Notwithstanding the scandalous usurpation of the Way Out West race route last Wednesday, the real Summer Series gets under way a week on Monday – 27th April at 6.30pm – with a trot around Back Tor and Beyond, from Strines Inn. You’ll find the full 2026 series programme here, with individual race details to be added to the calendar over the next week or two. There are also three new routes this year, with links to provisional maps added to the programme breakdown (with more detailed check point descriptions to follow in a few cases).
This year, I’ve tried to achieve a more balanced ‘geographical spread’ of routes from north to south (sorry Jim O), with all venues typically 20 minutes, and never more than 30 minutes drive from the west side of town. As has become traditional, I’ve also avoided bank holiday Mondays and Trunce race dates, with just one clash later in August. I’ve also tried to minimise the impact of the closure of the A57 by Rivelin Dams in the earlier part of the series – but be aware that this may make the trip out to Strines for our first race a little more convoluted.
Finishing times will typically range between about 40 minutes and an hour and a half, depending upon your relative seniority, navigational prowess, and affinity for rough ground. I’ve noted (mostly) crow flies distance and elevation on the programme, and in individual calendar listings, and I am happy to wait to count in all starters, so please don’t be shy. It’d be lovely to see some new faces enjoying the early Monday evening sunshine (and the rest), and some of the more esoteric landmarks and checkpoints which the series has to offer. Indeed, reccies in the preceding week or two before individual races are a wise precaution for those wanting to assess the ever changing lie of some often well-vegetated land, although a not inconsiderable minority of runners tend rather to simply follow the runner in front (with varying degrees of success).
As is the case for the Winter Mondays Series, earlier starts for the over 70s will be indulged, whilst the R.O. reserves the right to prescribe a later start time for whippets, particularly if we manage to tempt a few more out onto the fell. Unlike the Winter Mondays, however, we generally aim to have a quick debrief in the nearest local hostelry after each race too.
There’s a facebook page for the series (which dates us somewhat, I appreciate), but also a WhatsApp group (how very modern) for carsharing purposes. The RO will typically be departing Crookes around 5.45pm, with space for at least three others, and there’s generally one or more other cars passing through Crosspool or the bottom of Coldwell Lane. It’d be good if we could get a couple more regular carshares going (maybe even from Hathersage/Grindleford way?).
If you’d like to be added to either group, or to carshare from Crookes, please do drop Willy an email – willykitchen@me.com
I look forward to seeing you all Monday week.