Flagstones Are Your Friends

The Dusk Til Dawn Half Marathon... a half marathon in the dark, on a course up hill and down dale around the Derbyshire villages of Hope and Castleton. I said 'yes' to taking part without knowing much more than that!

The race started in Hope at about 5.45pm, the official time for sunset on Saturday night. We were layered up, wearing our headtorches. We were novices, totally out of comfort zone and really not sure what we were letting ourselves in for.

Every change of direction seemed to bring different underfoot conditions... after a mile along the road from Hope, we followed a gravel track, then what seemed like a rocky river bed before turning up across the fields to Back Tor. We climbed up a rocky incline to the top of Back Tor, actually much less scary in darkness than in daylight for me, then crossed a ridge line to Losehill Summit in the fog, where visibility was just a few metres even with our headtorches.

Boggy fields, muddy trails and then more road and on to my favourite part of the course, Cave Dale. It was another steep up but it was easy to follow the path, the steep sides of the gully meaning there was really only way we could go. The only drawback was the rocks underfoot, sharp through our trail shoes and a bit slippy.

We then crossed fields and soggy wet grass, which drenched our feet within a few minutes but we all agreed it was a welcome relief from wobbling about on rocks. Another road, a slight confusion with the route (we only got a little bit lost) and then onto the final big climb, up the stone steps to the top of Mam Tor. It was a lungbusting climb but I actually enjoyed it and felt secure with my footing, managing the darkness and fog with an extra torch in my hand. It was cold at the top and my extra layer, my trusty Helly Hansen long-sleeved top, was a welcome addition.

Another Good Medal For My Collection

The flagstones were our friends... we knew there was a sharp drop off and the flagstones kept us on track and away from dangerous cliff edges. But from the top then came the hardest part of the course for me, the descent to Hollins Cross. It was a test of my nerves, coming down the steep rocky descent, taking tiny steps, thinking about every foot step for a couple of seconds before being brave enough to step forward. In a couple of places, the only way I could get down was sitting down and sliding forward on my backside! Not elegant but very effective.

It's a good job it was dark... you couldn't see the drop!

So close to the end now, just a few hundred metres on a rocky path, and we emerged onto the lane we'd run up many hours earlier. Safe terrain for all us and we ran the last mile or so with such determination, but with big smiles on our faces. We were actually going to do this. With a huge sense of relief but a great pride in our achievement, we made it back and celebrated with tea, cheese oatcakes and a walnut whip!

Race completed. More physically and mentally demanding than any race I've ever done. I ache everywhere but I'm so glad I said yes!

Happy Running

LizT

This post was first published in the Potters Trotters Newsletter, October 2016.