Cherry Moger reports:
Sunday 13th October was a day to remember for many reasons. This race was a very last minute and unplanned entry after much persuasion of a certain young whipper snapper Luke Beresford. I had not intended to go anywhere near an off road race of this length for some time, but the persistent encouragement saw me turning up on the start line chuntering away like a grumpy old woman with silent swearing wondering how I’d been talked (conned) into taking part!
Among 109 runners saw two MAC ladies, myself (Cherry Moger) and Kate Ruffell setting off at a steady pace up and over towards Errwood Reservoir from the Burbage Institute in Buxton. There was a chill in the air as you’d expect for an October Sunday, but we all warmed up after the first ascent and saw Kate stripping off a layer. It must have helped her because off she went ahead of me like a determined steam train. This was to be a theme for the entire race as we went back and forth in an unofficial friendly tussle. Though Kate always seemed to end up way off in the distance. I only managed to catch up on the downhills! Talking of which, coming off Shining Tor was a tricky rough descent that seemed to slow a few down, but in my enthusiastic manner I descended like a springer spaniel in hunting season!
To be honest, I was glad to see the back of the stone slabs on the tops. I was hankering after some softer ground to get stuck into. My request came through and off we went up through the ferns on Goyt’s Moss, but not before it was discovered that some joker had moved an arrow diverting a lot of the pack down onto the road and back up to the final drinks station, adding on a few hundred metres and an extra climb. All good training in my opinion (unless you’re racing)
The final few kilometres of the course consisted of ferns, farmland and finally fast descents. By this point I’d taken advantage of Kate’s pit stop at the last drinks station and channelled my inner spaniel again. When we both crossed the finish line we agreed the last downhill sprint was great fun, and all that worry I had at the beginning was replaced with elation and relief.
As the runners came in, we headed back to the institute for much needed homemade lentil soup, sarnies and sweet treats. Congratulations to Kate who came in as 1st F60 in 02:30:27 and 5th lady. I was happy to complete my first off road half marathon distance race, and surprisingly achieved 3rd F40 and 4th lady. A thank you to Luke for supporting the MAC ladies as he ‘teleported’ around the route giving his words of positivity, and for convincing me to enter.
Definitely would recommend this to anyone wanting to conquer a longer race and for others who want a fast runnable route.
