DARK PEAK NEWS Summer 2013 - Dark Peak Fell Runners

DARK PEAK NEWS
Summer 2013

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 2 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 3
est. 1976
www.dpfr.org.uk
President: Eric Mitchell
Chairman
Tom Westgate
95 Stumperlowe Hall Rd
Sheffield
S10 3QT
0114 263 0632
chairman@dpfr.org.uk
Treasurer
Tim Hawley
Jasmine Cottage
Main Road
Dungworth
Sheffield
S6 6HF
0114 285 1633
treasurer@dpfr.org.uk
Clothing and Eqpt
Richard Hakes
454A Loxley Road
Loxley
Sheffield
S6 6RS
0114 233 9912
kit@dpfr.org.uk
Women’s Captain
Helen Elmore
117, Millhouses Lane,
Sheffield,
S7 2HD
0114 237 6609
ladies@dpfr.org.uk
Dark Peak News
David Holmes
615, Loxley Road,
Loxley,
Sheffield,
S6 6RR
0114 234 4186
news@dpfr.org.uk
Secretary
Rob Moore
2 Kerwen Close
Dore
Sheffield
S17 3DF
07766 520741
secretary@dpfr.org.uk
Membership
Ann Watmore
26 Robertson Drive
Sheffield
S6 5DY
0114 233 8383
memsec@dpfr.org.uk
Men’s Captain
Rob Little
70 Burgoyne Road
Sheffield
S6 3QB
07791 283861
men@dpfr.org.uk
Website
John Dalton
1, Cannon Fields
Hathersage
Derbyshire
S32 1AG
01433 659523
webmaster@dpfr.org.uk
In this edition»
A CORPORATE AFFAIR
Dark Peak is now a limited company, but don’t worry
- nothing will change. Read the how and why of
our new corporate status, where you fit in with your
‘personal responsibility’, and why you’re to blame, not
the club, if anything goes wrong.
Page 14
SKYLINE 2.0
It beckons. It’s drawing closer. It’s something we’ve
never done before. It’s an English Champs race. We
have to get it right, and you’re part of the plan. Find
out what you’ll be doing on Sunday, 29 September…
Page 12
BELLY BABIES
A dreadful pun. Sorry. What we’re trying to get across
in just two words is that nobody has done this before.
Run the Dragon’s Belly for charity, that is. Nicky
Spinks started it. Willy Kitchen tagged along and
survived.
Page 33
BAUMEISTER’S BACK
...and as irrepressibly determined as ever. Most
people at 70+ would settle for trailing in the wake of
those who’ve created a new Six Counties Tops round.
Not Roger. He doubled the distance.
Page 29
BURBAGE BIRTHDAY
...well, sort of. It took the Burbage Skyline 22 years
to get to 20. We round up the history of a race that’s
now a firm favourite on the Dark Peak calendar.
Page 21
LEST HE FORGETS…
Chase helps the current Pertex holder to recognise an
obvious front runner for this year’s award.
Dog’s Diary, page 41
Many thanks to Dave Edmunds of Fat Boys for the
photos for the ‘The race that never was’ article.
The bit at the front
Lazy days
Welcome to the summer Dark Peak News, which I hope reaches you when you can ease
back and find an hour or two to read it a leisurely pace. It only seems a few weeks since Tim
Mackey and I were toiling over the winter edition – there’s certainly some truth in that old
adage that the clock ticks along a little faster as the years fly by. Having said that, the last few
days have made me realise just how much has been going on, as I’ve read through the stories
that you’ve all been providing. New Bob Graham records, a new county tops round, a mega
adventure down the spine of Wales, 20 years of Burbage, to name but a few. Plus of course the
epic tale of the Edale Skyline that wasn’t. Thanks as ever to everyone who’s laboured over a
keyboard to share these experiences. I hope it helps the rest of us to draw inspiration and shed
that holiday fat as the nights draw in.
Corporate liability; personal responsibility
Away from actual running, club officials have been busy finalising the long process of
changing Dark Peak to a limited company from its previous incarnation as an unincorporated
association. Only last night, in the Ladybower Inn, I signed something thrust under my nose
by Tom Westgate which seals my new status as a Dark Peak ‘director’, (at least I think that’s
what it was –maybe I’d better check my bank account to see if I’m now funding the Westgates’
holidays this year?). The change of status was approved by the agm. As detailed elsewhere
on these pages, the aim is to actually change very little. The club ethos is still to be as freespirited
and uninhibited by rules and regulations as we possibly can, but in future club officials
will have more protection from liability if anything goes wrong. The other key facet of the
club ethos is best described as “personal responsibility”; if we all look after ourselves in a
competent way, it’s far less likely that anything will go wrong. As you read through these pages
you’ll find thoughts from our chairman, Tom Westgate on that subject, some practical steps
being taken by Carl Betts and others, and the background piece requested by the agm, in which
I try to chart how we got to where we are on such things, and what remains under discussion.
Perseverence
Whatever we may say re personal responsibility, we know life seldom runs to plan. That was
drummed home to me recently when I rang Al Ward in connection with the mag, only to learn
that he’s sadly withdrawn from the club for the time being, because he’s simply unable to run.
In fact he’s been so crippled by the sudden onset of arthritis that he’s struggling to walk, and is
now waiting for a hip replacement. I’m sure everyone’s thoughts are with you Al, as they will
be with Tim Mackey, who continues to make Dark Peak News look so fantastic even though
his painful knees have sadly ended his running days too for now. I guess we all have to take
each run as it comes and set our sights on people like Roger Baumeister – 95 miles in your
seventies with a pacemaker isn’t bad!
Dave

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 4 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 5
News
Advertising on club vests – our policy
Shortly before Dark Peak News went to print, club committee members found themselves
discussing advertising on club vests after it came to light that a company “sponsoring” some
of our members had asked them to wear club vests bearing the company logo. Whilst this may
not be a big issue, there was a consensus that we had not had opportunity to discuss this before
the event, and that the club would prefer the status quo to apply, i.e. that club colours should
simply denote membership of Dark Peak Fell Runners and should not be used to advertise
commercial partners. The club does of course have a very welcome tradition of working with
local businesses re race support, prizes, stalls at the Skyline and so on, but we felt advertising
on vests was a new development that we would like time to think about. This position gives
all club members time to consider the issue, and to help develop a consistent policy if felt
appropriate.
“The issue does not revolve around particular runners or individual suppliers,” said club
chairman Tom Westgate. “More, there has been general talk of the ethos of the club, setting
a precedent and how we value the club colours – we do not all find it easy to get our heads
around all of these things.
“We have spoken to many people and there is no clear consensus, with strong views across
the spectrum, so we have made a judgement call. The policy is not meant to be heavy, far from
it, just an expression of the club’s “spirit”. You sponsored runners will do what you think is
right for yourselves, your sponsors and sometimes your club on the odd occasion! Hopefully,
we have adopted a pragmatic position that everyone can be comfortable with for now. There
are obvious ways to discuss this further and as ever I am keen to get views.”
Thornbridge beckons
“As close to glamping as most Dark Peakers will get,” is the hard sell from organiser Kirsty
Bryan-Jones for this year’s Thornbridge weekend. Glamorous or not, Thornbridge is a unique
and popular Dark Peak institution and you’ll no doubt need to get there early on Friday
evening to get the prime pitches on the camping field. If you’ve not been before, the main
things you need to know are that Thornbridge is a wonderfully family-friendly weekend on
a safe and secure private campsite that the club hires for the weekend in the White Peak. It’s
loosely based on running, drinking and eating, and by midday Sunday the kids have usually
taken over.
It happens this year from Friday 23rd August to Sunday 25th August at the Thornbridge
Outdoor Centre, on Longstone Lane near Great Longstone. All Dark Peak members plus
family and friends welcome at £10 per night/day for adults, and £5 for kids over five. Sadly,
dogs not allowed.
“Great facilities with cheese and wine tasting Friday night with Monsieur Gavin,” says
Kirsty. “Cake n’ cava Saturday afternoon, (thought not sure if the Red Arrows can make it this
year), and luxury facilities including hot showers and camp kitchen.
“Weekend activities include: Ashford-in-the-Water fell race, kids fell race, BBQ n’beer,
Dark Peak cycle cross race for big and little kids, three-legged orienteering, cycling on the
Monsal Trail or round the campsite, playing rounders, sitting in the sun, running on Longstone
Edge...”
If you’re hooked, please contact Kirsty to book your place. She also asks you to let her
know if you want the cheese and wine: kirstybj@hotmail.com
Autumn Skyline: Your club needs you!
By the time you read this, entries will probably have opened and closed for the rescheduled
Edale Skyline, which will take place as an English Championships race on Sunday, September
29th. The story of how the original Skyline day was kiboshed by a blizzard is told on page 12
by race organiser Ian Fitzpatrick. As Ian recounts, the FRA were understanding and supportive,
and encouraged us to reschedule for the autumn with the promise that the race could keep its
championship status. Now we face the challenge of staging it with every bit as much polish
and professionalism as we would have done in the spring. To do that, Ian needs an army of
volunteers, and he needs them early: skyline@dpfr.org.uk
Mountain skills course
You’ll read a lot in this edition about the club’s attitude to safety in the hills, which in essence
is a fairly simple one: you choose to go there, and you’re responsible for what happens to
you when you do. That said, it takes a lot of knowledge and experience to be fully across
what might be labelled mountain skills and hillcraft. Although these things can’t necessarily
be “taught”, there is a lot that all of us can learn from each other. Later this year the club will
stage its first “mountain skills course” to try to help those who want to concentrate on really
mastering some of the essentials.
The day is being organised by Carl Betts, who is a qualified mountain leader. “I thought it
would be a good idea to add to the club’s already successful navigation courses,” said Carl.
“The day will be designed to think about personal responsibility, kit, hill skills, etc. in the hope
of giving newer members of the club an avenue to build their confidence.
“This will be a guinea pig run to see how it goes, but obviously if it works there will be
more, based around the club’s ethos of personal responsibility. It’s not going to be boring. We
will be out there doing things, and it’s going to be interactive, based on people taking part in
activities that they’ve planned themselves, but with expert assistance.”
Other club members hoping to help Carl on the day are Ian Winterburn, (also a qualified
mountain leader and an experienced mountain rescue team member), Tom Westgate, Mark
Harvey, and Ruth Batty, who is an experienced mountain medic. The course takes place at
the Pure outdoor centre at Stoney Middleton on Sunday October 6th, is free of charge, and
available to the first 12 club members to contact Carl at carlbetts007@hotmail.com
…and just in case things go wrong
Things can go wrong in the hills, even with the best mountaincraft in the world. And when they
do, it can help to have a trained first-aider around. Three years ago the club organised a very
successful first aid training day, aimed at increasing awareness and spreading our emergency
‘cover’ as widely as possible. Our hosts were a company called High Peak First Aid Training,

