While most of the country was preparing to party on the eve of the new Millenium in 1999, Nigel Jenkins of Axe Valley Runners had a different sort of celebration in mind. In horrendous weather he was out on Dartmoor, southern England's most remote and open space, notching up the first completion of a new round.
The route is at the discretion of the runner but starts and finishes at the Royal Oak, a pub and a tree, in the village of Meavy. A total of 28 tors must be visited (in any order) and this will take approximately 75 miles of arduous run, across moorland and bogs, and around 4000 metres of climbing.
The route has been completed by about 7 individuals since 1999 but, despite the original round being undertaken in terrible winter conditions, Nigel's time remained the fastest until 2020.
2020 has seen a resurgence of this route - perhaps due to the cancellation of events through coronavirus and there have been a number of attempts.
https://www.gofar.org.uk/dartmoor-round
