The Shadowlands: Winter Trail Series is a set of six punchy trail races set in the English borders. In each race there is a chance to pick up individual prizes on the day as well as points that go towards the overall series standings. Once completed a presentation evening will be held at Pedalling Squares cafe in Swalwell Newcastle Upon Tyne on 21st February 2026.
The race series is a collaboration between Running Circles RC(R)C and Cold Brew Events to bring you something fresh and testing to aim for. Four races incorporate dedicated mountain bike trails at Kielder which you are highly unlikely to have run on before. The other two are established local races in the Winter Wipeout and Duergar Nightcrawler. All of them present different challenges in terms of distance, terrain, ascent, exposure and feel. Only one of them is a daytime race, the rest being run at night.
Give yourself a real challenge by kicking off your year taking on all six and going for a coveted series prize. Getting to the top is about consistency and determination. There are age categories applied both on the day and overall. You’ll be looked after by our dedicated event team with comms covering the route and a professional medical team ready to respond. All you need to do is put in the hard work to get each race finished.
RACE 1
DEADWATER RUN
27/12/25
Deadwater Run – Saturday 27th December 2025
Race 1 of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series. The first run kicks off two days after Christmas and is a perfect counter balance to the excesses of the festive period. It centres on the Deadwater mountain bike trail from Kielder Castle car park. The route frequently alternates between closed in singletrack trails and open forest tracks. You’ll be sent to the summit of Deadwater Fell before commencing a long descent back to the finish. The route will be sent out in the week prior to the race.
Distance: 15km Elevation 603m Race start: 16:00 Registration: 13:00- 15:30
Type: Night run Meeting point: Kielder Castle car park
Entry fee includes £4 Forestry England parking charge. +£2 for non UKA affiliated participants. Held under TRA/UKA rules.
RACE 2
OSPREY RUN
03/01/26
Osprey Run – Saturday 3rd January 2026
Race 2 of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series. The Osprey Trail Run centres around the Osprey mountain bike trail and this is the longest distance found in the whole series. If you want to do well then you really need to put the work in. The route heads out north east along the Forest Drive before swooping through the undulating blue trails around Gowanburn. These eventually pop you out at the Lakeside Way where you run along the shore of the reservoir on your way back to the finish.
Distance: 22km Elevation 447m Race start: 18:00 Registration: 16:00- 17:30
Type: Night run Meeting point: Kielder Castle car park
Entry fee includes £4 Forestry England parking charge. +£2 for non UKA affiliated participants. Held under TRA/UKA rules.
RACE 3
WINTER WIPEOUT
10/01/26
Winter Wipeout – Saturday 10th January 2026
Race 3 of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series. The Winter Wipeout has been going for some time and is a local race renowned for its challenge and variable conditions. It’s an out-and-back to the summit of Hedgehope (2nd highest peak in the Cheviots) and has been held in snow, rain, blue skies and everything in between. It’s best to have a decent knowledge of handling winter conditions and when you get the finish it’s a job well done.
Distance: 17km Elevation 685m Race start: 09:30 Registration: 08:15- 09:15
Type: Day run Meeting point: Ingram cafe
+£2 for non UKA affiliated participants. Held under TRA/UKA rules.
RACE 4
LEWIS BURN
24/01/26
Lewis Burn Run – Saturday 24th January 2026
Race 4 of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series. The Lewis Burn Trail Run centres around the Lewis Burn mountain bike trail and this is a wonderful undulating track that sways in all directions and is punctured by testing little climbs. Starting from Bakethin car park you run parallel with the Lewis Burn before reaching the far end of the course and dealing with the steep zig zags of Simons Tester and then it’s one long, fast descent back to the finish. This is the shortest run in the race series and so expected to be the fastest.
Distance: 10km Elevation 246m Race start: 18:00 Registration: 16:00- 17:30
Type: Night run Meeting point: Bakethin car park, Kielder
Entry fee includes £4 Forestry England parking charge. +£2 for non UKA affiliated participants. Held under TRA/UKA rules.
RACE 5
LONESOME PINE
31/01/26
Lonesome Pine Run – Saturday 31st January 2026
Race 5 of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series. The Lonesome Pine Trail Run centres around the Lonesome/Sky Dive mountain bike trails and combines a decent distance with long, steady climbs and fast mountain bike trails. You’ll set off along the relatively flat Lakeside Way where you can pick up some pace before heading into the hills. Once you reach the highest point you dance down the brand new mountain bike trails which pop you out at Kielder village for a quick burst to the finish.
Distance: 17km Elevation 369m Race start: 18:00 Registration: 16:00- 17:30
Type: Night run Meeting point: Kielder castle car park
Entry fee includes £4 Forestry England parking charge. +£2 for non UKA affiliated participants. Held under TRA/UKA rules.