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 6 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 7
who deliver a specialist wildnerness first aid course resulting in a certificate for those who take
part. Things move on, the certificates from last time are about to expire, and Richard Hakes is
negotiating with the company to organise another weekend course later this year. Richard is
working around some provisional dates in October. It’s not yet certain how many places there
will be, but if you might be interested in attending, please contact Richard.
Conifers face the chop
Sheffield City Council has announced plans to cut down the 83 acre plantation that forms such
a distinctive part of the Burbage valley, (and which is probably loved and loathed in equal
measure by those who know the area?). Woodland manager Ted Talbot says the trees, planted
in the early 1970s, provide few benefits for wildlife and are now in significant decline. “They
are beginning to blow over, causing health and safety concerns and a fire risk,” he said.
Felling is scheduled to start early next month and to be finished, weather permitting, by
Christmas. “Some of the site will then be restored back to moorland, while the rest of the area
will be replanted with native oak and birch woodland, benefiting a range of wildlife,” said Mr
Talbot.
The work is being funded by a project called the Dark Peak Nature Improvement Area. Ross
Frazer, from the project, was planning to be at the Burbage Bridge car park on a few days this
month to explain more. Full details at: http://peakdistrictnt.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/burbage-to-betransformed
This means that the Summer Sharpener on Wednesday, August 28th, could provide your
final opportunity to furtle around in these dark and dank jungles. Presumably SYO will have to
resurvey their excellent orienteering map at some point?
Club chips in to help farmers’ charity
Bleak, desolate and wild are words we would probably apply in a positive way to the Dark
Peak hills that we so cherish. But these can be double-edged qualities if you’re a hill farmer
trying to eke out a living there. Sometimes the local farming community can be perilously
close to the edge. The club has just tried to do a little bit to try to help those who fall on hard
times by donating £430 from the Burbage race income to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent
Institution. RABI is a charity that has been around since 1860, and it takes pride in “an
unbroken history of providing long-term care and emergency help for farmers, farm workers,
tenant farmers, farm managers, and families.”
Its local representative is Peter Atkin, who lives at Rowlee Farm near where we start and
finish the Crookstone Crashout. Peter is also the newly elected chairman of the Derbyshire
NFU, so is sadly familiar with the pressures on his farming colleagues that too often manifest
themselves in an exceptionally high suicide rate. This year Peter has seen a sharp increase in
emergency calls to RABI’s confidential helpline. “It can be harrowing to deal with,” he said.
“But our charity operates without taking anything for overheads, so all the money donated will
really make a difference. The £430 that you’ve put in means somebody is going to get that
money at a time when they really need it. It’s much appreciated.”
From the Chairman
It seems to get harder to keep up as each year slips by. The races come thick and fast
throughout the week and all over the country. The heart is still willing even if the legs do not
quite speed me with the likes of a Kay or a Kitchen these days. That said, I have enjoyed a
great winter and spring and so have so many of you, judging by the results stacked up on the
Dark Peak website.
With due respect, and no doubt unfairly, Jim Paxman did not appear to me to be a natural
when you have the Ramsey in mind. However hats off to Jim for you have to admire the way
he has prepared and got a complete plan in place to have a good crack at this fine Scottish
round. Over the last year or so he has been pounding the Scottish hills and squeezing in some
excellent performances in distance runs like the Fellsman. In short, he put himself in a great
place and fully merited a shot at the demanding 24 hour Ramsey Round. He put together an
action packed weekend for us all and the club turned out in force to support him and Keith
Holmes. Sadly the summer heat conspired against them with searing temperatures and no
realistic chance of completion. It was certainly a great trip and we all came away full of
admiration for Jim’s organisation and commitment – one of those occasions when maybe the
result did not matter; the spirit was there and that is what counted. Jim was not the only Dark
Peaker executing grand plans this summer, with fine efforts from Roger Baumeister on his Six
County Tops and recently the Dragon’s Belly team. Roger was right to be joyous on his return
to Tha Sportsmen, proudly sharing his stories and displaying what little was left of his feet.
More of the same please.
As agreed by the AGM, Dark Peak is now a limited company and thus far nothing, as
promised, has changed. Most committee members will now become ‘directors’, but that’s
about as far as it goes. The change of legal status was principally designed to protect club
officials from personal liability should anything ever go wrong, but fingers crossed let’s hope it
never does. If we simply exercise a little common sense in our activities, there’s no reason why
our minimalist free-spirited approach should change.
In my view, the bedrock of that free-spirited approach rests on the notion of “personal
responsibility”. This does not have to be a burden as long as we ensure everybody understands
the idea that first and foremost we are responsible for our own individual well being on the
fells. Fortunately our club is very different from 20 or 30 years ago but this also means that
new people can not be necessarily expected to understand what awaits them or that they
understand the idea that they need to look after themselves. Personal responsibility allows us
great freedom on the fells, but when we look across the proverbial start line has everybody
bought into it? I argue that climbers and mountaineers get it, but that we in Dark Peak have
not invested in it as much as we should have done over the years. We got a little bogged down
at the AGM when we tried to put into words what we mean by all this, under the umbrella
description of “usual” Dark Peak custom and practice. I’ve promised a start on making things
as clear as possible. If we do, and we all take a short positive step forward, then the ethos of
the club will remain.
Tom

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 8 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 9
Caption competition
The questionnaire
This time, an image that should
really whet your appetites for
winter days and a nip of Jura.
Club chairman Tom Westgate
was caught mid-grimace as he
risked facial frostbite on a trip
to the Cairngorms. But why
the goggles? And what was
he trying to say through those
swollen purple lips? Off you
go…
We had a surprisingly smutfree
range of entries for
this one, given the amount
of naked flesh and rubber
on display from Messrs. Phipps
and Collier. Maybe the trick is to give
you very little time to think about it?
A witty and eclectic mix too, drawing
from themes including Lewis Carroll,
the Olympics, Hathersage pool and
Baywatch. The extensive judging panel
decided that Dave McGuinness just
shaded it with the Baywatch-themed,
“No Simon! It’s my turn to be Pamela,
I was David last time.” But he’s won it
before, so the whisky goes to runner-up
Willy Kitchen: “If we can only hold these
cheesy grins another five seconds, Nick,
Hawley’s bound to be along with multiple
spurious captions.” Clever, and a damn
site shorter than the unedited version of
his Dragon’s Belly write-up.
Jon Coe
How old are you?
38
How did you start fell running?
Ineptly. To keep fit as a teenager in Surrey, I
used to do short runs in the woods where my
folks lived - always flat and fast. Then I moved
to Ambleside after school (for the climbing)
and thought I’d try out fell running too. A local
pointed me at Fairfield, so I set off at full tilt,
knowing nothing about pacing whatsoever.
After less than a mile I collapsed, decided
that fell running was the hardest thing in the
world and left it alone for quite a few years.
In 2008 I did my first race (a rematch with
Fairfield). Steph had said that she was doing
it, and she couldn’t be the only one in our
house to have done a fell race! Then I got
hooked!
When did you join Dark
Peak?
Same year.
Why did you join Dark
Peak?
Jon Morgan told me to,
and I thought the vests
looked nice.
How many miles a
week do you run?
10-15 at present while I
shake off injury. Normally
20-25, though those are
often all racing miles.
Admit it, what’s your
current weight?
A bit over 10½ stone.
What’s your top training
tip?
My first few fell running
seasons I just entered as many
races as I possibly could,
normally a couple a week. I hardly did any runs
that weren’t races. It seemed to work quite
well, perhaps because it’s much easier to run
faster when someone is chasing you…
What’s your favourite race?
Jura, Great Lakes, Ennerdale
What’s been your best moment in fell
running so far?
Lots of great moments, but being selected
for interview in fell running’s most exclusive
publication tops them all. It’s hard to
imagine how I’ll ever surpass it. As a distant
second, winning my first Lakeland Classics
irreplaceable pottery mug was pretty good.
And the worst?
Steph dropping and breaking the
aforementioned irreplaceable
pottery mug!
What shoes do you use?
Walsh PB Extremes- the beefed
up ones. They’re very hard wearing,
and they can be resoled too - which
is great, as according to my wife
I run like “a clump footed oaf”, (I
certainly wear out shoes quickly).
They weigh a few grams more,
but I make up for that by not
having a beard.
And how do you get your
socks clean?
I don’t. I have a peat obsession,
so I keep each and every dirty
pair as a memento of the
exact peaty texture
from every run I’ve
ever done. We have a
whole storage vault full
of carefully labelled,
peat encrusted
socks, pickled in
formaldehyde.

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 10
Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 11
Features
The existential fell runner
The days are long, the summer rolling on.
It’s the time of year when many of us may be
fortunate enough to find time for a break from
the frenetic pace of modern life. If you’re like
me, you may use that precious holiday time
as an opportunity to calm things down a bit,
to reflect on the past and to consider what
may lie ahead. Put slightly differently, it can
be a time to think. Having the time to think
is good, but I wonder if we might be losing
our capacity to think in a way that reaches
beyond the day-to-day tasks that constantly
command our attention?
The sheer pace and speed of life in an
ever-busier world means a capacity to
pause and think has arguably become an
increasingly precious commodity. It is now
quite a challenge to somehow step outside
the storm to gain some sense of where
you are going (and why!). My own job in
higher education now involves pressures
and expectations that can squeeze out the
space for scholarly thought and reflection.
Fifty years ago the founding professor of the
Department of Politics at the University of
Sheffield, Sir Bernard Crick, used to insist
that all students and all members of staff
would ‘walk out’ together in the Peak District
every Wednesday afternoon to nourish both
physical and intellectual health. The realities
of scholarship in the twenty-first century
leave little room for such space to think.
In ‘taking strength from the hills’ Bernard
Crick’s attitude had much in common with
those expressed in 1782 by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau in his Reveries of the Solitary
Walker. As a fell runner, I appreciate ‘the
pleasures of going one knows not where’,
and as a writer I understand how physical
activity and a sense of remoteness ‘animates
and activates my ideas’. ‘I can hardly think
at all when I am still; my body must move if
my mind is to do the same’, Rousseau wrote;
‘The pleasant sights of the countryside,
the unfolding scene, the good air, a good
appetite, the sense of well-being that returns
as I walk…all of this releases my soul,
encourages more daring flights of thought,
impels me, as it were, into the immensity of
being, which I can choose from, appropriate,
and combine exactly as I wish’. These words
capture almost perfectly exactly why I run.
So, where can we rediscover that time to
think? The hills and valleys provide exactly
that escape, that sense of isolation, that
passing moment of release from grinding
social conformity and the pressures of daily
life that many crave but so few appear to
be able to achieve. A deeper account of
the reveries of the lonely fell runner or
walker might engage with Sigmund Freud’s
Civilization and Its Discontents (1930), with
its focus on the fundamental tension between
the conformity and control demanded by
civilization and the freedom we need as
people. Freud suggests a paradox that takes
us not just back to Rousseau but forward to
more recent works such as Alan de Botton’s
Status Anxiety (2004), Barry Schwartz’s The
Paradox of Choice (2005) and Oliver James
Affluenza (2006), in the sense that the social
and economic structures we need as a society
seem unable to make us happy. The growth
of research and writing on the ‘science of
happiness’ recognises a longstanding fault
line in modern life.
The legendary fell walking writer Alfred
Wainwright might have given short thrift
to such ‘scientific’ pretensions, but he was
undoubtedly a man who understood the need
to draw inspiration and energy from the hills.
The paradox that Rousseau reflected on and
that caused Wainwright such angst was the
realisation that by drawing attention to the
reveries of the solitary walker – to the raw
and simple beauty of the fells and peaks and
moors - they risked destroying the very peace
and tranquillity that the countryside provided.
And yet in their writing both Rousseau and
Wainwright could not conceal the pleasures
of escaping – albeit temporarily – the trials
and tribulations of modern life. Indeed, at
the beginning of his poem ‘Sylvie’s Walk’
(L’Allée de Silvie, 1747), written nearly thirty
years before he began the Les Rêveries du
promeneur solitaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau
wrote:
As I wander freely in these groves,
My heart the highest pleasure knows!
How happy I am under the shady trees!
How I love the silvery streams!
Sweet and charming reverie,
Dear and beloved solitude,
May you always be my true delight!
With these words in mind, this lonely (but
happy) fell runner renews his determination
to use our wonderful sport to find the space
to really think. I hope you manage to do the
same!
Matt Flinders
Professor Matthew Flinders is Professor of
Parliamentary Government & Governance at
the University of Sheffield and is a member of
Dark Peak Fell Runners.
Dave’s training tips
Number six: eyesight
Keep your eyes open all the time when running. All
the time. I really can’t emphasise this too strongly.
If you don’t, you won’t be able to see where you’re
going. It’s just as important in the dark; a £250
quadrillion-lux headtorch may provide the equivalent
of several daylights, but it will never replace your
eyes. Try to keep one eye on the way ahead, the
other one looking up for low-flying aircraft that
could cause severe injury if you hit them. If you
can develop it, 360° neck movement gives you a
distinct advantage; you can then keep at least one
eye on people sneaking up from behind. Of course,
good eyesight is a real bonus. Your mum had it right
when she told you to eat your carrots. If you find this
difficult while running, you can always insert one
where the sun doesn’t shine. Dave.
David Gilchrist is a qualified barman

