Trigger - Supporting Woodhead MRT

On Sunday 12th January, I stood near the back of a group of about 180 runners at Marsden Cricket Club, about to embark on my third successive year running in the Trigger Race, from Marsden to Edale.

Organised by Nicky Spinks, the Trigger is something of an iconic 25-mile fell race through the Peak District. The race varies in distance each year depending on the location of checkpoint 5 and how good your navigation is. The weather is invariably marginal - to - poor in mid January and since the route eschews the Pennine Way as much as possible, good navigation skills are essential. This year saw a cold front passing over during the day so it was basically raining, a bit breezy, quite cool and with a cloudbase at about 500m.

From Marsden to Wessenden Head the route follows a track and this is probably the easiest section so it's worth trying to go at a reasonable pace. After crossing the A635 there are some awkward flagstones (so slippery when wet) and a couple of streams to cross. I slipped in one of these and hence got an early soaking.

From just after the top of Black Hill, a small trod cuts across the top of Sliddens Moss down to Crowden Little Brook. It was about waist deep to ford the stream and tricky to fight the force of the water. Clambering out onto a rock on the other side I was then able to offer to catch the runner behind me so he could jump across.

At Crowden the route normally crosses a footbridge between Woodhead and Torside reservoirs but with the bridge closed this year, the route was diverted west around Torside and up the Pennine Way. It was about here that I encountered the first of The Spine Race competitors who started from Edale that same morning.

Leaving the Pennine Way at the top of Torside Clough, I followed a compass bearing across difficult terrain to find the trig point at Higher Shelf Stones. The top of Bleaklow was in the cloud so, even with prior knowledge of the area, a compass is essential here. Bleaklow is one of the few areas in the UK where you can find mountain hares and I was lucky enough to disturb one as I traversed the cloughs. Due to the mild winter its coat was only a mottled grey rather than snowy white.

After Higher Shelf Stones it's an easy section across Snake Pass. From the A57 the route briefly follows the flagstones of the Pennine Way then dives off left to find the 'wandering' CP5. The location of this checkpoint varies each year and for 2020 it was at the bottom of Within Clough, where it meets the Snake Path from Ashop Clough. Within Clough makes for awkward running but a bit of advice from another runner saw me heading down the left-hand side of it. The going is still tricky here - distinctly 'swampy' - but I did find myself moving slightly faster than some other runners on the right-hand side so the advice I got was right.

After leaving Within Clough and CP5 it's an uphill battle past the aircraft wreck to the fence corner. I always pity the mountain rescue team members who man the Fence Corner checkpoint. It's always really exposed there with nothing but a bit of tarp attached to the fence to provide them any protection. The next section follows the western edge of Kinder. At the 'Downfall' the water was flowing upwards in the strong breeze to create a fountain. My right leg always yells at me after about 20 miles so I took a second painkiller at this stage before reaching Kinder Low.

If you're feeling good at Kinder Low, it's probably a little bit shorter to follow the southern edge of Kinder to Grindslow Knoll but I prefer to take a direct line trod from about Noe Stool steeply down to Jacob's Ladder and then follow the Pennine Way into Edale. I finished near the back of the field of competitors but that's fine by me; it's just a fabulous race to compete in. Many thanks to Nicky for organising it and to all the Woodhead MRT members who provide the support.