Going Downhill Quickly

The Hebden

2012-02-04T23:46:00.001Z

The first of my longer events of the year as the Hebden. This is primarily an LDWA event but it has become heavily attended by runners for the challenge of the event and route has great appeal.

Being my usual, organised self (much like tonight), I didn’t prepare my things the night before and instead chose to get ready in the morning when I blatantly didn’t have enough time too. Leaving the house without an accurate postcode I made my way to Hebden Bridge. With 400 people setting off at 8AM it can’t be that hard a place to find in a small village. Well I couldn’t find the start and the picture I had stored in my mind from Google maps wasn’t falling into place. So I resorted to the smart phone to Google the details of the event.

Of course I couldn’t find any of the 400 entrants. They were all in the right village of Motholmroyd which was about 2 miles up the road from where I was. NUMPTY!

I arrived at the event at 8AM and most had just set of. I still needed to park, get my kit out, put my shoes on and collect my tallies. As a result I set off some 17 minutes behind everyone else. I thought about cutting the start short to catch up to others but I didn’t come to race with others I came for the event, so stuck to the route description sheet.

Running along the start of the route the ground was littered with footprints of the runners ahead of me. It only took about 15 – 20 mins before I came upon the back markers (walkers) and the sweeper of the 24 mile route. Walking briefly with them for a chat and then I plodded on. This seemed to happen for most of the day and I really enjoyed it, there was no pressure (from myself) to keep up with other runners. Slowly picking of people it was great not being passed all the time.

The route itself has plenty of climb (4000ft) and combined with the 22 miles it’s a good challenge. However if you add to this a fiercely cold wind on the tops it becomes a little more of a challenge. As the day progress it seemed the wind on each top gradually got stronger. On reaching Checkpoint 5 the poor lady in the white van was trying to serve butties, cakes and drinks to everyone whilst the wind kept trying to close the van doors on her. Just after this point the wind became so strong and cold on my face I even had to don the balaclava as my face was stinging.

With a small mistake on the final section I finished the route in 5hr 35mins (after the 17 min late start deduction). Considering I did far too much talking I reckon I could probably get that down to about 5hr 20min. At the finish there was plenty of food, drink and mulled wine to be had. It was a well organised event and one I hope to attend again next year.

Other blog of The Hebden
http://ultraploddernick.blogspot.com/2012/01/hebden-22mi-21012012.html

Dark & White Mini MM (8/1/12)

2012-02-04T22:36:00.001Z

Over Christmas Tony Varley told me that I could use his place in the next Dark & White Mini Mountain Marathon at Hathersage. I’d wanted to try one of these but most of the events was clashing with something else this year. I mailed the organiser to check it was ok and I was in.

They are much like a Long orienteering event. Typically a 3 hour score event you collect your map and plan your route on the fly, with points scattered far and uphill and down dale. You have to get as many points as possible within the 3 hours and get back, failure to get back in time will cost you points. Each control being worth a different number of points.

Most of my chosen route was probably travelled by quite a few of the competitors as there was a natural route to follow. I made a mistake on one route which cost me about 10 points, but my biggest mistake of the day had to be, falling over a tree!

Yep, trotting uphill along a woodland path I somehow manage to unsuccessfully step over a large fallen tree trunk that was laying across the path. One minute I was vertical and the next I was horizontal. I jumped up and carried on knowing that others were following me but unsure if I’d been seen. The result was a nice scrape on my left shin.

I really enjoyed this event. The time on my feet and the length comprised with route choice is just right for me. I’m looking forward to trying some of the planned 4hr events at the end of 2012.

Must Try Harder

2012-02-04T21:31:00.001Z

27th September was our last blog entry so you would be forgiven for thinking the blog has been dropped but it hasn’t we’ve all just had lots on. Don’t have anything specific to report from the later part of 2011. After the Ben I also ran the Lake District Mountain Trial and really enjoyed that. I do like the long distance Orienteering type of events as it allows both of my pasttimes to be completed in one event. I keep saying I am going to enter a Mountain Marathon and tried pestering Chris but he’s not having any of it so thankfully Albert has offer to do one with me.

I had hoped to enter the Saunders Mountain Marathon but as yet I haven’t made any plans or got my act together so we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe I’ll tackle the LAMM or the RAB instead.

In the meantime I’m trying for more longer runs to build up the mileage and targeting the LDWA runs as I like the low keyness of them and of course the food on the way round.

Fuerteventura August 2011

2011-09-27T22:36:00.001+01:00

Finally had chance to upload some pictures from my holidays! While I'll not admit to being obsessed enough to plan our family holidays around the mountains, this year I did manage to steer the decision towards somewhere a bit more rugged than last year's trip.

View from the pool where we stayed. Mount Esquinzo (around 1000ft.) in the background was a short run away.

Fuerteventura is generally very windy, and when the direction is towards the Sahara (only about 60 miles away) the cooler air from the Atlantic creates clouds off the mountains which were sat over the higher peaks for virtually the whole of the first week.

The main ridge was in cloud for the whole time the wind was blowing in off the sea. It looked fierce too the way the clouds were tumbling down the valley.

Thankfully (in some respects) the wind finally changed direction and one evening the sun set on a clear sky so I set my alarm for dawn the next morning to head up to the highest point of the island.

The track up Pico de Zarza can be driven almost all the way as I found out when the maintenance men arrived for work at the weather station at the top.

View of the summit ridge. This was the only place outside the artificially watered towns & villages where I saw any green vegetation.

View west from the ridge. It was a drop of around 2500ft straight down to a deserted beach, you could hear the rumble of the surf.

Looking down the ridge to the south. You can see how steep the drop is in the bottom right hand corner.

The view from here was incredible and as usual my pictures don't do it justice. If I ever go back I would like to visit that beach, it can only be reached by dirt track being mostly cut off by this ridge so it must be such a peaceful place.

Being virtually a desert island there was no water to be had anywhere, I carried over a litre and half with me and all that had gone before I reached the summit. Although the change in wind direction had cleared the summits it had also brought the hot, dry air straight from the Sahara so despite it still being before 10am I was quite dehydrated by the time I got back for breakfast.

Summit marker on the hill next to the hotel.

Could have been Spanish humour, a crutch had been left tied up here.

View of the resort where we stayed (complete with photographer's shadow). We really felt just plonked down on the edge of a desert.

Same peak, looking southwards towards Jandia beach. You can just about make out the lighthouse.

I had a great time, not the best of places to run in the mountains but quite a different experience for someone more used to the soggy mud of rural England.

3 Shires Fell Race 2011

2011-09-21T13:55:00.000+01:00

Saturday morning saw us off to Little Langdale in the pouring rain to run the Three Shires fell race. Parking this year was again from Hodge Close quarry and the road to the quarry was flooded in various places.

As usual Pete Bland was there, this time in the car park.

Albert, Tony and Mark before we left for the start.

I found it sorely tempting to stay in the pub once we had registered and not bother with the race, there was still a huge queue for numbers by the time the race was due to start and the weather wasn't looking too inviting.

By the time everyone was ready I just wanted to get going so I could warm up. We all had a rudimentary kit check (they just checked whether we looked to have a decent bumbag/rucksack - it's always nice to be trusted) then we were off down the lane. Usually I start a little too close to the front on this one - not one for all the bumping and queueing that goes on further back. Nobody was going to ford the beck this year it must have been nearly chest deep!

It always seems much longer to the start of the first climb than I remember, it was still raining and the paths were like streams in places. The climb up Wetherlam is a bugger; as usual I had judged the conditions wrong and put my helly and thicker waterproofs on so I was getting far too warm . It was a nice surprise though for the clouds to clear as we got higher towards the summit and it stayed that way pretty much for the rest of the race.

I struggled most of the way round, all the climbs seemed tiring and the whole route was very wet and slippy. I enjoyed the descent from Blisco to Blea tarn though, this being the only point where I managed to pass a few people.

Passing Blea Tarn. Thanks to jellybabyfairy for taking this photo.

I filled my bottle from the Beck at the bottom of the climb up to Lingmoor and stuffed the rest of my food down but it didn't help much with that climb.

Struggling up Lingmoor. Thanks to Sport Sunday for the photo.

It wasn't long before I was over the summit and on my way down to the finish, not a bad descent but I missed a few of the short cuts through the bracken. Albert was already at the finish so after washing my legs in the beck and having my pastie with a cup of tea he dragged me back to the car to get warm and wait for the others. The sun even came out once or twice so I took a couple more pictures:

Looking out towards Wetherlam (in the distance) from the car park.

Across Little Langdale to Lingmoor Fell.

As usual thanks to everyone involved with putting the event on; I finished in around 2h52m so a little slower than my best but considering the conditions I should be happy. I was glad to get round in one piece, there were a few tales of cuts and broken bones after the finish; hopefully nothing too serious!

Ben Nevis Race 2011

2011-09-15T14:21:00.000+01:00

Ben Nevis race weekend has become an annual fixture in both our calendars it seems and something I really look forward to, as much for the weekend spent in the Fort William as the race itself. It was quite a contrast sat eating a sandwich in the warm sunshine outside Stansted to arriving in Fort William Friday teatime in the pouring rain.

I think locally this weather would be known as 'Dreich'

The weather wasn't that much better Saturday morning as we milled around the shops passing the time before the race, Mark looking at 200 quid jackets while I was looking at getting 5 presents for my family for under a tenner.

Mark waiting for the place to open (or stealing their Wi-Fi, I wonder which he will admit to).

It was nice to catch up with a few familiar faces at registration then it was time to line up behind the pipers for the start. I wore my windproof top in the hope that it wouldn't rain too much during the race and as Mark has already mentioned I had bought a new pair of Mudclaw 333s; the older 330s have always been perfect for me but I couldn't get hold of any so had to shell out for some 333s in the hope that they would perform similarly.

On the way back down the lower slopes. Thanks to Richard Cowan for the photo.

I was feeling quite good this year and was hoping to maybe set a PB but the conditions put paid to that. I made it to the top at least 5 minutes quicker but on turning I had to take my glasses off with the weather being so showery, I can usually get away with a cap and maybe my hooded top but not today my glasses were getting wet and it was getting a bit dangerous trying to see the rocks. I really should try some of those disposable contact lenses that various people have been recommending.

