Cutthroat Bridge to Snake Pass High Peak Marathon recce

The High Peak Marathon encapsulates everything that can be considered bonkers about long distance fell running:

1. The event is contested by 50 teams of 4, the vast majority of whom look to run it although there are usually a few walking teams too. Well 'run' might be a bit of an exaggeration because the ground it covers isn't particularly easy to actually run on for much of the time and, in some places, at all.

2. Its set in the most god forsaken part of the High Peak in the tough as old boots northern end of the Peak District, quite possibly the boggiest and most inhospitable place you could hope to find in the country (the world?)

3. Ironically its not a marathon in any sense of the word as its not 26.2 miles - instead its 42 miles, and even longer than that if you get the navigation wrong... which is very very easy to do. I've ran it three times in the past and one of the great things about the event is the natty T shirt that you get on the night. I was wearing one of my HPM T shirts once in Leeds and a random chap, obviously a bit of a runner, wandered up to me and asked what time I did - he was thinking conventional marathon and was probably expecting anything between 3.5 to 4 hours as my conventional answer - and was rather taken aback when I answered 12 hours 15 minutes! He sort of snorted a little laugh and gave me a "never mind, keep trying" sort of look and wandered off. Hah! What did he know?

4. The event is run at the beginning of March each year which, in the High Peak, translates to bleak bleak mid winter

5. The route is just incredible. You start at Edale village hall, run up to Hollins Cross, up and over Lose Hill, up Win Hill, down the other side, up Bole Hill, across Moscar Moor below High Nabb/Stanage Edge, then down to Cutthroat Bridge before following a huge loop around the Derwent Watershed following Derwent Edge and Howden Edge (a high and wild and never ever low ridge line) all the way round to Bleaklow  (and yes Bleaklow is bleak) before dropping down the Pennine Way to Snake Pass and then following that over Mill Hill and Kinder Scout, finishing off with a third of a lap around the Edale valley before dropping down to the village hall to finish. 

5. Just to add to the smorgasbord of toughness, the High Peak Marathon starts at 11 pm at night with teams setting off at one minute intervals. So not only are you blundering about on in the fog, rain, snow (insert crap weather of choice here) but, for probably a good 5 or 6 hours, you're blundering about in the dark too!

Sooo... anyway, yesterday in absolutely gorgeous but chilly sunshine 3 intrepid members of team High Peak Scuttlers, me, Hes and Gavin, (plus Harry) set off to run the middle toughest 18 mile section of the HPM between Cutthroat and Snake. Our fourth team member, Phil, had only just joined as a replacement for an injured Stewart and was unable to make it on the day. 

And yes is was an absolutely brilliant run. And we didn't even manage to get lost! Hester was flagging a little as we neared the north face of Bleaklow but was soon cheered up by all of the silver white Mountain Hares we saw scampering about there and was soon scampering about herself. It was still pretty darn snowy though which slowed us down somewhat, especially as much of the snow wasn't that crusty and we were often falling through it into knee and thigh deep drifts. Here's hoping for a rock hard frost on the night.... in less than two weeks time now!!

Three quarters of team scuttlers

Hester whizzing up through the tussock grass

Looking back from Derwent Edge

Kinder Scout on the far, far horizon - we go a really long way round getting there!

I of course won the muddy legs competition

There was a lot of going up and down peat groughs

Hester loved the mountain hares

Bleak but stunning at the same time

Bleaklow Stones