Eccleshill’s Dan Jenkins revisited the famous village of Bakewell in the Peak District today to take on one of his old favourites The Monsal Trail April half marathon and no doubt bag some pies into the bargain.
This one is a corker. Traffic free and with a flat-ish surface throughout, the Monsal Trail is run on a former Midland railway line taking participants through four railway tunnels and across the spectacular Monsal Viaduct. Surrounded by beautiful countryside, this half marathon is ideal for Spring marathon training. Billed as suitable for experienced runners, it is also a great introduction to the half marathon distance for runners of all abilities. Or, perhaps you fancy the 10k option…? A racing treat at any distance, participants flock to enjoy this sell-out race! Both options start and finish at Bakewell Station, heading along the Monsal Trail to a turnaround point at Miller’s Dale, before returning to Bakewell and the finish. The course is multi terrain, on a mixture of tarmac and hard track.
Runners in the 10k followed the same route as the half marathon, but turned around at the 5k mark (inside the first tunnel) to return back to the finish at Bakewell Station. In what turned out to be great conditions for running, Dan collected his bespoke finishers medal after posting a brilliant time of 01:35:33 (after completing the Bakewell parkrun at 9am!).
A brilliant day at the office Dan, great running, well done!