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 12 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 13
The race that never was
Everything was set fair for the club to show off its organisational strength by hosting the Edale
Skyline as an English Championship race back in early spring. Then came the latest, greatest,
dollop of full-on winter that we’ve had for years. Race coordinator Ian Fitzpatrick tells the
inside story
After the breathless anticipation, the huge
excitement, the hours of planning, the
sleepless nights, the race was finally, at long
last, underway. Countless fell runners from
across the globe gathered together as they
have so many times before. All united by a
common goal, an all powerful unifying force.
Hunched over their laptops, tablets and
smartphones as the clock ticked over to
midnight the desperate scramble began. Yes,
entries had finally opened!
Hundreds were taken in the first hour.
The race was full by 10:28 the next morning,
(although ‘enough’ places were held back for
those that deserved them - more of that later).
The race planning was different from last
year, more complex due to a much bigger
field and all that entails. Gaining permissions
was straightforward due to good relationships
we now enjoy with National Trust, Natural
England, the Peak Park Authority and the
many local landowners and managers. They
all deserve our thanks. The race enjoys a
good reputation with many, it seems.
I was very pleased, (and relieved), that
many people came forward nice and early.
Volunteers from within and outside the club
were plentiful. You all know that fell races
just couldn’t happen without those hard
working and dedicated folk who volunteer
their time to make them happen. Especially
with large complex races like ours! The
legendary Dark Peak machine is primed and
ready to spring to life.
It was all shaping up nicely, everything
was in place. Also the start list showed the
club had a staggeringly strong field of runners
who seemed to have been up late to get their
entries in, (or something along those lines...).
Fast forward to the week before the race.
The weather forecast shows it’s turning cold
and it looks like there may be a bit of snow.
On Wednesday I speak to Edale MRT
and others to double check what conditions
they feel are the limiting factors. I discuss
my ideas for ‘worst case’ kit requirements.
They think we are a bit mad for wanting to go
running in the likely wintery conditions but
happy to be there when we do.
On Thursday it snows in Edale. I speak
with Andrew Critchlow, club member and
farmer at Shaw Wood Farm, where we have
parked for many years for the race. Andrew
says that the fields are only going to be usable
by 4x4’s. I start looking at other smaller
pockets of flat parking and put the word out
that people will REALLY need to car share.
On the Friday I drive out to Edale to
supervise the delivery of portable toilets.
The truck gets a bit stuck in the snow but we
manage to get them sorted. I also make some
calls to see if we can plough and grit the
‘dead end’ Odin Mine road and bus people
round from Castleton. It turns out to be
expensive!
It’s all a bit touch and go. We’ll be reliant
on the weather. The forecasts, (MWIS and
Nicky Spinks’ favourite Norwegian one)
show a bit more snow is likely, but it doesn’t
look too bad. Fingers crossed that it is just
about doable. There is a big strength of will
emerging to make it happen with lots of
people getting in touch to offer help above
and beyond what’s already been committed
to.
I have really reassuring conversations with
Scoffer and Jon Broxap. Both are very clear
that championship status should not interfere
with how the race is run, (or not!). Just do
what is needed, they say. and things can be
sorted after. They’re also clear that any losses
to the club will be covered.
The MWIS forecast looks like the Sunday
will be similar to ‘that’ race, 2007, still talked
about now. Looks like the snow will come on
Friday evening and overnight. The state of
play will be obvious in the morning.
Saturday comes. It was always going to
be a busy day, lots to get sorted to be ready
for race day! So I’m up early, jump out of
bed and open the curtains. It’s immediately
obvious that it’s off. There’s a foot of snow
on my road. A few phone calls confirm this
is mirrored in the Peak too. One of the great
things about modern technology is how fast
messages can propagate. I use the Sportident
“I am just going outside, I may be some time”.
Fat Boys venture forth
bulk SMS system to send a text message to
every competitor. Within seconds I see that
the message is spreading across Twitter and
the FRA Forums. I make many more phone
calls throughout the day - all a bit of a blur
really.
I’d already spent a lot of time and effort
keeping people updated in the lead-up to the
event and found social media and all that the
digital age provides very useful. My only
issue is that it does seem to make it easier for
some to get in touch with idiotic questions
rather than spending time to look for the
answers themselves. Some of these questions
may be published soon!
Sunday, race day, dawns. I’m at a loose
end. We agree to meet up at Tha Sportsmen,
enjoying a Sunday roast then skiing back all
the way to home with Jim Paxman. The snow
on the back road past Fulwood Head is up to
the wall tops for several miles. I later heard
that Spyke, Judith and some of the Fat Boys
made their way to Edale and ran some of the
race route. They started stopwatches and set

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 14 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 15
off. Despite ‘not hanging about’, they had
only got as far as the Cheshire Cheese when
the notional cut-off time of 2 hour 45 minutes
ticked by. I think if the race had been run the
entire field would have been timed out!
It was a big anticlimax, but fallout was
fairly benign. We discussed plans for refunds.
The consensus was that people would be
happy if the club covered costs and then
refunded the rest. But many people got in
touch to say they wanted to donate their entry
fee to Edale MRT. We figured out a way to
use the SPORTident system to allow people
to opt in to do this. In the end we gave them
£1937.50! We made sure to pay the village
hall and St. Johns too.
Many people sent kind words my way
during and after. I didn’t get a single
complaint, so must have done something
right!
I felt a bit cheated. We’d done all the hard
work but not had the fun part. Shortly after
the dust had settled I canvassed a few people
to see if they felt similar to me. Should we do
Win Hill is under here somewhere
it again? Everyone I ask says the same really.
“If you can face it, then yes!”
So Skyline 2.0 is going to be on Sunday
29th September 2013. Once again we’ll need
to pull together to make it work. As stated
above we need people to volunteer. If you
are likely to score championship points then
you need to be running. If not, then please
consider not racing this year and come and
help. I’m happy to promise places for next
year for people helping this year. Even if you
are running there is stuff to sort out in the
run-up to the event plus on Saturday, before
the race and afterwards.
Even if you don’t get to many club events
it’s a great chance to meet your fellow
clubmates and contribute to the club. Come
and show your face!
It will be odd to have the race at the end of
the season, but it probably won’t snow!
You can get in touch at skyline@dpfr.org.
uk - hope to hear from you soon.
Ian Fitzpatrick
Your safety; your responsibility
Dark Peak is now a limited company, run day-to-day by club officials who will also become
‘directors’ with limited liability for the club’s actions. It’s the biggest organisational change
in the club’s history, and it’s designed to give us the freedom we need to run things in the
traditional low-key way without worrying too much about things going wrong. But it can only
work if we all play our part by taking responsibility for ourselves. As promised at this year’s
agm, ‘director’ and Dark Peak News editor Dave Holmes recaps how we got here, and looks
ahead to the continuing debate about personal safety...
Statistically, fell running is a fairly safe sport.
Most of us will do it for years and suffer little
worse than the occasional sprained ankle and
embarrassing Pertex-entry balls-up in thick
mist. But we can easily find ourselves alone
in remote terrain in extreme weather, and
with the very minimum of lightweight gear
that we think we can get away with. When
things do go really wrong, they can go very
badly wrong indeed. Thankfully deaths are
rare, but when they do occur they certainly
focus attention on the risks we run and the
possible consequences.
A case in point arose last spring, with
the tragic loss of 63-year-old Brian Belfield
in the Buttermere Sailbeck race. The 9.5
mile race took place in May, but runners
still experienced severe wintry conditions,
including sleet and freezing rain. Mountain
rescuers later found Brian’s body on steep,
rough ground some distance off the route.
At the time of writing, we are still awaiting
the inquest hearing that will try to determine
what happened, and whether there may be
lessons to learn. Buttermere was organised
by Dark Peak member Mike Robinson,
who has received unqualified support from
the wider fell running community through
a very difficult time. At both Fell Runners
Association level and club level, people have
been keen not to rush to judgement after
Buttermere. But the tragedy coincided with
moves that were already afoot to protect the
sport from possible legal liability for mishaps,
and to revisit the principles underpinning
safety and personal responsibility.
A few months before Buttermere, the FRA
incorporated itself as a limited company, thus
protecting its officers from potential personal
liability for the organisation’s actions, (or
perceived inactions). The FRA also formed a
sub group to explore all aspects of safety and
responsibility in official, (i.e. FRA Calendar),
races. The sub group has just, (late July),
published a draft document which is now out
to consultation with a view to publication
in next year’s calendar. The document is
available online at http://bit.ly/13rh7Jd and
comments should be sent to grahambreeze@
btinternet.com
In many respects, these twin actions have
been mirrored at club level; we have taken
steps to change our legal status in a way that
makes us less vulnerable, and we are trying to
promote a ‘low-rule’ common sense approach
to personal responsibility that also ensures
we place due emphasis on safety whenever
it might be an issue. In broad terms, this
approach was supported and approved by this
year’s agm, but the meeting also recognised
that we still have work to do to thrash out
clearly what this common sense approach
implies, (see ‘From the Chairman’ on page 7).
Rather than have what could have been a very
long debate, the agm agreed that this edition
of Dark Peak News would carry the piece

