A huge privilege to be able to run the Hobbiton Halfling Marathon. Ever since I heard about it last year, I wanted to run it, but didn’t think I’d be able to this year since we were going to be in Manila originally on the date, but with my itinerary changes, I was able to run this awesome race. Turned out to be one of the toughest things I’ve ever done, and also one that I’m most proud of.
Heading to Hobbiton
Got to the shuttle and waited for the bus as it started to rain. The bus ride itself was pretty cool. They played clips from the movie, and from some of the backstage stuff (like interviews with the cast), and learned about the Hobbiton set and how it came to be. Really fun and informative. The bus driver missed a turn and we took the “scenic” route and got to see some of the back side of Hobbiton that we weren’t going to run through, which was a nice little fortuitous surprise.
Go there and picked up my bib and some of my merch. Was nice that even the merch is in the LOTR script when writing my name. Take note of how white my shoes still were at this time :D.
Waiting for Race Start
Waited for the race to start, and it was pouring. Had to wait for bag check, but once I was able to get rid of the bag, that was helpful.
One thing I noticed, and had to double check before I brought it was what type of bag I could use for bag check. Unlike the states, there’s no restrictions for “clear plastic bag” or anything like that, it’s just any type of bag. Kind of nice to not have to worry about nonsense going down (at least at the moment I guess).
Since it was a 2pm start, I ended up trying to fuel up a bit and get some food. Found a vendor that took credit cards, and got a nice steak sandwich, which was delicious, and then waited the 1.5 hours for race to start by downloading and listening to a long LOTR soundtrack on repeat that I found on YouTube.
There were several characters that came around including a dwarf, a gnome and a balrog (and maybe Gandalf?)
Eventually we made it to the start line and we all got instructions for the race. Turns out we have until 7:10pm (ish) cause the sun comes down and it might be dangerous with the lack of light, but otherwise, no course cutoff. Also had to run in shoes (no barefeet) even though there were quite a few Hobbits who were going to try. There was a bunch of pricklies on the ground that would’ve torn their feet up.
The Halfling Marathon
I ran the whole marathon holding the GoPro which was a little annoying, but the video is pretty fun. Got turned off in a couple places (very unfortunately), but mostly had a blast with it and got some great footage.
**Videos to be added later**
Start
We finally started around 2:10pm, and headed out. I started in the back cause I still wanted to interval, and didn’t want to be annoying to people in a pack. Ran a bit with the pack to start, but reached the first turn pretty quickly and it became a chokepoint so I went to just go take in some of the views and saw the Balrog and the Witch King turn back (they had bibs, but I don’t think they had any intention of running the whole thing…or maybe they had to run the start with each of the races — there was also a halfling walk and an eleventy one run and a walk).
It was soaking wet, but nice to at least start moving and not just be standing in the rain.
The Valley
A little bit into the race (about 5k), we turned a corner in a valley, and there were three riders at the top of the hill. A REALLY nice touch, and was pretty cool.
Views to Hobbiton
We continued on with some awesome views as we ran toward Hobbiton. SO muddy.
Hobbiton
We finally got to Hobbiton and had a really nice time wandering through the Hobbit town.
More Views through Farmer Maggot’s Crop
We even ran through Farmer Maggot’s Crop.
Watering Hole
We got to the Watering Hole, and knew there was some sort of surprise, but turned out to be a ledge that you could jump off into the lake, and then also could take a slide on an inflatable down into the lake too. Ended up just YOLO’ing it and jumping off the ledge, even though I am pretty terrified of heights.
Went to video the whole thing, but accidentally hit the record button as I jumped and apparently the photographer that was taking photos of everyone missed me (even though they told me they got the signal that he was ready…sigh).
After the Watering Hole, the paths split into the halfling marathon and the eleventy one races and the halfling marathon went up and down a gigantic hill. As we turned the corner we saw the hill, and it was both massive and also just completely muddy. It ended up being more of a tough mudder, and we were all slipping and sliding back down the hill.
Ended up helping and getting help from fellow travelers as we went about, but it was SO difficult. It was also hard to keep the incline, and muscles started to cramp, in the calves, side of calves, in the foot, and even in my core, as we tried to stay upright. A little ridiculous, and looking back, kinda surprised I made it through without falling at all.
Green Dragon Inn
We finally made it to the Green Dragon Inn, and got our free drinks. Got a cider and had some really needed salt in the form of potato chips.
As we got to the Inn, Galdalf greeted us with….”You….SHALL Pass…”, which got a laugh, and also if he didn’t let us, we might’ve rioted.
Continuing to the Finish Line
We continued on, and finished the last 2km. One last hill. Don’t get fooled by the smile, I was drained and dying :D.
Finish Line!
Galdalf greeted us, and it was an amazing feeling to be done. Stretched a bit and took some photos, while watching other people I’d run with finish as well. All in all, such a great race, but SO tough. Got my medal, and souvenir stein as well.
Stumbled over to the bus, and waited to get back to Cambridge. Unfortunately, they waited for the entire bus to fill, so we sat there for maybe 30 minutes before we left. On the 45 minute ride back to town, the sun had set, and I definitely passed out and took a nap.
Since they tried to pack the bus, someone came to sit next to me, and usually, I try to squeeze in and not be touching at all, but as soon as I started to squeeze, everything in me started to cramp, so it was kinda like a “nope, I guess we’re all gonna be best of friends now”…
Clean Up and Rest
Started raining again, but decided to head back to the AirBnB before getting food, since I was SO dirty. Shower felt awesome, and was good to just relax for a second. Went out afterwards to scavenge for food, and found that everything was closed.
Ended up just grabbing some fast food to finish the day off.
Vibe Check
3 parts joy – FINISHED.
1 part anger – MUD
1 part sadness – MUD
Not gonna lie, there was a fair bit of cursing internally when I was running, but at the end, it was a wonderful feeling.
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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