Kinder Downfall
24th April 2016

As I joined the other 260 runners on the starting 'line' (a bridge and road junction) I tried to remember my last 'official' (FRA rules) fell run. It dawned on me it was at least 4 years ago, if not longer!... this would be interesting.

Kinder Downfall is a category BM fell race with 600m of ascent and some 9.5 miles. Only the final 2 mile or so is marked. The start is in the pretty Derbyshire village of Hayfield (the BBC drama 'The Village' was filmed here). There is a rapid ascent over farmland before emerging onto familiar peak district open moorland and passing Kinder reservoir. A sharp descent to the edge of the reservoir marks the start of the business end, a steep ascent via William Clough to join the Pennine way on the Kinder plateau.

Half way up William Clough it started snowing, but thankfully the wind stayed reasonably light and visibility was OK at roughly 50m. Still it meant keeping up with the pack to avoid getting lost.  The prospect of becoming separated from the race on Kinder Scout with limited clothing is more than enough incentive to push that bit harder.  That said, the path is a mix of peat bog and boulders,  so every step there's a risk of falling. Even with better visibility there would be little chance of enjoying the view as we all just concentrate on staying upright.

There's brief respite after Kinder Low (633m) with a flag stoned path, before a very steep descent back to Hayfield.  'Downfall' refers to the waterfall on Kinder roughly half way, but could easily also refer  to the descent where there is just as much chance of falling on the downhill as there is traversing Kinder itself.

At the Downfall itself my legs were showing the lack of serious training for this kind of run. Any muscle memory I was relying on was at best distant.  With battered legs and a smile I finished 165th, happy just to have got round in one piece!

Course Map: http://www.macclesfield-harriers.co.uk/fell/kinder%20downfall.bmp