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 16
Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 17
you’re reading now, i.e. a resumé of how
we got to where we are, and an indication of
what we may still need to discuss if we are to
nail an approach to safety that can command
broad support.
Let’s deal first with the change of legal
status. This is now complete, thanks largely
to club secretary Rob Moore who, as many of
you know, doubles up in civvies as a lawyer
with the Sheffield firm Taylor&Emmet.
Rob generously brought his expertise to
bear, examined our longstanding status as
an unincorporated association, and warned
that club officers were legally vulnerable. In
essence, the chairman, treasurer, secretary
and the rest of the committee could have
found themselves individually answerable
for the club’s actions and liabilities. While
the risk of a crippling negligence action may
have been low, the committee decided to look
at the FRA model, and at other possible legal
entities that would give us what we needed.
We were looking for two key things: firstly,
an ‘incorporated status’ that would protect
officers from individual liability; secondly,
the flexibility to have a set of legal objectives
that would allow us to carry on as before in
our low-key, uncluttered way of running the
club.
Rob and his colleagues gave us helpful and
clear advice, the committee went through the
fine details, and the result was the proposal
that the agm considered and approved, i.e.
we are now a ‘private company limited by
guarantee’. As such, we replace our old (and
long lost) constitution with new Articles of
Association that set out, amongst other things,
our objects and powers, (the Articles will be
posted on the website soon in case anybody
wants to read chapter and verse).
The club’s ‘objects’ were intended to
consolidate what we already do, and allow
us to continue doing it. Thus the agm happily
approved the object that commits us to
fostering and promoting fell running with
due regard for its environmental impact.
The meeting was also happy that we should
provide services to members including club
runs and races, and it was happy that we
should observe FRA rules when organising
races that appear on the official calendar. The
agm discussion slowed down a little when
we turned to the objects that commit us to
“promote universal personal responsibility
with regard to members’ individual safety”
and to organise any unofficial events (e.g.
club races) “in accordance with standard Dark
Peak practice”. After some debate, we deleted
“standard” and replaced it with “usual”
(the feeling being that this was a damn site
easier than trying to define a standard), and
we recognised that the committee has more
work to do to thrash out what we mean when
we talk about personal responsibility for our
safety.
So, back to safety. This has been loosely
in the club’s sights for a year or two
now, but the committee has only recently
discussed it more formally in tandem with
the organisational changes. It’s probably fair
to say that it first began to feel like a priority
after a frightening incident on a Warts run
from Strines a year or two back. Ruth Batty,
then a very new and somewhat uninitiated
club member, lost her footing on a steep snow
slope and glissaded at speed over the edge of
a crag at the bottom of Abbey Brook. Those
of us higher up the slope will never forget
the eerie silence when we called down to ask
the now out-of-sight Ruth if she was OK. We
then had to inch our way cautiously down the
slope and around the top of the crag before
we could collectively breathe a huge sigh of
relief. Ruth had gone over at the one point
where she would get a soft landing, and had
survived with bumps, bruises, and a bit of a
battering.
Thus began a conversation in the Strines
pub which has since continued in many
different guises and with steadily gathering
impetus. Round the table in Strines, we
immediately realised how little we had done
to anticipate a possible emergency and deal
with it. Nobody was carrying a mobile, (it
could have speeded up emergency assistance
by half an hour), we had very little warm
gear between us to help protect somebody in
shock, and as a group we had little idea how
many people were out, who they all were,
how many were carrying maps, compasses,
first aid kits, etc., and whether they had the
faintest idea how to use them.
In the best traditions of Dark Peak, people
acted and acted quickly. Mark Harvey led by
example and began carrying a rucsac of warm
gear and first aid kit on all Warts runs. He also
started counted them all out, and counting
them back in again every Wednesday night.
Mark has taken a lot of very unfair “safety
officer” ridicule for doing this, but he surely
deserves respect and support for recognising
that these simple steps could make a big
difference if anything goes badly wrong again.
For a while, the Warts began to run a ‘signing
in book’ so that we could check when we got
back to the pub if everyone had returned, (it
also worked quite nicely as a chronicle of
what we’d been up to, and who’d been out
on the adventure). We’ve also tried to ask at
the start of every winter run whether any new
members have turned up for the first time.
This then gives us the opportunity of chatting
quietly to explain the club’s ethos of ‘personal
responsibility’, i.e. we’ll do what we can to
cope if things go wrong, but the bottom line is
that the buck stops with you – you run entirely
at your own risk.
This was the point that club chairman Tom
Westgate stressed at the start of our recent
committee discussions: “I firmly believe that
if we get personal responsibility right, we
can do what we like. We reach a point where
people clearly understand the risks they are
running, and they take clear responsibility
for the consequences.” This is fine, so
long as we can find a demonstrable way of
communicating this policy to new members,
or to other people who may have heard about
one of our low-key races and turned up on
spec to run them. This is where club officers
want to broaden the debate about how we
achieve this.
The committee has tried to think of ways
of covering all ‘points of entry’. If somebody
has just joined the club, how do we know they
have read and absorbed our minimalist ethos?
An explanation on the membership form? A
standing notice on the website home page?
How do we know that everyone crossing
the starting line in, say, the Warts’ Night
Race understands that they do it entirely at
their own risk? A simple, informal, friendly
announcement from the race organiser? How
do we encourage people not just to carry the
obligatory map, compass and safety gear,
but to know how and when to use them and
when to spot the symptoms of hypothermia
in themselves and others? The last edition
of Dark Peak News reported on the latest
navigation course to be run by the club, and
on the very positive reaction from those who
took part. Mark H, Carl Betts, Ian Winterburn
and others are now planning further events
which will move deeper into the finer points
of safety and survival in the hills.
The club’s aim in doing all this is to strike
the right balance. To do all we can to explain
what can go wrong. To help everyone to
understand what we need to do to protect
ourselves. To communicate these things
clearly and often, at all ‘points of entry’, but
without becoming patronising or nannyish.
But also to underline the bottom line: it’s
your safety we’re talking about, and it’s your
responsibility to look after yourself. Are we
getting it right? What do you think?
Dave Holmes

Dark Peak News Winter 2012 page 18
Team captains’ reports
Women’s report
Firstly a big thank you to Kirsty who has
handed over the reins of women’s captain
after several years of sterling work. She’s
still organising Thornbridge, coaching junior
fell runners at Hope Valley Hurricanes and
showing me the ropes, so she’s not slacked
off too much.
Back in the mists of time I used to run for
Totley, (confession time over). The lovely
Mandy Moore said to me something like
“Why would you like to run around in the
dark with a lot of hairy old men?” when Dark
Peak was mentioned. I’m not a Warts regular,
so I do limit my running around in the dark
with hairy old men and increasing numbers
of non hairy women. Even so, I do think Mrs
Moore was mistaken!
What Dark Peak have is an incredibly
motivated group of women runners achieving
some amazing things at the moment
both as individuals and as a team. After
cleaning up in the British and English Team
championships last year I thought I would
summarise some of the highlights of this year
so far.
This could turn into the Nicky Spinks
column but her new Paddy record has to be
mentioned. Her time of 19hrs 02mins was
the fifth faster Paddy Buckley Round ever.
The real credit that Nicky deserves is for the
way she gets us out on recces in bad weather,
encourages us in races that are outside
comfort zones, (she generously guided me
round last year’s Arrochar Alps), and always
makes a lot of lovely lemon drizzle cake.
I think Jude has decided just to get faster
rather than older, with wins at Teenager with
Altitude and a very impressive third at the
English Champs race at Buckden. At the time
of writing, she is currently third in the seniors
and first in the LV40s - go Jude!
Showing the range of talents that the
women have at the moment, Heather, Kirsty
and Jenny won the team prize at Jura and then
Judith, Kirsty and Jenny repeated the honours
at Coniston whilst my personal highlight
has been first LV40 in the Three Peaks, (the
biggest Gala race of them all).
Martha Hart achieved BG success
in challenging conditions on the club
weekend. Lucy Weigand also deserves
a very honourable mention. She had the
stubborn determination to keep going on her
independent, (and wrong way round*), BG
even when she know the 24 hours were up.
*Oy! The club actually did it on the anticlockwise
round for many, many years. Ed.
It is this range of interests and talents that
recently came together for the best weekend
of the year so far: the demolishing of our
own record on the Billy Bland Challenge
relay, thus completing the route of the Bob
Graham Round in just 16hrs 04mins (see
page 27). Over the last two years we have
taken nearly six hours off the old women’s
record! Everybody put in outstanding
performances that really sum up why we run
so well together in team events. We don’t
have any real whippets, (9 of the 11 girls who
did the Billy Bland Challenge are vets ), but
we certainly manage to get everyone out and
willing to run their legs off for the brown
vest, enjoy a few whiskies afterwards and
celebrate the sheer fun of being a Dark Peak
lady.
Helen Elmore
Men’s report
Looking outside on a clear sunny day it seems
hard to remember that only a few months ago
snow forced the cancellation of the club’s
premier race. But as I battled along towards
Grindsbrook on that Sunday into a significant
wind chill I really believed Ian had made the
appropriate decision to cancel the Skyline. The
race will be back though! And it will still be a
championship race, so we can still display our
excellent racing and organisation. Good luck
with doing it all again, Ian.
The first British Champs race of the year
was indeed run through snowy peaks, (and
horrible pathless rocky/boggy river bed), over
the Irish Sea in the Mourne Mountains. The
Silent Valley race is listed at 9.5 miles, and
with just under 5,000ft of climbing. Some
people call this fun you know. Not so many
Dark Peakers at this one, but those who
were enjoyed the weekend, especially nurses
Greg and Ben and Miss Hulley! The English
Championships kicked off with Fairfield (AM)
in the Lakes. I thought this would be a strong
race for Borrowdale but after a manic start I
had an inner grin as a train of Dark Peakers,
with Lloyd just in front, were all together
towards the top of the big main climb. A few
rapid descents later, and we were all still in the
mix. So in the end we produced an absolutely
quality men’s winning team performance
as new recruit Jonny Crickmore was fourth,
Stuart sixth, myself 10th, Lloyd 11th, Oli 14th,
Tom Brunt 19th and Neil, (who clearly felt the
effects of his efforts afterwards), 23rd. Well
done also to Jonny Malley in the U23 category
and Pete Hodges who were in top 50, and to
John Hunt and Spyke who scored for the V40
team. Many other Dark Peakers also raced;
great efforts, everyone.
The second British Champs race has also
now been completed. The Yetholm race,
8 miles/2493ft, is a very fast grassy loop,
literally along the Scottish border. Lloyd was
Dark Peak News Winter 2012 page 19
first Dark Peak in ninth, and Jon Morgan
enjoyed getting back into racing after living on
snow and ice for the winter. Maybe the biggest
‘winner’ of the day was Keith Holmes who is
surely going to get massive Carshare League
points considering all other cars were only
couples or single occupancy.
I know many members have been out in
the hills doing their own personal challenges,
(hopefully news of BGs etc. will appear
elsewhere), and doing local races. As ever
an excellent turnout was seen at the Burbage
Skyline, so far too many people to mention
individually. Special mention should go to the
guys completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks
race though. We retained the V40 trophy,
(Tom Brunt, John Hunt, Tony Heron), and
this time we actually won the overall team
award - congratulations Oli, Tom, John and
Will Boothman. In fact it seems Tony Heron
is racing very well at the moment, having also
been highly placed in the long Teenager with
Altitude race, which was well won by Rhys.
All very mysterious considering he lives in the
flatlands of York - perhaps we need to ask him
for his training secrets!
The English Championship will be getting
more fiercely contested as Dark Peak News
goes to press, with the short races at Buckden
and Blisco and a beast round Wasdale. Let’s
try and get as many people out as possible
and have some fun racing. It’s great to see
and hear of so many motivated club members
this year, (certainly going to be making the
captain’s relay team decisions in October
hard). Whatever your race, personal challenge,
or even just trying to beat your mate for the
first time, good luck with it and enjoy the hills.
Exciting times ahead! This especially includes
Rob Baker as he makes quite a change in his
life by emigrating to Australia. Thanks for all
the top efforts you put in to races and relays
for the club, Rob.
See you up a fell somewhere.
Rob Little

