Sad Piggies At The Farm
Final outing for Keep Running Rural as sorrows are drowned with cider...
There was more than a tinge of sadness in the air at the Cider Frolic and Piggy Plod enjoyed by 540 runners last weekend (19-21 July 2024). While the weekend was a huge success, these were the final events to be promoted by Keep Running Rural, organisers of some of Dorset's and Wiltshire's most popular running races.
The final Cider Frolic and Piggy Plod saw the campsite at Myncen Farm, Minchington, near Blandford Forum – a former pig farm and now the home of Cranbourne Chase Cider – filling up from Friday lunchtime ready for the first ever Cider Frolic 24-hour race starting at 6:00pm. This could be run solo, in pairs, or teams, and the best individual performances were achieved by Mark Darcy (105mls/23:42:12) and Ceri Goddard (94.5mls/21:45:15).
The Cider Frolic 12-hour race started at 8:00am on Saturday, following the same format over half the duration. The leading solo competitors were Robert Weman (73.5mls/12:03:00) and Katie Madwick (52.5mls/11:58:07).
The programme concluded on Sunday morning with the Kids Piggy Plod 4K at 9:00am and the Adult Piggy Plod 10K at 10:00am, where the winners were Sam Foster (41:23) and Clementine Ebel (42:27).
Ahead of the Cider Frolic and Piggy Plod races, Keep Running Rural released a statement on their website: "This is the hardest post we’ve ever had to write, and we can promise you that it doesn’t come lightly. With an incredibly heavy heart, we’re sad to say that Keep Running Rural will not be organising any events for the foreseeable future beyond the Cider Races/Piggy Plod weekend."
The group cited the slow recovery of race entries to pre-Covid levels; the general cost of living; the escalating costs incumbent upon race organisers, and the unpredictable weather that had led to the cancellation of several key events among their reasons for closing down.
Keep Running Rural, formerly known as White Star Running, was responsible for many popular trail races such as the Giant's Head Marathon and Half Marathon; Sydling Hill Race; Mapperton Muddle 10K and Half Marathon, and the Ox Trail Races (pictured above).
White Star Running was founded in 2012 by Andy Palmer, who retired in 2023 after handing the reins to Gemma Wilton. The full statement from Keep Running Rural can be read on their website here.
Entrants to the cancelled Mapperton Muddle and Spring Larmer events can earn their medals by completing the race virtually by 5 August 2024, or receive a refund.
Full results of the Cider and Piggy Plod races are at runABC South race listing here.
Photo courtesy of the Keep Running Rural website