As in all previous years, both the White Peak Marathon and Half Marathon are off-road events which will run concurrently over the White Peak Trails. The marathon is the traditional route from Thorpe to Cromford Meadows following first the Tissington Trail to Parsley Hay, then the High Peak Trail to Cromford, while the half marathon follows the High Peak Trail from Friden to Cromford.
The runs are over firm compacted limestone and cinder surfaces on former railway tracks making road running shoes ideal. There is one road crossing, at about 14 miles on the marathon course, and a little over 1 mile after the start of the half marathon.
The marathon starts at Thorpe and follows the Tissington Trail, up the dales to north of Parsley Hay, where it then joins the High Peak Trail. From here it undulates level until it joins the half marathon part of the route at Friden. After this the track descends in three stages, at about 21, 22½ and 24½ miles, the last descent being about 1-mile-long down the steep incline to the Cromford canal at High Peak Junction.
At this point, the canal crossing directly ahead is ignored in favour of a right turn and heading along the canal path for a short distance until the next bridge is reached. After crossing the bridge and turning left, there’s just over a mile to go along the towpath before turning right into Cromford meadows for the finish.
Please note that there are limited points of access to the trail throughout. For this reason, it is difficult to monitor the condition of competitors, so to help with safety and security, competitors in the marathon who have not reached Minninglow (approximately 16 miles) within 3 1/4 hours will be required to retire. This is a condition required of all runners.
The half marathon follows the later stages of the marathon course from Friden. The route undulates along the tops of the dales for the first 8 miles or so, then descends in three stages, at 7, 8½ and 10½ miles down to High Peak Junction on the Cromford Canal, where it crosses the canal, and turns left along the towpath to finish at Cromford Meadows. The total descent is about 800 feet, and with no steep uphill stretches, it provides the potential for fast times and personal bests. We like to think of it as a swift half.
There will be 7 feed stations spaced out as evenly as possible along the marathon course. The last three of these will cover the half marathon also. Because of the difficult logistics, we can only provide water at these feed stations. Personal drinks will of course be permitted, but competitors will have to make their own arrangements for their provision. Although the logistics of the events mean that ambulance cover is primarily for the marathon, because of overlap the slowest of the half marathoners will also be covered by this.
The finish is at Matlock Rugby Club house, which will be open for changing and showering, and there will be a bar and TV. There will be snack-style catering both before and after the race.
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