It might be over six months away but organisers of the Sandstone Trail Race have announced that entries are coming in thick and fast for this year's event with over a third of the places already snapped up! So if it was on your hit list for 2024, be quick and book your place at the 8 September race.

The Sandstone Trail is a long distance footpath which stretches 30 miles along the backbone of central Cheshire from the Shropshire border to the Mersey. It is a sort of Cheshire Way, following a meandering ridge of 300 million year old Triassic sandstone that rises dramatically from the Cheshire plain which it almost splits in two.

The autumn double-header is made up of two point to point races. The A Race is 27.5K with 655m climb starting from Duckington and is ideal for the more experienced runner. The B Race is 17K with 288m of climb starting from Beeston and is better suited for those wishing to try their hand at trail running.

Both races finish at Delamere Forest and there is an optional bus to both start lines from the forest in the morning. The course is marked with circular black and yellow signs – useful for the competitive runner and helpful for the newcomer, and whilst it follows the Sandstone Trail path, sections of it go through farmland and include stiles and/or gates.

Organisers say: "The terrain and the views across the Cheshire plains are amongst its highlights and with two distances to choose from, it's an event for both new and experienced trail runners."

The Sandstone Trail Race was previously organised by Deeside Orienteering Club who held it annually in mid-autumn for 40 years from 1977-2016. Now organised by Run Cheshire, it is the only trail race in the organiser's stable of races and they were 'honoured and delighted to be asked to keep the race in the local race calendar'.

If you'd like to know more, visit the Run Cheshire website.

Image: Run Cheshire Facebook