Adam in Runderland

Another year, another visit to the Peak District for a trail run. It had been in the diary for a while. Matt and I were going to stay with his parents in Glossop and do back to back long runs with as much elevation as we could manage. Day 1. OUTSIDE HOPE VALLEY ROUND We decided to tackle the Outside Hope Valley Round. This is a 20 mile circular route that starts and finishes at the Outside cafe in Hathersage. It was created in 2019 by a group of staff from the shop who ran around the surrounding ridges. There are four big climbs with a total elevation of 4500 feet. It was the first time I had run with my new backpack. I wanted to check it fitted ok before we tackled any longer runs. I'm glad I did because after only 100m the water bottles flew out of their pockets onto the floor. The new bag had no ties to keep them in place. We returned to the shop and I had to buy a new bottle with a straw that could be secured in place.  £30 down - yes, £30! - we restarted our watches. The first

As the sun began to set we realised there was no way we would reach Keswick before nightfall. Headtorches on, we began the climb up Barrow. An owl hooted in the distance and a full moon cast shadows over the fells. It was the last climb of many. One more push and we would have completed the George Fisher Tea Round. ----------------- Day one. I had been longing to return to the Lake District. It holds fond memories and is a wonderful place to run and take photographs. Matt S was already up there on volunteer duties for the Northern Traverse ultra event and had finished early. He asked if I wanted to join him for a couple of days to run some hills. I'd booked my train ticket before he had finished his sentence. My train arrived in Penrith at 12:30pm and an hour later we were setting off for the third highest mountain in England - Helvellyn. A clear sky with bright sunshine made a welcome change to the gloomy, cloudy wet days that had preceded it. We arrived in Patterdale where the ki