As it was I didn't lose too much time on the way back down though I made the mistake for the second year running of going straight through the bracken near the bottom of the path rather than cutting left just after the metal bridge, there were a few runners I ended up passing twice due to this! At the finish my time almost matched last years, I think I was about 10 or 20 seconds slower finishing in just over 2h20m. I couldn't fault the 333s either, let's just see how long they last.

Ian, Mark and myself having a brew at the finish. I must have blinked!

We had a great weekend, not only doing the race itself; the longest climb in the country followed by the longest descent; but the stay in Fort William as well. Thanks to all involved with putting the event on... oh and those back home who put up with my training! I'm already looking forward to next year.

The Ben 2011

2011-09-13T00:30:00.001+01:00

Well the end of January came and the entry form was written and posted as soon as possible. The Ben race fills up quickly so you have to get your entry in soon. 4 weeks later the provisional list of entries was published and …… my name wasn’t on it

I mailed the race secretary to see if my name was on the provisional list and he kindly mailed me right back to say that I hadn’t completed my date of birth and that if I mailed him back with it then i would be in. So by return e-mail it was sent and he confirmed my entry. Cool!!

With the Ben in mind I planned to do a few more bigger races. I started entering longer LDWA events early in the year and also planned to enter Borrowdale (intentionally) this year. But as the year went on the longer races didn’t happen as I planned. But on a few shorter races I ran a little better and I was happy that my general fitness was at least similar to that of last year.

Chris and I make a weekend of this race, well it is a 6 hour drive from Wigan. Chris flew up from Stanstead to Glasgow again and I drove to Glasgow Airport to collect him and continue the drive on. Albert was supposed to be joining us this year but the weekend before he’d gone off gallivanting to the Pyrenees to do a 100 mile ultra race and come back with his feet in tatters so pulled out.

The main thing I was looking forward to was the black pudding. I love Stornoway black pudding and this weekend gives me my fix. We arrived at the hotel, threw our bags in our rooms and went straight out to the Grog and Gruel. it’s a great pub and always busy on this weekend. The best bit though is the starters, Black pudding with oat cakes. Personally I don’t eat the oat cakes I just want the pudding. A few drinks with the meal and a couple after and it was an early night.

Saturday morning and a tasty fry up with another portion of black pudding. Then a quick wonder through town allowed me to stumble upon the ONLY shop in Fort William that sold Stornoway black pudding only to find out they had SOLD OUT! All my plans to bring 3 whole puddings home with me were scuppered.

The Race

With our new shoes on, Chris’s Mudclaw 333’s, my Walsh PB Ultras, we wandered to playing field. The weather wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to do. The forecast had suggested it might clear with occasional shower but I don’t think anyone told the weather that. Occasionally the rain and mist tried to lift but minutes later the rain would start again and the cloud would close in again. I have always been a little worried about running races in the mist but I wasn’t today. Maybe this is because I had already done the route and it wasn’t new I don’t know.

Having collected my race number, tag and free bottle of Ben Nevis Whisky (minature) we chatted to some familiar faces; Ian, Pauline (NLN), Emma and Daz H and Debbie Cooper from Lytham St Annes who I keep bumping into at races more and more.

After last years run my hope was to beat the 3hr mark which meant knocking at least 8 mins off last years time. Given conditions last year were clear and dry I was wondering of it was going to be an ask but it didn’t bother me too much I felt good.

The pipers started to play and the runners all walked behind them to the start and the random kit checks. I had no soon got into the start box and the race started with a lap of the field and out on to the road. Passing the pub at the end of the road the climb on the hill starts and early on the runners start to split. The lower section of path has a few points where you cut off on to a higher part of the path (tourists would typically stay on the path zigzagging back and forth). My preference is to stay on the lower path until you have no choice to cut up. With the wet ground this year i felt these sections were a little slower to climb (or there was more traffic holding me back).

The race crowd carry on along this path until it turns back 170 degrees below red burn which is where the runners then follow a trod directly up to Red Burn. By now we were in the mist and the showers had returned along with an occasional breeze. I carried on and although a little tired I felt ok (considering). I’d managed to avoid looking at my watch as there were plenty of people around me so must have been doing ok for time. The sound of Red Burn was getting louder and I could hear voices of supporters and marshals ahead.

Red Burn: 57 mins (last year: 59 mins)

After Red Burn a quick left and up the scree route. In the mist you can’t see that far ahead and I think that helps as you have no idea how far you have gone or even how far you still have to go. This seemed to help on the climb but it’s these steeper ascents that I struggle with and I lose more places than normal.

As I continued up the scree the leaders started to come back down with such a pace that I can only imagine the information from their eyes to their muscles must block out any possible the signals the brain is sending about the potential pain they could inflict upon themselves at any moment.

Joining/crossing the zigzag paths higher up and the route gets a little busier with walkers. For the most part they are all quite friendly. Some cheer you on and others move aside when they hear you coming but you always seem to get a couple that want you to know your spoiling their day.

Marshalls had been placed at various points on the route and one set had been placed at the top of Gardyloo Gully where the path runs just aside from the top of it. Something I didn’t quite realise last year is how steep the drop is of the edge of the summit. I’m not afraid of heights but I do get a little anxious when I think about being near somewhere like that (even just thinking about it gives me butterflies), I didn’t hang around to have a look either. Generally I just keep focused on the path I need to take and only think about it afterwards. At the summit it’s a quick hello to the marshals before heading back the way we came.

Summit: 1 hr 52 mins (last year: 1hr 59mins)

I think by this point the rain/showers had stopped but we were still in the mist. This is the start of “the easy bit” the descent. It’s not easy! 4 miles of downhill is hard work on your legs. The path down from the summit was relatively easy to follow and I was quickly passed by local Lochaber runners. Soon enough you get to the scree run and I seemed to be in traffic. My walshes shoes were performing admirably so far. I dug in with my heels where I could but the traffic slowed me down and I didn’t really want to head off the main trod. But every now and then there was a split in the path and most of the people in front tended to follow each other like lemmings and I saw the chances so took them and made up some places. However by the time I got down to Red Burn my legs were starting to ache and as I started in the grassy bank I had to slow. This was probably a good thing though as it was very slippy and I can’t blame the shoes for slipping a few times. Crossing the stream at the bottom of the bank we re-join the path and then the lower well paved section all the way to the road.

The path was still wet/damp in places and I’ve still not go confidence when traversing wet rocks. There is still this hesitation that holds me back. But it wasn’t the rock that caught me out but the grass. I tried keeping to the very narrow trod besides the path and somehow misplaced my foot and tripped up, banging my knee in the process. This is probably the worst fall I have had in a race before but thankfully there were no badly placed rocks to cause me any further damaged and I was able to get straight up and carry on, if not a tad slower than before I tripped.

By the time I reached the pub at the start of the final road section I was convinced I had lost time on the descent. The traffic on the scree, the slow grassy bank, the damp rock on the path and the fall must have eaten into my time. On the road section though I did feel stronger than last year (although not too much stronger) and managed to pass a couple of people. Chris was waiting for me at the gate and I turned onto the field for the final lap round the pitch in to the finish.

Finish: 2 hr 59 min 03 sec (last year: 3 hr 07 mins 51 sec)

I was glad to have finished another Ben race and even happier to have finished in under 3 hours but can’t help but think how much faster I might have been dry like last year.

Race over

Heading back to the car Chris and I washed our shoes and legs in the river. Two girls were chatting not far away and as we left and crossed the bridge I heard a slash and one of the girls say “Oh no, ma foone!” and then she started to take her shoes off to go in for it. Might not be much use now love!!

That night, after another visit to the Grog and Gruel where the starter again involved black pudding, we went along to the Ben Race presentation to collect our certificates and then headed to the NevisSports bar where they’d put a live group on to sing the night away. After a couple (or more) Bacardi & cokes the bar closed and we headed back to the hotel.

The morning came and after breakfast (Yep, more black pudding) we headed of and had an easy drive back stopping off at Bonnie Braes for a cup of tea before dropping Chris at Glasgow Airport.

A great weekend and I’ll be completing my entry form again in January for next years attempt.

Total Black Pudding count = 12 slices in two days

I think I can safely say that my iron count wasn’t low for the blood test I took the following Monday.

Footwear!!

2011-09-10T03:20:00.003+01:00

i would never have though footwear was such an issue that I would get worked up about it but recently I have.
Here are the shoes I have had for hill running so far..

