Where Glossop, Derbyshire
When December 7, 2008
First Man Gareth Raven 33:59
First Woman Zanthe Wray 42:42
Last Finisher 1:19:20
No. of Finishers 113
Fell racing can seem like an intimidating concept if the only thing your trainers have ever touched is tarmac, but the Gravy Pud 5 is judged by the racing cognoscenti as ideal for first-timers and, judging by this year's race, rightly so.
The five-mile course is a one-lap multi-terrain route starting from the Bull's Head pub in the village of Tintwistle, taking participants across a pleasant mix of tracks, trails, open fell and woodland.
Conditions were in stark contrast to the previous year, when
there had been gloom and plenty of treacherous boggy sludge; this year saw the race started against a backdrop of
clear blue skies and a cold, crisp breeze, with frost and patchy snow cover underfoot providing a decent grip for runners to find their footing.
There were numerous hilly sections along the way, but these tended to be
of the short sharp variety, although
one longish incline halfway through prevented the overconfident from becoming too cocky.
Organised by Northern Boys Love Gravy, this niche event was a great success, with the 113 participants constituting a record turnout. Both the men's and women's course records were broken and the
post-race home-made cake competition
in the Bull's Head – for which all the runners were judges – went down a
storm, as did the Sunday lunch with,
yes, plenty of gravy.
