Peak Raid Baslow 2024

 Last Peak Raid of the season, and it's right on the other side of the Peak- not an area I've really run in at all, and certainly not somewhere that I'd consider well known to me. The last Peak Raid, around Edale, was a bit of a flop for me. A combination of going the "wrong" way around, not really feeling good, and certainly not eating well enough during the event made it a bit of a damp squib. The course was fairly linear once you got onto it- which was partly to do with the terrain- but route choices seemed limited. 

Baslow is a bit less steep sided and has a lot more moorland, bogs and "turks heads". My kind of running. So hopefully there would be a fair bit more route choice to be made. The weather was also pretty interesting. Having had a named storm blow through 24 hours before, there was still a stiff breeze from the North/NNW that at times was gusting into nearly gale force. Certainly something to be taken into account for route choices. 

Having been beaten by Ian last time around, it was jokingly suggested that I should just start 30 seconds later than him, follow him around for the entire 3 hours, criticising his nav and tut-tutting at all his decisions, and then out sprint him by a minute or so at the end. On suggesting this to Lynne, she then pointed out that I *might* want a lift home as WELL as a lift to the race, so such a strategy, whilst being incredibly amusing, would probably be to the detriment of me getting home. 

So I ran my own race. 

Race control was in the south west corner of the map, so considering the wind direction, going directly north, into the teeth of it for the first part of the route (while still fresh) seemed like the most intelligent idea. Hopefully speedy, fresh legs would work well to start with, and then there would be some wind assistance on the way back. 

The initial plan went up (*everywhere from Baslow is up*) and right- north along a fairly muddy path to score the first point at 4. The most intelligent thing to do then was to continue up to the plateau for 2 (which I looked in the wrong place for, wrongly assuming it was a thing (can't remember what it was....)  - anyway it was a rock), before heading back past the Eagle stone and along Baslow edge to 1. 

The route from the start

 

First 3 CP's down, it was really blowing from the north, but I could still run into it, rather than having to walk. From here was a conundrum. Do you go to 14 first? (orange) or up to 7? (purple) And if you go to 14 first.... do you then go to 7 (yellow) directly afterward, or continue around to 18 and then up to 12 and back to 7? (green)

Oh- choices!

I decided to lose a bit of height first, ruling that if I hit 7 first, 14 probably wouldn't get done today. 

The plan now looked like it would be a bit of a convoluted way to get to 18- but I dropped down the road, along the path to 14, up to the edge and then across and up to the trig point, which was a bit of a slog, but there was a trod that kind of made it runnable. The minor issue now was running North into a howling wind along the edge before dropping into a massive tussoky mess into 12... now, it *looks* like there isn't much in the way of distance from 12 to the path, and theoretically there is a path. However, there were a LOT of runners who were stalking their way through knee high tussocks, at a few slow speed. The advantage of dropping in from the top was that I could see a couple of trods (not great ones, but trods nevertheless) that I could navigate to from 12 and hot foot down to the main path.

Where I ended up going

 

From there it was a decent run to the north (again- headwind) and round to get 18. 

Another decision time now. Up in the northwestern corner there is 6. A 20 pointer... do I try for that before heading to get 11 and 19? The path north from 18 to the road is a great path and good time is made. Im making sure I'm having regular shotblokz, and look at the description of 6. "bottom of crag". A closer look at the mangled amount of paths around it means that a quick in and out will probably become a bit of a convoluted mess. In my current state, clearing the entire course is not going to be likely, so getting to the road, the decision is made to head east, up to the top and then attempt to straightline it through the bog to 11. This could be fun. 

To go for the pink? Nope. I went Green.

The line from the road is pretty decent and I maintain speed most of the way up. At the top, a left turn and a short section of headwind running is done to get to a couple of features on the map, from which I can take a direct easterly bearing to just north of 11. Figuring it is a fairly decent feature, there are *bound* to be trods to it, and lo and behold, keeping my eyes open, to my right there is something resembling a runners trod through the tussocks. It isn't much, but it'll do, and I follow it weaving its way across the bog and up to the path, hitting it about 20 metres north of the pond. A quick dib and then again- North into the headwind and an obvious line direct to 19. 