Adidas Swoops (V1)
When I first started running on the hills my cousin gave me a pair of Adidas Swoops that somebody had left in his garage. They were a size 10.5 but a smail 10.5 and were a tad too small but never the less I wore them. They only ached for the first 5 minutes but then stretched to my foot. The other issue with them was that the inner sole would work it’s way out. After Chris took me for a run in bad weather in Coniston I lost confidence in them when I started slipping lots on wet rock. (I know a little better now to stay off the wet rock were possible)
Inov8 Mudroc 290
The next shoe I bought from Pete Blands was the Inov8 Mudroc 290. I loved this shoe. It gave me great grip and confidence and more importantly it was comfortable. It lasted me 12 months and was falling to pieces after that time. So in evitably I bought another pair. I didn’t get on as well with the 2nd pair, it was the same model but the styling was ever so slightly different. I assumed I was now just running hard and needed something with more grip.
Walsh PB Ultra Elite
Having received a voucher from the Horwich Downhill Race I bought a pair of Walshes from Walshes Shoes in Bolton. For the first 3-4 runs I had pains in my shins but this wore off. Putting on a new pair of Walshes is like putting on a pair of slippers. They are so comfortable and with the sticky lugs on the sole are great for descending. Once they are worn in though and get wet they are a bit of a pain to tie up and get tight on your foot and after some good wear in them they do start to look very scraggy.
Inov Mudclaw 270
An end of line shoe and on offer at Lakes Runner in Ambleside I bought this shoe for £50. It was a superb shoe! My only criticisms are that I personally could have done with just a tad more padding/cushioning, and they just didn’t last anywhere near long enough.
I bought them at the end of August and wore them for races and weekly runs until the dark nights drew in. During the winter months I tended to do more Orienteering so was using road shoes thus saving the wear on the Mudclaws. But by the time March came the shoe was falling to pieces. The upper was full of holes and the sole had started to separate from the upper. Considering I got a good 12 months from the Mudrocs I was not impressed. I tried e-mailing Lakes Runner, who failed to respond and I also e-mails Inov8 who also failed to respond.
New Balance Trail shoes
I had some NB Trail shoes that I bought at the same time as the Midclaw 333’s (below). Great comfy shoe for trails but not a fell shoe.
Inov8 Mudclaw 333
In the January I had seen a pair of Mudclaw 333’s on offer so bought them for later in the year. As the Mudclaw 270’s started to fall apart earlier than expected I pulled them out a little sooner (April I think). April was quite dry and regular runs on Winter Hill had kept the new shoes clean. I’d been experiencing a pain in my feet after a couple of miles in these shoes but I assumed, like the Walses, I just needed to wear them in. As it was dry I also wore the New Balance shoes (above) so it took a while to try and “wear them in”. I think it was late April before the rain started and I got some mud on them but still the pain in my feet persisted. I entered Coniston in them, worried about the pain they may cause but with nothing else to wear and ended up retiring due to the pain only 1/2 way up the first climb to Wetherlam. I tried again at Fairfield, this time completing the course but I had to stop at regular intervals to let me feet relax (particularly on the descents). I was convinced it was my fault and not the shoes but the pain continued. I tried them a few more times before I finally threw them in a corner and wondered what to do with them. Now I had nothing to race in.
Adidas Kanadia
Sports Direct had an offer on for Adidas Kanadias. They had been recommended along with a Mizuno shoe by some other fell runners so I thought I would give them a go. I bought two pairs as they were only £35 each. They are a GREAT, comfortable shoe (Although buy a size larger as Adidas sizes are too small, I bought a 12 when I’m normally 10.5 - 11). However whilst they are great on trains and dry ground they are not a fell shoe and don’t give confidence on wet fell type grass or wet rocks.
Adidas Swoops
A few months back I ask Pete Bland to bring along some Adidas Swoops (Vii) that had had on offer for £30. For the price you can’t discard them. Again they were a great comfortable shoe. Only a slight ache on first use but that passed. As time went on I realised that they also suffered badly on wet rock. At the recent Blisco Dash I learnt this whilst descending the rock path when it felt like I was on an ice rink and slipped descending the path and did something to my finger (broke or fractured it, it’s eased now). This really knocked my confidence in them.
A few weeks after this I had the Borrowdale Fell race to enter and I needed a fell shoe but I couldn’t spend any more on shoes, Joanne would kill me. So I needed to make a decision for Borrowdale, Swoops or Mudclaw 333’s. I needed to confidence of the Mudclaw grip but the comfort of the Swoops. In the end I plumped for comfort but I paid for it traversing the rock ground after falling at Blisco.

With Ben Nevis coming up I started panicking again. I needed a shoe to do The Ben in and it couldn’t be the swoop with the lower section being mainly rock as my lack of confidence would slow me down and it couldn’t be the Mudclaw 333’s as I'd be keeled over in pain after 4miles going downhill.

I actually have no issue in paying for shoes (although I always look for sales, I just watch my money) but with the 333’s not fitting correctly and the price of Inov8 shoes continuing to rise (averaging £80-£90 pair now) I will not pay £90 for another model of shoe only to find out that it too doesn’t suit my foot.

With this in mind I decided to plea to Inov8. I boxed up the Mudclaw 333’s and shipped them to Inov8 with a covering letter explaining the issues I’d experienced with the 333’s. The studs were not that worn so you could see not that much running had been done in them. Basically, working on the assumption that the end of line Mudclaw 270’s fit me OK I asked if they would be willing to exchange the 333’s for a pair of 272’s (the newer version of the 270.) Assuming this shoe fitted ok, my confidence in Inov8 shoes would be restored and I wouldn’t mind paying a higher price for the confidence I’m after.

4 WEEKS now since I sent the shoes back to Inov8 and I have heard NOTHING! ZIP! DIDDLY SQUAT! SWEEET FA!
Walsh PB Ultra Elite
So with one week to go before The Ben and Inov8 customer service being so abysmal I decided to buy another pair of Walsh PB Ultra Elites (Facewest £39, bargain and cheaper than Inov8). Last weekend Chris and I went to Ben Nevis and my footwear problems of the passed few months disappeared. The Walshes were superb, in fact I probably didn’t do them justice. Now I’m just wondering if I should snap up another pair for £39 before they run out of stock.

Now I’m not trying to dis Inov8 shoes, to play devils advocate I can tell you that Chris recently bought a pair of Mudclaw 333’s but he DID NOT experience any issue with them and he couldn’t fault them in any way after The Ben. Everybody is different but you would hope that manufacturers (particularly small, more specialised ones) would want to help out when people have issues with the products they make in order to keep a good name. It doesn’t seem to be so in the case of Inov8!!
I can only finish this article by saying…..

Thank you @NormanWalshUK

Borrowdale 2011

2011-09-10T02:48:00.001+01:00

For a few years I said I would never do this race and back in 2010, after a last minute substitution, I entered Borrowdale for the first time. There wasn’t much hope (or plan) of finishing it but I gave it a go and retired during the race.

This year I entered as soon as I could but up to race day I didn’t feel my fitness was really any better than the previous year. The plan was simply to make it to Honister Slate mine inside or outside the time limit.

A separate blog entry mentions the issues I’d been having with footwear and in the week leading to the race I was still in a dilemma. The Mudclaw 333’s would be painful but give me the grip I needed but the Adidas Swoops would give me the comfort but were absolutely USELESS on wet rock. In the end I decided that comfort had to be the winner.

After some standing around in the rain before the start the race headed off towards Bessyboot. The initial climb up didn’t feel as bad as last year and I certainly felt like I had a little more energy coming off the top.

From here we contoured around the rear of Glaramara and over Allen Craggs to Esk Hause Shelter. Again I felt ok over this section, passing a few people along the way. However next came the section from Esk Hause to Scafell Pike and on to StyHead Tarn.

On passing the shelter I took the opportunity to stuff my face and took in a packet of Haribo, a lollipop and a mini snickers. With my Adidas shoes on I had NO confidence on the damp rock of Broad Crag and I lost quite a bit of time here and clambering up and off the top of Scafell Pike. Even coming down the scree run I felt like I was holding back.

By the time I arrived at StyHead I felt that I was already pushing it for time. I topped up my water and pushed on. The slog up Great Gable is a killer when your legs are tired and they were. During the climb I caught up to a girl and we finished the climb together but once on the top she seemed to disappear of in one direction that seemed to be towards Beck Head. The rain had bean threatening as I reached the top and this was my worry with the Adidas Swoops on. The descent from Gable is short but quite rocky and with the rain I became quite hesitant again.

In 2010 I reached the col between Great Gable and Green Gable with just 3 mins to the cut-off so had no time to make it to Honister and by now I was pretty certain that with 25 minutes from Gable I probably didn’t have enough time to make the cut-off but this year I planned to make it there.

Having never been up Green Gable I didn’t realise how close to the col it actually was but I also didn’t realise how far over Honister was. With the rain coming down more and my map in hand my I veered to the right of Green Gable andthe right of Brandreth, then crossing the fence I picked up what seemed to be the trod around the left of Grey Knotts but by this time I had about 2 mins to get to Honister when suddenly I heard “ere Mark!”. I looked to the right and saw Tony Varley on the opposite site of the fence.

Asking him if he was ok he shouted over “cramp!”, so I started to head to him. He climbed the fence and then dropped to the floor with cramp again. I helped him up and we walked for a short period. He taken on some water with a Nuun tablet and I guess it just needed to kick in. After a few minutes we started trotting but Tony still seemed to be suffering but said he was ok so I carried on as I was still keen to see how much over I would have been to Honister. As I ran on a bit further I heard another “Ey up!” and I turned to see Anthony Alexander limping down the hill. It turned out he’d injured himself before Styhead but carried on anyway, but now he was really struggling to walk properly.

After a moment chatting and making sure he was ok I carried on down to Honister where Scoffer (Race organiser) was there to record people that had been timed out. I arrived at Honister some 15 minutes after the cut-off time but I wasn’t too bothered about this. Tony and Anthony were both hobbling down the hill and probably took another 5-10 mins to get down where Scoffer kindly gave us a lift back to the start.

Looking back on the race I firmly think I can make the cut-off next time “if” I have the right footwear. I lost too much time on Broad crag and Scafell that really annoyed and also has to stop to clear out stones from my shoes. Also I think that my ascending is “slowly” getting better and with some perseverance I should be able to attack the climbs a little better and have more time to play with.

Thanks to the race Organiser and all the Marshalls who allow this event to happen. Scoffer also mentioned that there is a reliance on volunteers to help with this event even with the jobs that don’t involve getting out on the mountains. So if you are ever free to help please don’t forget that without volunteers these great races wouldn’t happen so please give something back when you can!

No pictures from me I’m afraid during this race.

Mark

The Harvester Relays, Sheffield 2011 (Orienteering)

2011-09-10T02:06:00.001+01:00

A few months back I took part (with SELOC) in the BOC Relays near Dore in Sheffield. It was a great day and a good atmosphere amongst the team. Overall we didn’t fair well and I think we were the last team to leave, but that didn’t spoilt it for us.

In July came the Harvester. The Harvester too is a relay event too which involves either a team of 5 or 7 to take part. Each leg is a different length and difficulty level and it starts at Midnight. The 7 legs run through the night with the hope of finishing by around 9-10AM.

I arrived around 10:30PM and set my tent. Then hung around for the Start. The guys from ShUOC had used little tea lights to mark out the run/run out and it all looked really good. Midnight came and the mass start happened. The runners headed of down the field in three different directions. This year they were also using GPS and radio controls so once the runners disappeared most spectators huddled in the marquee to look at the GPS dots on the partially blanked out map showing on the side of the tent. This was great to watch but as not all competitors carried GPS the novelty soon wore off. However the radio controls were very good as this gave you a good indication as to how your team was actually doing and as the night went on more people were watching these screens than the GPS screens.

