Dig Deep 30 Route Recce : Alice Bateman

Race Details:

Distance/Ascent 30miles/5100ft (approx)

Date 30th August 2025

Start Time 7am

Cut Off 15 hours

Venue Clarks Farm, Hangram Lane, S11 7TQ

Prizes 1st, 2nd, 3rd M&W (Sen, V40, V50, V60, V70) & OPE

Price £60

The Plan

Fresh off the back of watching in awe as 65,000 people raced around the streets of London, I

headed out into the Peak District at the end of April to recce the Dig Deep 30 route. Sitting in between its half marathon and 50-mile counterparts, Dig Deep 30 takes in some of the best of what the Peak District has to offer, at an ‘accessible’ ultramarathon distance. The route is a tapestry of the Peak’s finest feature: from runnable trails over the Burbage moors and panoramic views along Stanage Edge, to a punishing climb up Parkin Clough and rooted footpaths along the River Derwent, there really is something for everyone!

Certainly not fit enough to bash out 30 miles in one day, I split the race into two sections: Monday would be 14 miles ‘on the way out’ to Castleton, with 16 miles ‘on the way back’ to Ringinglow scheduled for Tuesday.

‘On the way out’

Monday 28th April - Ringinglow to Castleton - 15 miles

7.30am saw Tom and I, bright-eyed and optimistic for the day ahead, setting out from the car

park at Norfolk Arms, packs laden with water, snacks and plenty of suncream. (Note that we skipped the first half mile of the official route due to difficulty parking!)

As usual, the climb up Houndkirk Road onto the moors felt like an absolute slog - maybe I just don’t warm up well enough - but we were soon pottering happily along the rocky byway. Tom wanted to practice shooting with his new drone in the Peaks, allowing me to live out my ‘runfluencer’ fantasy of being filmed whilst gliding over the trails (not the reality), surrounded by moorland, Sheffield sprawled out behind me. Once I’d added at least half a mile to our planned distance, running up and down, attempting to look cool and relaxed whilst trying desperately not to trip over, we set off into the heather-strewn expanse of Burbage. Waving at Stanage Edge, Win Hill and the Hope Valley in the distance, we took it easy up the gravelly ascent up Burbage Valley, noting down bilberry bush locations and pointing out potential climbing projects along the way. Checkpoint 1 is at the top of this valley, in Burbage North Car Park.

Leaving Burbage behind, I was excited for some rock-hopping and anchor-spotting along Stanage Edge. This section is quintessential Dark Peak goodness: heathered moorland, field- carpeted valleys and gritstone galore. Just missing a reservoir! As usual, there were a lot of trad climbers out already. We enjoyed an amble along the edge and caught our breath down the Long Causeway, feeling surprised at how great we felt considering the fact that I’ve been injured for months and Tom hasn’t run more than 8 miles since we met.

After the descent from Stanage, we were met with a good couple of miles of tarmac road - easy running this early on. Would recommend sitting with Gwilym on his bench at the crest of New Road, before taking a vertigo-inducing peek down Bamford Clough on the left - purportedly the steepest Tarmac road in world with an unofficial maximum gradient of 36.5%. Mid-race hill reps anyone? Queasy at the thought, Tom and I allowed gravity to assist us down the rest of the hill. Somehow, the momentum led us straight through the front door of the Yorkshire Bridge Inn where we found ourselves ensconced in a corner sofa, enjoying strong coffee and fruit flapjacks and feeling rather pleased with ourselves. Only a hop, skip and jump away, down Lydgate Lane and across the River Derwent, Checkpoint 2 provides a chance to refuel and hype yourself up for the infamous Peak climb, Parkin Clough. I really hope they serve parkin at this station.

Keep on moving, keep climbing

Keep the faith, baby

It’s all about, it’s all about the climb.

- The Climb, Miley Cyrus

Yep. This is it. It’s this climb. Head down, hands on knees, count your steps, sing a song, hitch a rope to the person in front of you, steal someone’s dog…whatever you need to do to get you to the top of Win Hill, this is the time to do it. We took multiple breaks. There’s a stellar view back across to Stanage and down Ladybower once you’re above the plantation. We had a snack here and marvelled at how far we had come already!

