My first time doing this race. A great route over the gritstone tors and edges. I much prefer running on gritstone to limestone: there is good grip on the bare rock, and the sandy soil is much more pleasant to run over than the clayey stuff you get on limestone. And there is plenty of bare rock on this route; you have to watch where you are putting your feet every step.

As usual these days, I felt completely exhausted at the end despite feeling that I was going rather slowly. The worst bit was being overtaken by a lady wearing a T-shirt with the legend, "Clowne Road Runners": the indignity of it, being overtaken by a self-declared road-runner on the fells! Actually, the worst bit was the finish field: slightly uphill and tussocky, just when you are hoping for some easy running into the finish.