I did this route to mark the Winter Solstice (shortest day), starting exactly at dawn, at 7:26. I set my goal pace (cut-off) on my watch to finish by dusk (16:30). I was pleased to finish exactly an hour ahead of it.
The first third seemed to take an age. My quads were aching and I worried I’d bitten off more than I could chew after St Edmunds Way last week. They seemed to get better by half way though and didn’t notice them again 😮💨
Overall it’s a nice route. It commemorates the RAF Pathfinder group from WW2, who were instrumental in the British bombing campaigns, by visiting former RAF airfields at Wyton, Warboys, Oakington and Graveley. More info on Wikipedia.
There are quite a lot of busy roads with no paths (about 15km worth I’d estimate). Dodging cars constantly wasn’t ideal, even on what I thought would be a quiet Sunday morning! The majority of the route was lovely though, through tiny villages and lovely trails was blissful in comparison - felt very remote on this grey day. The forecast rain never came 🙌
I did this solo and unsupported, carrying 1.5l of fluid, fruit, bars and crisps. I filled up with 700ml of water from an outside tap at a church in Dry Drayton, though I drank surprisingly little early on and could’ve just carried that from the start if I’d known!