The Trigger Marsden-Edale 2020 Race Report
A moment of navigational doubt…
The Trigger, otherwise known as Marsden to Edale, is a winter fell race that goes over Black Hill, Bleaklow and Kinder to Edale, visiting three trig points on the way. If all goes well it’s around 25 miles with possibly 1,250m ascent. Half the challenge is to stay on the route, the other half is surviving the route.
Raising money for the Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team, the Trigger is a navigation challenge so route-finding is with a map and compass (or local knowledge) ONLY and GPS is not allowed. Normally I avoid this kind of race, I’m not keen on being cold and wet and I’m worried about getting lost, but I was persuaded to enter by running buddy Aysh who loves pathless bog, and we agreed to stick together. In the back of my mind I remembered rumours of past races - hypothermic runners needing rescue, and hours lost somewhere on Bleaklow. We recce’d the route and had a clear plan, but with torrential rain and poor visibility as we huddled at the start I wondered what the next six hours had in store.
The race divides into four sections in my mind, the first being Marsden cricket club to Black Hill trig (CP1). Since the race is busy at the start and it follows the Pennine Way there’s no nav required, but it’s runnable so the pace is fast and it felt hard with a full bag. We splashed our way through heavy rain, held hands to wade through a rushing stream, and swiftly made it to CP1.
Checking the map at checkpoint 4 (Snake pass) - our next landmark was a puddle and two stakes…
For me this is where the challenge really begins. From Black Hill we were aiming for Crowden Reservoir (CP2), Higher Shelf Stones (CP3) and the Snake Pass (CP4). Shortly after Black Hill trig it was time to make our choice and leave the security of the path. This involved stumbling over tussocks to a mysterious stile (it seems to appear out of nowhere), then slithering through various depths of bog. Aysh sprang across the featureless moor like a mountain hare, while I fell over several times, trying to keep her in sight and internally regretting my decision to race. From here we jumped across a river onto slippy rocks and marginally firmer ground, dropping to Crowden reservoir (CP2) before heading back up the Pennine Way.
There’s another section of navigation between the Pennine Way and Higher Shelf Stones. We’d planned this carefully in the recce, just needing to follow the compass south after we left the path (10 minutes run from a small post with a yellow arrow). No one chose exactly the same route, and I had a weird sensation as disembodied voices drifted through the cloud on Bleaklow. It worked perfectly and we arrived precisely at CP3, from which there’s a nice run down to a river crossing and an easy path to the Snake Pass.
Looking for the right point to leave the Pennine Way
I was looking forward to crossing the Snake and reaching home ground, but it was intensely windy and we were running through ankle deep icy water. I got very cold and started to worry. If conditions were this harsh for the rest of the race I didn’t know if I could make it. From here we were aiming for Withens Clough (CP5), a fence post on a hill (CP6), then Kinder Low (CP7). With the cold creeping in we made a slight error, leaving the path maybe 500m too late. It wasn’t serious and before long we dropped to Withens Clough, joining a small crowd of runners river-hopping their way to CP5. In the shelter of the clough I warmed up again, and with most of the navigation out of the way we followed a path to CP6, then on to Kinder Downfall and Kinder Low.
From Kinder Low trig I knew we were on the home straight, the next stop is Edale and the finish. We saw most of the runners descend at Jacobs Ladder, but we chose to stay high and run through the weirdly shaped rocks of the Woolpacks then down the side of Grindslow Knoll. It was a technical route involving lots of rock hopping and falling in peat bogs. On reflection it probably wasn’t the fastest and was very tiring at the end of 25 miles, but generally it’s just a great place to run and suddenly we were down, finishing in 6:22. The Trigger is an intimidating race and I’m really proud I finished. It would be a tough and technical route in good conditions, in winter it’s a harsh place to be so kudos to every runner that took it on, and double if you’ve done it more than once!
Type 2 run - fun when it’s over
The Trigger raises funds for Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team (an incredible £5,800 in 2019), and the MRT crew the checkpoints. They are amazing! In the harshest conditions, when we need them most, they drop everything and head out to help. The whole team are highly skilled volunteers, they give so much time not just on call-outs, but for continuous training. The team depends on donations and costs £25,000 a year to run. If you can afford it you can donate at the Woodhead Mountain Rescue Just Giving page.
Kit list
The Trigger is run under FRA rules which means all runners must carry compulsory items and everyone has to pass a kit check before they can race. The lighter the better for me, so here’s my choice of gear;
Full waterproof jacket with taped seams: Rab Flashpoint jacket (with Rab synthetic jacket underneath)
Long sleeved top: Icebreaker merino base layer (very warm)
Gloves: Arcteryx merino liner gloves & Inov-8 All Terrain Pro mittens
Fell shoes: La Sportiva Kaptiva
Food eaten: Mountain Fuel feelgood bars x2, sports jelly x1 and energy fuel in water x1 litre
Map: Silva compass and laminated copy of OS maps
Ron Hill fleece leggings
2x Buffs
Ultimate Direction race pack
In the pack but not used: Waterproof trousers with taped seams (Decathlon), headtorch, hat, spare food (banana, jelly babies, tortilla), emergency bag, foil blanket
If you fancy taking on the challenge, you can find out more about the Trigger at the Marsden to Edale website.