One of the few running races still being held, The Belper Rover, went through Milford on the morning of Sunday 16th August. Many will have noticed the signs that appeared on The Chevin, Wood Lane and Sunny Hill before the race.
The cross country run, which has been going for several years, covers 18 miles/30km and starts and finishes at the rugby club in Belper. It is organised by Dave Mann and Mark Hudson, the latter a Milford resident. It is a very scenic route, including Shining Cliff Woods, The Bear at Alderwasley, Longwalls Lane, Blackbrook, Lumb Lane and the Depths of Lumb, entering Milford via Hazelwood Hall Farm and the Chevin Golf Course onto Wood Lane. Here the runners take a sharp left turn up Sunny Hill for the last climb of the day, carrying on up North Lane and along The Chevin before descending down to the Derwent and back to the rugby club in Belper. Strict Covid 19 protocols were set up for the race, including highly staggered starting times. Blooming Milford members and members of the Milford May Day Committee helped out at the water stations on Wood Lane and Lumb Lane, and with marshalling around the rugby club in Belper. A generous donation was given to both groups by the Belper Rover organisers, for which both are very grateful.
Several hundred people took part in the race and it was very popular with those who did, as the Facebook site for the run, here, clearly shows.
For those interested in entering the race next year or volunteering to help support it, please see the Belper Rover website here.