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- Easy on the eggs…...
“Easy on the eggs” is something that I heard repeatedly said by a man in a work meeting last week, and it has been ringing in my ears ever since. Not sure what that says about me, but I thought I’d share. Anyway, what a fortnight! The sun has made an appearance, we’re allowed out in sixes again, and we’ve waved goodbye to the almighty slog up Primrose Lane in hopes of shaving a second or two off of our Glossop 5 times. Some exciting stuff has happened, and some exciting stuff is still to come. Read on to find out more!
Monthly Mashup!
It’s time to sign up for the Monthly Mashup!
We’re delighted to be kicking off on SUNDAY 18TH APRIL with a navigation score challenge, set by John Stephenson.
Details of the course will remain top secret until you reach the start line (the turning circle on Shepley Street), where you will receive a map and details of the checkpoints. In teams of two, you will have a total of 3 hours to collect as many points as you can from the scoreboard. Checkpoints will have different values depending on how hard they are to find and reach.
The great thing about score events is that whether you set out to collect every point on the board, or collect 10 points and roll in to the finish line early, you’ve still completed the challenge! Be careful not to come in late though, as there will be points penalties for every minute that you are overtime…
Please follow the below link to complete the sign-up form. You only need to submit one form per pair!
Important: If you would like to take part but have not yet found a teammate, please get in touch with Immy either through Facebook or immytrinder@hotmail.co.uk. She will put you in touch with anyone else looking for a partner.
Also important: Juniors are welcome to participate – they need to be paired with a responsible adult!
Any questions, contact Immy or Ian 🙂
Neal and Zoe’s Kinder Dozen
Neal and I set out to attempt the Kinder Dozen route on Saturday 3rd, starting from the Snake Inn layby. We had reasonable knowledge of the route between us, plus some very useful advice from the “Yoda of silly Kinder stuff” Ian C, though we knew that at some points we’d have to make some choices on lines up/down the hill.
We completely lucked out with the weather, and knew that at least 2 other GDH groups were on Kinder that day, having “fun” on other routes such as the Heart of Darkness and the Kinder Killer. We wondered whether our paths might cross by chance. The GDH lucky charms must’ve worked, as we happened upon Ian, Mark and Dan by Druid’s Stone mid-morning.
We trudged up/tumbled down through heather and bracken, little more, and reached our “halfway” point of Edale, to find the cafe opposite the Nag’s Head open. We sacrificed some time in favour of two ice-cream cones with flakes.
The sun grew stronger and warmer over the next few ups and downs, the highlight being the stunning climb up Crowden Clough. Later on, even the familiar territory of the West edge of Kinder remained terribly rough going, and we had to dig deep to keep on. Once we reached Sandy Heys trig it was all but over – all but the painful climb up to Fairbrook Naze and wooden-legged jog down back to the cars – circuit completed in 9 hours 26 minutes. I definitely owe Neal a few more ice-creams for dragging him down some “rough and ready” descent lines, and a ton of thanks for his company. Sore feet and sunburn our reward!
Crutchley & Co’s Heart of Darkness
This anytime challenge has been on the hitlist for a long while, but as I’d recced it in two exhausting halves, I was a little daunted by piecing it together in one go. Essentially the route starts at the southern end of the Dark Peak below Mam Tor, and takes you on a true north trajectory along gridline 13 to Grinah Stones (The Heart of Darkness). From here you go East one kilometre to gridline 14 at Round Hill, and take a true southerly trajectory back to the start. There are a few checkpoints to hit that divert you off the gridline here and there (and an unavoidable minor trespass, that we weren’t particularly thrilled by), but what you have is a purist straight line fell route. The 22 miles and 7,500ft of climb is fairly significant in itself, but when you throw in the horrific terrain that you encounter on the route, it becomes a beast.
With lockdown restrictions easing, we’d picked the first weekend we were allowed to run as more than a pair. Dan Stinton, Mark Davenport and myself set off on our steady march North, which was fairly uneventful until we had a chance meeting with Zoe Barton and Neal Bann at Druids Stone on Kinder. We knew they were doing the Kinder Dozen, but the odds of us crossing paths were infinitesimally small. A quick chat and a selfie, and we were off again down to the Snake Pass. From here to the turnaround at Grinah, and back South to the Snake is truly exhausting ground. Not much you’d call a path, and even the trods are few and far between. It is heather bashing territory, where mostly just fast walking is the best you can manage. By the time we did get back to the Snake, it was getting quite hot, we were tired and we’d slowed to a more leisurely pace. Back over Kinder we plodded, and up and over Mam Tor, where we had to deal with maddening hoards of people everywhere, having barely seen a soul all day long. We had in mind an arbitrary target of 7 hours to get around, and managed it in 7 hours 18 minutes. Happy enough with that, although if we were daft enough to do it again, now we know what we’re up against, that 7 hours is very doable.