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 20
A brief history of things we run past - part 8
Longshaw Lodge
The Duke of Rutland built Longshaw Lodge
as a shooting retreat in 1827. It was sited near
a toll road constructed across the moorland
over 60 years earlier. The Duke, who was
keen on his privacy, had the road moved to
where the winding road from Fox House to
Grindleford is today. Such was the power and
influence of Victorian gentry.
The Duke’s 11,500 acre estate included
swathes of moorland stretching from
Ringinglow in the north to Gardom’s Edge
in the south, and three pubs: the Fox House,
the Chequers at Froggatt and the Peacock
at Owler Bar. He visited regularly to shoot
grouse and entertain guests who included
King George V and the Duke of Wellington.
On the estate in Lawrence Field there
is evidence of a Bronze Age settlement.
There are still the remains of a stone circle,
(according to the Ordnance Survey, although
I can’t find it). Pack horse trails criss-crossed
the area which now form the basis of the
current path network.
The Duke also created the green drive
from where the Burbage race finishes up to
Upper Burbage Bridge, and the track going
south towards the Grouse which features in
the Grindleford fell race. He had them built
so his guests could be taken for carriage rides
– probably the ladies while the men killed
birds.
The lodge grounds feature a ha-ha wall
adjacent to the path in front of the lodge.
These were introduced by Capability Brown
from France in the eighteenth century and
form a barrier for livestock which doesn’t
block the view, i.e. a ditch with a wall on the
garden side.
Sheffield City Council wanted the land for
water collection and bought the Duke’s estate
from him in 1927. They planned to build a
dam which would have flooded the Burbage
Valley, but local opposition defeated the
scheme and the council handed the land on to
the National Trust in 1931.
In 1969 the lodge was converted into
private flats but part of the buildings were
retained by the Trust – these now house the
shop and café.
Longshaw Pastures has hosted a sheepdog
trial each September since 1898, and claims
to be the oldest continuous trial in the
country, (although it was interrupted during
the two world wars). The BBC was present in
1945, which led to ‘One Man and His Dog’
being shown to millions of riveted viewers.
Now the trial features a fell race. Anybody
thought of inviting the BBC?
“200 Runners and Some Mud”
“One Runner and Two Legs”
“ Some Nutters and a Hill”
“One Brown Vest and a pair of
Walshes”……etc.
Haha at Longshaw
Mike Arundale
Many Happy Returns. This year saw the
twentieth running of the Burbage Fell Race,
which has been on the Dark Peak ‘books’
since Andy Moore revived it in 2000, and a
firm favourite with many of us since its very
first running by Wilderness Ways back in
1992. By way of celebration, we’ve devoted
some of the prime photo space in this edition
to snaps of the race, including the one above
of runners climbing Higgar Tor.
A rummage through facts and figures
over the years reveals that Wilderness Ways’
Andrew Ward attracted 205 runners to that
first race, which was won by Dave Neil
(men) and our own Jacky Smith. Jacky laid
down a marker that other DPFR women have
been keen to follow, chalking up no fewer
than 16 of the 20 wins over the years, (Jacky
x2, Jenny James, Julia Nolan, Hilary Bloor,
Helen Winskill, Jenny Johnson x2, Liz Batt,
Janet McIver x3, and Helen Elmore x4). Phil
Winskill recorded our first men’s victory
Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 21
Happy birthday Burbage!
in 2003 and then chalked up a hat trick. He
won again in 2007 and 2008 when he set
the course record of 36:36, (obviously good
conditions, because Janet McIver also laid
down the current women’s record of 42:20).
Lloyd Taggart nipped in in 2006, Stuart Bond
had a hat trick from 2009-11, and Rob Little
bagged it last year. Two Dark Peak women
have notched serial wins: Janet McIver 2007-
09, and then Helen Elmore 2010-13
There was a hiatus in 1999 when there
were no organisers, and foot and mouth killed
the race in 2001. Andy Moore has organised
more Burbages than anybody else, and never
forgot the entry forms. Roy Gibson has
organised it for the club since 2010, and once
did! He also steered the race very capably
to a new record entry of 379 last year, when
things ran as seamlessly as they usually do
when the Dark Peak machine gets into gear.
Here’s to the next twenty.

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 22
The piccy in the middle
Dark Peak NewsSummer 2013 page 23
Like a herd of wildebeest, sweeping majestically over
the plains. The view from Carl Wark to Fox House on
the Burbage race

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 24
Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 25
Been there, done that
Jura
It may be hard to believe, but it’s now forty years since the first Isle of Jura fell race in 1973,
and thirty years since it was revived as an annual event in 1983. It’s a race like no other, and
has become something of an annual pilgrimage for many Dark Peakers. Here, serial returnee
Dave Lockwood offers some personal reflections and previews a new history of the race, and
first-timer Tom Beasant reports on the experience.
Before Jura this year, Dave Holmes suggested
that I write a few words about the place, the
race, and in particular why we keep going
back to this wonderful island. It’s almost
institutional, so much so that Elaine and I
have been nearly every year since 1992 - in
those early days we camped on the lawn but
later got lucky and now stay in a midge-free
‘reserved’ room in the Jura Hotel over the
race weekend. Not only is it the atmosphere
and camaraderie of the race itself but also
the sheer beauty of the island, the warmth of
the local people and the great wildlife, that
draws us back time and time again. I will
(hopefully) still be going even when the race
gets too hard for me to enjoy any more, (I’m
nearly at that stage!).
There is definitely no other race quite
like Jura. The logistics of getting there in
the first place requires considerable effort
involving numerous modes of transport!
Big ferries, little ferries, ribs, sailing boats,
even kayaks, and more conventionally cars,
bikes and camper vans. One DPFR member,
Jim Bell, biked all the way from South
Yorkshire then fell off and couldn’t do the
race! A degree of eccentricity was added
when our own Dave Moseley and Tim Tett
both flew their light aeroplanes, each with an
assortment of Dark Peakers to the island….
panic set in on the morning of leaving when
DM lost the aeroplane keys and involved the
entire campsite in a frantic search for same,
(anybody can lose car keys!). On another
memorable occasion, the assembled race
starters enjoyed much mirth and merriment
as they viewed Roy Small and Alan Yates,
marooned on an anchored sailing-boat,
unsuccessfully trying to persuade their host
to row them ashore in time for the race.
Unfortunately for them the sea was so rough
that they couldn’t run the risk of capsizing.
Time slipped by, and despite the ‘heartfelt’
shoreline encouragement, it became apparent
that their choice of transport that year would
be responsible for DNS on the result sheet.
(We understand the sailing vessel with its
ill-fated contents duly slipped silently out of
Three Isles Bay on the next tide).
The terrain also is nothing like a normal
fell-race….near vertical ascent (on Beinn a’
Chaolais) where one can just about use teeth
to aid up-hill progress. Savage scree with
angular stones likened to televisions, fridges
and/or concrete sea-defences. All this in 10
miles of mountains, three miles of downhill
moorland water-mattress running and then
three gruelling miles of tarmac back to the
finish. Magnificent!
And then the scenery/wildlife…
tremendous. The village and race venue
Craighouse is in an exquisite setting being
sheltered in the beautiful Three Isles Bay
with the Paps and the rest of Jura behind. For
us the bird life is excellent… this year we
recorded 48 species during our three days on
the island including golden and sea eagle, hen
harrier and short-eared owl. The sea crossings
produced guillemot, razorbill and Manx
shearwater and shoreline usuals included
common sandpiper, ringed plover and the
ubiquitous oystercatchers.
I could go on….but with the exception
of the personal anecdotes above, I have
decided not to write in any great detail myself
because this year Don Booth has produced,
and made available at the race, an absolutely
first-rate book expounding just such feelings
better than I can, and of such historical
completeness that I couldn’t hope to get
anywhere near equalling. It is “a history of
sorts”, beginning with the original 1973 race,
organised by George Broderick. It spans the
restoration of the now annual event in 1983,
and most importantly explores what it means
to both the runners and islanders alike.
With that said then, I would like to take
this opportunity to help promote Don’s work
and to introduce you to what is, in a way also,
a bit of Dark Peak history….Ray Aucott won
the race in 1985 and Es Tresidder in 2011.
Don, as many know, was one of the first
members of Dark Peak. He competed in the
original 1973 and 1974 Jura races and was
the re-founder of the race, and race organiser
from 1983 to 1992 before handing over to
others. He is always around at the race, a
‘fountain’ of Jura knowledge and, you could
say, part of the scene.
The book is in my opinion an absolute
must have for anyone who has been to Jura
or is thinking about going. Furthermore,
it is a not-for-profit work and intended to
be a benefit to the Isle of Jura folk - once
the publishing costs are covered, Don is
donating the entirety of the proceeds to Jura’s
Progressive Care Centre which exists to
allow the island’s frail and/or elderly to end
their days on the island. That will doubtless
include some of those local people who
currently make the race possible. How good
is that?
It is available: from Pete Bland at £12-50
inc. P&P. or, direct from Don by mail if you
send him £11.50 to cover postage to:
Donald Booth (cheques payable to: Top Line
Management Ltd.)
Catch Bar Farm
Hade Edge
Holmfirth
West Yorkshire HD9 2SZ
Alternatively: if there are enough people
interested, I will go across and get a box-full
from Don which would mean the cost price
of £10.
See me at Tha Sportsmen, or phone/email
me and I will collect names and make sure
you have a copy.
NB: I will be away until the end of August so
will start a list during early September.
Dave Lockwood

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 26 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 27
Whisky, paps, and island hopping
Is there a better way to spend a bank
holiday weekend?
BG Relay record
In the few years that I have been fell running
I have not heard people talk about a race
more than Jura. “Every fell runner has to do
it at least once”, “Best race in the calendar”,
“One of the classics”, etc. I knew I needed to
go and find out for myself what all the fuss
is about, so when Rhys asked who was going
this year I jumped at the chance. Time passed
quickly and before I knew it I found myself
on a ferry with Neil and Rhys - Jura bound.
There is not a great deal going on off the
west coast of Scotland; it’s either visiting
distilleries or enjoying the landscape. But
during race weekend, Jura comes alive. One
of the charms of a place like this is that the
locals wave at every car that passes by; this
was a novelty that did not wear off. The day
before the race, we managed to fit in a little
bird-watching, which I have to admit I have
never done before. We were rewarded with a
couple of Hen Harriers, but alas no Golden
Eagles.
Race day dawned and we were lucky to
have beautiful clear skies, warm weather, and
not a midge in sight. No need for navigating
then, but how much water to take? Decisions,
decisions. I was carrying an achilles injury
from racing on the Isle of Man the previous
weekend so I wasn’t even sure I’d get up the
first hill. Fingers crossed I’d get round.
It was the race’s fortieth anniversary this
year, and to mark the occasion we were
given wise words from no less than Joss
Naylor before we set off up the fell. The
first three checkpoints and first Pap came and
went easily enough, but then with two more
Paps, another smaller hill, and a three-mile
road run, things got tough. Nothing to do
about it but just keep going. I tried to take in
the views when I could but most of the time I
spent watching my feet. Luckily my achilles
held up OK and I finished in a little under
four and a half hours, in 52nd place. Hector
Haines (Hunters Bog Trotters) won in 3:18
with Jasmin Paris (Carnethy) first woman
in 3:54. As usual, lots of brown vests high
up in the results including Neil Northrop in
fourth, Tom Brunt in sixth and Simon Patton
in fifteenth. Sadly, we narrowly lost the team
prize to Carnethy. Rhys was taking it easy
coming back from injury and started at the
back of the field, but still passed most people
and only just missed out on a whisky glass by
seven seconds! Not bad.
We spent the following day recovering on
the Isle of Arran. It was a cracking weekend
from start to finish with a real holiday
atmosphere and a good Dark Peak presence.
The terrain is love or hate. It’s tough, rough,
rocky, and steep but at least you know you’ve
earned your beer when you finish. I can see
why people go back year on year. Hopefully
I will be toeing the start line along with them
next year.
Tom Beasant
Team Photo left to right - Clare Oliffe, Lynn Bland, Pippa Wilkie, Helen Elmore, Kirsty
Bryan-Jones, Nicky Spinks, Debs Smith. The others had to get off home!
Leg 1 Ruth Batty, Debs
Smith and Lynn Bland
The weather when we arrived was heavy rain
and strong winds, but by 3am it had abated
slightly and Ruth, Debs and Lynn set off
carrying the same baton that did the relay
in 2012! They had a great run even though
it was claggy most of the way round and
completed on schedule in 3hrs and 27mins.
Leg 2 - Heather Marshall and
Judith Jepson
The clag looked to be lifting and I was
confident they would be up on schedule by
Dunmail so I met Jenny and was planning to
be ready to go for 9.15am. I was still sitting
drinking tea when I saw them come over the

