This is a quick Trip Report by-proxy on behalf of Radder, Barlos and Abs.
On Sunday 7th August, Matlock Rotary Club held their annual 'Dovedale Dipper' marathon-distance charity challenge walk in the White Peak. It’s a tough little route, with around 3500ft of ascent over the 26.2 mile course.
Radder and Barlos were entering to get limbered-up for the Lyke Wake Walk in a couple of weeks, and Abs was entering as a runner - her first marathon-distance race!
Last year's Dovedale Dipper was the first ever challenge walk that Abs and myself had undertaken, the furthest either of us had ever previously walked was 17 miles.
The 2010 Dovedale Dipper took us 8 Hours 36 minutes and we were both completely knackered by the end. It marked the start of an interest in long distance walking and from that day the seeds of desire towards striving for longer, harder challenges began to germinate.
12 months later, Abs was attempting to run around the course that we had found so hard back then.
My girls and I were providing moral support - journeying between checkpoints in the car to cheer them all on and make sure Abs had everything she needed to complete.
Some of you may know that my brother Olly got married last Friday. Abs has been rather busy for the last few months making flowergirl's dresses, tiaras and buttonholes and decorating a rather large cake with lots of hand-made icing roses and other accoutrements. However, she has also found time to do enough training to be able to consider attempting her first (off-road) marathon, not to mention trying to make sure she was fresh enough for it two days after a very long wedding day drinking champagne, eating wedding breakfast and dancing the night away.
In light of all this, it seemed a little incongruous that she found herself limbering-up outside Hartington Village Hall before 9am on a Sunday morning, getting ready for her challenge!
We met-up with Radder and Barlos, in good spirits and matching shorts, eager to see how they'd fair in an event such as this after all that (quite) recent training for the Welsh 15 Peaks - small potatoes in comparison in terms of ascent - but the big factor was they were going to walk the Dipper as fast as they could!
This was somewhat belied by their very relaxed start, as they sauntered off at 9am at the back of the pack :
We'd be seeing them very soon...
The runners started 1 hour later at 10am. Abs was very relaxed at the starting line:
… And they're off! Those at the front that knew they were going to lead the field the whole way:
...and those with more self-contained goals made a more modest start - Go On Abs!! :
After seeing Abs off, we drove around to the first checkpoint at Sparklow/Hurdlow on the High Peak Trail. The route heads north out of Hartington before swinging east across fields to pick up the trail near Parsley Hay to head north again to Checkpoint 1, just over 5 miles into the course. We'd only just arrived when Radder and Barlos came steaming through, they'd covered the distance in about and hour and 20 mins!
The first runner wasn't far behind, making it look easy:
Abs arrived at about 11:00, but looked like she was going very well and enjoying herself:
Thrusting her bum out to get her card clipped! :
We drove on to the next checkpoint at Longnor, and pulled up by the side of the road just in time to see two familiar figures clad in shorts already yomping away across the fields towards checkpoint number 3. The boys pace was still blistering!
The girls and I pottered down the track from the checkpoint (named 'Top O’Th Edge') to soon meet Abs walking up the steep hill, with Parkhouse and Chrome Hills in the background. Abs was pleasantly surprised that hardly any of the runners tried to run up the big hills, saving their legs by walking these sections:
She seemed to have gained a little ground on Radder and Paul, and was obviously still in good shape and going well.
There was actually a fair few runners behind her, so she wasn't last either!
We bid her farewell and drove up to Revidge, the high point of the walk on the edge of the Staffordshire Moorlands. This checkpoint is just before the half-way point of the walk, and is about 4.5 miles after the Longnor Checkpoint.
This time, we arrived well before Radder and Barlos, who were still in good spirits:
Abs arrived about 20 minutes later, and the girls and I cheered her into the Checkpoint:
From Revidge, it’s downhill all the way, through Warslow down to Ecton in the Manifold Valley. Abs went through here quicker than we could get back to the car, drive down and park-up. When we got there, one of the other runners kindly told us she’s already passed through and started the ‘widow-maker’ of an ascent up Ecton Hill, so we hopped back in the car and carried on around to Checkpoint 4 in Wetton.
Radder and Barlos came through, I thought Radder was starting to look a little bow-legged:
I was very proud to see Abs coming down the street only about 10 minutes later:
…and proffering her backside again for a clipping:
She was very pleased to learn she was now only about 10 minutes behind the boys, and she really did set off with a renewed vigour (she hadn’t even yet had to deploy her iPod for some morale-boosting music!):
From Wetton, it is only about 3 miles to the 5th checkpoint at Castern (above Ilam), and the route is either flat or slightly downhill, I thought Abs should gain a little more ground on the boys. The girls and I drove around once more and walked across a few fields to meet everybody coming up the hill from the checkpoint.
The other walkers and runners were starting to comment that the girls and I seemed to be appearing everywhere they went!
The lads came past and stopped for a quick photo on their way up the hill, looking across to the hills above Ilam:
Again, I began timing how far Abs was behind them, and was a bit perplexed when she appeared 15 minutes later. It turns out she’s taken a wrong turn after the checkpoint, and lost a deal of time back-tracking, she should have been on the lad’s heels by this point, and she was not happy!
Although mad, she was not disheartened, and was even running up the last bit of the hill. I was really pleased to see she was still going so well.
The girls and I decided to meet them all next in Beresford Dale, and as we were waiting, the heavens opened. We took shelter from the rain in the cave on the hillside. The runners coming past us yet again were now familiar to us, and it was nice to see them double-take as they glanced up at the cave when they saw us lot yet again. We waved down at them and they waved back.
The only question was, who would we be seeing come around the corner first – Radder and Barlos – or Abi?!
The rain eased off, and the girls and I cheered when it was Abs that rounded the corner into Beresford Dale first!
It turned out she’d passed the lads not long before, by this time she’d deployed the iPod and when she spied them dawdling slightly and sped past them it was ‘Eye of the Tiger’ that was booming into her ears.
“LOSERS!” she found herself yelling as she went past. Better not lose any ground now Abs!
I think this spurred the lads on, as we’d only just taken Abs’ glasses and coat off her and sent her on her way on the home straight when they too appeared around the bend in the dale – just minutes behind!
The girls and I drove back around to Hartington Village to cheer everyone across the finish line. The route drops down into Hartington past the Youth Hostel and down the steep road into the village centre back to the village hall. We were stood at the bottom of the hill waiting with camera poised when Abs came out of the village hall behind us – she was already back! She was tired, but not exhausted by any stretch, and was still smiling!
The lads were only five minutes or so behind, and they came into the hall just as we were getting a drink from the counter. There was hot food for all the competitors as they waited for their certificates to be printed out. I tried to get a shot of Barlos stuffing his face but he spotted me:
I collected Abs’ certificate from off the stage where they were being laid out, and presented it to her:
A very happy lady, having completed her first trail marathon. 26.2 miles with 3500ft of ascent in 6 Hours and 9 minutes!
Well Done Abi!
Abs had impressed herself as well as me, and so she wasn’t even too fed-up that she’s probably have come in under 6 hours if she hasn’t got lost. “You can beat your time on your next one” I told her, and she was obviously already looking forward to an opportunity to do so. Brilliant!.
Radder and Barlos had set a blistering walking pace right from the start, and had completed the course in about 7 Hours 10 minutes! Good work lads!
I think everyone was very pleased with themselves. I was certainly very chuffed for Abs, and we celebrated that night with a takeaway and a nice bottle of Cava.
Looking foward to the next one!