You can find out more about the route here: https://www.dpfr.org.uk/uploads/pages/files/2019-03-06–Heart-of-Darkness.pdf
GDH Virtual Champs
The champs have got off to a fantastic start this year with over 60 members submitting times for the Glossop 5 in March! Next on the list for April is the 3 Trigs. This delightful 20km fell run can be completed via the route of your choice, as long as you visit Cock Hill, Higher Shelf Stones and Harry Hut at some point along the way.
Details of the suggested route can be found at the following links:
Please remember that in order for your attempt to count, it is mandatory that you do this with at least one other person and that you are both carrying your own FRA kit. This rule applies to all three fell routes in the championship.
FRA kit comprises waterproof full body cover (with taped seams and integrated attached hood), hat, gloves, map of the route, compass, whistle and emergency food.
Further details of all champs races, and instructions on how to submit your time can be found here.
EA Club Run Virtual – Session 2
***Date for the diaries***! The next EA club run virtual session will take place on Thursday 15th April at 7pm. (I know I know, this is thursday social time, but it was the most popular time that u all picked after 7pm tuesday and there’s no way im incurring the wrath of coach J for planning another sesh the same time as his!!). So plan your run for the morning that day, or work it into a rest day, and come along and join the virtual coaching fun with an EA Level 4 coach!
With a return to races on the horizon, we’re swapping round the planned sessions, and this one will be: Half Marathon and Full Marathon training and race preparation.
Same format at last time with a short presentation from Chris the coach, and then LOTS of time for you to ask all the questions you want – how to nail that PB, how to fuel for the mara so you don’t hit the wall at mile 22….whatever you want! Everyone from the club is welcome to attend, u dont have to be training for a half or full, maybe you just want to get an idea about what training for one might entail? The EA coach specialises in coaching marathon distance, so this is an ideal time to get some advice, hints and tips from a seasoned pro!
I’ll set up a FB event as I did last time, which will have all the info for the sesh including joining link etc (Won’t put it on here as this goes on the website and don’t want any random interlopers gatecrashing!)
Hope you can make it – let me (Lucy) know if any questions!
3rd and final session will be mid-late May and will be about S&C/injury prevention and how to maintain fitness as we….erm….mature into our finest running years!
Coached Session Tuesday 6 April 2021
Last week saw the return of Coached Sessions. And as fun as the “NOT” sessions may have been, nothing beats a little workout surrounded by friends, pushing you on and encouraging one another.
However, in line with government guidelines, we still have to operate with certain limitations. As these sessions are organised club events, the limit of 6 that applies to your social runs does not apply. In return for allowing a larger group, we have had to ensure that a detailed risk assessment was carried out. That is the reason that, for now at least, all Coached Sessions will take place on the Glossopdale Running Track that starts at the end of Green Lane in Simmondley, 6.45pm start every Tuesday. It also means that we have to keep a record on those attending in case this information is requested by NHS Test & Trace. For this we have chosen to use EventBrite. You can be assured that your data will not be used for any other purpose.
So how does this work? Well, every week, an EventBrite link will be posted. Registration for the coming week opens at 6pm on Sundays. The link will be posted on Facebook and send out via email to those who have registered for that. If you too would like to be kept informed that way, drop me an email: jeroenajpeters@hotmail.com with “GH member list” in the subject line.
Last week, the first session back on the track, was an Easter Egg hunt. Sounds easy enough but for every egg found, each athlete had to complete 1400m as only 1 egg could be picked at the time and the loop on the track had to be completed and there was to be no running back to the start.
What can you look forward to this week? A 5K Kick Finish set. Not only great if you want to develop that killer kick finish and surprise that runner just in front of you, with the finish in sight. Also of great benefit to gain that physical, and almost as importantly, that mental strengths to continue to run on (very) tired legs, no matter the distance.
1 x 1000 (~5K race pace), last 400m kick
1 x 800, last 400 kick
1x 800, last 300 kick
1 x 600, last 300 kick
1 x 600, last 200 kick
1 x 400, last 200 kick
1 x 400, last 100 kick
1x 200. last 100 kick
These sessions are for all abilities. The set above is the “elite” version. If you are not (yet) able to complete this, I will help and guide you to adjust this set in line with your personal ability. Nobody will judge anyone for this. Indeed, it is the smart runner who knows their limitation and keeps (just) within, rather than pushing their body beyond breaking point.
Sounds like fun? Register as soon as possible as there are only 15 place available. If you registered and cannot make it after all, please log back on and release your ticket for someone else.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gh-coached-session-tickets-149452523521Coach J
As ever, please remember to send details of your antics, big or small, to gdhweeklyreports@gmail.com.