Maprun replaces marbles to score this gruelling event!
This year was the first time DVO has taken part in the Hill Climb Challenge at Allestree Park, and our team of Helen, Malc, Darren, Jess, Matty, Chris and myself (Sal) had a lot of fun. An hour of hill reps is something I’d absolutely never do alone – and my calves are still tight 2 days later. I expect our cheer-leaders Hilary, Jane, Annie and Rowan enjoyed the Schadenfreude!
The event is organised by the Derby Runner Run Club and has taken place roughly annually since 2020. There’s a team comp and an individual comp, and the counting mechanism was to pick up a marble every time you get to the top of the hill. This year, Chris put the course into Maprun, meaning smartphone timing, and pings as you passed each of the 3 controls on the loop.
So the challenge was to complete as many climbs as possible in an hour. Part climbs when the hour was up didn’t count, and Chris would sound a 10-minute warning horn so we could decide whether to start a final lap.
It was a sunny evening, so we all loaded up with fluids, and some left water bottles to access between the loops. We started just after 7pm, and it took me a full 4 minutes to get to the top of the hill, which was about 400m away, but 38m climb. I didn’t know this in advance – just divided my Strava total by 9 laps! There was a great atmosphere, with encouragement by competitors, marshalls and spectators. It was a big relief when the uphill section of the course became shaded at about 7:40, and an even bigger relief when the horn sounded at 7:50, meaning I could stop!
In total, we completed 1269 ascents of the hill, the maximum being 15 ascents by Jack Astil of Team Derby Runner. Chris ran the fastest lap in 2 mins 41, and Darren the 5th fastest in 2:46. DVO scored 57 laps total, of which Darren did 14. As Chris said, “Fewer runners … but we certainly pushed as hard as the others” with our average of 9.43 laps per runner. Quality training and a real fun evening for runners and supporters!
The event was free to take part in, and donations to Derbyshire Mountain Rescue were encouraged!
