The Dovedale Dipper is a ‘challenge’ event organized by Matlock Rotary Club offering a  15 mile walk or a 26.5 mile run over a circular route in the Derbyshire Peak District starting and not surprisingly ending in the village of Hartington.

This years edition I believe was the 9th running of the event and I have to say that Matlock Rotary Club did a great job. Superb planning, a great ‘route book’, great check points with a really good selection of food and liquid and at the end some hot food and drink. What more could you ask for? I certainly feel the ‘on the day’ entry fee of £15 (cheaper if entered in advance) was money well spent.

To be honest, on the Friday before the event I knew nothing about the event never mind the fact that I would be taking part. One of my coaching clients had sent me a text, told me it was local and that it was a tough and beautiful course. It all sounded too good to be true. I had a free weekend as Niandi was in Paris returning Stanislas after her week long brthday…. my training plan had me scheduled for a long run close to marathon distance, so it was logical that I turn up and run a new course with company.

Hartington Village Hall was full of people on my arrival. As I had walked to registration I had already seen plenty of walkers heading out on the route looking to get some early miles in the bag. The official challenge walk of 15 miles started at 09:30 and then the full challenge of 26.5 miles started at 10:00. Difficult to say how many took part but at least 150 in the main event.

At 10am we set off and the early pace was very sedate. The route book was very detailed and with having no knowledge of the route I held back and looked for the ‘locals’ to set the pace. Within a mile it was clear that one or two front runners knew the route. I quickly found myself in 2nd place following the eventual race winner, Gary.

My plan was to run this event sensibly and not ‘race’ it. Within 2 to 3 miles I settled into my pace and let Gary slowly pull away. I had him in sight for the next few miles so I had a carrot to follow, however, I soon had company with Del Salt (http://delsalt.blogspot.com) and Sean Ketteridge.

I was in good company… very god company. Both Del and Sean are very experienced ultra runners and Del has represented GB.

The first checkpoint came at Sparlow after 5.5 miles. Sean and myself arrived and we were quickly followed by Del. This actually turned out to be pretty much the format for the whole race. Sean and myself happy to run and chat, Del would sometimes surge away, come back and then when the road went up would fall back slightly. Del however new the route and this was invaluable. Sean and myself every now and then found ourselves stood looking at the route book only to have Del come past and lead the way. It soon became apparent that the most logical thing was to run together. Certainly it was a decision I made. The pace for me was spot on, about 1 min slower than race pace and I also feel that Del and Sean had similar thoughts to me.

This is the Peak District and the race is called the Dovedale Dipper, so, it was inevitable that some hills would soon appear. Funny wahen you look at the GPS data as the first 7-8 miles look all uphill but it didn’t feel like that; maybe fresh ‘ish’ legs?

Checkpoint 2, Longnor was not far away but we had a nice climb to get over first. Walk/ jogging to the summit we then ran down to Warslow. In-front was the infamous Ecton Hill. I now say infamous as I have experienced it and of course heard everyone else moan about it.

Our group of 3 remained together and we pushed onwards. Great views at the top but we didn’t have time to hang around. Back on pace we pushed taking turns at the front. Over Wetton Hill and then the 4th checkpoint came. A couple of cups of juice and some calories and we were off.

Traversing over Castern Wood we had some great views. I was feeling really comfortable and the decision to run as a group was really paying dividends. We all pushed a little keeping each other honest but not so hard that we were hanging. When we split up we always reformed. It wasn’t a concious decision but our paces were so similar that this just seemed to be the natural pattern of events.

The terrain for the whole route was generally good with a great mix. Grassy fields one minute, worn trail the next, rutted rocky paths and of course hills; plenty of hills. I was using a new shoe from Hoka One One called the ‘Combo XT’. This new addition to the Hoka range combines the trail Mafate and the road Bondi B and ‘combos’ them into this shoe. I have to say I was 100% impressed. Great grip and a plush comfortable ride over the multitude of different terrain that the peaks had to offer.

We had a tough rocky and slippery decent to Milldale and the next checkpoint. In the valley we lifted the pace. Flat stony trail suddenly provided a platform of consistent running. Sean and Del lifted ran strong and I hung back a little trying to decide if I wanted to run this quick in the latter stages of a long run. I guess ego took over and I decided yes. Having spent the best part of 21 miles with these guys I wasn’t prepared to let them go. I knew when it came to the finish we would all be together with the same time and that seemed appropriate after a full days running.

Along the valley floor Del told us we had a kick in the tail. The short sharp shock of Beresford dale. It is a short steep climb that we power walked and then once over the top we re lifted the pace and ran down the longest road stretch of the event back to the Village hall at Hartington.

Gary had arrived some 15 minutes before and we arrived in 4hrs 02m all in joint 3rd place.

Great day out. Great course and a real pleasure to run with Gary and Del.

Big thanks to Matlock Rotary Club for a superb and friendly event with excellent organization, checkpoints and support throughout.