PEAK DISTRICT TREK FEST 50KM
Distance - 50km
Location - Peak District, England
September 2019
In July 2019 I had planned to complete a 100km walk however I was unable to participate due to an ankle injury I got in June on the Coast to Coast walk. As my ankle started to heal I wanted to give myself a new challenge to work towards so I decided to sign up to two different 50km events, the North Downs Action Challenge and a Trekfest event in the Peak District.
The first of these events was the Trekfest event in the Peak District, one which I knew would be tough, even for someone with no injuries.
The training leading up to the event was painful experiencing reoccurring setbacks ... 2 steps forward, 1 step back, however, I was making great progress and wasn't going to let a stubborn ankle get in my way!
I was doing the event with my sister in law who also loves to walk. We met at the event site on Friday night. The main event site was in the beautiful Hope Valley, close to the village of Hope.
The event village had a number of tents for food, drinks, registration, and first aid. There were also toilets and shower facilities close to the campsite. Thumbs up to the heated tent with a log fire!
We took full advantage of the food being served (for a fee) on the Friday night, carb loading in preparation for the following day.
I don't have much of a pre-event routine, in fact I can get really panicked and out of sorts ...something I need to work on! However, one thing I do do is to pack my bag the night before the event so its all ready to go on the day. I also pack way too much stuff!
The night before a big event whether that be a sporting event or something big like going on holiday I don't sleep well, my mind is in overdrive full of excitement and anticipation and this was one of those nights!
We set off on our merry way at 7 am. It took a few miles for the crowd to settle down and for everyone to find their pace. Not sure why but it feels like people race out of the starting blocks on an event like this and there are a few choking points at the start of the trail.
Walking away from Hope towards Castleton we herd down country lanes towards our first climb, a narrow but steady incline which soon gets the legs and lungs working.
The morning goes quickly, passing the first checkpoint feeling good and ready to tackle Kinder Scout. Before we set off we were told that bad weather was forecast with strong winds and that they were assessing the conditions throughout the morning. As we approached Kinder we heard rumours amongst the group that the original route was to continue.
We approached Kinder via Jacobs Ladder which was a tasty section, but with spectacular views across the Peak District.
As we reached the plateau of Kinder Scout the bad weather had set in with strong winds and rain, making this stretch of the walk very interesting. With an ankle which was not 100% this also made for a testing section physically. The descent was the bit I was dreading, to be honest, it is the part I dread the most from all of my walks, I lack confidence, especially as that is how I injured my ankle in the first place. It was wet and slippy and by this point the rain was pretty miserable.
Having successfully come down from Kinder Scout we made our way to the halfway checkpoint, which can only mean one thing ... lunch! As we approached the town where the checkpoint was located the heavens opened, getting absolutely soaked putting our waterproofs to the test ... although we couldn't get our waterproof trousers out of our rucksacks quick enough.
By this point our spirits were pretty low and we were in need of some energy. It was disappointing to see that the checkpoint was only part covered, so we had nowhere to stand or sit to eat some lunch ... unless we wanted to stand out in the rain. The lunch itself was also lacking with limited choice.
So after a very disappointing lunch and an uncomfortable rest ... if you can call it that ... we set off again. Thankfully the weather had improved so that cheered us up a little.
It's a good job we didn't enjoy lunch too much as we had an incline to contend with almost immediately. The afternoon passed with pace and we were able to increase our pace on the flat sections. The weather improved and so did our moods, we were making great progress and well over halfway by this point.
The final checkpoint was welcomed and had an array of sweets and crisps ... just what we needed to keep us going over this final section. We took our time at this checkpoint to sit down, take our feet out of our shoes and eat a few snacks for 15 mins or so.
The final quarter we were expecting to be relatively flat and it was when compared with what we have endured earlier in the day.
The final 3 miles or so were tough, it was less about the physical game ... as everything was hurting at this point ... it became more of a mental challenge. The pain was starting to show on peoples faces, pace was beginning to slow and the finish line seemed further away than when we started. In moments like this there was nothing else to do but to put your head down, dig deep, and talk absolute nonsense!
The landscape started to look familiar and I knew that we were fast approaching Hope, which meant that we weren't too far from the finish line. We rounded the corner into the showground and finally make our way across the finish line in around 12 hours. What an achievement! Several months ago I didn't think it would be possible but I persevered and stuck with it.
Having received our finisher medals and t-shirts we dragged our aching limbs back to our tents. My sister in law took advantage of the free massage that was on offer, I headed straight for the shower!
Overall a fabulous walk in the heart of the Peak District.
Check out the video of our walk.