I was on Leg 3 and as I spent that much time watching the screens I never got any sleep before heading out for my leg. It was marked as about 11k but it still took me near 2.5 hours to complete it and it was getting light by the time I got back. Most of the controls weren’t too hard to find but the terrain was a little more difficult in places. There were a couple of controls that led me astray but I didn’t make any major cok ups, it was just my general stamina that let me down.

Ultimately though we got disqualified as one of the runners on a later leg missed out one control but it didn’t matter as we were never going to be competitive at the event anyway (not with me in the team) and it’s just about the participation in the event.

On the Sunday ShUOC had also put on an urban orienteering event in Dore village and with some tired legs from the night event there were probably some slower times than normal. The local residents of the little village must have thought we were all mad.

I’ll look forward to similar events next year too.

Mark

Wasdale Fell Race 2011

2011-07-11T21:50:00.002+01:00

Just got back from a fantastic weekend in the Lakes. Mark drove us up to Wasdale late Friday night for my favourite race of the year the following morning.

I was a little apprehensive; I missed last year's race due to knee trouble and this year have not managed to put in the training I would have liked (does this ever happen?) so I wanted to stick to a plan of starting slower than I would have liked to maybe get to Seatallan 10 or 15 mins down on previous years in the hope that I can finish faster. I need to stop making plans.

I was impressed with the turnout at the start there looked to be over 200 runners gathered in the sunshine - the conditions were forecast to be good. The clouds were down over the top of the screes and I was careful not to run too fast, sticking behind a group of four or five; I still reached the checkpoint over a minute faster than ever (I have only run Wasdale twice before).

I decided to run in my trail shoes; previously by Great Gable in fell shoes my legs, especially my knees have been really sore from the rough ground and it just gets rougher from then on so I chose a bit more cushioning to see if that would help. This meant sacrificing some grip though on the descents which showed itself running down to cross the valley to Greendale but it served to slow me down enough to reach the second checkpoint a few minutes down so still not quite according to plan.

I was almost glad to reach the rockier ground having got a bit sick of trying to get going over all the boggy grass but I was already getting tired by the time I cleared Pillar which was just poking into the clouds. The descent to Black Sail was hard going too and this was the start of a bad patch which lasted until Sty Head.

There are a couple of points in this race that always stick in my mind, one of them being the imposing sight of Great Gable rearing up as you contour round Kirk Fell; I have always been suffering by that stage and the thought of trying to climb that is hard to bear.

Leaving the Gable checkpoint I was getting the beginnings of cramp especially under my feet of all places! I couldn't attack the descent at all but it was good to see Mark and Pauline waiting at Sty Head; Mark even shouted a few hints once he saw me directing me down the grassy bits.

I tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace.

I had a big drink thanks to Pauline which perked me up then ate some food on the way up to Esk Hause, there was a nice cool breeze on my back which seemed to propel me up to the pass. The other image that sticks in my mind is the first sight of Scafell Pike summit in the distance, knowing that from that point on it's all downhill to the finish.

I managed to stave off the cramps by stuffing food and water down my throat and I think this was the main reason I felt much better over the final few miles. It's a great feeling (psychologically if not physically!) dibbing at Scafell Pike and setting off down to the finish, though I can never do that descent justice at the end of this race; it's better tackled in the shorter races - both Lingmell Dash and Scafell Pike races head down Lingmell nose - today my body wouldn't go as fast as my mind was telling it to I was hurting pretty much from the chest down.

Approaching the last checkpoint at the bottom of the final descent.

I got a second helping of encouragement from Pauline and Mark at the last checkpoint then it was just a painful jog to the finish where I had a nice sit down on the grass in the warm sun completely exhausted and over the moon! My time was about half way between my slowest and fastest but they're all within 6 or 7 minutes of each other so I can't complain, I was just glad to get round.

Once again thanks to all involved with putting the event on especially Rhys Findlay-Robinson this year who stepped in when Richard unfortunately couldn't spare the time.

As ever Ian's blog captures the atmosphere of the day and also Pauline added some photos here.

Great Lakes Run 2011 - 13 miles 7000ft.

2011-06-22T07:51:00.003+01:00

Father's day weekend provided me with a slim excuse for a brief trip back home and funnily enough there was a race on that weekend. I also managed to keep up my new tradition of turning up at the last minute, this time thanks to Mark since he was driving. The weather didn't look too bad on the drive up, the forecast hadn't been too promising and it was spitting with rain when we arrived in Langdale plus all the tops were in thick cloud.

This race is becoming one of my favourites, this is its fourth year and apart from last year I have done them all. Today looked like it would be similar to the first year in terms of navigation at least, thankfully it was nothing like as cold and windy though. You park in the farmer's field; register in one of his sheds and start by the gate leading onto the fell. I was fretting about what to wear, it looked like it could be cold on the tops so I put my leggings on but as you can see from the photo I was a little overdressed, I'm becoming Mark!

As usual I started too close to the front but by the time we were in the cloud I had managed to find my pace. It seemed to take an age to get to the top of Bowfell, I have only ever been up this way as part of the race and so early on it's usually just follow the leader but there was one point where I saw a single runner off to the right and remember thinking I should have been going that way. I think we took the tourist route all the way up apart from right near the summit where the guy in front strayed too far right over the rocks and took me with him. After the summit it was helpful hearing a bloke shouting out: "Lindsy where are you?" further on.

Runners heading up the band that leads onto Bowfell.

We were still in the clouds all the way past Esk Pike then they lifted briefly for the climb onto Great End. Of all the tops in the lakes I have visited, the section from Esk Hause to Scafell Pike is my least favourite by far so I was glad to get a tour of some short cuts around there (not that there are many) from the girl in front. I was slipping all over the place on the rocks in my walshes and as I complained about this the bloke next to me suggested I stick to the pink rocks! Strangely enough they did actually feel less slippy, never heard that one before.

Over Scafell Pike and past the hordes I was careful not to head down into Wasdale by mistake then I noticed a couple of runners heading off to the left so decided to follow them. This was a decent short cut missing out Mickledore and brought us out just above the marshal stood at the bottom of the Gully leading up to Foxes Tarn. I was getting fed up with my new water bottle at this point, not being one for drinking from streams I bought a Travel Tap. The flow through the filter is very poor and I had resorted to taking the filter top off to drink the tap water I had brought with me, I filled it up on the way up the gully.

It's very steep here, there's a flagged section that heads right out of the gully and I was struggling with the gradient while trying to stuff salt and vinegar crisps into my mouth. It was at this point two years ago that I began to suffer with it being so humid, this time I was concentrating more on making sure I was going the right way it was so misty. As I passed the summit checkpoint I noticed a runner looking a bit confused, he didn't look like he knew where he should be going so I got my compass out and told him we should be heading generally south. There is some grassy running slightly off the ridge but you need to be careful not to head too far west or you could miss the next checkpoint. Running down here I began to get a sharp pain across my right big toenail which was a bit disconcerting.

Just at the point where I was becoming concerned I hadn't seen any other runners for a while slight side appeared darkly through the thick mist and there was the marshall waiting patiently for us. Over the top and continuing south I tried to give some tips to the other runner who had followed me since Scafell but I don't think he was taking much in - he seemed to have decided to stick behind me for a while.

Heading down off Slight Side we saw a small group heading back up from the west(!) then thankfully we dropped below the clouds and could see across Great Moss to the next climb. Heading round below Horn Crag on the last of the scree I slipped and used my right hand to break my fall. I noticed a bit later on that I had cut my hand right in the crease at the base of my little finger, nothing serious but it got a bit bloody.

I washed the blood off crossing the river then while climbing out the other side my left quad started cramping up, not something I usually struggle with that much and for me it's usually a sign that I haven't been drinking and eating enough so I slowed to a walk and tried to get some more food and water in. We had seen a group on a lower path from Slight Side so I suggested the guy in front catch them up.

I always seem to struggle at this point, the group in front headed up Swinsty Gill but I think it's better to head up Stonesty gill which seems less climb. It's still a struggle though, I caught my 'shadow' up again as we headed into the mist and a couple of other runners passed us on the way up. I was trying my best to get more water in but the bottle was so slow it was frustrating, I am beginning to think it would be better to just start drinking from streams!

Reaching the top of the climb I had to have a sit down and eat the remains of my food plus finally get the scree out of my shoes, the guy following me headed off as another runner passed but after 5 minutes or so sorting myself out as I headed off I found him sat on a rock not far off having a bite to eat. I had a feeling he didn't possess a compass but I didn't broach the subject.

Anyway things were perking up for me, plus the cloud base was lifting and heading north of Cold Pike towards the path past Red Tarn you could finally see Blisco in the distance. I was expecting to see Mark at Red Tarn but he wasn't there; he had planned on heading up Bowfell then over the Crinkles and handing out some jelly babies before the last climb so I was puzzled there was no sign of him - I was looking forward to some jelly babies too!

The last of my food was working and I took the climb up Blisco steadily, the summit was clear and you could see a few runners heading down the descent. I have never managed to find a nice, quick route down here. A bloke I had caught said he had been down this way a couple of weeks ago and there isn't another way down unless you go the long way round; still I was a bit wary having to down climb scary crags more than twice. It wasn't long though before we hit the last steep grassy section where my poor studs couldn't handle the gradient and I fell on my arse at the same time as a bloke behind me. There were three of us and we ended up sliding down a short way on our backsides, as if we were sledging like kids it was great fun though you needed to keep an eye out for any rocks!

Heading through the bracken I fell again this time on my left wrist which hurt and left me with a bruise but I was happy to be at the finish. I didn't carry a watch and had a feeling my time would be disappointing, I was 5 mins under 5 hours; about 15 mins slower than my usual time and was a bit surprised how much I suffered especially across Great Moss. Still, I was glad to get round and I think the main reason for me struggling was again not enough water same as Ennerdale I really need to sort out my water strategy before Wasdale; plus I had only run twice and biked once since Ennerdale having caught a cold... excuses excuses. Taking my shoes off I noticed my big toenail had split across the middle but I don't remember banging it on anything.

