Bath & Bristol Railway

All aboard, dear runner ! 🚂

Here you are on the platform, ready to hop aboard a race that’s quite the original ride! 🤪 Welcome to the Bath & Bristol Railway Run, a race in April that is closely tied to the history of the train that linked Bath to Bristol 📍. Before the start, let us tell you a little something in a hushed voice Bath 🤫 : this race is Sooo British 💂 Ready? Let’s go ! 👇.

Founded by the Romans in the first century AD, the city owes its name and fame to its natural hot springs, the only ones in the United Kingdom 🧖. Later, the elegant folks of the Georgian era used to come soak, chat about literature and promenade ✨. Today, it’s you who’ll perform, ready to train hard (no pun intended 🚄) on an old railway line inaugurated in 1869 and closed in 1971, then brilliantly repurposed by Sustrans between 1979 and 1986 to become the very first path of the National Cycle Network 🚴

You’ve boarded the train? Let’s go! 📣 Next stop…your destination. Each race is named after a train ticket 🎫. Here’s how it works: if you choose the 10 km, you’ll have in your possession a return ticket for "Kelston Park from Bath" ↔️. For the half-marathon enthusiasts, the "Bitton Station Return Ticket" takes you to the Bitton railway station before turning back for Bath 🙃. For the more daring travelers, you hop aboard the "Bristol Temple Meads - One-way ticket for 25 km". No return here, it’s a city-to-city route ❌. You leave Bath, pass through the Bitton Station, Warmley and Mangotsfield and dive into the legendary Staple Hill Tunnel, 450 meters of Victorian gloom, wide (and lit, you’ll be reassured 🔦). A longer tunnel than the Two Tunnels? Absolutely 👍. When you emerge, head toward Bristol, passing by the intriguing Fish on its Nose, a sculpture of a fish 🐟 standing upright…on its nose 👃 . If you travel in endurance’s first class, your ticket bears a prestigious name 👑. The "Eastville aller – retour" takes you along the same route to Eastville, before turning back and returning to Bath to complete a marathon. And for the true locomotive fans, those fuelled by black tea coal, there’s the "Bristol Temple Meads return". This 50 km is simply the 25 km twice ! 2️⃣ No excuse for a missed connection, you must finish! 😂 And because a good railway network cares about families too, the "2 km For Fun" lets the youngest and families hop on for a small ride 👶.

Throughout the course, rest assured, the tracks are clear, flat, well-marked and almost entirely paved with asphalt 🛣️. And who knows, you might even get a taste of some scones, a pudding, or a chicken pie 🐓 after your run. So, whether you’re going for a one-way or a return ticket, one thing’s for sure: you’ll remember the Bath & Bristol Railway Run 🧠. You’re traveling through time on a legendary line, with the elegance of a gentleman (we’re not fully certain about that…👀) and an old railway worker who’ll greet you as you pass the finish line:

“Right on time, mate” 🇬🇧