Dark Peak Trail Run
Dark Peak Trail Run | Event Information
Sunday 19th June 2022
The 5th edition of this longer trail running event on the footpaths, tracks and trails within the ‘grittier/higher level’ surroundings of the Northern/Dark Peak District starting and finishing from Hayfield and including The Sett Valley Trail, The Pennine Bridleway, Lantern Pike and Chinley Churn. This is a hilly, moorland trail run in amongst stunning Northern Peak District scenery. Choice of 25.3 km/15.7 miles (690 m/2263 ft of ascent) or 12 km/7.5 miles (280 m/ 919 ft of ascent).
Covid-19 Please Be Respectful
Thankfully the worst of the pandemic appears to be behind us, however we do ask that all attending our events are respectful that other participants and event staff/volunteers might be vulnerable to COVID-19. Therefore we politely ask that all participants do the following:
- Maintain good hygiene
- Respect others personal space,
- Keep indoor congregating to a minimum and if possible wear a face mask whilst inside the registration building.
Please find all the relevant event information below, and please do not hesitate to get in contact with us if you have any queries. Final details will be sent out via email to all competitors in the week prior to the event which will include additional event details not found below.
Entry Fees
Long (25.3 km/15.7 miles): £23 *£21
Short (12 km / 7.5 miles): £15 *£13
*Affiliate £2 discount per event – for competitors who are either; a member of a UKA affiliated club (with UKA Number) or the Trail Run Association (TRA Number).
On the day or late entry is subject to availability and costs an additional £3
Entry closes on 12/6/22 or when the entry limit is reached
Age Limits
Minimum age is 17 for short (12 km) or 18 for the long (25.3 km).
Entry Limit
Maximum of 350 participants. Maximum of 100 participants on the short course
Age Classes
M: male 18* to 39
MV40: male 40 to 49
MV50: male 50 to 59
MV60: male 60+
F: female 18* to 39
FV40: female 40 to 49
FV50: female 50 to 59
FV60: female 60+
*Min age for the short course is 17
Safety Disclaimer
All participants must complete and sign our event safety disclaimer, you can either do it online or print and bring a filled out form to registration. Links to both versions of the form will be supplied with the final information and on the website in the lead up to the event (approximately 1 week before the event).
Failure to either bring a signed form to the event or submit the electronic form will result in a non-start.
COVID-19
We request that all those participating at our events help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by following the government’s guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-safely-with-respiratory-infections-including-covid-19
Please respect that other participants and event staff/volunteers might be vulnerable to COVID-19.
The Courses
The entire route of both courses will be clearly marked with blue and yellow arrows. The running terrain is varied with a mixture of a disused railway, bridleways, moorland tracks and some short sections of quiet country lanes. The route is quite hilly but all the climbing is runnable/manageable rather than impossibly steep!
Route Map
The route will be easy to follow – in addition a full colour OS route map with emergency numbers on the reverse will be provided at registration. A4 transparent plastic bags are available as map protection but in an effort to cut usage of these for, environmental purposes, please don’t take one unless you really feel you need to.
Distance
Long – 25.3 km/ 15.7 miles
Short – 12 km/ 7.5 miles
Course Records
Long – Men: 1:53:29 | Women: 2:15:01
Short – Men: 43:30 | Women: 48:17
Event Venue
Hayfield Scout HQ, Swallow House Lane, Hayfield, High Peak SK22 2HF (click for map)
Small at venue car park – available only for early arrivals – once this is full all parking to be in the main Hayfield Pay & Display (coins only) car park at the end of the Sett Valley trail. More details will be provided in the final details.
Car sharing – wherever possible please car share to events – this is not only considerate to the environment but it also minimises potential congestion/parking problems in and around the start venues
Registration
Long Registration
Open from 7.30 – 9.15 am
Short Registration
Open from 8.45 – 9.30 am
In order to make sure there is steady stream of participants through registration please do not turn up more than 1 hour before your designated start time. The only exception being those with an early start time 8:30/8:40 who may enter registration more than 1 hour before. That way the queue will be minimised and it will be easier to minimise indoor congregating.
Please ensure you plan your journey to the event so you can register and start on time.
NO DISCLAIMER = NO RACE
Registration Process
At the registration event staff will provide you the following in a sealed plastic bag:
- EVENT MAP
- RACE NUMBER AND SAFETY PINS
- SPORTident TIMING CHIP – you will be required to self-strap your Si Timing Cards (dibber) to your wrist and wear it for the duration of the event. A member of staff will be available for assistance if required but participants are urged to do it themselves.
Participants will be required to use their SPORTident timing chip at the START, CHECKPOINT(s), FINISH and DOWNLOAD. Details of how to do this will be explained in the EVENT SAFETY BRIEFING VIDEO (released a week before the event).
*The SiTiming Chip is being loaned to you for the day, take care of it, if you lose it you will be charged £30 for a replacement.
****The Golden Rule – if you are unable to complete your course you MUST let the organisers know either in person or telephone that you have retired. If you do not, you will be held responsible if the police or mountain rescue team is called out to search for you. A central telephone number will be provided on all event route maps.
Rolling Start Windows
Start – choose your 10 min start window when entering
Long – 8:30am – 9:30am
Short – 9:40am – 10:00am
All courses will close at 2.00pm.
To help prevent congregation at the start we will implement rolling starts rather than having a series of group starts every 10 minutes as we did before Covid.
