‘It’s not a race, it’s a journey’: why a two-day, 75km trail run is a brilliant way to see the Peak District

Billed as an ‘ultra fun run’, the Peak Divide from Manchester to Sheffield is part of a growing trend of trail runs where excellent food and camaraderie are part of the experience

Some trips lend themselves to the last minute and others do not. Peak Divide, a two-day, supported 75km “ultra fun run” from Manchester to Sheffield is one that is best planned ahead. When I tell a friend I’m taking a spare spot with two days’ notice and almost no training, she says her joints are seizing up just at the thought of it. Co-founder Tom Reynolds texts me the day before the run telling me to rest and stay off my feet.

Some people call this burgeoning trend of multi-day running adventures “run-packing”; others refer to it as “fastpacking”. I’m in the latter group as I scramble around Manchester trying to source items from a list that includes trail running shoes, emergency foil blanket and fully-charged head-torch. My longest distance prior to this is 21km along a canal towpath, but Tom reassures me that this isn’t a race, it is a journey. And it isn’t just for trail runners, but for everyone.