DARK PEAK NEWS Christmas Edition 2010
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DARK PEAK NEWS Christmas Edition 2010 l Man traps – another Dark Peaker gets snared on the moors l Crossing the Sahara – how Tim Martin did the Marathon des Sables l Torside torment – tales from that killer club championships course l Socks with sandals – guess who wears them... In this edition» est. 1976 www.dpfr.org.uk DANGER ON THE MOORS President: Eric Mitchell Two members of Dark Peak have now snagged their legs in snares, prompting fears that somebody could soon be seriously injured. Both Tim Tett and Nick Chairman Secretary Collier were running on open access land when it Paul Sanderson, Rob Moore happened. The club is now pressing for action. 27 Milden Road, 2 Kerwen Close, News, page 4 Wadsley Dore, Sheffield Sheffield S6 4AT S17 3DF SHARP DRESSED MAN 0114 2206353 07766 520741 [email protected] [email protected] The clothes are back on for your new caption competition. Club secretary Rob Moore shows Tim Tett how to dress with Treasurer Membership flair, and is now open to your scorn, Lynn Bland, Gavin Williams sarcasm and ridicule. 51 Hurlfield Ave 41 Frickley Road, Caption competition, Page 10 Gleadless, Sheffield Sheffield, S11 7EX S12 2TL 0114 2309227 0114 2646409 [email protected] [email protected] BLEAKLOW LOWDOWN Blow-by-blow analysis of this year’s club championship Clothing and Eqpt. Men’s Captain from the man who won it, the man who finished fastest, Richard Hakes Rob Little, 454A Loxley Road Flat F, and the sadist who planned that gruelling climb out of Loxley 91 School Road Torside Clough. Sheffield Sheffield Features, Page 12 S6 6RS S10 1GJ 0114 2339912 07791 283861 A LONG WAY TO THE BEACH [email protected] [email protected] Tim and Steve Martin spent 140 miles running through sand dunes and still didn’t get to the sea. Tim does his Women’s Captain Website best to explain the elusive attraction of the gruelling Kirsty Bryan-Jones John Dalton 2, Sunnybank Cottages, 1, Cannon Fields, Marathon des Sables. Jaggers Lane, Hathersage, Page 18 Hathersage, Derbyshire S32 1AZ S32 1AG RAVISHING IN RUBBER 01433 650213 01433 659523 [email protected] [email protected] Hard core photography for those of you too shy to browse the top shelf of your newsagents. We bring you Dark Peak News Andy Moore in skin-tight neoprene. David Holmes Been There, Done That, page 32 615, Loxley Road, Loxley, Sheffield, S6 6RR 0114 2344186 [email protected] Dark Peak News December 2010 page 3 The bit at the front Season’s greetings I’M WRITING this in my toasty office at the university, clawing back a few of the long hours that I’ve been working in a hectic spell of teaching, and trying to ignore the smell of wet running shoes. It’s now mid December and the magnificent snow of last week has been replaced by a black gritty residue on the pavements, and by near freezing rain. The run to work this morning was horrible, but my spirits lifted as I ran past two pubs in Walkley: the Crown and the Sportsman. These are classic Sheffield hillside pubs with magnificent views. Both have been closed for some time, but are now happily being regenerated. The Blake is back on its feet after a tasteful refit, and the Sportsman has the builders in. It reminds me of what I love about this time of year: that the darkest, dampest depths of December can be perfect for recharging the batteries and setting new goals. I can imagine it might well have been in December that Steve and Tim Martin hatched their plan to head for the Sahara and the Marathon des Sables, that Mick Stenton and Gavin Williams decided to try the Three Peaks by public transport, or that Dave Lockwood locked onto his next long distance challenge. You can read accounts of all three in this Christmas Special edition. I hope they inspire you to follow suit, and of course to write about it. For me, the next challenge is to try to sing in tune at the Headstone next week, then it’s on to the Bradfield Boundary Run and, who knows, maybe that Paddy Buckley at last! Snares saga To more serious matters. In the last edition, we reported how Tim Tett was hurt when he put his foot through a wire snare while running on the Hallam Moors. The same thing has now happened again, this time on Bamford Moor, where Nick Collier came a cropper. Both were running legitimately on open access land which happens to be in the same ownership, and both were fortunate not to be seriously injured. These snares are designed to trap and restrain moving bodies, and