You will now be able to start anytime you wish within 10 minutes from your prescribed start time i.e. a participant with an 8:30 start time can start anytime from 8:30 up until 8:40.
Start Process
ARRIVE AT THE START READY TO GO – participants must only arrive at the start line within their allotted start window and must arrive ready to go, with all the compulsory equipment.
SELF DIB TO START – participants are required to self dib into the SPORTident START box using their SPORTident timing card (dibber). How to do this is explained in the event briefing video.
Start Location
The start is located behind the scout hut on the patio area.
Event Safety Briefing
Rather than having a start line briefing we will now record a video briefing that will be available to watch online before the event. A transcript of the briefing will be available to read.
Last minute updates if required will be provided to the participants at the start line.
You will not be allowed to start without having watched/read the briefing!
Compulsory Kit List
You are required to carry the following for the duration of the event to ensure you have adequate clothing in case of emergency.
- Off Road Running shoes that in the organiser’s opinion are fully suitable for the type of off-road terrain to be encountered (NB road shoes are not suitable!).
- Waterproof jacket (the jacket must be waterproof i.e. not just windproof/showerproof)*
- Other waterproof & warm body cover appropriate for the prevailing weather conditions.*
- Route map with emergency contact numbers (provided at registration)
- Mobile phone.
- Money (in case you get stranded somewhere!)
You should also carry sufficient food/drink to sustain you for the duration of the event – you should not totally rely on the feed station (long route only) for this purpose.
In the event of hot, sunny weather then the above kit requirements will obviously be relaxed and sunscreen, an appropriate hat and body cover will be very strongly recommended.
Basically be sensible and come prepared and don’t skimp on equipment! Wearing skimpy shorts and a thin running vest on a cold, wet day whilst carrying no extra kit is an absolute guarantee that you won’t be allowed to start.
Event officials will disqualify anyone who in their opinion does not meet the above compulsory equipment criteria.
*These items may be relaxed on the day depending on the weather conditions, however the final kit list wont be disclosed until the morning of the event so please bring all of the above to the event. Please check the updated kit list board at registration or ask an event staff member if you are unsure.
Checkpoints
There are compulsory checkpoints on both courses – 2 on the long course 1 on the short course. At each checkpoint you will be asked by a marshal to stop and dib your Si timing “dibber” into the Si timing box
CP1 – 14.2 km / 8.8 miles – Feed Station (long course)
CP2 – 19.2 km / 11.9 miles – Water Station (both courses)
Feed Station (long route only)
**Participants will only be allowed to fill up their own water bottles and collapsable cups – no plastic cups will be provided**
There will be a feed station at 14.2 km on the long route. It will include basic supplies of water, juice, OTE Anytime Bars, OTE Gels and biscuits.
Please be as self sufficient as possible and carry food/drink to sustain you for the duration of the event, as supplies are finite.
Water Station (both routes)
There is a water station at the half way mark on the short route 5.9 km (19.2 km on the long).
Timing Awards*
25.3k: Men: Gold sub 2:25 Silver 2:25-2:50 Bronze 2:50+
25.3k: Women: Gold sub 2:45 Silver 2:45-3:10 Bronze 3:10+
12k: Men: Gold sub 1:10 Silver 1:10-1:23 Bronze 1:23+
12k: Women: Gold sub 1:18 Silver 1:18-1:35 Bronze 1:35+
* Timing awards may be amended on the day of the event depending on ongoing underfoot and weather conditions
Finish
At the finish line there will be FINISH SPORTident timing box that all participants must stop and self dib into. If you don’t stop and dib you won’t be classified as a finisher.
After finishing participants we recommend you sanitise their hands and then immediately return back to download (at registration).
COURSES CLOSE AT 2:00 pm
Download
All participants must return to the event registration building to download their time, hand back their SPORTident timing chip and collect their certificate.
When you reach the download table you must:
SELF DIB
Self dib into the download SPORTident box.
REMOVE DIBBER
Remove the dibber using the provided scissors and place the dibber into the ‘dibber return’ plastic box and the used strap into the bin.
COLLECT CERTIFICATE AND RESULT PRINT OUT
You will be provided with your timing award certificate and result print out.
MINIMISE INDOOR CONGREGATING
Once you have downloaded and collected your post event refreshments, please leave the venue building as soon as possible. This will help reduced the number of people congregating indoors.
Take Away Post Event Refreshments
At download we will provide take away refreshments which will include Tea, Coffee, Juice, Cake and Biscuits. These will be take away only and you will not be allowed to stay inside the registration building to eat and drink. This will minimise the amount of indoor congregating helping to protect event staff and fellow participants.
Results
Provisional results will be displayed on the day at the event; full results will be published on this website shortly after the event.
Class Prizes
Prizes will be awarded to class winners and runners up on each course NB: classes may be merged if entries are low.
There will be no one the day prize giving, instead prizes will be sent in the post after the event.
No Dogs
We are sorry but dogs are not allowed on any of our trail running events in order to comply with UK Athletics Insurance Policy
Peak District National Park – £2 Donation
We are allowing you to show your support for the ongoing protection and care of the fabulous Peak District National Park by allowing you to add an optional £2 donation to your entry fee. This money will be donated on your behalf by Dark & White Events to the Peak District National Park Authority. To find out how your money will be used visit www.peakdistrictfoundation.org.uk
