Trail Talk: beach socials and bone-dry trails

Emma Keen
Jul 27
2 min read

Trail Talk | July 2026

It's been one of those weeks where the ground's gone hard as biscuit, and everyone I've spoken to about a run has mentioned the heat within about thirty seconds! Let's get into it, there's a fair bit on this week.

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August schedule

The August schedule is going up in dribs and drabs this week, a session or two at a time, and should be fully there by tomorrow morning. So if you go looking today and find a gap where next Thursday should be, that's not us forgetting you, that's just today's version of the website. Give it till the morning :)

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Summer Social, Saturday, 6pm, Beach Street, Felixstowe

Right, Saturday....

We're taking the whole thing down to the beach. 6pm at Beach Street in Felixstowe, a 5k along the prom at whatever pace feels good for you that evening, and then food and drinks once everyone's back and salty and pleased with themselves. This one is for everyone, the quick ones and the ones who'll be walking bits of it and the ones who've never done a step of running in their life. If you've got a friend who's been eyeing us up from a distance, this is the one to drag them along to.

Low stakes, good company, sand between the toes, pizza in the mouth, beer in your hand. Lush.

A word about this dry spell

You'll have seen the news from East Bergholt over the weekend, a field fire that got frighteningly big frighteningly fast. It's a stark reminder of just how parched everything out there has become, and worth all of us being a bit more thoughtful when we're out on the trails this summer.

Nothing complicated, just a few habits worth keeping close:

no naked flames or disposable barbecues out in the fields or on the heath.
Litter home with you always, but especially glass, which in the right light does a very good impression of a magnifying glass.
If you smoke, make sure it's properly out and in a pocket, never flicked into dry grass.
Where you can, stick to the paths, since it's the tinder-dry stuff just off them that goes up quickest.
If you ever do spot something starting, 999 first, hero antics second (I'm looking at you Rob), and if you're out with us, shout to a run leader so we know where you are.

Small things, but they carry more weight than usual right now. Get out there, just get out there gently.