the next runner to encounter one may not be so lucky. The club has responded, through your access officer Bob Berzins, by publicising the problem and by raising it formally with the Peak District Local Access Forum. Bob’s written representation to the PDLAF is deeply researched and makes sobering reading, so much so that I have decided to devote the News section in this edition to bring you his letter in full. This is likely to surface at the AGM, and I thought it was important that everyone should be fully in the picture. We’ll no doubt be reporting on further developments in the next edition. Thanks Big thanks again to "production editor" Tim Mackey for coping calmly with the layout work as I’ve thrown more and more material at him against a very tight deadline. I promise you it was purely coincidental that he also won the caption competition – the decision was entirely mine! Thanks too to everyone who has contributed to this edition; you’ve produced some first class writing. If you fancy joining in next time, it’s always the more the merrier... Dave Dark Peak News December 2010 page 4 News Snares protest after two runners hurt As you may have read overleaf, Dark Peak’s access officer Bob Berzins has written to the Peak District Local Access Forum pressing for action after two club members were caught in snares while out running. First, Tim Tett was hurt when he put his foot through a trap on the banks of Oaking Clough, as reported in the last Dark Peak News. Now Nick Collier has also fallen victim. He too caught his foot in a snare, this time on Bamford Moor which, like the Hallam Moors, is owned by Jeremy Archdale. Both escaped serious injury, but next time? Bob is now trying to publicise the dangers, and could need support from the club at the next AGM if he is to make progress. In the interests of informing members and stimulating debate, Dark Peak News has decided to publish Bob’s letter in full, plus the reconstructed photos he has taken to illustrate the dangers... Public safety on Moorland Statement to Peak District Local Access Forum meeting on 2/12/2010 I’d like to inform the Peak District Local Access Forum about two specific incidents in recent months, where runners have been injured on Peak District moors. Normally this Forum operates by working with Peak Park officers to resolve specific issues, but unfortunately in this case the official concerned, Peak Park Access Officer, Mike Rhodes has made it clear that the PDNPA does not want to be involved, so I have no choice but to bring my concerns direct to you. Both incidents involve wire snares, which in this case are thin wire loops about 20 centimetres in diameter, propped up about thirty centimetres above the ground. At this height a human foot readily slips into the loop. There is a few feet of slack wire in the snare system and as the person continues moving, the wire loop settles on the leg just above the ankle. The other end of the snare wire is generally attached to a metal stake driven firmly into the ground. As the slack is taken out of the system the wire loop suddenly pulls tight on the leg which both garrottes the leg and has the effect of pulling the feet from under the person, resulting in a sudden fall to the ground. The first incident was on 21st July 2010, when Tim Tett caught his foot in a wire snare at Oaking Clough (GR253 874). Tim described running along a path mown through bracken, then the next minute he was flat on his face. Luckily his injuries were fairly minor, just a nasty cut and bruise to his ankle. Further inspection of the site showed that there were about a dozen snares in the next 50 metres along the path. The second incident was on 31st October when Nick Collier caught his foot in a wire snare underneath Bamford edge (GR204 848). He fell without warning and was fortunate to escape with minor injuries. Once again a dozen snares were found within 50 metres, this time along a well used footpath, leading in about 1 km to the popular Heatherdene car park at Ladybower. Prior to these two incidents, two separate representations had been made to the Access Officer raising concerns for public safety due to similar usage of snares at Woodhead and about the snares at Oaking Clough. All of these sites are on land mapped as open access. The response from the Access Officer has consistently been that snares are legal and it Dark Peak News December 2010 page 5 would be inappropriate for the PDNPA to comment on the legitimate management practices of a landowner.