Winter Monday Series commences Monday 29th September.
In something more than its twentieth year, the curiously great, yet decidedly undervalued, institution that is the ‘Winter Mondays’ series of road and trail races commences its 2025/2026 iteration next Monday 29th September. The first race is the traditional running of the Midhopestone Road route from Bolsterstone Church. You will find full details here and, soon enough, on both the Dark Peak Calendar, and Nicky Spinks’ web page.
We owe a huge debt of thanks to Nicky, and to her erstwhile side-kick Keith Holmes, for the organisation of the series – and for many years some particularly fiendish hill rep sessions too – over the last seventeen years, having taken the series over in 2008 from the original, inimitable Carshare, Dave Tait, who is credited with their very first incarnation, sometime in the early noughties (we suspect).
As Nicky herself notes, “I started running the Winter Series in 2005 to 2006 when I needed to get faster for the Paddy Buckley. I don’t know when Dave started it. Keith would know as he was there from the start. There was also Rus Beresford and Ian Winterburn and Darren Unwin They were so accommodating to me on the hill sprints and I started doing an early start on the races as I was so slow (and got lost) so they were waiting around for hours (or came searching) for me.” How the mighty are risen!
We’re really keen this year to encourage a few more participants at both road and trail races. These are an excellent way of gaining or maintaining fitness through the winter months, adding leg speed, and/or gaining more confidence in night-time nav. There’s nothing especially difficult here, although a few routes would benefit from a daylight recce, and we’ve also added a few more descriptive details in the different calendar entries to assist the newbie, as well as providing the usual route maps.
This year, we’re returning to a ‘Monday evening only’ format, with start times between 6pm and 6.30pm – typically the slow and more infirm at 6pm, flabby middle at 6.15pm, and relative whippets at 6.30pm – which will hopefully result in a more or less sociable chasing finish. There’s also a special dispensation for the over 70s, who are welcome to set off at any time before 6pm on the relevant Monday, with a view to finishing at some point before 7.30pm.
Willy Kitchen, who is taking over the organisation from Nicky and Keith, will be at the start point for each race shortly before 6pm, with shiny new clipboard for self-recording of race times. He’ll typically aim to set off with the 6.15pm starters, so if you are a later arriving whippet, please just add your name to the clipboard list (look for the blue, slightly battered, Skoda Roomster), and we’ll be sure to count you back in before we go home.
For safety reasons, we ask that you observe the following kit requirements, for the respective category of races:
1) Road races. Every third week from Bolsterstone Church. Reflective vests and head torches must be worn. Please also carry a mobile phone in case of mishap.
2) Trail races. Two in every three weeks, from a variety of starting points to the west and north-west of the city; many of which will be familiar to members from a range of club races and social runs. Full details and direction of travel are indicated in race descriptions and on maps. Please carry full FRA kit as a minimum, as well as a head torch and mobile phone in case of emergency and/or torch battery failure.
Willy will also ask you to make a note of (a) your mobile phone number, and (b) an emergency contact number, in case of mishap. Nicky is, by no means, the only person to have gone astray on both road and trail races …
We’ll also be encouraging regular carsharing, so please keep an eye on announcements here, on the DP facebook page, and club WhatsApp groups.
Finally, for any first-timers, be prepared for a good deal of futile gaming from old-timers, as they try to earn weekly bonus points (for improving performance from week to week). We’ll hold off that particular quirk of the series though until we’ve got the results service up and running on the website. In the meantime, you can have a look at Nicky’s set of past results if you really want to know more.
Looking forward to seeing a few more of you on the hill this Winter Mondays – and if you have any immediate questions, please do email me at willykitchen@me.com