Statistics
Distance: 20miles
Elevation: 2800ft
Position: 14th o/a and 1st U23
I was lucky to get a transfer place off a fellow harrier and even more fortunate to get a race in before the coronavirus lockdown was enforced (Months later my events were cancelled: Derby 10km, Swift Half Marathon, Yorkshireman Half Iron Man, the Great North swim and my Big Brutal Iron man). Nonetheless, the Grindleford Gallop was my longest official race to date (although I had run much further under non-race circumstances) and it was fantastic.
Jo and I arrived in the campervan early morning as she set off earlier as a walker with the aim of us finishing together (Although, I passed her much earlier on the route than expected: Chatsworth). The earlier arrival gave me time to put my race pin on and get on with some university assignments while carb-loading with Tailwind (My liquid carbohydrate drink)
We had a fantastic turnout from the Belper Harriers: 21 in total which made for a brilliant atmosphere before and after the race. The race began with a mass sprint where I was advised by fellow Harrier Tom Jackson(a previous galloper completer) to sprint the start of the race, so you didn't get funnelled into a bottleneck cue before you reach a 1man stile and lose lots of time. I was cautious with this racing strategy as I had 20miles ahead of me and didn't want to blow up. Nevertheless, I followed the instructions and stuck by 2 harriers: Shaun Bott and Tom Jackson to keep my pacing at bay and to allow for a gallop around the route in the Peak District.
Shaun and I picked up the pace and left tom just before Great Longstone to which Shaun and I stuck by each other for most of the course apart from my 6 wee stops due to over-hydrating with my carbohydrate drink (although my stomach felt terrific for the first time in years). Then he prompted me to power on once we were at Curbar edge as I was begging to pick up the pace and run comfortably over the rocks.
To conclude, The Grindleford gallop route is lovely, we had run a recce of it a few weeks ago with the harriers albeit a little slower and more social. Due to the COVID 19 situation, there were a few precautions in place to prevent the virus from spreading: no gathering inside the pavilion at the start and social distancing at feed stations. But the food at the end was brilliant (hot drink, soup and cake) as well as having an excellent day out with my harrier's friends who always bring fantastic conversations and memories together.
