melbourne (1956) and in Rome (1960). One of the most grueling hills on the course (Cobley’s Rise) bears Don’s name.

The route winds its way through the Wendover Woods for approximately 7.5 miles, and over 7 hills of varying steepness and longness. There is an overall ascent of 1200 ft, which I can assure you is enough!

The first hill ‘The Snake’ is very steep and very long. This is followed by a small period of respite along a gravelly flat before coming to Hill 2 – ‘Boddington Bank’. This is a gentle incline followed by ‘Wimp’s Way’, a gradual incline which merges into hill 4 – ‘Cemetery Hill’. Number 5 – ‘Cobley’s Rise’ is definitely the worst, and this broke me into a walk. At the top of the hill you reach the Wendover Woods 'Go Ape' so it is likely you will surprise a few members of the public with your panting and red face! Last 2, ‘Cardiac Arrest’ – steep, but short. And finally Hill 7 – ‘Legless Last’, to be honest I can't remember what this one was like. I was just glad it was coming to an end!! You can view the full route on Strava here.

I had a really great race, much better than I was expecting on-top of a fairly tough week of training which is always nice. I finished 1st Lady and 3rd overall, which I think is one of the best results I have had, however there was an absence of the usual male racing snakes. Plus the lead man decided 7.5 miles want hard enough and went the wrong way (accidentally) adding a significant amount of time and distance. In the mens race Mike Kallenberg destroyed the field to finish in 45.40, almost 10 mins ahead of his nearest rival. 

Hill Stats

Order run	Ascent	Distance
The Snake	80m	300m
Boddington Bank	35m	350m
Wimp’s Way	55m	250m
Cemetery Hill	45m	200m
Cobley’s Rise	65m	250m
Cardiac Arrest	55m	200m
Legless Last	55m	350m

Thank you's of course must go RAF Halton for organizing the event, the RAF Sports lottery for assisting with the funding and Ultrasport for the T-Shirts! :)

Full results can be found on the RAFAA website and pictures will be added in due course.