Peak Raid 3h. Round 1 : Edale. 8th/124

Peak Raid Edale : The Map given out at the start

These are great events - probably my favourite events of the year as they have all the essential elements : Hard, in Winter, Navigation, Offpath.

I'd only managed to get to one in this series last year - the Glossop round that Nathan and me did here and we were very pleased and surprised to come 2nd overall in. The weather last year was a mix of autumn / summer (too hot really) however peering out of the car windows this year it looked more like a cross between autumn / winter as we all drove up together (myself, Steve Burt, Meg and Ian Adkin).

I'd packed the mandatory full kit not expecting to wear any of it, but as soon as I'd set foot outside the car, I couldn't get my waterproof/buff/gloves on quick enough! Record entries apparently for this event and no surprises why - this is a fantastic area to run in, the maps are super high quality and they are ideal for beginner navigators as you can do as much or as little as you want in 3h. The objective is to collect as many points as you can in 3h returning to base in the alloted time. Going over incurs penalties, coming back early perhaps means you could have collected more. Its a fine balance!

Can you guess which Control this was
by looking at the map?
See below for answer...

After being handed the map on the start line it was clear that the challenge was to clear the top and get round as much of the bottom half as was possible in 3h. I noticed the cluster of controls in the bottom right and decided to leave those to the end deliberately knowing that if I had time in hand (!) then I could fine tune there the number of controls I visited to get back bang on time. Yes, you guessed it - I had nowehere near enough time so had to miss 3 of those out! Thanfully, everything else went well on the day really - perfect visibility, legs felt good, no nav issues, good route choice. Quite pleased with 8th overall out of 124. Loads of whipper snappers out from Dark Peak so they pushed me down in the final knockings!

Well done also to Meg who tackled this area only having completed a 2h event previously in a much easier location. Respect!




Results here. 395/500pts
Results by class here
Full Results with splits here
View other peoples routes here in the fantastic Routegadget
No Strava link as I forgot to switch it on!

Peak Raid Edale : The controls I visited

The control in the picture above is Control 6 worth 25pts. Crag foot

Curbar Commotion Fell Race 32/216

I've never been able to make it to this race - always been busy. But seeing as I've been loving the late summer races and the weather recently has been ace I thought I'd give it a go. Although I'd not raced since the Longstone Chase about a month or so ago, I'd given the club BBH handicap a go on Tuesday and nothing felt too painful so it was game on!

Photo Courtesy of Front Runner

About 8 of us headed down from the club (Me, Meg, Danielle, Kath, Helen B, Ed, Ruth, Andy Case) on what was a slightly chilly but clear morning. The start had moved this year so instead of Cliff College, it was from Curbar Primary school - a route which it later turns out added 0.8 miles.
Legs felt ok despite not racing but I certainly didn't feel race sharp. Still - this race was all about enjoying the autumnal sunshine and remembering just how good fell racing is in the Peak District!
Special note too of some of the best post race refreshments I've seen for a while - loads of good coffee and free cakes with donations to the school - top stuff!

32 out of 216 so 14.8% down the field.

Strava here

Results here

All smiles after - Meg, Ruth, Helen and me with Danielle, Kath and Ed around somewhere!

Last years Curbar Commotion Race Route

Curbar Commotion Route Profile - some lumpyness at the end!