Thanks as usual must go to all involved with putting this event on, it really typifies what fell running is all about.

Drinks after the finish, impressive how sticky the mud was.

Ennerdale Fell Race 2011 - Where I lost my bottle.

2011-06-08T21:04:00.002+01:00

I'm developing a bad habit of turning up for events at the last minute; not only that, I entered Ennerdale just the weekend before after getting in touch with the organiser to check it was ok. We were staying in Wasdale for half term week and I thought it would be a shame to miss the race since I was in the Lakes anyway but I had to secure permission from my better half first.

The weekend before we met up with the Sammons at Hutton Roof for the fell race there, I like that race as much for the food after the race as the route itself. I had quite a good run comfortably beating my time from a couple of years ago but not quite matching my best for this route, I'd like to think that's down to the headwind on the way out than anything to do with my age (denial is a virtue in my book). The Sammons met us again in Wasdale the day after where me and Mark went for a trot up Scafell (not pike!), I enjoyed this run though Mark seemed to be suffering a bit with his legs. I tried to take it easy, not having done any big descents for a while and I didn't want to trash my legs for the week. It's the biggest single drawback of living in the south where fell running is concerned and something I always suffer with when doing big races, the descents really do make a mess of my quads.

I did a couple more runs during the week, I had half a mind to do the Blencathra Race Wednesday evening but it seemed a bit daft driving all that way when there were all the Wasdale hills on the doorstep, plus I think it would have been too much with Ennerdale at the weekend.

My favourite race is a toss-up between Ennerdale and Wasdale, I think Ennerdale probably wins on the simplicity of the route - just run to the head of the valley and back clockwise over most of the tops; however Wasdale has the edge in sheer brutality. I haven't done Duddon yet; I was considering it this year until I found out it was a champs race, they're just not me and since there's always scrambles for entries I think it's better to find something else and leave the place for somebody more keen.

Packing my kit early Saturday I had lost my whistle so I stopped off as Wasdale Head to pick one up from the shop there, it was after 10am when I got back in the car and I have to say I ended up driving like a bit of an idiot to get to Ennerdale Bridge 20 minutes before the start. Rushing around getting my number I got a stern warning from a bloke that the briefing was about to start so I sprinted back to my car to get changed and slap some suncream on since it was quite warm! I was sweating by the time we lined up for the start, still relieved to have made it. I spotted Pauline and said a quick hello before we all set off along the side of Ennerdale Water towards the first climb.

The first few cutoffs are notoriously tight at this race, I would say the first one is harder to make than that at Wasdale so for me it's tough at the beginning to balance going off too fast with taking it steady and risking getting timed out. It seems an age before you start to climb the fell and it was hot, Ian caught and passed me near the top where there was thankfully a nice cooling breeze blowing.

The views were gorgeous with the skies being clear so there would be no problems with navigation it was going to be a case of setting a good pace and keeping the food and water going down, I made the first checkpoint with about 4 minutes to spare which was better than the only other time I have done this race.

From there to Blackbeck tarn it was mostly follow the leader but there were a few bits where I remembered trods that those in front didn't know about. There was a bloke taking pictures at the tarn just before I filled my bottle up:

I ate some of my crisps and peanuts just after here and shortly after on the climb up Green Gable then went to have a drink and my bottle had gone! I couldn't understand it, I swear I'm always careful about dropping anything on the fells so I was really confused when there was no sign of it at all in my bumbag. My confusion turned to concern when I thought about how far was still to go and how little water was available after Kirk Fell, thankfully after chatting to the bloke alongside me who had noticed what I was doing he gave me a small, empty coke bottle to use. In the end I got round on the water that all the marshals had carted onto the peaks; not something I am comfortable with, relying on other people but there you go I made an embarrassing mistake... and costly the bottle had a water filter on it which cost me nearly 40 quid.

I have been racing in Walshes this year, not for any other reason than I bought them a few years back and stopped using them when the insoles fell out on my first run in them. In the interests of economy this year instead of buying a new pair of mudclaw I glued the insoles back in and have been using them. Trouble is I haven't done more than about 3 hours in them and at around this point in the race I started getting telltale hotspots on my feet, something else to worry about!

I had lost sight of everyone in front going over Kirk Fell just like last time so I was then in the same position as two years ago, wondering whether to try going down the scree gully which I have never done before. It must be about the third or fourth time I have been up there and got to what seems like the top of it but the scree just looks like it drops off a cliff. First time I went down a gully around there was in mist and I actually turned back, on this occasion I ended up doing what I did last time in the race which was stick to the 'path' down the crags then cut right a bit further down where the scree is less steep. There was a guy further up the scree who saw me sneaking onto the stones and shouted down: "I knew there'd be an easier way down!", I told him I wasn't sure about that in fact I wasn't sure there *was* an easy way down that side of Kirk Fell at all!

Climbing Pillar I met a couple of blokes from Ellenborough who offered me some water and jelly babies which I was really grateful of, I was pretty thirsty by that point. I was steadily getting slower and feeling a bit low so I stuffed some chocolate coated flapjack in my mouth; I always remember the race notes from a fellrunner magazine a few years back stating that you shouldn't be knackered by Pillar since there's still a long way to go, while not completely spent I was well on my way. Once off the ridge from there the ground gets a lot kinder becoming much grassier with no more big climbs but you only have to look across to Ennerdale Water to see how far you still have to go.

I trudged on running as much as I could, meeting one or two other runners who were suffering badly with cramp and I even got my map out at one point to check I was where I thought I was since there is a shortcut I took last time missing out Caw. Thankfully all the marshals were really helpful providing some water and encouragement though those on Iron Crag told me it was all downhill from there (it's not!).

I turned right instead of left in the woods before Crag Fell but that's not a major error it just meant I had to make my way across deep grass and heather back to the path but other than that it was just a painful trek past the last checkpoint and down that lovely descent to the finish. It's a shame I couldn't make the most of that descent the way my feet and legs felt I just couldn't pick any speed up it was too painful.

The air was blue on reaching the track back to the scout hut due to the guy in front collapsing with cramp, he couldn't believe it had struck in sight of the finish! It's a little tortuous that run in but it's still a fantastic feeling dibbing at the finish and grabbing a bite to eat with plenty tea and juice. I was about 10 minutes slower than 2 years ago which was a bit disappointing but I'm not complaining; I can't say I have trained as hard this year so far... that's right... blame the training... nothing to do with my age.

I'm still in love with this race; long distance fellrunning doesn't get much better, I couldn't thank the organisers, marshals and everyone else involved with putting it on enough. Next for me hopefully is the Great Lakes Run, another race with a cracking route across some rugged terrain in preparation for this year's Wasdale which I have entered once again, it'll be my third one.

As per usual lots of good shots can be found on Ian's blog. Thanks also to Paul Dobson and Sharp Images for taking pictures on the day.

Coniston - DNF & Inov8’s

2011-06-08T00:17:00.001+01:00

Last year during the Lakes-5 day Orineteering I bought a pair of Inov8 Mudclaw 270’s. They were a nice fit but needed just a tad of cushioning. They were the outgoing model so were on offer for £50 at Lakesrunner. Back in January at a GoOutdoors sale I bought me a pair of Inov8 Mudclaw 333’s for £35 (50% off), well they are the “Grippiest Most Durable Fell Racing Shoe”. Being the slightly heavier model they should have the extra cushioning I needed. I kept them nice and clean, in the box until I needed them.

Well as it turns out I needed them sooner than I thought as the 270’s wore out a lot quicker than I thought they would. Considering I didn’t really use them much over winter they started falling to bits after not that many miles. Certainly no where near the mileage I got from my Mudrock 290’s. I tried e-mailing Inov8 and Lakesrunner but never got any reply from either of them (That’s Lakesrunner off my preferred list of shops, it could be harder to veto Inov8 depending on shoe options I find).

I’ve worn the 333’s a few time so far this year but normally on training runs and ended up with cramp in my feet. They are VERY comfortable when I first put them on but after a few miles or on downhill sections thats when the aches start. I had assumed I just needed to wear them in but with the long spell of hot weather we had around april it was difficult to give them a good “Bogging up” with no moisture on the hills. I mentioned this to Chris and one of his suggestions was to try twinskin socks.

Joanne and the kids came up to Coniston for the race. She was planning to take the kids for a walk whilst I raced. Arriving early enough I still managed to be running to the line on the last minute.

Setting of up the hill I found the going tough from the start. Going up the first ascent and the twin skins seemed to be allowing the shoe to move too much. I can’t tie shoes up to tight or it forces cramp onto them, but today the shoes just seemed to be moving much more than normal. As the shoe moved at the back it moved the sock further down the back of my foot. By the time I was 1/2 way up Weatherlam I’d stopped three times to fix my socks, my feet were cramping and I was starting to feel the beginnings of a blister where the shoes were rubbing as the sock disappeared.

In the end I just gave up. I’d only gone about 2 miles and I didn’t plan to be messing about with footwear all the way round. I turned around and headed back to the start to let them know I’d retired. As I descended to the finish it brought no comfort to me when I saw the race leader hurtling down the final descent and beat me back to the finish completing the whole route quicker than I went 1/2 way up the first climb and back down.

I called Joanne and met up with her and spent the rest of the day family by the lake. It was still an enjoyable day if not for the disastrous run.

Surely the Inov-8 shoes can’t be this bad??? I’ll wear them in some more.

Anniversary Waltz 2011

2011-06-07T23:31:00.001+01:00

With not much mileage in my legs I entered the Anniversary Waltz, near Keswick. I have had my eye on this race since last year. Albert had entered the Teenager with Altitude with Ian Charters and was planning to take it easy and not race the route, just run with Ian.

Setting off slightly later, my race headed up the valley, up Robinson. There was no cloud on the way up but by the time we neared the summit (with the other back markers) the cloud had dropped and we didn’t come out of it for a while after that. It stayed with us all the way to Hindscarth and Dalehead. Only after Dalehead did we drop out of it enough to see where we were going.

