Tales from the past  

White Peak Marathon Legends from past years

In over 25 years the event has naturally acquired its own legends, some of which "improve" with the telling.  Some have already been recounted in the other pages here but these are some that may be of interest.

The novice runner who took a nap at 12 miles and after waking up resumed running but in the wrong direction back towards Ashbourne.

There was the Irish contingent who held up the start of the race after a late dash from the airport in a bid to sandwich our marathon between another two in a period of three days.

There was a couple who, accompanied by dogs, were surprised to be disqualified after they started 15 minutes ahead of the rest of the field.

There was a runner who having dropped out at Hartington, jogged across from the Tissington to the High Peak Trail to join at Minninglow who astonished the officials there who at first thought he must be leading the race inside world record time.

A runner who, in ensuring he reached the turn inside 2 hours (a requirement up until 1986) ran too hard and became weak through hunger.  Having some money about his person, he was able to buy cucumber sandwiches at Minninglow and he still managed to beat a few others.

There was a competitor who, running for charity, insisted on carrying a bucket all the way round to collect funds even though he had been told there would be few, if any, spectators.

The Reverend Canon John Dale who used to choose our Saturday race because he had to work Sunday. After a slow run one year was provided transport by the organisers to get him to Duffield in time for a teatime appointment with the Bishop of Derby.

The respected superveteran who always needed to be fed his Ibuprofen tablets as he crossed the finishing line.

Conclusions

The course, although not as tough as many believe, is slower than the road, due to the loose surface and the ascents and descents.  The weather is also a slowing factor.  In early May it can go from Summer to Winter in the Peak District from one day to the next, either of which may not correspond to one's training conditions of the past few weeks.  Together with the temperature changes between start and finish and the Parsley Hay summit, something approaching de-acclimatisation can often be experienced.  A small well spread out field, few spectators, and often no rivals in sight easily leads to drifting in the later stages.

Although the race has attracted a few good road runners there has been a preponderance of fell and off road specialist as well as a very high proportion of veterans.  The presence of quite a few slower runners sometimes makes life difficult for the marshals on such a course but apart from a very few exceptions they are genuine athletes to whom the unique nature of the race means a lot and we would not wish to deter them.

Which athletes have completed the most races?  In the men's race it is probably Peter Bates with Jeremy Bateman a close second and George Kay with at around 10 bringing up the rear.  Our leading lady could be Mary Howarth who has completed 5 for the women.  It is of course entirely possible with the aforementioned runners being frequently mentioned in despatches the there are lesser known runners have run even more.  If anyone can come up with a a higher claim than those mentioned we'd be interested to know.  but so much for year on year statistics and the mechanics of our race.  As our feedback indicates, for most people it is more than just a race, it is an experience which cannot be quantified, and the only way to feel this is to take part yourself. 

Certainly Brian Howitt must be thanked for allowing us to quote from a magazine article, summing up the true experience the race offers, which he wrote around 1980.  " Going through a bad patch at 22 miles, with my 3 hour target beginning to look less and less realistic, I caught myself thinking "What AM I doing here?".  But as I emerged from a cutting into the brilliant sunshine and saw the trail dotted with runners stretching ahead, with a clear blue sky above, the only sound the crunch of my footsteps and a view for 20 miles into the next county, I HAD my answer!" 

Copyright © 2006 Matlock Athletic Club