Sherwood Pines 20 Mile, Half Marathon & 10k: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

All distances start together at 10:00 near the visitor centre. You first run the identical 10 km lap that the 10k field runs, then two longer laps on which the field thins out noticeably. The course stays in a narrow band between roughly 65 and 105 metres above sea level; there are many rises and none of them is long, the stiffest coming at around 16 and 27 km with a little over 20 metres of gain across about 600 metres.

Sherwood Pines is a Forestry England working forest east of Kings Clipstone, and the laps use its forest roads, bridleways and footpaths. Underfoot it is mostly firm track, but in March some sections are muddy, which is why the organiser recommends trail shoes.

Water stations come roughly every three miles, with another at the finish. If the day goes wrong you may drop to a shorter distance once you have told the timer and race director; moving up to a longer one mid-race is not allowed.

Pacing Strategy

Plan the first lap deliberately slower than your half-marathon rhythm. It is the fastest lap of the day because 10k and half-marathon runners are all around you and drag the pace up; slot in with them and you pay for it on lap three.

The race is decided on the final long lap from about 22 km. The rises there are no steeper than early on, but they arrive on tired legs, and on wet ground every stride costs more. Run the short ramps by effort rather than pace and let the watch slow down on the way up.

The second trap is fluid: in a cool March drinking feels unnecessary, but after two and a half hours you will miss it. Take the stations every three miles consistently.

Training plan for Sherwood Pines 20 Mile, Half Marathon & 10k: 12-week build

For most age-group runners the 20 miles mean two and a half to well over three and a half hours of continuous aerobic work. The effort is steady but broken every few kilometres by short ramps of a few percent; there are no long climbs, and also never the easy recovery of flat tarmac.

The race is decided on the last lap. Build your long runs to two and a half hours or more and, where you can, put them on rolling ground so your legs learn to take short rises late in a run without the pace collapsing.

The forest in March is cool and muddy in places. Do part of your long running on unsurfaced paths in the shoes you will race in, and try kit for anything from near freezing to mild.

If you run the 20 miles as preparation for a spring marathon, plan it as a controlled training stimulus: rehearse marathon fuelling, hold the pace a little below your marathon target and recover deliberately afterwards.