Dig Deep is a weekend long trail running event, with two days of racing. Having volunteered last year, I had a free place to one of the shorter available distances, and earlier in the year could choose between the 10k and half marathon. With a few months to go until the event, I plumped for the 10k, planning a lovely day out that wouldn’t adversely affect any other goals I might have in mind around that time. A few weeks before the race, a change in route conditions meant that the 10k unfortunately had to be cancelled. Race organisers offered all runners either a refund, or an upgrade to the half marathon distance. Given I hadn’t paid for my spot in the first place, the half it was!

This report doesn’t quite begin on race day though, as I’d enjoyed volunteering so much last year that I decided to make a full weekend of being immersed in all things Dig Deep and signed up to marshal the 30 and 50 mile races which took place on the Saturday. My husband Jim and I found ourselves on the very last checkpoint, just a mile from the finish line! Not only did this mean a start late enough that we could squeeze a Parkrun in beforehand, but we got to see the ultra runners at their most raw and inspiring. Whether they were at the front of the pack or otherwise (the races have a generous cut off meaning they’re about as inclusive as you can get for ultra marathons) we saw the full range of emotion from elation to pain, and it was truly a joy to witness and be able to spur people on through their final steps before reaching that finish line. It was a long and chilly day (our Dryrobes were much needed!) but in exchange for our time, we got a homemade hot meal and plentiful access to hot drinks and cakes, a very nice Dig Deep t-shirt, a pair of Injinji socks and an entry to next year’s event. So worth it, we genuinely had an absolutely brilliant day and loved spending time as part of the team. Look out for Dan Abbott’s report for more 🙂

Anyway, I suppose I should probably get on to my own run! The day was crisp, with a gentle frost on the ground as we arrived up at Ringinglow. I collected my number and timing chip, then hid in the car to keep warm as long as possible, not expecting much of a social occasion as the event clashed with the Sheffield 10k, which always attracts a mighty contingent of Striders. I was wrong though, and as I headed over to the race briefing spotted a handful of gold and green clad pals! I set off running with Malcolm and Tessa which was a real treat, the company much more so than the uphill first mile, through a field, across Ringinglow Road and over a few bits of wall before popping onto the Limb Brook Trail, a path familiar to RSR runners as the start of stage 3. Still climbing, we crossed Sheephill Road and headed onto Houndkirk, in the direction of Fox House. It was SUCH a gorgeous day and the sight of a massive stag and three does on the horizon to our right, and views over Sheffield on the left, was just stunning. This bit was sort of flattish, before another bit of climb took us onto Burbage Edge for some very fun rock hopping. Here we were greeted by a temperature inversion and clouds dusting the valleys we could see ahead of us. It was really easy to get rid of any sort of FOMO we might have had about the Sheffield 10k, views of Ecclesall Road just aren’t the same!

Once at the top of Burbage there was an aid station with water and a large selection of Haribo, sparking a discussion over the best kind of running sweets, which as Malcolm pointed out is absolutely perfect long run chat (the cherries from Tangfastics came out as top voted favourite). This kept us going on the steepest section of the race onto Stanage Edge. An out and back section followed along the edge itself, where we took turns to nearly fall over but thankfully all remained upright! This bit was pretty technical and quite busy with other walkers and runners so you had to keep your wits about you, especially after the turnaround when we found ourselves running directly into a brutal headwind, which made the going pretty tough for me – I find the wind literally takes my breath away, a feeling that as a person with anxiety I sometimes can’t help but mistake for panicking. Fortunately having friends around me made this much easier to overcome than usual and we were eventually scrambling down off Stanage and out of the worst of the blustery weather. The next couple of miles were lovely and runnable, skirting round Higger Tor and towards Toads Mouth across grassy fields and much less technical than what had gone before.

At this point I found myself struggling to keep up the pace – since finishing my first ultra in July, whilst I’ve managed to get some speed back over short distances and will quite happily just keep moving for as long as I need to, actual consistent running for more than about 8 miles has thus far eluded me – it’s like my legs have just permanently decided that means it’s “walk and a sandwich” time. So putting my run-walk system into place, I did the last five miles solo, not wanting to hold up Tessa and Malcolm (who did very kindly offer to stick with me, I should point out!). After another water stop, where I also took on board some disgusting looking but nice tasting luminous-yet-murky green electrolyte drink, it was time to climb back up Burbage. Now this section of Burbage South I’ve only ever run in the direction of Longshaw, and firmly believed it to be flat. Flat it is not, just a horrible seemingly never ending climb that most people like to call runnable. It was vile. I employed a “count to 100” tactic, running 100 steps and then having a little walk, mulling over my life choices – I’d just passed the ten mile mark and couldn’t help but remember I should only have been running 10k! A nice chap I’d been running near exclaimed “only a parkrun to go!” which was just the thought I needed to put a spring back in my step, and we had a nice chat about our favourite parkruns which passed the time nicely.

Thundering footsteps coming up behind me on the last steep section meant I just had enough time to think “who is this arsehole who thinks it’s ok to nonchalantly canter past someone very clearly on the struggle bus” before I heard “Go Strider!” and it turned out to be my husband Jim who’d chosen to do his own long run in roughly the same area as the race to support me. What a gem. He gave me a couple of fizzy worms (even better than cherry Tangfastics) and let me whinge about how far this 10k was as we got back onto Houndkirk Road, then left me to my own devices to finish the last couple of miles of the race. I could feel every single stone of Houndkirk and wasn’t really enjoying the terrain, but finally we were into the last mile, which was almost all downhill – through Lady Cannings Plantation then retracing our steps onto the Limb Brook Trail and over the last couple of stiles before a very fun speedy finish through the field we’d started on. Cowbells rang as I crossed the finish line and I got a medal, a banana, a delicious chocolate brownie and a cup of tea in a proper mug. Splendid.

Overall, I really cannot recommend Dig Deep enough. Both from the perspective of a volunteer, and as a runner, it’s probably the best experience I’ve ever had at a race event. I felt really well looked after throughout, the team are absolutely fantastic, all the runners were super friendly and the vibes are spectacular. It’s too big to say it’s low key, but it’s managed to hold on to the glorious community feel that I love so much about the smaller events. Keep an eye out for their 2025 dates and get it in your diary.

The half marathon was won by Jonathan Breeze in 1.38.03, and Eleanor McNally in 1.55.03 (no clubs listed). There were 140 finishers.