View the course in Mapometer and Mapmyrun. NOTE: this is subject to changes right up until the day of the event.

The 2012 course was a superb mixture of on and off road surfaces over 69 miles of glorious country and secured the position of this event as an instant classic. So we figured – if it ain’t broke….

It is intended to largely follow the course of the 2012 event, although please note that routings are not finalised until closer to the time and that stages may be amended. Changes were made to the 2012 course to allow for extreme weather conditions and so the below is a guide to the proposed routing for 2013, although this may be subject to change.

Overall distances

Road: 34m. Tarmac Path: 17m. Trail: 18m.

Stage Info

Each stage of The Wall has its own distinctive character and the stage distances are designed to be good “chunks” of running, followed by handy pit-stops where you can rest, refuel, get shelter and medical attention if required. The route will be fully waymarked and marshalled where required for key directional or safety purposes. The following gives a breakdown of the stages:

Stage 1: 15 miles*

Starts at Carlisle Castle - click here for Google Maps location.

Commences with mass starts from Carlisle Castle and immediately heads eastwards beside the River Eden, traversing flat rural landscapes past Brampton before gradually climbing towards the first hills and forts of The Wall.

Pit-stop at Lanercost Tea Rooms - click here for Google Maps location

Stage 2: 17 miles*

Leaving Lanercost the run becomes decidedly hillier as it passes several forts and character crags past Birdoswald, Gilsland and Greenhead. Just when approaching the highest hills we dip down to reach the overnight camp ground beside the massive fort of Vindolanda. This is not quite halfway in the two day Challenger and Relay event, but in this day you have climbed to around 750ft above sea level, so it’s certainly more downhill than up from here on.
(Overnight camp for Challengers and Relay Teams)

Pit-stop at Vindolanda - click here for Google maps location

Stage 3: 13 miles*

Feel the exposure the legions must have felt as you stare out to the vastness of the North from this lofty plateau. You will pass Vindolanda Fort, and traverse more frontier country, before it’s heads down for our first long descents to a transition near Hexham on the Tyne River.

Pit-stop at Hexham - click here for Google Maps location

Stage 4: 17 miles*

Leaving Hexham we are now on a mission to get to see the bridges of Newcastle Gateshead on the River Tyne. This is a long section that will take you into some post industrial heartland and the pleasant flatter riverside paths towards Wylam, and on to the final transition at Newburn / Tyne Riverside Country Park.

Pit-stop at Newburn - click here for Google Maps link

Stage 5: 7 miles*

This final stage is the shortest and fastest. For the Relay Teams this will be a sprint to the finish, and for the Challengers and Experts the culmination of their aspirations to run directly in amongst the bridges at the dramatic centre of Newcastle/Gateshead.

Finish at Baltic Quay - click here for Google Maps link

Sensitivity and Sustainability

Hadrian’s Wall is a World Heritage Site, and as such is carefully protected by legislation, and some very caring and attentive guardians, for historic and environmental reasons. The Hadrian’s Wall Path National Trail itself is actually in, on or alongside the Wall’s features and is managed for walkers only. In order to make our event sustainable for years ahead, we are devising an exclusive route with the help of Hadrian’s Triumph and Hadrian’s Wall Heritage that will access as much of the Wall corridor as practically possible, and certainly ensuring that you get a tremendous flavour of Wall Country. In many cases this actually improves the run-ability, the views and the experience.

Running Surfaces Definitions:

Public Roads: Roads shared with traffic, Pavements or Verges
Tarmac Paths: Traffic-Free No-Thro’ and Private Roads, Surfaced Cycleways and Paths
Trails: Off-road surfaces (Grass, Gravel, Stone, Mud, Moor) on Trails, Indistinct Paths and some Riverside Paths

 

*These distances are subject to slight variation as final detailed routings are determined.