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 28 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 29
crest of Seat Sandal. Me and Jenny rushed to
tie our shoes; luckily all our kit was ready to
go. Heather and Jude had completed in the
leg in 3hrs 06mins, which is amazingly fast!
Leg 3 - Nicky Spinks and
Jenny Caddick.
We set off up Steel Fell still sorting our stuff
out and I was trying to turn a tracker on while
chasing Jenny! We made good time across
the Langdales and were glad when the cloud
came across and covered the sun as it was
getting too hot! Climbing Billy Bland’s Rake
we both felt a little tired and got some food
down. We soon picked up after Great End
though when the finish was in sight. Broad
Stand was slippery and not pleasant at all so
we lost time there. Jenny set off at a cracking
pace down to Wasdale and I struggled to keep
up. We finished in 4 hours 22 minutes!
Leg 4 - Kirsty Bryan Jones
and Clare Oliffe
Kirsty and Clare were already half way up
Yewbarrow when we’d had a cup of tea and
so we hurried round to Honister as I thought
they could be faster than last year. I got a text
off Willy Kitchen to say the tracker had been
working and to pass it on to Leg 5 runners.
Arriving at Honister I met the others and kept
a close eye on Grey Knotts! Kirsty and Clare
appeared about 30 minutes ahead of schedule
completing the leg in 3hrs and 28mins.
Leg 5 - Helen Elmore and
Pippa Wilkie
Helen, Clare and Rachel had completed this
leg in 2012 in 1hr 51mins and so it was the
only leg where maybe it couldn’t be done
faster. Helen and Pippa set off at a run up
Dale Head though and so we drove round to
Newlands and sat by the church watching for
them. Lo and behold they appeared at full
sprint dropping their bumbags (along with
tracker!) at our feet as they flew past. We got
to the Moot Hall and waited in anticipation.
They appeared round the corner still sprinting
and touched the Moot Hall having completed
the leg in an amazing 1hr 41mins.
So our overall time was 16hrs and 4mins,
no less than 2hrs 47mins up on our 2012
record, which had itself been over two hours
up on the previous fastest!
Nicky Spinks
Six county tops
He’s back with a vengeance. The legendary long distance merchant Roger Baumeister has
just become the first person to do an out-and-back circuit of the six county tops in the Peak
District, all ninety five miles of it. Not bad for a man in his seventies with a pacemaker. Here’s
his story...
And did those feet... not something you want to see every day

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 30
It was a bitter disappointment that my return
to fell racing for the over 70 championships
last year was an unmitigated disaster. I had
been such a good climber right up to my
initial retirement from racing, even though
bits kept falling off the old body, and I
thought this might put me in with a chance.
But I had to abort the 2012 plan up at the
Weasedale race, which I failed to start after
twisting my back up at Ravenstonedale the
day before.
I have come to realise that the crack to
be out shuffling about on the hills with my
old cronies is the best thing there is; but if I
want to achieve anything now, I have to be on
my own. The heart problems I have had will
mean that I will never be able to do a long
sustained climb without plenty of real rests.
So it is with a great sense of
achievement that I report
the completion of The
Six County Tops round
of High Stones (South
Yorkshire), Black Hill
(West Yorkshire), Black
Chew Head (Greater
Manchester), Kinder Top
(Derbyshire), Shining Tor
(Cheshire), and Cheeks
Hill (Staffordshire). A total
mileage of 95.
This is an extension to the
well-established and very popular
Four County Tops round, that starts and
finishes in Hayfield and must cross the Snake
Pass twice. The group that forged the new
extended round started at Fairholmes by the
Derwent dams, and were then picked up at
the end of a linear route that finished at Axe
Edge. My original plan was to start from my
house in Sheffield and go via High Bradfield
and Dukes Drive and then at the end walk
into Buxton where I would catch the first bus
back to Sheffield at 9am.
Two major
cock-ups were
factors in my
longer time, as I’ll
explain shortly.
Training was to build up to long days out
which culminated in a joggle to Buxton and
back in 16hrs so as to get to Tha Sportsmen
in time to have a session with the lads. I set
off at 4am and covered 55 miles; this gave
me a very good idea of the pace I would need
to maintain if I was to complete the six tops.
The general objective of completing them in
24 hours seemed very doable.
The overall plan changed when Richard
Hakes suggested that it was more logical to
start from the fell gate at the start of Dukes
Drive, and also offered to take me there and
give me back-up support in case I needed
to pull out. I then morphed to the idea of
making a much longer round back to the start,
particularly since I had been out and back to
Buxton recently. To do that challenge was of
real meaning for me since it would
make me the first to complete
a round of those six county
tops returning to the starting
point, and would add
many, many miles to the
total distance.
I had an aborted
attempt, scuppered by
high winds and a poor
forecast a few weeks
earlier, but all was set fair
for Monday 10th June. My
schedule was set at a straight
five kilometres per-hour without any
concessions, so inevitably I would lose time
when I hit rough ground and big climbs. I
also intended to do the occasional jog along
the way, so this would enable me to make
up a bit of time here and there. My aim was
to get from the start to the last top inside
24 hours and then see how quickly I could
get back to the bottom of Dukes Drive. As
it turned out I got to the top of Cheeks Hill
in 25hrs 6mins. Two major cock-ups were
factors in my longer time, as I’ll explain
shortly.
I had arranged with Richard that I would
expect to be crossing the Woodhead for a
second time around lunchtime, and this would
be where his support would end if I was
carrying on. As it turned out, at that stage I
was very unsure of my chances because my
feet were already pretty sore and my knees
were stiff and sore. I had already not jogged
for over an hour.
As I went up Torside, I resolved
to go for the cut across past
the old hut and found it
delightful. I got over
Bleaklow and on to Mill
Hill, and then found the
little climb up to Kinder
quite a relief. On a
previous, unsuccessful,
Four County Tops round,
I had struggled in the dark
trying to get from Kinder
Low to Kinder Top. This time,
going in the other direction and
with good visibility, it was a doddle.
It’s a good evening’s sport on past South
Head and down to Chapel en le Frith. There
I had a rest and replenished my fluids. The
first boo-boo occurred as I reached a lane
after rising up above Chapel station. A mental
failure saw me turn left instead of right and
so I was cooking my evening meal on Dove
Holes station platform instead of being near
Coombs. It was dark by now and I resolved
to take a lane that was parallel to the fell
option to take me to the Whitehall outdoor
centre. Down to the Goyt valley and on to the
climb up Shining Tor. Here comes the classic
of all balls-ups. I kept having to rest on the
climb and paused at a signpost for Shooters
Clough. Looking on the map I decided that it
would save me 200ft of climb. For the 400m
to the actual clough, the path was gentle
down and easy, but the climb immediately
afterwards was horrendous. I should have
I should
have bitten the
bullet and turned
round, but no I
stuck at it,
Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 31
bitten the bullet and turned round, but no I
stuck at it, and for reward the last climb after
the clough to the very top was still pretty
rough going. The bitter pill was that as I left
Shining Tor on the reverse of what I would
have done if I had got it right, it was clear
that there was a good and easy path all the
way. A fine sky at dawn led to top number six
and a bit of a scare as I had put my compass
in my back pocket and sat on it, also the
battery on my GPS was flat and I
was completely disorientated
in clag. Fortuitously I heard
and caught a glimpse of a
juggernaut which put me
right.
My route through
Buxton panned out pretty
good and I was on my
way home on a route that
I had blazed some weeks
earlier in training on a day
out to Buxton and back to
the pub for a pint with the lads
after another 4.00 am start. My only
variation was to veer left for Shatton off
Abney Moor and on to Bamford. My route
choice through Bamford was a delightful trip
through Bamford Mill and across the little
bridges to lead on to the old railway line to
the Ladybower dam.
As I was rising on to Derwent Edge and
looked at the time I felt that I could dip under
40hrs. However as I dropped off Back Tor I
realised that I would have to run to make it.
The next 90min were very determined as I got
back to the gate with two minutes to spare!
My legacy was a pair of feet so badly
blistered and abused that it was going to be
quite a challenge for me to get them right
for the Saunders just four weeks later, to
compete with my daughter against my son
and grandson. Bring it on!
Roger Baumeister

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 32 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 33
Into the belly of the beast
Does she never stop? Not content with doing one of the fastest Paddy Buckleys ever, and with
helping Dark Peak women to their second successive BG record, Nicky Spinks, complete with
entourage, has just run the length of Wales to raise money for a cancer care charity. Willy
Kitchen was a crew member...
The Dragon’s Belly 2013 –
shuffling on the shoulders of
giants.
When Nicky said that she and Charmian
Heaton were planning a re-running of the
original 1992 Dragon’s Back route and
invited me along, I nearly bit her hand off.
Like many, I’d followed the tale of the 2012
race with awe, fascination and a little bit of
envy that I’d not signed up – but also with
growing curiosity as the people’s differing
stories emerged. Nicky and Charmian’s
Dragon’s Belly offered the perfect
opportunity for me to walk with these giants
of the Welsh hills; to test myself over five
relentless days of running, (OK, shuffling);
and perhaps to learn a bit more of the
Dragon’s Back mythology.
Preparations
Knowing how to prepare for a multi-day
event is hard. I knew how hard it would be –
that there would be more running and tarmac
than I would like – and that I would need to
keep feet, body and soul together to get to the
end. I targeted challenges that would hurt – a
double Trigger, the Fellsman, back-to-back
Dozen and Killer. I had neither the time nor
the inclination to mimic a dress rehearsal, so
resolved instead to start slow and hope to get
fitter as the five days progressed. Aside from
checking I had full map coverage for the
route, I deliberately avoided poring over
maps or recceing. This was, after all, a
journey and not a race – and Andy Heading
had proffered the finest piece of advice (or,
perhaps, the piece I seized on with most
alacrity): “Plan to get to the start line fit, but
fat.” Can’t say fairer than that, thought I, as I
packed ten changes of running kit and enough
fell food to keep me going for three weeks.
Day One – the calm before
the storm
Our route finding from the car park below
Conwy Castle walls to the start was
questionable, but fortunately our blushes
were spared since the trackers didn’t kick
in until the appointed hour of 7am. Photo
calls complete, we set off en masse across
the top car park, through a gap in the walls,
and down a tree-lined avenue, whereupon
our assembled giants – to a man and woman
– scurried left and right to answer calls of
nature; a sign that the previous evening’s
beer-based hydration strategies had been
a complete success. Honour satisfied, we
meandered through Conwy’s sleepy suburbs
before hanging a right through fields to
Conwy Mountain, our first departure from the
‘original’ ‘92 route.
Tim Whittaker, Chris Hare and the Spinks
soon indicated their intentions by drawing
out a small lead, whilst I indicated mine by
becoming rear gunner. I was pleased to have
Clare Oliffe as company for the first two days
since I had no intention of trying to keep
up with the leaders. Wendy Dodds kept us
entertained with tales from several decades of
fell-running, and we were soon climbing the
long north-eastern ridge leading to Carnedd
Llewelyn. The views back to the coast
opened up and we had the pleasure of twice
worselling Wendy, (albeit she’d likely claim
she was simply trying out alternate lines).
As we gained height, so the wind picked up,

