Halifax Urban Trail

Here's a date for your diary. Easter Monday will see the staging of the inaugural Halifax Urban Trail, a trail race of just over 10K with a real difference.

You'll be running from Shibden Park (the home of Anne Lister – 'Gentleman Jack') along tracks and paths to Beacon Hill, the viewpoint high over the town of Halifax. And then, having descended into the heart of the town, you'll discover some of Halifax's most iconic landmark buildings… by actually running through them.

You'll experience in turn a subterranean passage under Shibden Hall, Halifax Minster, the magnificent Piece Hall, the town's Borough Market and the Dean Clough complex, once a carpet factory and now an art gallery, performance space and much more. Oh, and we'll also be allowing you inside Halifax Town Hall (designed by the architect of the Houses of Parliament) for a visit to the borough's impressive Council Chamber. Several of the places on our race route aren't normally open to the public.

We've copied shamelessly the idea of our urban trail from across the Channel, where trails urbains regularly take place in many French towns and cities, with runners given the chance to run through their town halls, churches and chateaux. Urban trails are now extremely popular in France and we think our Halifax take on the idea will be just as well supported. If you've not run an urban trail before (or even if you have), we promise that you'll find this an exceptionally memorable experience.

And it's all to help raise funds for our local Calderdale hospice, Overgate, which is fundraising for its very ambitious new building project.