From 19 it's a short hop across rough heather to a path and a longer than expected run to the road. For some reason I was paying a little less attention here, and nearly missed the road crossing. It may have been because the gate was locked- but still had a symbol on the map that we could cross there- so spent a couple of minutes here being a bit confused. Crossed the road, through a massive puddle in the gate and then up to 16, the most northerly of the controls. It took a while, and once there my sense of direction deserted me completely. 

Route to the Northern most point

Not sure exactly what I did, but I think I assumed I was coming to it from the south. Looking at the paths, maybe I ran past it and then came back to it from the east? Whatever I did, I confidently set off in the right direction and was astonished to find I was not running south. I was running north. 

What the heck? Stop. Check the compass. Turn in a circle to double check the compass. Wow. I have no idea what is going on. Run back and go down another path thinking "this MUST be the right one" only to find I'm now going EAST.

Again. What? Check the compass. Check the map. I have no idea what is going on- but know that I MUST go south from here. Too many times have I been in the situation where the compass is *definitely* wrong. Only to discover that, no. It isn't wrong. So I trust it and head "south". 

Unsurprisingly. It's absolutely right and I cruise down with a massive tailwind to the road. Now then. More decisions. Do the down and up to 17? Might as well. The plan is to take the first left, down the main path, and then back up the slightly less main path. I totally miss the first left and end up going down the muddy dodgy one, get 17- which means that serendipidously, I end up ascending the hill on a solid track that is pretty runnable. Not only that but I pick up a phone that is lying on the floor, thinking I'll take it back to the event centre. About 3 mins later another runner comes down the path asking "have I seen a phone". Funny you should ask.

I was going to do it Blue... but ended up Orange

 

Reunited with his phone, he shoots off up the hill at a speed I can only dream of. 

Up and then a bit of a complicated round about route to get to 10, before a very wet and boggy run to a solid path that takes me past Little Barbrook and up to 20. (another 50 pointer, yay!) and then looking south to 9. What is this one? A re-entrant. Bah. I flipping hate re-entrants. 

Still, there are a steady stream of people heading south now, and there is a nice guide into the CP. Across another bog and onto the path and I'm running out of time. However, there is one more 50 pointer to get. This is likely to be the crux of the day and my route back takes me past 2 15 pointers. But really, time is getting very thin. 

OW!! marks the spot where I twisted my ankle

Cross the road and BANG- there goes an ankle. I stood at the gate swearing for about a minute until the excess pain went away, and started hobbling up towards the trig point. A hobble becomes a walk, a walk becomes a jog, and... well, I'd be lying if I said it then became a run. It really didn't. A bit of a slog and then a steep section to the trig point, and a run to the 3 ships- the southerly most rock had the CP behind it. 13 was out to the east, but not tempting in the slightest. The route back was going to be the most straightforward I could make it. Down and along the wall line, a direct drop onto the path below and a hard right. Along the path to 3. Run as fast as possible to the road, a left and hard right, across the river and.... it goes up. 

The run in to the end. Couldn't believe the up!

What? I'd convinced myself it was downhill all the way home! 4 mins left, a bit more than a kilometre to go (as the crow flies... not on the ground)- and 30 metres of ascent in a grim, boggy, slidey field. I run up the field and take the first left and into the wood. Yes, it's slippy and slidey and deep in mud. I'm already going to be late, so don't bother looking at my watch- concentrate on the floor and where your feet are going. Along and dib, and then an indeterminate distance in proper foot clag all the way around the nose of a hill. Minor indecision at the end of the path- where it turns out a right turn is needed to get me along a trail to the road, and then blast down the road as fast as possible to get home- about 4 mins over time. 10 points deducted. 

So there you go. A pretty decent day out. It seems I ran nigh on 30k, which is my longest run for a very long time- across some fairly boggy and challenging terrain. Hills, evidently need some work. Moorland, not so much. 500 points in all, (600 were up for grabs), but with -10, I ended with 490. Not bad for a day out. And yes, I did manage to still have a lift home at the end of the day. 

Thanks to Peak Raid for an excellent series, and thanks to Ian C for bullying me into doing them.