Before long it was up hill into the cloud to HighSpy. By this point I was being regularly passed by the runners on the Teenager route. I looked back and was convinced I could see Albert and Ian but they never passed me. After HighSpy I headed over Maiden Moor, at one point loosing my bearings and convincing myself that my compass was wrong until all of a sudden all the cloud simply blew away as if some higher being was trying to tell me “Oi, look where you are numpty!”.

So now after trusting in my compass I headed North towards Catbells and the steep descent to the finish. As I ran down the last descent I could feel Cramp kicking in and just tried to hold back enough to prevent my legs screaming.

Overall I think it was a bit of a poor run. Tiredness seemed to kick in a little early and my legs weren’t really flowing right. I’d finished though and after a few cups of tea with Albert (Who, along with Ian had also become a little lost on Maiden Moor) we headed home.

Funniest part of the day: Watching one lady drive her car in to the farmers gatepost. Luckily the wood was rotten and it just snapped the thick pole without really doing any damage to the car. How she didn’t see it I don’t know!!

Essexwalker 26 mile LDWA (10th April 2011)

2011-06-07T08:25:00.001+01:00

So, what happened???

Well, a few days before we went to Essex I strangely started with Shin Splints. Running in my road shoes which I don’t normally do (run in them or run on roads lately), I assumed this was this was the reason.

On the morning of the run Chris and I headed to the start in Purleigh. This is the same place the Blackwater marathon started from and this route actually covers about 90% of the same route.

I was a little worried about the shin splints and hoped they wouldn’t return and cause me to pull out early. I set off (Chris decided to set-off 10 mins after everyone else) and things started well. However about 2 miles into the run the shin splints started. I pushed on and then at about 2 1/2 miles I pulled a muscle just above the back of my knee (is that the lower ham?). It ached but I carried on slowly with a small limp in my stride (Chris passed me about this point too).

My first thought was to see how it was at Checkpoint 1. I was definitely last at this point. The runner in front was just in sight and I tried to make a bit of ground. By the time I approached the 1st checkpoint (4 miles) I was just about with him. The pain hadn’t worsened and the shin splints had eased a little so after a quick drink I decided to continue on and re-assess the situation at Checkpoint 2 and head off running with the other runner for a while from this point.

I’m not going to describe the route, most of it is covered in my Blackwater Marathon post. We ran on and on reaching Checkpoint 2 I was no worse and without the shin splints (Which incidentally I haven’t had since). A quick stop for a biscuit and juice and I decided to carry on the whole route as long as things didn’t get worse. The next section was the dreaded Sea Wall. This sea wall is about 5 miles long and isn’t the most interesting parts of the run, however this time the weather was far better (if not a little too hot). Running together still for a while I couldn’t keep up and gradually dropped back and back. Reaching the 15-16 mile mark and Checkpoint 3 I was starting to tire and the leg pain was getting to me (it was more the constant ache that was). After too long a rest at CP3 setting off again was a struggle. I’d started to stiffen up and it took a good 5-10 mins to loosen up but not fully.

This section of the route differs from the Blackwater Marathon in that it adds a 4km section making up for a section cut out between CP1 – CP2. By this point I’d decided enough was enough and followed the direct route I knew to miss out this section and straight to CP4.

At CP4 I could have got a lift back to the start but I was still convincing myself I could finish what was left of the route. So I set-off after another rest and after about 400m I decided to get out the map and find the direct route to the finish.

I arrived at the finish shattered and a little sore after covering 22.5 miles, gutted.

I haven’t run right since then!!!!

Last run on Skye

2011-06-06T22:06:00.000+01:00

Not being one for any of the royal goings-on that week I wanted to get out somewhere on the Friday before we came home. After my experience of the Cuillins so far I decided to head up what is generally thought to be the easiest peak to climb - Sgurr na Banachdaich, as long as you head up Coir an Eich and along the south side of An Diallaid. It was a gorgeous day, there was quite a few people heading up there and I got speaking to a couple on the summit from Lancaster who took my pic.


Glenbrittle bay from the way back down. You can just see the ridge on the lower right where I met a group looking a bit shell shocked.

On the way back down I met a group of blokes who had headed up the harder route straight up the side of Sgurr nan Gobhar, one of them looked quite worried about getting back down and they were asking me which way I had come up in the hope that there was an easier way back.

Not sure what was with my expression!

Panorama taken from the summit, in good weather the views on Skye are stunning my photos don't do them justice.

I took this picture on the way back down, one of the many waterfalls alongside the path, Sgurr nan Gobhar imposing in the background.

View of the war memorial above Carbost where we stayed for the week.

I had a great week on the island; everything from the hills, the deer (ok maybe not their ticks which I picked up almost as soon as putting my shorts on!), the golden eagles with their huge wingspan to the sunsets from quiet, secluded bays and would love to go again to explore some more of the hills.

On the drive back we stopped for a break near Glengarry at a curious spot where many cairns had been built beside the road...

A long time no Blog!

2011-06-06T00:49:00.001+01:00

Well it’s been sometime since I have contributed and a few things have happened. I changed jobs and have retied from a couple of races. Each to be discussed separately. I had previously written up a blog post on my laptop but never got round to uploading the photos to it so it’s still there. I’ll try and dig it out and upload the photos. We’ll see.

Watch this space. More will follow soon!

Mark

More Highlands and Islands

2011-05-16T08:29:00.000+01:00

Monday evening of that week I took my kids for a walk to the top of their first Scottish peak, Am Mam from where I took this picture of the clouds gathering over the Cuillins.

Cuillin Ridge from Am Mam

Another clear evening and I decided to try and head up onto Sgurr Alasdair, this meant climbing the great stone chute. I thought I had left myself plenty of time before the light faded but I was wrong, completely underestimating the severity of the scree slope. I was quite disappointed when I realised I wasn't going to make it to the top, right about where I took this picture:

Looking out over Glenbrittle beach from the slopes of the Great Stone Chute.

I'm afraid to admit I did lose my bottle briefly up there (I'm not on about my water bottle). I had been scrambling up crags to try and stay off the loose scree but when I rounded a corner and saw that there was still a very steep section before reaching the col leading up to the summit, foremost in my mind was how steep the terrain had been and I still had to get back down! I strayed too far right at one point coming back down and everywhere was very loose and steep, I couldn't see the route back the ground just seemed to drop off a cliff. Realising my mistake I headed left and could finally see the whiter stones of the path. I was a little fed up by that point, I hadn't enjoyed myself at all and felt that I had put myself in unnecessary danger just trying to tick off a summit.

I was making so much noise crashing back down through the scree, there were a few people on the ridge opposite - I think they were climbing the Inaccessible Pinnacle - must have thought I was a right vandal kicking all the stones around.

Sgurr Dearg opposite, where some climbers were on the Inn Pinn.

A nice consolation on the way back down was the view of the sunset over Glenbrittle bay.

The day after was a little cloudier and I wanted to get a proper run done which didn't involve my hands touching rock, so I went from the Sligachan Hotel up onto Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach (I'm copying this from the map, don't ask me to pronounce it). Notice the Beinn instead of Sgurr, so not too rough and rocky.

Glen Sligachan with Marsco in the foreground and the Cuillin Ridge.

Looking north(ish).Beinn Dearg Mhor on the left with Loch Ainort and the Isle of Scalpay.

Highlands and Islands

2011-05-07T23:14:00.000+01:00

Just back after a week on the Isle of Skye where the weather was particularly kind. On the drive up we stopped off in Wasdale to pick up my eldest daughter, she had been staying with some friends of ours who farm in the valley. We dropped her off the week before, driving there after the event in Grasmere.

I took these pictures that evening:

This is the view from their front door...

...and this the view from the back.

As driving goes, you can't get much better than the drive up through Glencoe into the Highlands. I haven't been further north than Fort William before so found it very distracting seeing such a lovely part of the country for the first time.

I took this shot from the side of the road as we passed through GlenGarry

Skye, like the rest of the Highlands is a paradise for hill lovers. I was spoilt for choice while looking for routes on the map. The evening after we arrived I decided to go for a jog up towards the highest peak on the island to see what the Black Cuillins are like. I wasn't going to get to the top, I only set out at 8ish but I wanted to check out the only route up that doesn't (apparently!) need climbing skills. Looking at the map I was wondering why the names of all the peaks began with 'Sgurr' as opposed to 'Ben'. I found out that the Gaelic 'Sgurr' means 'rough, rocky peak', nowhere I have been has this been more apt than here.

Anyway I got as far as the small loch in the glacial corrie 'Coire Lagan' and took a couple of shots.

This was as far as I got, a small loch in Coire Lagan. I took this from the base of the Great Stone Chute. You can just about see the Isle of Rum on the horizon.

The view up to the top. I decided to head up the stone chute on the left the next time I headed out which turned out to be a mistake.

One more picture on the way back down of the sunset as I passed Loch An Fhir-Ballaich.

More pictures to come...

Back to the Lakes at last.

2011-04-21T08:35:00.000+01:00

Saturday saw another well run LDWA Event: Grasmere Fells, Tarns and Gingerbread organised by the Morecambe Bay & Bowland group. The previous Sunday Mark and I ran another ldwa event - the Essexwalker Challenge around the Crouch estuary on a sunny Sunday where I had a decent run apart from getting dehydrated towards the end. Mark however didn't have such a good time, he was suffering when I passed him (I started about 10 mins late) and I half expected him to be waiting for me at the finish having cut it short, as it was he visited all the checkpoints but took a few shortcuts to make it around 22.5 miles. He was struggling with a sore hamstring plus he also has a touch of shin splints and didn't seem too happy at the finish. He took this as I caught up to him early on:

For Grasmere after much changing of minds during the week Mark decided to drive me up there and bring our eldest boys along; I would run the long route while he would take them for a walk up to Alcock Tarn, he didn't seem too keen on running. Leaving blue skies in Wigan the lakes were misty and overcast but not particularly cold. We only got there just after 8:30 to see everyone heading off into the hills, I got a brew and some toast before getting changed and setting off about 45 minutes late.

The mist was quite low until approaching midday and I didn't see another soul until Great Rigg. There were a few points on the course where the organisers had placed arrows marking the route which was a nice touch but it didn't stop me getting the compass out once or twice to check where I was going. We were tantalisingly close to the top of the cloud on Fairfield and if I had had my wits about me I would have kept my eye out for a Brocken Spectre, as it was there was very little for me to see until coming out of the mist way down from Grisedale Hause, I haven't been down that way before and not having done any big downhills for months my legs were already feeling a bit jelly-like at the Ghyll Foot food stop.