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 34 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 35
and by the time we reached our high point
for the morning, the weather loomed over the
Glyders ominously.
Charmian was waiting with tea and treats
for a quick changeover at Glan Dena, then
we were off and up Tryfan’s west face. Our
traverse across Tryfan and the Glyders was
anything but pretty. Schadenfraude being
a state of nature, I’ll admit that the one
redeeming feature was that Clare proved
even more timid on wet rock than me.
We were both distinctly relieved to have
ticked off these three slippery beasts, and
to be descending to Pen y Pass where we
were again greeted with hot tea, and a full
change of clothing. All that remained was
a final weather-bound slog up the Pyg
Track and over Snowden to the campsite at
Nantgwynant. A total journey time of 12hrs
30mins, but we arrived two hours behind the
advance party, and had to get a shift on to get
washed, changed and fed before bedtime.
Day Two – clagged in and
chilled out
The Spinks’ caravan pulled out of camp a
little before Clare and I, so it was a surprise
to shuffle into Maentwrog only a few minutes
after they had departed. Evidently our
claggy lines over the damp Moelwyns had
worked well, and it was a pleasant change
to glimpse a view from the lower slopes
of Moelwyn Bach towards Tremadog Bay.
The long slog over to the Rhinogs found us
tracking three pairs of fell shoes through the
muck, and donning and ditching waterproofs
periodically as the weather refused to make
up its mind. The Rhinogs themselves, formed
by harsh Cambrian rock, are fierce heatherclad
wartin’ country. Even Cap’n Harmer
would think twice before leaving the path
in this neck of the woods; that is if he could
discern the path in the first place. Having
spent some time determining a likely route
off the first summit, we were pleased to be
overhauled by Max and Dave, who duly
led us over the final three peaks, and home
to camp at the end of a quite splendid day
of varied landscapes and slowly improving
weather. I felt reasonably fresh, though
there’d been times late in the day when I
struggled to keep with Clare and company.
It had taken us 13hrs 47mins. The morrow
promised a different challenge entirely; it had
been determined that I would be running with
the A team …
Day Three – head down and
hang on
I lay awake in my tent until silly o’clock
packing and re-packing my bags. The day
dawned brightly, we said our farewells to
a homeward bound Clare, and were off
at 6.30am sharp. As we climbed the ridge
to Cadair Idris the weather changed from
sunshine to rainbow to clag. By the time
we hit the top, it was truly horrid, and I was
regretting not having packed my waterproof
mitts. Fortunately for us, Hugo Iffla from
Odyssey was on hand with bacon sandwiches
in the shelter on Cadair and, much to my
surprise, I wasn’t left for dead as we picked
our way off the craggy summit. I allowed
myself the luxury of looking at a map once or
twice, and even thinking survival might still
be possible. By the time we were temporarily
lost in the clag on Tarren Hendre I may even
have presumed to take the lead for a moment
or two; but half an hour later I was hanging
on for dear life again.
At the changeover in Machynlleth, Nicky’s
shin started to play up for the first time, so
Wendy set to it with magic pink tape, before
giving me a masterclass in the application
of Compeed. In town, Tim foraged for ice
lollies, whilst Chris related tales of Owain
Glyndwr. Climbing through the forests to the
south I felt confident enough to pause to take
photos and tweet – only to be reminded by
the Spinks that faffing was strictly verboten.
Though the A team were humouring their new
charge, there was a limit; and soon enough
it was time to grit my teeth as we made the
final steep climb of the day to the summit
of Pumlumon. I took strength from thinking
this hurt marginally less than the final ascent
of Kinder on my Killer, and was rewarded
with views back to the far horizon and Cadair
Idris, whence we’d set out twelve hours
previous. The temperature was dropping and
a wind getting up, so we didn’t hang about,
descending to camp at a trot. 12hrs 49mins,
and still alive to tell the tale; just.
Day Four – breaking the
dragon’s back … and
suffering for it on the road
I was up again at five, only to find reason
for a last minute faff, slapping on insect
repellent and suncream in equal measure.
We were away by 6.33am, and as we crested
the first hill, I realised I’d forgotten my map.
This was, I suspect, a source of some relief
to the A team, since it should have meant no
recurrence of the back-seat navigating I’d
started to indulge in the previous afternoon.
Nicky, who herself had left without a
compass, quickly relieved me of mine, and
I settled back to enjoy a delightful early
morning, with the sun slowly burning off
a gossamer mist, whilst sheep guarded the
hillsides, looking down on us like silent
Apache.
From Pont Rhydgaled there’s a long pull
on forest tracks and tarmac to the head of
the Elan Valley. It was now getting very
hot, and by the time we hit Pen y Bwlch
summit the sun was definitely beating us.
There followed a comedy of navigational
error as we tried to run three different lines
at once, with inevitable consequences.
Entirely free of culpability, (I’d forgotten my
map, remember), I chuckled my way down
into the Elan Village, and another gourmet
changeover.
There followed another couple of
miles contouring beside reservoirs, chiefly
memorable for Tim running into a tree branch
and the appearance, shortly thereafter, of
a naked sun-bather. We entirely failed to
take the line recommended by Wendy up to
Drygarn Fawr, so I struck out on my own
bearing, relenting when it became apparent

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 36
Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 37
that everybody else - Wendy and Charmian
included - were making happier progress on a
quad bike track, whilst I was finding nothing
but tussocks. Drygarn Fawr is a fine hill,
topped by two magnificent beehive cairns,
and with views worth running 150 miles for.
We spent twenty minutes drinking in the
scene, and I was entirely at peace, living in
the moment, and not caring about the final
gruesome six mile stretch of tarmac which
seemed to have dominated my companions’
thoughts for most of the day.
We descended past waterfalls into a
delightful valley, reminiscent of the White
Peak at its best, a bit of road, a bit more
boggy traverse, and then back onto the
tarmac. As promised, it was not good, not
good at all. By journey’s end, and a further
13hrs and 42mins on our feet, I was near
enough hyperventilating. Lynda’s lasagne that
night, however, made everything worthwhile.
Day Five – deliverance (mad
dogs and Englishmen)
It was, once again, time to dig in. I’d
surprised myself how easily I’d settled back
into running each morning – with every
step beyond day two for me a step into the
unknown. Dave, having surprised himself just
as much I think by running the entire distance
from Conwy, was dragged out of his bed at
6am and summarily told he too would be
running with the A team. And so it was that
we departed our final overnight camp, yours
truly this time forgetting to don his hat on the
hottest day of our journey.
Tim insisted I wear his, but even with this
protection I laboured in everybody’s wake
and suffered on more tarmac. I was very glad
of a brief respite in Llandovery, where Tim
excelled himself by buying three steak pies
and a whole cooked chicken.
Meanwhile, I dived into a newsagent to
get a second map of the western Brecons,
having discovered that the map of Llandovery
I was carrying ran out an hour into the day’s
journey. You really do get a sense of travel
when each day you cover an entire 1:25k map
and then some!
Tim treated us to more comedy sprinting
as he hurtled headlong into the water at
the Usk Reservoir. We said our farewells
to Wendy at the changeover - it had been a
real pleasure to spend time, however briefly,
with one of fell-running’s legends – and we
all then set off, Steve included, on our final
leg. Ever so gradually the Fan Brycheiniog
escarpment hauled itself up in front of us. I
began to enjoy the soft grassy terrain, and the
chance to climb steeply again. At the top we
stopped, ate briefly, and as Steve and Dave
turned west to follow the main escarpment
to our final destination, Chris and I bickered
half-heartedly about the best line south over
Fan Hir. A red kite courted us as we set off
down a glorious two-mile grassy descent to
Glyntawe.
At the Craig-y-nos Country Park we
paused for double-helpings of ice cream, then
turned our faces to the last big, long, long,
haul. Though I tried to protest otherwise,
Chris had the best line to the summit of
Cribarth. Only problem was the trig point
was three metres lower than the spot height
350 metres to the north-east, and I insisted we
visit both. During the ‘92 race, it transpired,
Cribarth was one of two summits left out
on the final day so that, as at a couple of
other points on our journey, we were truly
delineating our own Dragon’s Belly route.
Indeed, as other’s have observed, this was our
route and our journey, not to be compared –
for good or ill – with anybody else’s.
The eight miles or so of yomping from
here to Foel Fraith via indeterminate rocky
outcrops was tough; the bone-dry grasses
almost as harsh on the feet as the gritty
rocks they engulfed. Fortunately Matt was
there to keep us moving at a half-decent
pace, as it was quite clear that two days in
the baking sun was playing havoc with our
decision-making faculties. Nicky’s mojo
was returning in the rougher terrain, and I
was fast beginning to flag. Notwithstanding
the symphony of skylarks all around, I was
mightily relieved to reach the final road
crossing in one piece. There Chris was
reunited with his partner Tracy, whilst I