RACE 6
DUERGAR RUN
07/02/26
Duergar Run – Saturday 7th February 2026
Race 6 (and final) of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series. This is the second established race in the series that sees you fend off the mystical dwarves of Simonside whilst running under dark skies. The route goes out from Rothbury and up along the prominent ridge before snaking down through the woods and back to the town.
Distance: 14km Elevation 551m Race start: 18:00 Registration: 16:00- 17:30
Type: Night run Meeting point: Newcastle Arms pub, Rothbury
+£2 for non UKA affiliated participants. Held under TRA/UKA rules.
INFO
The Shadowlands Winter Trail Series is a set of 6 trail races starting just after Christmas and culminating in early Feb. You can do one race as a stand alone or try your hand at the series.
Mandatory Kit
If you have entered a winter trail series then chances are you will have a good idea that conditions can change. In all of these races we will have multiple marshals out and professional medical cover to respond should you need it. However, we highly recommend a spare warm layer to along side the compulsory waterproof top and headtorch (night runs).
Race Info
Information about each race will be sent out in the week prior to the race. This will include everything you need to know to turn up and run on the day.
For the races based on mountain bike trails there is no option to do a recce run as these trails are strictly for bikes outside of the event times. A gpx will be included in the pre event email.
Race Categories
Each individual race will have prizes available on the day. These are for both male and female:
Overall 1/2/3
V40 1/2/3
V50 1/2/3
V60 1/2/3
V70 1/2/3
Series Categories
The series categories will reflect the same as the individual races. Having done similar series formats with mountain biking one thing we learnt was that those people who were consistent tended to place highly. The scoring system offers a wide range of points and these will also be allocated per category – for example someone finishing 10th overall but 1st V50 will get 10th place points in the overall category and 1st place points in the v50 category.
The points allocation is:
| Position | Points |
| 1st | 130 |
| 2nd | 120 |
| 3rd | 115 |
| 4th | 110 |
| 5th | 105 |
| 6th | 100 |
| 7th | 98 |
| 8th | 96 |
| 9th | 94 |
| 10th | 92 |
| 11th | 90 |
| 12th | 89 |
| 13th | 88 |
| 14th | 87 |
| 15th | 86 |
| 16th | 85 |
| 17th | 84 |
| 18th | 83 |
| 19th | 82 |
| 20th | 81 |
| 21st | 80 |
| 22nd | 79 |
| 23rd | 78 |
| 24th | 77 |
| 25th | 76 |
| 26th | 75 |
| 27th | 74 |
| 28th | 73 |
| 29th | 72 |
| 30th | 71 |
| 31st | 70 |
| 32nd | 69 |
| 33rd | 68 |
| 34th | 67 |
| 35th | 66 |
| 36th | 65 |
| 37th | 64 |
| 38th | 63 |
| 39th | 62 |
| 40th | 61 |
| 41st | 60 |
| 42nd | 59 |
| 43rd | 58 |
| 44th | 57 |
| 45th | 56 |
| 46th | 55 |
| 47th | 54 |
| 48th | 53 |
| 49th | 52 |
| 50th | 51 |
| 51st | 50 |
| 52nd | 49 |
| 53rd | 48 |
| 54th | 47 |
| 55th | 46 |
| 56th | 45 |
| 57th | 44 |
| 58th | 43 |
| 59th | 42 |
| 60th | 41 |
| 61st | 40 |
| 62nd | 39 |
| 63rd | 38 |
| 64th | 37 |
| 65th | 36 |
| 66th | 35 |
| 67th | 34 |
| 68th | 33 |
| 69th | 32 |
| 70th | 31 |
| 71st | 30 |
| 72nd | 29 |
| 73rd | 28 |
| 74th | 27 |
| 75th | 26 |
| 76th | 25 |
| 77th | 24 |
| 78th | 23 |
| 79th | 22 |
| 80th | 21 |
| 81st | 20 |
| 82nd | 19 |
| 83rd | 18 |
| 84th | 17 |
| 85th | 16 |
| 86th | 15 |
| 87th | 14 |
| 88th | 13 |
| 89th | 12 |
| 90th | 11 |
| 91st | 10 |
| 92nd | 9 |
| 93rd | 8 |
| 94th | 7 |
| 95th | 6 |
| 96th | 5 |
| 97th | 4 |
| 98th | 3 |
| 99th | 2 |
| 100th | 1 |
Following each race a new post on this website will show the updated rankings.
For series categories it goes off your classification on 27th Dec 2025 i.e. race 1.
Presentation Evening
There will be a ticketed presentation evening for the series results at Pedalling Squares cafe, Swalwell, Tyne and Wear. It will be an evening affair and details on this will be finalised once the last race is complete. It will be a great opportunity to share your race stories with like minded people.
