Dovedale Dash

Dovedale Dash
Thorpe Cloud; the parked cars are in connection with the 2009 Dovedale Dash
Date	1953–present
Location	Thorpe, Derbyshire
Event type	amateur, cross country
Distance	4.75 miles
Primary sponsor	Brook inn
Established	1953
Course records	men 25.01 Gareth Booty women Louis Austin/holly Rowland 30.09
Official site	http://www.dovedaledash.co.uk/

The Dovedale Dash is a 4¾ mile cross-country running race held annually along the banks of the River Dove, along Dovedale, and between the villages of Ilam and Thorpe in the Peak District, England.^[1] The event attracts over 1000 runners each year.^[2] It is one of three long-running annual races held in the Peak District national park where performances count towards the National Trust Peak District Fell Running Series Trophy, alongside the Longshaw Sheepdog Trials Fell Race and the Lantern Pike Fell Race.^[3]

First organised in 1953, the Dash takes place on the first Sunday of November, although previously it was held on the closest Sunday to Guy Fawkes Night. The Dash was cancelled in 1998, 2000 and 2004, when bad weather and a waterlogged parking area forced the event to be cancelled. In other years, the race has gone ahead in wet weather conditions.^[4]

The Dash is intended for amateur runners, although in the past some competitors have used bicycles. Entrants pay £5 to join the race, and must register on the day of the race. There is no pre-registration. Car parking is free. The proceeds are given to charitable causes, and used in the villages of Thorpe, Ilam and Fenny Bentley. The event is organised by volunteers who live in Thorpe, which is the start and finish of the course.

The route runs from the Thorpe Pastures north of the village of Thorpe, at the foot of Thorpe Cloud, about the eastern base of which competitors race down to the notoriously slippery Stepping Stones across the River Dove. The route continues along the western side of the Cloud, across the ridge above the Izaak Walton Hotel, down into Ilam, where the course doubles back along the southern bank of the Dove, down to Coldwall Bridge. Across the Bridge, runners follow the valley through Thorpe Mill Farm, back to the Cloud, where they retrace their path to the Stepping Stones and back to the starting position on Thorpe Pastures.