Run Rabbit Trail Festival hits Deene Park


With 5x5k races, a 10k, and a half marathon across the weekend (that can be done as standalone events or together - when they form ‘The Quest for the Golden Carrot’) and an extra mile at the end for the six ‘Questers’ of each gender who have the lowest cumulative time (The Carrot Dash), it’s a unique event and there isn’t really anything else out there quite like it!
This year the event moved to Deene Park, just outside Corby, Northants, and the Race Harborough team were looking forward to sharing the stunning grounds of the estate with the runners and their supporters.
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Hide AdRunners began to arrive from 9am on the Saturday morning ready to set up camp and prepare themselves for the weekend ahead (although many had stopped off to complete Corby parkrun first – as if they weren’t going to be doing enough running over the weekend!).


A whopping 49% of the runners across the weekend were female, which is the closest gender split ever at a Race Harborough event!
The team have been working hard to ensure that their events offer a level playing field, so that approach certainly appears to be paying off.
A new venue meant more work behind the scenes, and with eight new routes to plan, marshal, and sign, the team were kept very busy in the lead up to race weekend! A phenomenal volunteer team arrived to support across the weekend though, and, to quote a runner, "they kept popping up like rabbits all over the course!"
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Hide Ad166 runners set off for the first event - the Trail Mix Challenge, where the aim was for runners to run five 5k courses, one an hour for five hours.


Podium finishers for the Trail Mix Challenge were:
1st Male: Matthew Hathrell (1:38:29)
2nd Male: Sam Kenmore (1:38:48)
3rd Male: Will Harding (1:41:55)


It was an exciting final race for the males, as just one second stood between Matthew and Sam following completion of the fourth of the 5ks, although Matthew came storming over the line on the last 5k, leaving a big gap between himself and Sam at the finish.
1st Female: Elizabeth Mckinlay (1:57:42)
2nd Female: Kath Hardwick (1:59:16)
3rd Female: Kairit Fitzgerald (2:02:03)
Following the Trail Mix Challenge there was a break, where runners were invited to join ultra runner, journalist, and running coach, Lily Canter, for a talk based on the topic ‘Do women hold an advantage in ultra endurance sport?’
Runners also used this opportunity to be seen by one of the on-site physios from Function Jigsaw, grab a pizza from MYO Street Food, or enjoy an ice cream from Quirky Events. The temperature had started to increase and so it was very much ice cream weather by the end of the Trail Mix Challenge!
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Hide Ad6:25pm arrived and runners congregated on the start line for a short briefing before setting off on the Headlight Hop 10k. 138 runners took on the 10k challenge, many of whom had already completed 25k earlier that day!
Standing at the start line it was brilliant being able to see runners racing off into the distance around the estate. The spectators waiting at the Chill Out Zone could see everybody for miles. So, those that walked the hills, you were seen!
The finish of the 10k came back through the Chill Out Zone, and runners were met by supportive cheers from their friends and family on their way to the finish.
The podium finishers for the Headlight Hop were:
1st Male: Will Harding (41:25)
2nd Male: Dan Widdowson (41:34)
3rd Male: Sam Kenmore (41:55)
1st Female: Isla Widdowson (44:37)
2nd Female: Kairit Fitzgerald (49:58)
3rd Female: Elizabeth Mckinlay (50:41)
Dan and Isla both joined the event with fresh legs, having not run the Trail Mix Challenge earlier that day. At 15, Isla was the youngest runner in the Headlight Hop, and it was fantastic to see her emerge from the woods at the 2k point into the race as the lead runner, along with her Dad, Dan, at that point! She later lost her lead, but held on to 5th position overall.
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Hide Ad99 runners lined up at the start of the half marathon, with a number of fresh legs on the start line this time.
The noticeboard listed the current Top 6 Quest runners in each gender at the start of day two and it was really interesting listening in to the tactics of those who were current qualifiers for the Carrot Dash.
Several of the ‘Questers’ chose to run an easier half marathon to try and save something back for their mad mile in the Carrot Dash!
The podium finishers in the half, therefore, shaped up like this:
1st Male: Graeme Ostah (1:35:42)
2nd Male: Allan Howling (1:41:14)
3rd Male: Tom Brennan (1:42:43)
1st Female: Eleanor Davies (1:50:59)
2nd Female: Elizabeth Mckinlay (1:51:18)
3rd Female: Kairit Fitzgerald (1:57:53)
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Hide AdBoth of the first finishers in the half had joined the event on Sunday. Graeme, who had also run the event previously, found himself well in the lead from early on, finishing more than five minutes ahead of Allan in second place! While Ellie and Liz had spent most of the half together, before Ellie pushed on to beat Liz to the finish.
Two of the Top 6 female Quest leaders following Saturday’s event had planned to run their half marathon race with club mates, so there was still all to play for in terms of qualifying for the Carrot Dash!
The final qualifiers for the 2025 Carrot Dash in the ‘Quest for the Golden Carrot’ were eventually announced as Allan Howling, Sam Kenmore, Tom Brennan, Will Harding, Matthew Hathrell and Andrew Bunker for the men, with Elizabeth Mckinlay, Kairit Fitzgerald, Sarah Pryce, Kath Hardwick, Annie Thorpe and Priya Agheda for the ladies.
A big shout out to Annie who hadn’t realised that she had qualified for the Carrot Dash and, having already changed to go home, was persuaded at the last minute to run a final mile!
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Hide AdThe qualifying twelve runners were escorted to the start, at the entrance to Dibbins Wood, where they were set off to a countdown of 3, 2, 1, GO! And off they shot! It was a tense time for everyone at the finish waiting to see who would emerge from the track out of the woods in the lead!
However, it was Sam Kenmore who came into view first, several seconds ahead of Matthew, to complete the Dash in 6:10. Liz then pipped Kairit to the finish in the ladies race, by just three seconds, to finish in a super speedy 7:52.
Over 56k in and still finding the energy to run a speedy final mile really takes determination, but this was the vibe of the whole weekend. A weekend that saw so many superb displays of runners pushing themselves further than they’d ever run, faster than they’d ever run, or across terrain they weren’t used to running on.
From the racing snakes at the front of the pack, to those at the back of the field, the 2025 Run Rabbit Trail Festival really was a fantastic weekend and showed us all what it really means to be a trail runner.
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Hide AdMary Pearson, Race Director, said: “What an absolutely brilliant weekend we’ve had. The trails here at Deene Park didn’t disappoint, the runners enjoyed the variation in the routes and the fantastic scenery, as well as meeting old friends and making new ones. The sun shone, and we witnessed some great displays of resilience and determination across the races.
“There’s always so much to do when you move an event to a new venue and a fair degree of nerves the night before, but we’re so fortunate to have the support of the team at Deene Park and an awesome volunteer team that ensured that all of the bases were covered and more!
“We’ve had a lot of very positive, valuable, and constructive feedback following the event and we’ll be working hard to ensure that all of this is built into our planning for the 2026 renewal. We can't wait to be back here next year!”