Once at the top, we shirk around the summit - too windy and busy - and enjoy a long, gentle downhill stretch following the spine of the Win. The descent to Townhead Bridge gets steep in places - we pause to watch a train steam past on its way to Edale, and to give our knees a bit of a break. The next section towards Castleton was all fields and gates. Tom was a great gate holder. I feel this is a good stretch to latch onto someone in front to benefit from their gate slipstream - small things could win you the race you know………

After a mile or so of rolling farmland, we joined Robinlands Lane, rolling down to Castleton via a mint choc chip ice cream and scotch egg from the Castleton Farm Shop. Whilst runners will be plying themselves with coke and bananas at Checkpoint 3, ready for the second half of their race, this was the end of the day for Tom and I. Perfectly timed to meet the bus, we trundled our way back to Sheffield around 1pm, thoroughly chuffed with our sunny day out in the Peaks!

‘On the way back’

Tuesday 29th April - Castleton to Ringinglow- 15 miles

Tuesday saw another early start for me, more bleary-eyed than bright this time. Grateful for a lift back to Castleton from Tom, but feeling yesterday’s distance in my legs, I was planning to attack the second half of my recce with cautious determination. If that wasn’t a thing before, it is now.

Yet again, my day started with a slog of an ascent, this time facing 200m up Cave Dale. You

may recognise this dry limestone valley from the moment Westley is unmasked in ‘The Princess Bride’. Great scene. Epic film. Tricky climb. If it has rained recently, expect to be walking up a stream. Peveril Castle looms over from the ridge on your right - if you can lift your head up enough to notice it! I was grateful for the good bit of runnable gravel track and tarmac road that greets you at the top, skirting the edge of Hope Quarry and joining the old Roman Road down into Bradwell. Unfortunately, this steep-ish descent did not agree with my IT Band. I was also an hour too early for the Brook Cafe to be open. All in all, Bradwell was a lowlight of the recce. Fortunately, I did manage to pick up a coffee and flapjack from The Bakehouse up the road. Definitely returning there for lunch sometime - their sarnies looked unreal! Runners will also be able to refuel here, thanks to Checkpoint 4.

The climb out of Bradwell and around Abney Moor was tough but gave good views towards Win Hill - another reminder of how far you’ve come if you’re running the race! Chased some sheep up Shatton Lane. Had to put a sprint in to encourage them to round back before I reached the tower - more unplanned hill sprints. The way down towards Shatton was slow going, particularly as it got steep, as my knee continued to protest against my decision to run back-to-back 15 mile days with no preparation. Another reminder that a couple of 10km efforts around the canals of Stratford does not prepare you for an ultramarathon…just in case you were considering it as a training plan. Shatton, by the way, is the location of Checkpoint 5. Dig Deep runners are treated big time in the aid station category!

Cheered but also a little intimidated by a pair of fluffed up turkeys greeting me at the bottom of the hill, I was looking forward to some flatish running along the River Derwent. I think this section of the route is one of the best, but I am partial to a bit of woodland riverside traily yuminess. More sheep - this time some lambies requiring a password to be let through. Some scary animals out here in the Peaks! The password was Baa-ram-ewe, in case you were wondering. I hope someone gets that reference. Lots of windy weavy up and down, around the fields and dodge the roots here.

Realising as I came to the end of my beloved river section that I was running low on water and down to my final snacks, I popped up to the Plough Inn to refill and grab some salty crisps. Time to psychologically prepare myself for the last major climb, heading up onto Hathersage Moor via Whim Plantation. Having seen the faces of runners arriving at Whim, Checkpoint 6, when volunteering there last year, I was ready for it to be a tough ascent. Fortunately, I wasn’t running excessively at this point, or I would have missed a train bound for Manchester flying right past me as I reached the level crossing below Hathersage Booths! Thrilling stuff.

Teeth were gritted. Metres were climbed. I imagined a cowbell being rung right up on Higger Tor, dragging me up the hill, the end in sight. Slight bog fest coming over the moor. Should our weather system in the UK ever resemble that of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Burbage Valley will undoubtedly still be a bog. The descent off Carl Wark was as confusing as ever, but I made it to the bridge regardless, still none the wiser to which route you are supposed to take down this section. A short but punishing climb up the other side of the valley gave way to a familiar path, leading me back towards Houndkirk Road, and home. Once you see the Sheffield Skyline, you can be sure you’re only a couple of miles away from the finish line. I stopped up a bit short, back where Tom and I started at the Norfolk Arms, feeling totally spent but incredibly grateful to be able to call this wonderful place my home.

With an abundance of aid stations and some of the best scenery the Peak District has to offer, the Dig Deep trail series really hits the nail on the head for runners like myself who want to be challenged, but also supported, and make it look pretty. I’m excited to come back at the end of August to take part in the 30 miler hopefully with a bit more training!