Apparently canals are flat.
Nobody seems to have told the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
Just two weeks after the Winter Canal Canter, January’s second half marathon brings me much closer to home for the Slawit Snowstorm Shuffle, starting and finishing in Slaithwaite and following the canal towards Tunnel End.
And because this is Slaithwaite in January, they’ve rather confidently put Snowstorm in the name.
What could possibly go wrong?
Half Marathon Number Two
I’ll be taking on the Half Marathon, 13.1 miles along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal towpath.
This stretch of canal is packed with locks, which means that despite being a canal-side run, there’s considerably more up and down than you might expect.
The outward journey towards Tunnel End should provide plenty of opportunities to enjoy those changes in elevation.
Coming back again may be a slightly different matter.
January Miles
This will be my second half marathon in a fortnight following the Winter Canal Canter earlier in January.
That’s deliberate.
The challenge ahead isn’t simply learning how to cover one particular distance. World’s Toughest Mudder is going to require the ability to keep moving when the legs are tired, the weather isn’t cooperating and stopping starts to seem considerably more attractive than carrying on.
So these early-season events are about building the engine.
Miles in the legs. Time on my feet. Pacing. Fuelling. Recovery.
Then doing it again.
Almost Home Turf
There is also something rather nice about having an event virtually on the doorstep.
The race starts in Slaithwaite, or Slawit if we’re going to pronounce it properly, before heading along the Huddersfield Narrow Canal towards Tunnel End beneath the Pennines.
It’s familiar territory, but race day has a habit of making familiar places feel very different.
The organisers describe this as perhaps their most undulating canal event, with regular feed stations and marshals along the route before the eventual return to Slaithwaite.
No obstacles.
No ice baths.
No giant walls.
Just thirteen miles, plenty of locks and potentially some proper Yorkshire winter weather.
Another Piece of the Puzzle
January isn’t about setting records.
It’s about starting 2027 with purpose.
Two half marathons in two weeks gives me another opportunity to build the endurance base that everything later in the year will depend upon.
World’s Toughest Mudder is still months away, but the work required to get there has already started.
And if the Slawit Snowstorm Shuffle happens to live up to its name?
Even better.
Endure. Overcome. Make it count.