Four fell runners turned up for this fell race.  It was dryer than last year.

Results:

8 93 Matty Brennan 38.06 M Erewash Valley Running Club
22 18 Steve Wickham 40.34 MV Erewash Valley Running Club
35 33 Tim Wright 42.23 MV Erewash Valley Running Club
64 21 Phil Pittson 47.02 MV Erewash Valley Running Club

Photos here and full results here.

Note the guy in the buttoned shirt that Steve is just holding off! Also the two sprogs (beat these, although one of them held on to ca. 3 miles!).

A jolly good race overall, will be interesting to compare to last year’s time.

Race was a fairly flat 5.3 miler, but with a few reasonable hills on the way. Marshalling was EXCELLENT. Conditions were cool-ish. Major decision on footwear – whether to risk the odd slip, or wear down studs (seemed to be a 50:50 mix in the end from EVRC). Race starts in front of a pub (!), then along a bit of road, before heading up a field to the first of 1,243 stiles, squeezes, gates, etc. Matt held everyone up at the first stile, so that there was a queue when Steve and I arrived. A nice run down from here over more fields, with sheep temptation to overcome. A reasonable climb then up to the photo-shoot, before a sharp turn up some steps onto the Tissington trail. Very much a push and hang on along here until (finally!) a car park, then along a short bit of road, before a good drag up a hill across a couple of fields to Hyde-manoeuvre woods. From here it is essentially downhill for the rest of the race, although it is a fair way to go still, and the excitement of a herd of excited moo-cows to negotiate (none seemed to be cloned). Also lots of stiles and gates to stagger over/through. The road reappears, and then there is a long, long sprint, with runners breathing down your neck all of the way.  Final zigzag onto the finishing straight in the kiddies’ playground, and a hang-on until the line.

Fantastic little race.

Hints. If the start time is advertised as 7:30, it is actually 7:15 (although it was in reality 7:25!).