Edale Recovery Run - 18/02/2011

Misty dark trig point on Mam Tor

Tonight I got out for a quick recovery run at Edale on the way back from a long day of consultation at Matlock.

It was quarter past five when I got going. The aim was to run up the bridleway to Mam Nick and then head round the latter stages of the Edale Skyline route, but I realised I'd blown this fairly early on as I saw how thick the cloud was near Mam Nick and realised that while I had the map with me, the compass was in the car...

I had a storming run up to Mam Nick noetheless, running all the way at a reasonable pace without feeling unduly knackered. I turned right onto Rushup Edge and ran up to Lord's Seat, and then continued on down towards the point where you turn to pick up the path towards Brown Knoll. It was getting pretty dark now and I got the headtorch out, but the mist was thick enough I needed to hold the torch low in my hand to get good contrast for running on the path.

I continued along the fence and wall as I didn't want to get lost without a handle on the plateau. When I got to the Chapel Gate track I turned north and followed this (skipping round the enormous puddles) until I reached the point where the southern of the two paths to Brown Knoll crosses. Without the benefit of a compass, I had a quick route rethink and decided that rather than dropping down to the valley, I'd backtrack to Mam Nick and then head on over Mam Tor to Hollins Cross.

This was all straightforward and done at a steady run, including the steps on the way up Mam Tor. The descent from Hollins Cross is obvious because there's a big round stone plinthy thing at the path junction. I took the hard left option, which is a nice (but rutted) bridleway leading down to Greenlands, where a little lane gives an easy route back to the Edale car park.

I wore the xTalon 212s again and was very impressed with the comfort levels, except perhaps that I could feel the studs under the ball of my right foot after a mile or so of the slabs on Mam Tor. I understand why the path has been hardened, but it's dreadful to run on now, quite unlike the lovely soft sand and peat of the rest of the route. Other than that I enjoyed this (mostly) night run - I find that running in the dark is a good way of making sure I don't go too fast on easy runs!

Todays stats were 7.3 miles, 1,620' of ascent, 1hr 44mins. The route and profile are below.