Hey, I’m Hayley, one half of Coastal Trail Runners.

I went to sign up to the 5 Rivers Run at the start of 2024 and found a post from Paul, the race director, saying the event was not on this year. I read his blog on the reasons why, and then saw the mention of hoping someone would take the event over…….

A few, “could we” and “are we mad” conversations, and here we are!
I started running for my health, and wellbeing. Mentally I feel so much better when I have been outside and had a run or long walk. I began running the local events and built from 10km to half marathons and then full marathons. Once I started getting
into trail running, it was like a whole different world opened up, people that go long distances with amazing checkpoint stops for actual food, not just sipping gels on the go….sign me up! The LDWA still has the best selection on their events, you know you get a good feed as you cover the route. Hot buttered crumpets and a cuppa,
perfect!

I am mostly a back of the pack runner, chatting to people, taking photos, enjoying the checkpoints. I am slow but stubborn when it comes to finishing. But I still get the T shirt and cover the distance.
A regular event that I have enjoyed being part of is SVP50. Having run the event 3 times and volunteered 3 times as well. If I could change anything about this event, it would be less cows, I hate running through fields of cows! You would also presume
that after being at this event 6 times in 1 way or another, that I would know the route, but alas….I never fully remember it!
One of the biggest organised trails runs that I have taken part in is Race to the Stones, we took part in the 2-day event, completing 50km on day 1, camping overnight and completing the next 50km following day. I realised at that event that the stopping and going again was much harder than I had thought, and it took a few
miles to get into the following day! I do wonder if just being stubborn and doing it all in 1 go might have been a bit kinder to the body!

Since then there have been a variety of events, the 2 toughest were up in the lakes. I had decided I wanted to take part in The Lap, I had seen it advertised on social media and convinced Dan he wanted to complete it with me. It was a tough day! Nothing in Suffolk can replicate the terrain of the Lake District. The Lap was great
though, If you ever ask me about this event the pizza is always the first thing I mention it was amazing and helped get me to the finish.

Later that year we were in Chamonix so that Dan could take part in the UTMB. I crewed for Dan on this event and really enjoyed it. I’m not sure the other families on the bus with me while I tried to dry his socks out ready for the changeover were pleased to have me with them, but I realise I actually really enjoy the supporting and
crewing as well as taking part. Dan mentioned while there that Lakeland 50 was opening and did we want to put our names in the ballot. Nope. No. Thanks but no thanks, so of course Dan entered us, I had said I would only take part if we both got in and completed it together, (I already knew navigation was not my strong point to be lost amongst the ferns in the lakes at night). Of course, we both got in. Another amazing event but also another event not to be taken lightly, it is another style of running when up in that terrain.

I have been lucky to enjoy such a variety of events, either from taking part or supporting. The things I have taken from the years is that the community is what makes it, it can be a tin pot classic, or a major event on the calendar, but you need the community, the good checkpoints, the humour and the support and that is what I
want to grow Coastal Trail Runners into. I am nervous and excited in equal parts to get this event going again. Me and Dan see races from different perspectives and hopefully between the two of us we can offer a really great event that not only runners enjoy but the volunteers as well.

Dan here, the other half of team Coastal Trail Runners!

I’m generally a mid-pack type, gritty and determined, slow on descents but mostly get the job done. I love talking everything ultras so if you have any burning questions or want advice on stepping up in distance, I can probably share a few pearls from my small box of wisdom. Feel free to drop us a line on our email address or on our Socials.

I’m also a qualified UK Athletics Run Leader and started my own running journey around 9 years ago with the inimitable Felixstowe Road Runners. After a few years ticking off some iconic road marathons including London, Paris, Berlin, Dublin and Valencia, I tried my hand at some trail versions including Beachy Head and numerous local ones and I was hooked!

I’m now an unashamed box-ticker of an ultra-runner, completing many of the UK’s most iconic 100-mile events including twice finisher of the Lakeland 100, The Arc of Attrition and three of Centurion’s 100 milers (I really must get that North Downs one bagged one day!).

In January 2022 I conquered the epic that is the full Winter Spine Race at the first attempt. If bogs and freezing fog combined with gale-force winds are your thing then that really is a must!

In 2023 and after 5 years of trying and collecting running stones, I bagged a place in Chamonix for the UTMB 100M. That is one crazy, heady and incredibly difficult couple of days traversing the Mont Blanc Massif. Save your pennies and build your quads for that one.

My latest ‘big one’ and possibly my favourite race came this summer in finishing GB Ultra’s Race Across Scotland in a little under 90 hours. It’s a brilliantly organised event by Wayne and his team across one of the most underrated National Trails, The Southern Upland Way. And what a finisher’s buckle!

Closer to my home on the Suffolk Coast, I have 5 x SVP100 finishes to my name, 100km through rolling Suffolk and Essex countryside. It’s another well established local race that ticks so much of what I love about trail running events. The sense of community, a great route, an iconic finisher’s t-shirt whilst maintaining the ethos of what trail running is about.

As Hayley and I embark on our own ultra trail race-organising journey, in time we hope to bring together as many of the best elements we have experienced in our own races, to put on an event that puts the Suffolk Coast firmly on the trail running map and one we can all be proud of.