Ian Milne White Peak Marathon

The marathon is the traditional route from Thorpe to Cromford Meadows following first the Tissington Trail to Parsley Hay, then the High Peak Trail to Cromford. The route is over firm compacted limestone and cinder surfaces on former railway tracks making road running shoes ideal. There is one road crossing, at about 14 miles on the marathon course. The marathon starts at Thorpe and follows the Tissington Trail, up the dales to north of Parsley Hay, where it then joins the High Peak Trail. From here it undulates level until it joins the half marathon part of the route at Friden. After this the track descends in three stages, at about 21, 22½ and 24½ miles, the last descent being about 1-mile-long down the steep incline to the Cromford canal at High Peak Junction. At this point, the canal crossing directly ahead is ignored in favour of a right turn and heading along the canal path for a short distance until the next bridge is reached. After crossing the bridge and turning left, there's just over a mile to go along the towpath before turning right into Cromford meadows for the finish.