Three-time winner returns to Kielder Marathon

Ceri Rees, who won the Kielder Marathon in 2012, 2013, and 2014, returns 10 years later to Britain’s Most Beautiful Marathon.

The Kielder Marathon, taking place in October every year, beckons runners from all over to take on the trails of Britain’s Most Beautiful Marathon. The route, one lap of the largest man-made lake in the UK, is a test of endurance on winding lakeside trails against a stunning backdrop. However, despite its challenging nature, elite runners compete for a place on the podium.

Ceri Rees, from Newcastle, has run Kielder Marathon three times, in 2012, 2013, and 2014, winning the event in all three. Rees’ running background is marked by success from a young age, winning the British School Cross Country at 12, the English National Youths Cross Country aged 17, and English School Cross Country at 18. With some inspiration from his run club, Elswick Harriers, and coaches like Peter Hammill and Stan Long, Rees became a prominent name in junior cross country, and later became Captain of the University of Loughborough students cross country team.

However, at age 23, injury saw him turn towards rugby, only resuming running in his late 30s. Alongside three consecutive wins at Kielder Marathon, Rees has won The Grizzly five times, and more recently, the Dartmoor Fell Series aged 50 and 51. He now regularly runs the fells on Dartmoor and even ran a barefoot marathon in 2 hours 46 mins, aged 48.

Rees also set up a social enterprise in 2012 called Wild Running, using his interest in the wellbeing aspect, and the facility for growth learning that running offers, to create a positive influence, taking unemployed people out running in Devon. Wild Running has now expanded to become an events CIC hosting trail running events and even a festival across the south west of the UK. They raise money for various causes, including FORCE Cancer Charity, Showerbox, Kingsbridge Food Bank, Devon Air Ambulance and Friends of the Dart.

Rees is returning to Kielder Marathon this year, exactly ten years after his last win at the Northumberland event. Although he doesn’t race much these days, he says, “I would never say never. I love visiting the North East, having grown up in Newcastle and worked in the borders in Berwick.”

Reminiscing on his past Kielder experiences, he says there are too many memorable moments to mention, but recalls a man he once saw running with a fridge on his back, and one year hitchhiking to the start, after mistakenly relying on public transport to get there. He also quotes mile 23 and the tarmac parts as the worst sections of the race, but assures first time runners that it’s not all bad; “Don’t expect a PB but you can probably get away with road shoes on this one. Look around you as you run and try to linger after the run to enjoy the surroundings.”

Rees is one of several past winners returning to Kielder this year, invited back as part an initiative with Northumbrian Water to plant trees in a special area by the lake. The ‘Winner’s Row’ was started last year with winners Russell Maddams and Lucie Custance planting saplings at Kielder Waterside, with the plan that all past and future winners will have the opportunity to leave their mark on Kielder. The trees will become a permanent reminder of their achievement, and help to regenerate Kielder’s picturesque forest landscape.