From there on the weather brightened up and navigation became less of a concern. Easedale Tarn was quite busy by the time I got there, I met a runner coming down from Far Easedale who seemed quite pissed off he had gone so wrong. There were runners and walkers all over the place heading across to Silver Howe and I noticed many runners were taking the direct route down to the Youth Hostel rather than following the route notes. By the Youth Hostel I caught up to Ian and Pauline then before I knew it we were climbing fences through woods trying to get back on route (we can blame the walker we caught up for leading us astray!). I was quite tired on the last climb up Loughrigg but the view from the top was well worth it. Then it was a last tortuous stretch round both Grasmere the 'lake' and Grasmere the village to get to the finish. I think I was out for just over 5 hours but time doesn't matter with these events, I was glad to have enjoyed a nice day out.

As ever there was lots of food at the finish and a nice bonus of a piece of Grasmere Gingerbread, a superbly organised event and a credit to all involved with putting it on. I had a great time though I have been suffering since; I ran with a bit of a sore throat that turned out to be the beginnings of a cold, my legs are only just coming back to life now and it's Thursday! Not having done any big downhills for well over 6 months can't help much though.

As per usual there are some fantastic pictures on Ian's blog and Nick Ham's blog. Looking forward to Easter now since I'm off to the Isle of Skye for a week.

Looking forward...

2011-03-30T13:24:00.014+01:00

I haven't really got any major events planned this year, I have been looking for something to do around July but haven't found anything suitable yet so this has meant my training hasn't followed any sort of plan either.

After the Peeler's Hike in Feb I concentrated on getting some miles in on the bike since I had entered Wiggle's No Excuses Sportive towards the end of last year. The main reason being it wasn't too far from where I live and it was free!

I had a good day out, the weather was reasonably kind apart from the headwind around the 60 mile mark which was very frustrating especially since I was having a bad patch at that point. I was impressed with the organisation of this event and really pleased to be out with lots of other cyclists on what turned out to be very quiet lanes around Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. I even managed (very briefly) to make it on the official video.

The following Sunday was another LDWA event that I entered at the last minute: The Daffodil Dawdle in Suffolk. I was surprised how dry the countryside is at the moment as well as relieved since some of the fields we ran through had recently been ploughed and if wet the mud would have been a nightmare!

This was exactly the type of event I like to do; just turn up and get your route description then when you're ready off you go. I spent the first few miles alone and at a couple of points on the route thought I was hallucinating; first I saw what I thought was a pack of hounds in the distance before I realised they were particularly silent for dogs - it was a herd of deer; then later on when we were heading through the village of Burrough Green where you run past a red telephone box which looked to be stuffed full of books - the village had turned it into a library where you can book swap! I saw tyregirl on the way round as well, last time I saw her was on the Steppingley Step last October.

Again another well organised and laid-back event, I feel guilty for hoping that these events don't get too popular; it's great to be able to go running in such quiet surroundings with the support provided at checkpoints all for much less than it costs in fuel to get there and back. Here's a map of the route that I found.

Next up for me is the Essex Walker Challenge, which follows a similar route to the Blackwater Marathon I did with Mark in 2009. Then it's up north for Easter break and Grasmere Fells, Tarns and Gingerbread I'm looking forward to getting out in the hills again!

Only March and the moorland fires have started..

2011-03-27T23:34:00.001+01:00

Running on the Lostock AC Wednesday night the fire engines were present on Winter Hill. The glow from the flames looked to be coming from an area between the Pike and the mast but by the time we got up to Two Ladds the fire must have been out as the fire engine was just leaving and no fire could be seen.

Friday turned out to be another day for flames as the moorland over on the Belmont side of Winter Hill managed to catch on fire. Apparently 50 fire fighters from the surrounding areas were tackling the flames. Not sure how the fire started but the grass is VERY dry at the minute (on top layer at least) so it wouldn’t take much to take hold.

Today (Sunday) on a run out with Albert we headed up the back of Winter Hill. The flames seem to only have skimmed the surface but they have covered a large area as you can see below. As we headed from the Mast to the Pike there was also a small area towards the Boggy section in the middle that must have been the focus of Wednesday nights activities.

Looking out towards Great Hill after Fire on Winter Hill

LDWA - Two Crosses (2011)

2011-03-22T07:07:00.004Z

Trust the ITV To put James Bond (Casino Royal) on late on a Saturday night!!!

So with only 5 hours sleep I woke at 5.30 to get myself ready for the 8AM start from Tottington High school. The forcast was for possible showers over Manchester so I wasn't really sure if it should be a shorts or leggins day so as usual I just threw a whole heap of clothes in a bucket and decided when I got there.

This event always seems to be a busy one, based on how busy the hall was last year and this. With my usual level of preparation I forgot my route description and entry number but fortunately there were some spare descriptions at registration. Registration was a busy place and the queue for the dunny was even busier. By the time I had gone back to the car to get my footwear on I managed to miss the start. Although I wasn't the last to leave, as I was leaving Michelle (Alberts wife) and Janet were running back to the car for something.

Having decided on light weight leggins I was glad of my decision. Only minutes after the 8AM start a very fine, light misty rain seemed to start which pretty much continued on/off for most of the morning. Not long after the start I passed

Ray (Lostock) was also late leaving so I tried running with him for a while but my pace is a lot slower so it wasn't

long before I got caught at a busy stile and the gap widened as we passed through Affetside and the first of the 2 crosses on the route. My pace wasn't generally fast (by my standards) across the whole route. Heavy legs at the start gradually loosened after the first checkpoint (Turton Tower). I seem to recall the stretch between Turton Tower and checkpoint 2 feeling endless but this time it seemed to pass quite quick. I recall last year that the whole route seemed to drag on and on however this year it didn't. I think because you know the route it makes it feel shorter.

After not meeting @SarahHope during the Beacon Bash a few weeks back, she managed to pick me out as I ran passed her before the Jumbles reservoir (I wouldn't have known it was her but I am rubbish with faces). It wasn't long though before her and her running partner(also Sarah) caught me up and she introduced herself. Although I hadn't decided on the 25 mile or the 18 mile route on paper, in my head I think I was only ever doing the 18 mile. So on reaching checkpoint 2 I headed right for the reservoir and my next checkpoint, Aladdin's Cave!

LDWA events are great. On my last event, The Peelers Hike, I managed to burn off a whole 4500 calories but with all the chocolate cake being handed out en-route I think I managed to eat 3000 calories during the run, so they don't do much for your waistline (well not my waistline!). Anyway, I didn't want today to be the same so it was a couple of cups of juice, a cup of tea and a slice of cake only (I left the biscuits, sandwiches and Jelly alone).

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From here you head past the Strawberry Duck and down through the woods before coming out at..... well some place in the middle of no where, I have no idea where it is, other than the next checkpoint is in sombodys garage and he has my favourite car (A Jaguar XF). From here you head over the fields up towards Bull Hill, apparently part of this route passes a maggot farm and the stench is apparently awful, but I didn't smell anything. I think Alberts nose must be even more sensitive than mine (although today I do seem to have started with a runny nose).

After the maggot farm you head out onto the open moor and just like last year the moor was thick in mist but a couple of experience runners I was following seemed to know the route well, advising the 2 Sarahs to "Make sure you don't go left". As we turned and bore right from the path one of the Sarahs jumped over a narrow bog and ended up about knee deep in it and unable to climb out. One of the to men I was following came to her rescue and lifted her out. Once we crossed the flat moor we came upon a trod which we all followed. After a minute or so following this trod we all looked left to see the two experienced men had chosen the right path and we were heading too far up Bull Hill. I should have known this as I had been telling mayself we didn't need to go up the hill. Anyway, we cut across and rejoined the right path and arrived soon after at "The Naughty Corner".

After a tot of whiskey, I picked up a couple of sweets to keep me going and headed of along the path towards Pilgrims cross. It's like dejavu, I was only passing that cross in the other direction about two weeks ago (Peelers Hike). With the moors still fog bound I hoped I was on the right path towards Peel tower. A moment of indecision came as I crossed the stream as the trod normally used in the "Pilgrims Cross" race seemed to have been churned up by a vehicle and I wasn't really sure which path to take. Again I made my choice and was happy when I came upon the double gates just before Peel Tower. Not that I could see Peel Tower, in fact I couldn't even see the top of Peel Tower when I was stood right underneath it.

From Peel Tower you follow the main path down before taking a stile on the right and a rocky descent down to the road. Then cross the road and through the farmers fields as you descend into the woods. Not long before the last checkpoint and but by now although my body was coping well with the run my legs had started to stiffen up and I was gradually getting slower.

Last year I managed to trip over the stile around this point and bruised the inside of my leg but not this year. I was EXTRA careful. Out onto the road and up to the final checkpoint near the entrance to Holcombe Moor Training Camp (Military). Just the same as last year, the marshal told us (The 2 Sarahs were with me at this point) that we had come the wrong route were we should have come across the fields. He made a cheeky comment about not telling anyone we had gone the wrong route when in actual fact we HAD followed the route and he mustn't have read the description for a few year. I must admit though that other than the section near the maggot farm and the route down from Peel Tower and into the woods I didn't use the route description at all. Each part of the route came back to me as I ran it.

We left the final checkpoint together and heading over the fields and through the woods to the golf course. After crossing the golf course though my tired legs were slowing me down and the 2 Sarahs just started to run ahead. Soon after it was the final stretch along the cycle track that led back to the High school and finish. Not sure how long it is, but at the end of your run it does feel like it goes on for some way.

Miraculously my finishing time was EXACTLY the same as last years 3hr 31mins. So I mustn't be improving at all!!!

Grasmere Fells, Tarns and Gingerbread next!

