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| Hartland Hartbreaker start and finish at Hartland Abbey |
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| Hartland Hartbreaker – 8 or 18 miles of gruelling off-road run |
Now in it’s third year, the 2015 Hartland Hartbreaker event looks set to be the best ever.
The race is fully sold out so the runners choose from 8 or 18 miles of some of the toughest – but most beautiful – running terrain to be found.
The Hartland Hartbreaker is a tough 18 mile off road, multi terrain running race and the 8 mile Hartland Hartacher is just as tough, just shorter. Neither are for the ‘faint-harted’! Course designers deliberately wanted to create one of the toughest courses in the country – apparently for fun! The race supports the Children’s Hospice South West.
Spectators are actively encouraged, Hartland Abbey is the beautiful start and end point, complete with beer tent, food and other stalls and things for the children. Parking is £4 if you arrive before 11am and normal admission after that time.
Come along and support the intrepid runners on their gruelling run. According to the race oganisers:
"You will encounter sections of exposed cliff tops, muddy tracks, uneven paths, long sections off path with no discernible route, river crossings, steep, slippery difficult sections (some with ropes) and generally a real tough, long and challenging run. There are some sections of road, but we have deliberately avoided them wherever possible. There are very exposed sections of cliff top with no fences or barriers and the route goes very close to extremely high drops.
We are starting and finishing from the fabulous Hartland Abbey and are very fortunate the Lady Stuckley and Sir Hugh have allowed us to run around their wonderful estate. You’ll encounter the beautiful gardens of the abbey – with bluebells in full flight – and then the rugged and unrelenting South West Coast Path. After a quick trip towards Hartland Lighthouse it’s in to the deepest darkest Devonshire countryside – keep your wits about you and you’ll probably make it out alive. The 8 mile route finishes at this point and the hardcore joggers jog on for another 9ish miles of fun and games.
Back through the abbey grounds once more and up to the ruined castle overlooking the Atlantic, back onto the coast path and past (through?) a waterfall before once again leaving the coast path to explore some local woods including a section affectionately dubbed "The Wall". As the route progresses you’ll experience "On the Edge" a cliff top path that will make vertigo sufferers tremble!
Other notable highlights of the main route include "Bogged down" and "Bogged up" – I think you’ll know what you’re getting there and there is the opportunity to run through the estate’s area of biodiversity before heading back to the abbey for the finish via the old main drive."
