Machen Trail Marathon

The Machen Trail Marathon starts and finishes at Machen Welfare Ground and follows the half marathon route for its opening section through woodland, Rudry Common and the Caerphilly Forest ridge. It then climbs a steep road to the Rhymney Ridgeway path, a runnable track of around three and a half miles with some muddy ruts. A technical descent leads to the Sirhowy Valley path, followed by a run through a country park and managed forestry, before the route climbs back to the ridge through beech woods. A short climb on a rocky track reaches the Machen Mountain trig point, and a technical single-track descent through coniferous woodland returns runners to Machen. Surfaces are mostly trail and dirt, the profile is hilly with several long climbs, and navigation is self-led, with marshals at critical junctions.