Alport Watershed TT Womens

Alport Watershed TT Womens on Sun 5th Jul 2020

A race in one of the less visited parts of the Dark Peak, and a real test of navigation even in good conditions. The route hopefully had a bit of something for everyone. The steep climb up from Alport Farm, a runnable trod to Bleaklow Stones, the advantage gained by knowing the traverse of Bleaklow, then trying to pick the optimal line, following the faint trods, above the groughs back over Alport Moor, before a steep descent back to the farm.

Despite the race being run as a time trial across the whole week at the start of the July, there didn't seem to any decent weather window. If you ran it earlier in the week you had rain, on Saturday there was thick clag, which resulted in a couple of starters turning back when approaching Bleaklow, and whilst those that waited until Sunday seemed to have bluer skies, they instead had to contend with really strong winds.

An excellent run by Pete to win the mens race and Majka to win the womens race (3rd overall).

I will give some thought about how to adapt the route to allow for mass starts for future runnings, i'm open to suggestions, but having the start/finish at Snake Pass summit, Birchen Clough or Westend would all allow for easier access.