Since moving to the Peak District I've had my eye in the Gritstone Trail for some time as a potential challenge to tackle. Unfortunately I was unable to enter annual race held in September this year but then saw there was a unsupported attempt posted last year so used that as a bit of a goal.
My initial pacing plan was to try and do the whole route in six hours. With a perfect morning I set off from Disley Station an 9am on the dot. Slight frosty under foot made some of the muddy fields slight more manageable between Lyme park and Tegs Nose. I was actually 15mins ahead of pace at Tegs and by the time I reached the half way mark of Croker Hill I was on track for the 6 hour goal. Sadly fatigue set in and the approach to The Cloud really took it out of me and time slipped away. And the final canal section was somewhat soul destroying. But even so I was really happy to get in under the 7 hour mark.
Perhaps another attempt will be on the cards in the future and see if I can get under that 6 hour mark.
All in all fantastic day and a great way to round off 2021.