Eyam, AKA “the plague village” is an English village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales nestled within the Peak District National Park. There is evidence of early occupation by ancient Britons on the surrounding moors and lead was mined by the Romans. Legend has it that Eyam’s claim to fame is the story of how the village chose to go into isolation to prevent the spread of infection in 1665 when the Bubonic plague was discovered there. (something that rings familiar in today’s current climate) Dan shares an affinity with this historic jewel after first encountering it in a school study session. The first Eyam half marathon was held in 1993 and quickly became a firm favourite on the road racing calendar before road subsidence enforced a 3 year absence. It is organised by a group of volunteers in Eyam where this and other fund raising events have netted more than £120,000.00 for local cancer charities and village organisations. Thousands more have been raised in sponsorship by individual runners for a range of good causes. Participants might not run their half marathon PB, but once bitten by the “Rat Race” many keep coming back for more. And who can blame them with an iconic road route involving over 1200 feet of ascent which rewards runners with stunning views across five counties. Dan faced an extremely cold and windy start-line and continued to experience a quite brutal (hillier than expected race) nevertheless he has vowed to return next year after posting a very impressive time of 01:44:29 Fantastic effort and great running. Well done!
(Dan highly recommends this beauty as a future Club event if you want to put it in your diaries)