By: Victoria Johnson

Race Date: 15^th September 2024

The third Big Dipper Half Marathon, held by Dronfield RC, was held on the 15th of September 2024, starting at the top of a big hill next to a pub. For many, including myself, this was the first race of the autumn season. The marketing for this race definitely goes hard on emphasising its difficulty, proudly declaring it one of the toughest half marathons in the country with 510 metres (or 1,675ft for the metrically challenged) of ascent. Big Dipper was one of the designated Striders road championship races, so I figured I should stop being a big wuss about the hills and go and run it, rationalising that, because it was so hilly, there was probably no need to put any effort in with regards to going fast.

The course contains five main ascents, with distances ranging from half a mile to just over three miles. What goes up must come down, so there were a matching number of descents, which somehow felt a lot more aggressive than the climbs. The race starts out with just under a mile of descent into some pretty woodland, which is a nightmare if you’re like me and don’t usually bother warming up before racing. However, it was easy to warm up when the climbs started, which they did, with force.

The course was excellently charted, boasting a lovely ride through the North Derbyshire countryside, with patches of woodland, moors and farmland throughout. There were stations at miles three, seven and ten serving little cups of water. There were unfortunately no containers or bin bags for empty cups (with the exception of the mile three station – thank you to the little boy holding the bin bag). We were told that the marshalls would handle the clean-up, but it would have been easier if the waste had all been collected in one place (and on a selfish note, it makes me feel bad to drop stuff on the floor so I ended up putting my cup upside down on a mile marker).

The marshalling at this event was some of the best I have seen in any race. Despite the rainy weather, there were multiple volunteers out at each marshalling point with big smiles and cheers for us runners. It was greatly appreciated in some of the harder sections of the course.

The turnout for this race was surprisingly small with only 168 finishers. I’m not sure if this was a function of the marketing (it occurred to me that some people may be scared off by the emphasis on the race’s difficulty), or clashing events, or even the time of year, but it was disappointing that such a wonderful race wasn’t seeing the turnout it deserved.

Congratulations to Striders taking first place in their respective categories: Jack Smith (MSEN), Rob Dawson (M50), Josie Hill (F40), Mandy Taylor (F60) and Richard Binks (M70).

Mandy Taylor claiming the F60 first prize.

The men’s race was won by Phil Skelton of Dronfield RC in a blistering 1:21:26, and the women’s race was won by Katie Sloane of Unsanctioned Athletics in a similarly speedy time of 1:29:20.

Striders’ Results