The 2021 Three Halls of Stockport virtual event

Crazy Legs Events have been promoting events over the last few years and in 2020, whilst it hasn't been possible to stage physical ones moved with a more virtual bias. The popular Three Halls of Stockport event was given the virtual treatment on the usual weekend at the beginning of January.

The Halls are announced several weeks in advance and the event is open to runners and walkers. The event offers entrants the challenge of self plotting a route using Public Rights of Way to navigate from the Race HQ to checkpoints at three specified halls before heading back to Race HQ with a  roaring fire, hot soup and rolls.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions being tightened at the time of the event Race HQ had to be substituted with an extra Hall so this year there was no HQ and four halls - Dodge Hall, Bredbury Hall, Stockport Town Hall and the site of Marple Hall. The locations of the unmanned checkpoints were given as OS grid references and What3Words addresses along with some good old fashioned photos on the event entry page. The rules had to be relaxed further as the third lockdown came into place the week before the event to make sure everybody who entered was able to do so within the lockdown limits, which unfortunately did mean the withdrawal of some of the entrants who would have had to travel from outside of the area.

The inclusive nature of the event leads to a wide range of competitors, times and distances submitted. There are token prizes for the fastest Male, Female and Team so some people were out to get round in the fastest time possible, others try for the shortest distance and some just go out to have some fun. Out of 74 entries, 63 people got out into the icy, cold weather and produced several different routes between the 4 halls with the shortest distance being 8.65 miles, the fastest times being 63:22 by Nathan Mayoh (handicap 4.6) and Samantha Thomas (handicap 12.5) in 79.01 with slightly longer routes, and the longest routes being over 13 miles.

The three halls are changed each year to encourage people out onto paths or into places in the borough that they may not be aware of. This was achieved again there was great feedback from people who had seen parts of Stockport they hadn't seen before or had discovered new walking/running routes.

The majority of the proceeds from the event went to four well deserving local charities - SPARC, Stockport Signpost for Carers, Handy Ladies in The Community and Motor Neurone Disease Association.

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