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 38 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 39
collapsed into a chair and grunted.
Just six last miles to the castle. The
terrain remained harsh, and my route-finding
progressively more incompetent, but by
this point I really didn’t care. The views
were terrific, Carreg Cennen Castle – when
it finally swung into view – a proper cragtopping
ruin worthy of the distances we’d
covered, and the birdsong and early evening
summer sunshine quite magnificent. We were
even greeted by an impromptu stone dragon
– more likely a dog if truth be told – on the
final summit of Tair Carn Isaf. And, should
you be interested, it took us 14hrs and 12mins
to complete this final day.
I hung back, shedding a quiet tear or two,
and feeling enormously privileged to have
spent six wonderful days with a dozen likeminded
souls, all of whom had contributed
fully to quite simply the best week I’ve been
lucky enough to enjoy in the hills. We will
each take away different things from it, but
equally I have no doubt we would each also
recommend the journey to anybody else who
fancies it. I had intended to close with some
observations on the stories I was told along
the way – about both the original and the
revived Dragon’s Backs – and how these tales
and our own journey inter-twined, overlapped
and diverged over the course of the week; like
three chuntering Warts negotiating Kinder
on a claggy night. But perhaps it’s better to
let sleeping giants lie. Instead, I must simply
extend my heartfelt thanks to all who were
involved in the endeavour, and in particular to
Charmian, Lynda, Gerald, Tammy, Max and
Steve, for nurturing us every step of the way.
And lest I forget, one last request. It’s still
not too late to donate to Odyssey* at http://
www.justgiving.com/teams/dragonsbelly; one
way or another, whether it’s mine or the
runners’ collected page which pulls ahead,
we’ve got to make sure Nicky doesn’t win
this race too.
*Editor’s note. Odyssey is a charity that aims
to help adults who’ve had cancer to rebuild
their lives and confidence. Find out more at
the website: http://www.odyssey.org.uk
Nicky and the Dragon’s Belly team set
themselves a fund-raising target of just over
£5,000. As Dark Peak News went to press,
they were over that and rising...
Unlike cyclists, fell runners don’t spend hours
discussing the latest bit of kit. Turn up for a club
run wearing a pair of Hoka One-Ones though,
and you will instantly get noticed, especially
since suddenly you have grown by a couple of
inches. “What are them, space boots?” is one of
the more polite comments you can expect. There’s
no denying they look odd, so what are they and
why wear them? Firstly, they are not fell shoes.
They are designed specifically for ultra-trail
running, coming in a range of types from road
running right through to rocky alpine trail models.
The key, and very distinctive, innovation of all
Hokas is a massive spongy sole that provides
comfort and reduces impact on legs, which is
important if you are going to be running for 10
to 30+ hours. Currently the trend is going in the
opposite direction with minimal, lightweight soles
that allow the foot to be closer to the ground, so
connecting with mother earth. This has culminated
in the bare foot running fad. That’s fine for a few
hours, but comfort is key for longer events like
running across deserts or down Wales’ back or
belly, and that’s where the Hoka One-Ones have it
in spades.
I first saw them on the 2010 Marathon des
Sables, although only a few people wore them. By
2012 on the Ultra Tour of Mont Blanc they were
much more popular. I met a fellow runner wearing
them on the Hardmore 60 along the Cleveland
Way later in the year. He couldn’t praise them
highly enough: “Very comfortable…never get
blisters…great downhill as they absorb loads of
impact…very light and the wide base means they
are surprisingly stable”. I did more research online
and that’s precisely what others said. Many began
Tried and tested
Hoka One-Ones
RRP: £100
Appearance Value for money
Performance OVERALL RATING
ridiculing the concept, but were converted after
testing them.
Just over £100 got me a pair from ‘Likelys’,
one of the few UK stockists. My first run was over
Kinder and despite them not really been designed
for fell running they were fine - equally good when
supporting the last leg of the BG .
For the real test I travelled to Cortina in the
Italian Dolomites for the North Face Lavaredo
Ultra trail run. This is 118km with 5700+ of climb,
and part of the world ultra-running series. Many
of the top international ultra-runners would be
there, so I would have some stiff competition.
The race was shortened to just over 85km because
of unexpected heavy snow over the mountains
but I didn’t hear anyone complaining, especially
me who had done no real training. So at 8am on
a beautiful Saturday I stood tall in my Hokas
alongside 700 other people, with a good 70 or
so actually sporting Hoka One-Ones. Big climbs
followed by very long descents. I was out for over
fifteen hours, ending with a very long descent
on hard alpine trails, but suffered no blisters or
bruised toes. The Hokas were surprisingly stable
and very comfortable especially downhill. They
really do what they are designed for, i.e. provide
maximum comfort and minimal impact. Their
growing popularity is testimony to the design
concept, since you certainly don’t buy them to look
cool. They may look funny, but after 40 miles the
critics may not be so critical any more. So if you
are intending doing a long, long event they are
certainly worth the money. For your typical Dark
Peak outing, stick to your nondescript boring fell
shoes and avoid being ridiculed.
Steve Martin

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 40 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 41
10 years ago
Dark Peak success in the Derwent Watershed, with Al Ward, Marcus
Scotney and Simon Bourne all in the winning team. The first complete
DPFR team was “Three Blokes with Sweaty Cox”, comprising
Jim Fulton, Kev Saville, Tom Westgate, and of course Phil Cox.
Edale Skyline organisers Chris Barber and Jim Fulton reluctantly
announced an altered route, involving an extra descent into the
valley, a stretch of flat road, and a re-ascent via Jacob’s Ladder.
Club chairman Roy Small blamed “underhand dealings” from the
National Trust, who had objected to us using Brown Knoll. Roy also
reported access restrictions around Stanage, which he put down to
the CROW act defining “more reasons for restrictions than before”.
Al Ward succeeded Roger Davison as men’s captain. The agm
minutes said the club caravan was being well used, with 74 bed-nights. Exile Andy Forsyth
won the Four Peaks Mountain Race at Ficksburg in South Africa, running jointly for Dark Peak
and Randburg Harriers. Ruth Hambleton returned to training after suffering a stroke. ‘Peak
District’ magazine ran a four-page feature on the club, noting that when it came to sustenance,
DPFR runners tended to stick to the tried and tested “such as honey or marmalade sandwiches
and even squares of jelly”.
20 years ago
Dark Peak News reported record turnouts in 92/93 Warts runs, with
numbers “often reaching double figures”. Will McLewin won the
prestigious Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature for his
book ‘In Monte Viso’s Horizon’. “He is a much better alpinist than
he makes out,” said the judges. “Do not be fooled by his modesty or
you will have an accident”. The Crookstone Crashout was extended
to Hartshorn for its 18th continuous running. Tim Tett and Phil
Crowson tied for victory in 53:27. Organiser Andy Harmer said the
summer race would stay on the traditional straight up and down route,
with the Hartshorn extension reserved for winter. Fears of a missing
runner in the second Warts Night Race were dispelled when winner and
co-organiser Dave Holmes discovered he had forgotten to register. Mike Hayes staged a new
race to mark his 55th birthday – the Rivelin Landmarks was won by Howard Swindells in
63:07. Jacky Smith was elected Dark Peak’s first club captain. Colin Henson marked his 60th
birthday with a comfortably successful Joss Naylor. The club introduced alternative training
runs on local race nights, starting and finishing at the race venue.
The Dog’s Diary
Ashley Kay continues to bring a unique approach to racing. He turned up late (of course)
for the Cakes of Bread, and set off about 10 minutes after everybody else had disappeared.
Only as he climbed the first hill alone did Ashley realise he had a problem: it dawned on him
that he didn’t know where the race actually goes. Cue some initiative and lateral thinking. This
is an Andy Harmer race, thinks Ashley, and I know where one of Andy’s races goes. So off he
goes up to Lost Lad, down Sheepfold Clough, and up towards Berrister’s Tor. By now he should
have been catching back markers, but there was not a soul in sight. Cue a bit more initiative
and a bit more lateral thinking. He realises he’s gone the wrong way, abandons the Margery
Hill route, adjusts his trajectory by ninety degrees-ish, and sets off up and over the ridge
towards Strines where, of course, other Harmer promotions have congregated. Still not a soul,
so Ashley cuts his losses and returns to base at Fairholmes having seen nobody and covered
precious little of the actual race route, (which had of course been posted online). One trusts
this little saga will be relived in Ashley’s Pertex speech come the autumn...
Elsewhere in this edition, you’ll read about the rich variety of transport used to reach
Jura for the famous fell race. Big ferries, little ferries, bikes, kayaks and a sea-locked
yacht have all been deployed. What they have in common is that they have all, more or less,
reached their intended destination, (see Dave Lockwood’s account of Small and Yates’ last
leg). More than can be said for Richard Hakes on another recent Scottish isles adventure.
My source tells me that Cabin Boy Hakes, as he is now known, was sailing between Bute
and Greenock with his cousin, who owns and skippers a 19ft boat. Being a dog, I don’t know
much about unfixed keels, but I’m told they make it impossible to right a boat if it capsizes
in squally seas. So both skipper and cabin boy had to sit atop the upturned hull, while they
called in a “mayday” and waited for a local to haul them in. The boat was recovered later,
and the passenger ferry to Bute delayed for only half an hour while it stood on standby. I’m
told the cabin boy was “a little hypothermic but essentially OK”.
Meanwhile back on dry land, several Dark Peak families reached Jura for this year’s race,
and set up a Collier/Patton/Bryan-Jones/Phipps base camp in an old chapel about a mile
along the road from the finish to the bridge. No fewer than three of them made an unexpected
return to said base camp after setting off on their expedition to do the race. First back, I’m
told was Simon Patton, who cycled early to race registration and then cycled back again for
the cag he’d forgotten. Next back, the other Simon P, who took Pertex overtrousers to the race
instead of the specified waterproofs with taped seams. Not to be outdone, Penny Collier got as
far as base camp in the race itself, saw the drinks and buns laid out by the assembled family
juniors, decided base camp was quite far enough with a doubly sprained ankle, and sat down
to munch. Does this kind of thing happen on Everest?
Wuff

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 42 Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 43
The kit page
It’s many months now since kit man Richard Hakes took delivery of the new hoodies and
modelled his with such pride. Here he is still sporting it, despite a distinct aroma beginning
to seep from the armpits. If Di had her way she’d tear it off him and stick it in the washing
machine, but he’s never at home long enough for her to strike. Rumour has it that the hoody
came in very handy as “Cabin Boy” tried to warm up after that dunking off the Isle of Bute.
He’s not been around for us to check current prices and stock levels, so you’re strongly advised
to get in touch with him before building up your hopes: 0114 2339912; kit@dpfr.org.uk
Price list
Vests £13
Sizes small, medium, large, extra large.
Women’s also available in XS
Shorts £16
One size fits all. Metallic green cycling type,
with “DARK PEAK” in yellow down left leg.
Tracksters £20
Blue or green, in medium, large and extra
large. Yellow piping and “DPFR” down leg.
Short-sleeved long-sleeved
vest £10
Aka. a running t-shirt Lightweight silky
synthetic material. In brown with
purple and yellow bars on front.
XS, S, M, L, XL
Long-sleeved vest
£17
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Yellow t-shirt £10
With club badge on breast. S, M, L
Black t-shirt £10
With “Dark Peak Fell Runners”
cartoon artwork on front. S, M, L, XL
Fleece pullovers £22
In blue or black, with club badge on breast.
Toasty! S, M, L, XL
Running Bear socks, two
pairs for £5
Brown above the ankle, white below.
Guaranteed to be brown throughout after two
runs over the Dark Peak bogs
Whistles £1
Orange. Loud. Best used in
combination with a map and compass.
Vinyl sticker £1
Now available as a 5cm vinyl
sticker or 5cm car
windscreen sticker
Metal
badges 30p
Collector’s items, all
featuring exclusive Dark
Peak designs: ‘Running Man’,
‘DPFR trig point’, ‘Mountain
hero’, ‘Warts’
Made in the Dark Peak
...being the page where we showcase notable Dark Peak
artefacts, oddities and curios...
No 10 The club hut door
If you’ve been inside
recently, you’ll know that
the Dark Peak handymen
have given the hut a very
substantial makeover. It now
sports wall-to-wall benches
and more clothes pegs than
you could shake a pair of
dirty Walshes at. Now it
looks just as good on the
outside too, thanks mainly
to the determination of
chairman Tom Westgate who
decided during the endless
winter to give the battered
front door a good going over.
“Denuded of any paint it was
obviously deteriorating,” said
Tom. “So I decided it needed
a coat of paint, or more
accurately four including a
bit of scraggy undercoat that
I managed to prize off the
shelf in my garage and coax
into life with some excessive
stirring whilst jammed
between my legs. Now it’s all
well and good but applying
two coats of brown, yellow
and purple in sub zero evenings did test my resolve, especially when it finally dawned
on me that it had to be applied one or two stripes at a time.” The finishing touch came
from Hannah Saville, who produced a mega version of her ‘Running Man’ transfer in
brilliant green and gave it pride of place mid-door. All we need now is a decent door
mat and a ‘Beware of the Dog’ sign for Chris Barber.

Dark Peak News Summer 2013 page 44
Front cover: A fresh
looking Ruth Batty
on Higger Tor in the
Burbage Skyline race
This page: A not so
fresh Darren Webb,
glistening like an otter