This challenge is a 3 hour Dark and White score event that takes place in the Peak District. For the uninitiated each team of 2 has to find as many checkpoints as possible within the 3 hours... penalties are incurred for being over the time limit.
Report by Nick Lander:
Luxury, the taxi turns up at 7.00am and off we go through the rain and puddles to Hayfield for another fun filled day in the Peak. Luckily for the "I've not pre-entered as I didn't make my mind up until late Sat." brigade. there's places left and enter. £2 surcharge for late entry and £2 for a dibber because I forgot to bring my own (that's more than a pint), but who cares.
Matt and Richard start and bomb off but Neil and Scott let me stagger along with them so I'm not all alone on the wild hills - very kind and much appreciated.
It is soon apparent that the ground is a bit wet, a bit muddy and a bit slippy. Scott repeatedly demonstrates his sliding technique as we try and keep up with Matt and Richard. As the event is a score event the controls can be visited in any order but in practice once the decision to go clockwise or anti-clockwise has been made there is a reasonably obvious route choice so we keep the fast boys in sight for quite a bit. We choose to run anti-clockwise which means we go east to start with on terrain we do not visit very often. The routes for the first two hours are all on paths (more like streams) and Neil and Scott are having to wait for me so Rich and Matt disappear but then we meet on the run to some of the controls as there are couple where the best route is to double back.
An inspired route choice on one control closes the gap for a bit before they leave us behind as we slither up towards South Head. The next control is off the side of Brown Knoll on a stream junction in a steep gully so for a bit I'm in my element on steep, tufty grass but then it's back up and towards Swinesback. We are on the way home and we know that time is short so we revise our plans and take the most direct way back (well nearly. A good steep run off the Kinder Plateau is followed by a muddy track and the last control is visited before there is a two mile run in along the road. As I'm now really knackered so Neil and Scott make the dash for home with me dawdling along behind.
We are late but not by much, Neil and Scott have a 3 point penalty and I have 4 but where are Matt and Richard? Hopes are high and this turns to ecstasy where they arrive and download to find that we have beaten them. Joy of joys will they ever live this down? Unfortunately yes as on comparing the controls visited we realise that they have done one more than us but it has not recorded on Richard's dibber. Their points are recalculated and they have more than us, but not by much - our day will come.
The highlight of the day, apart from the pint in pub, was recruiting another member to the EVRC female fell running division. Well hopefully because not one of us got her name but then I was never any good at idle chat and collecting phone numbers. We live in hope while existing on brufen and beer. Now off to my first Christmas meal to put more weight on - bugger!
Results: Seniors: 10th Matty & Richard 11th Neil & Scott 37 Entrants
