Black Rocks Fell Race.

I don't usually do weekday races, they don't fit into working shifts very well, but for some reason I decided to head down to Cromford last Wednesday evening and do just that.

Rather than 'race' I thought that I'd view this as training, an alternative to knocking out intervals on the Monsal Trail. So, after registering and warming up I stayed near the back on the start line, which was on Cromford Meadows at the rugby club. A whistle, a lap of the rugby pitch, and we're on the canal towpath, strung out in a long line. I then started to get into my stride, moving up a few paces. A swing bridge took us over the canal and up an incline, part of the Cromford & High Peak Railway, where wagons were once hauled up by cable. I ran, others walked, until we turned off left into trees and rocky rooty paths. The terrain here was nice going, technical in places, soft in others, with some wet wooden steps to negotiate which took us down onto the track again for some fast running. Back into the dirt, up to a trig point, down through more techy stuff and more trees and we're on the incline again, heading down fast. I took a couple of other runners, enjoying running fast, then back onto the towpath, which seemed longer this time, and finally across the finish line.

It took me 54:40, finishing in 131st place out of 204 finishers.

We once went climbing at Black Rocks. The crag was covered in broken glass, and as we climbed a load of chavs turned up with staffies and barbeques. We finished the route and went home. Not nice.

Paul.