New Chew

2011-03-08T05:13:00.001Z

Albert called a couple of weeks back to ask if I would join him as a team entering the New Chew race. My first reaction was hesitation. Albert is a MUCH faster runner than I am and I would only slow him down, however the New Chew race is a replacement for the Chew Valley Fell Race which is apparently only being run every 10 years or so because United Utilities are trying to regenerate the area, so as a compromise the New Chew is an Orienteering event. Not an Orienteering event in the British Orienteering sense but one organised mainly for runners and as an orienteering event it will attract less entrants anyway, it also allows runners to take many different routes over the moors which keeps UU happy. Albert is getting better at navigation but still lacks confidence, hence why he asked me to join him.

We arrived in plenty of time for a brew and to get ready to start. We had entered the 4.5hr Score event which meant we could pick our own route and just try to visit as many points as possible. There was also a 3.5hr score and a scoreless (Scoreless was a list of specific controls that you could do in any order). On setting off it was a quick glance of the map and to try and work out a general route to follow and then make adjustments as we went. We struggled to find the first control because we were looking for Orienteering type flags instead of what had actually been used which was a 1” thick post just stuck in the ground with some tape around the top. The next few controls were found with relative ease and then we decided upon a route to collect a few high value controls.

Being used to running at Orienteering type events and with the usual 1:10000 scale maps, I was thrown by the scale now using a 1:25000 Ordnance survey map. The level of detail of the OS map compared to an Orienteering map is far less detailed and made it difficult to work out “exactly” where you were, this wasn’t helped by the fact them maps that were issues were slightly out of date (The latest map on the OS website has more fences on it) and poorly printed which made the contours difficult to read. There were a few times where I knew I was in the right are but not quite sure how far we had come along a path. Anyway, the further we went time seemed to go by far quicker. Each time I looked at my watch time was flying by.

We collected our 4th control and decided to head over the moors for our next control. The ground was “VERY” rough with big tussocks and boggy ground in between the tussocks and took it’s toll on us, well me. Albert is like a whippet over any ground and I constantly felt like I was holding him back despite him saying it was fine. The ground eased a little and we managed to find a few sheep trods. Surprisingly we passed a grave/memorial at one point too (pictured), the name on it was “W Belfield” who died in 1972 (I did a quick search on the net to see if I could find anything about it but found nothing). Eventually we found the right gully to head up for the waterfall where the 5th control was located. Albert managed to go knee deep in the bog and when he pulled his leg out it was bright Orange, I went around it. Shortly after, his shoes were foaming, not sure what it was he’d stood in??

Another trek over rough ground following the “Grouse Butts” (Which we though was the name of the gully at first) to the next control and an then we headed for the Pennine way were were could make up some ground. When we eventually got on the Pennine way, most of the running was far easier (With a couple of little exceptions), but it was as we were running along here I realised that time was drifting by FAR too fast and we were still heading away from the start/finish (On reflection I think we should have headed back the way we came but hindsight is a wonderful thing). We both missed the “path” that was marked on the map ( I swear there was no path) so ended up running slightly further before turning on the next path at the soldiers stone and finding our 7th (and final control). It was at this point we decided (after looking how far away the road was) that we needed to take the most direct route back as we could easily be late.

We decided that the quickest way would be to follow Holme Clough which led us right back to the Dovestone reservoir. My thinking was that we would be able to pick up a trod around there (There is always a trod in gullies like that, right??). How wrong I was!!! There is a serious shortage of paths in this whole area. It took us at least 30 mins just to get to the head of the clough and then we followed it down. There were NO paths, trods, faint lines or anything here at all. The further we followed the clough the deeper AND STEEPER the sides seemed to get, and rockier too. The going was definitely slow and with the steep sides the map was in the mouth at times as we needed feet and hands to negotiate our way through.

After some time we made it to a track alongside Greenfield brook which would lead us to Dovestones reservoir and the finish but by this point, after over 4.5 hours I was starting to stiffen up. The rough ground had taken it’s toll. The run in (50% Jog/50% walk) was very long and slow and we eventually returned to the sailing club in 5hr 12min (42 mins late). We had managed to score about 145 points but lost 126 points (3 points per minute) in penalties for being late and covered about 14.5 miles. Our score was a whole 19 points and we were last! But we weren't in the negatives.

After two portions of pie, two cups of tea and some chocolate cake I started to feel a little better although my muscles had started to stiffen up some more. Tony and Paul Murray (Who had done the scoreless) eventually came back in after 6 hours and had covered about 18 miles. The look on Tonys’ face as he came in through the door said it all. Albert and I laughed but I think it was partly in sympathy too!

A bottle of Bulmers each though as spot prizes for Albert and me made it OK though. I was happy to have got something.

Thanks to Saddleworth Runners for putting the event on and they also asked if we can try to support their local track which the council are trying to shut. So please click on the link here and sign the petition if you have time.

Mark

A double double - 2 good weekends of running.

2011-03-03T07:49:00.014Z

Half-term brought an opportunity for a trip home so as usual I set about looking for a few events to do while up there. I stupidly entered the Anglezarke Amble before realising that half term was a week later this year, but the Beacon Bash was on the following Sunday then Peeler's Hike the Sunday after that. I have grown fond of these ldwa challenge events having recently done a few down south where I now live; The Gatliff 50K being one highlight where I had a great run on a very cold November day.

First of all I ran the Standish Hall Trail Race on Saturday afternoon and it was a case of leave the house at 2pm; register; get changed; 10 minute warm-up; run the race; drink some water; drive home! I got home before 3:45pm. I like this race - this year the organiser said it was the muddiest he had seen it and it was interesting that he asked anyone considering running with headphones to take them off. I struggled to get any speed up with not having raced in a long time and was only getting warmed up on the last lap.

The following day it was nice not to have to leave too early since Ashurst Beacon is reasonably local, there was a decent turn out of runners for the 9am start and it was good to see a few familiar faces. I'm not a big fan of mass starts at ldwa events it makes them feel too much like a race; I prefer to just set off when I am ready but as it was I went with the flow and it wasn't long before I was running along with canal chatting with Tony who I hadn't seen since last year. Another feature of these events I like is that you find unfamiliar routes to familiar places; The Beacon Bash takes in various sections of the Ashurst Beacon race, Parbold Hill race and Harrock Hill races. The route had some extremely muddy sections which made it particularly tiring; my calves were a little sore from the previous day's race and by the time we got towards Up Holland my legs were hurting. I dropped back from the group of runners from Wigan Phoenix I had been chatting to and began walking the inclines; tarmac stretches had started hurting too. Anyway it wasn't long before we had passed the Beacon - it made a change to be able to run what is the finish of the Beacon Race in reverse as a descent, and were on our way back to the finish. Again I was seeing parts of that area I had never run before, some of them very muddy and I passed one bloke who was in a real grump over the route description which I didn't think was too bad (I didn't tell him this). I finally got round in 3hrs46 feeling really stiff and sore at the finish then the best bit: the hot food. Pie, mushy peas, red cabbage and a huge spread of cakes, fruit pies with cream and as much tea/coffee as you can drink! Ian was saying every year they say: "Never again" after all the mud but then always seem to come back for more. Mark came in a shade under 5hrs looking a bit disappointed but a pie and a pint soon cheered him up.

My calves didn't come back to life until Wednesday morning by which time I had caught a sore throat so I didn't get any running in at all during the week. Saturday saw Bleasdale fell race with a new start of 2pm that I had decided to run in a pair of Walshes I bought a couple of years ago and hardly run in due to the insoles working loose. I like Walshes but they don't seem to like me; I tend to go over on my ankles more in them than I do Innov8 but my last pair of mudclaw are falling to bits. The weather was reasonably kind though the wind was quite strong; thankfully it was behind us most of the climb which helped.

As is usual for me I started off far too fast and spent most of the climb getting passed, I caught Ian up running across the top and he looked to be suffering from knee trouble; I felt bad for him after all the training he's been doing lately. I quite like the descent of Parlick on this route but I wasn't confident in those walshes - I ended up sliding down on my backside at one point just before this picture was taken:

The run back is a bit of a pain too, this year it was into the wind but the fields didn't seem as muddy as last time I did the race 2 years ago. I was reasonably happy with my time given the conditions and my current state (or lack!) of training. As usual there was a good atmosphere after the finish and we got changed and went indoors for another pie and peas.

The following morning it was pouring down when Mark picked me up around 8ish for the short trip to Bury for the Peeler's Hike. We wanted to set off earlier so that we could get back early in the afternoon but in the end were only ready about 20 mins before the start. The organiser wasn't keen on us going early so I left it but Mark managed to persuade him that he would be slow enough and set off. This being organised by the scouts there were more groups of walkers doing the short route than runners at the start, I counted about 10 of us; this suited me fine it meant less of a mass start.

It was windy and at times cold, and wet and it wasn't long before we were spread out into groups of 2 and 3 running over very muddy fields heading in the general direction of Peel Tower. I ran most of the way with Tony and Jason and a couple of ladies; one of who I remembered from the Beacon Bash the week before due to having her dog with her. It was well over an hour before we caught Mark who remained in sight until approaching Pilgrim's Cross. The headwind was a pain until we turned at Bull Hill to head down past the Ellen Strange stone and Robin Hood's well, all places I was seeing for the first time. From the White Horse pub it was mainly running down the Irwell Valley following the river Irwell and it had warmed up by this point; I had to stop down Nuttall Hall Road so I could take my helly off I was overheating. Tony managed to go wrong with the 2 ladies when we were unsure of the route (me and Jason stopped to ask a local) and we never saw them again until the finish, there were a couple of places where the route description was a bit vague which must have added 10 minutes to my time but I was glad to get back in a shade over 5 hours.

I'm not sure about the distance either since at the last checkpoint (there were 8!) the lady said there were around 2 miles left though Jason's watch reckoned we had done 21.8 miles - the event is listed as a 22 mile hike. As usual there was some lovely hot food and a nice relaxed atmosphere at the finish where the consensus seemed to be just over 23 miles with around 3500 ft of up and down.

Street Orienteering

2011-02-05T00:48:00.000Z

Once the dark nights draw in the head torch running begins and with it the Street Orienteering (Street-O). Hosted by South Ribble Orienteering Club (SROC) the events normally take place every couple of weeks from November to March.

The idea with Street-O is that you get a control sheet, when you register, listing controls such as LP (Lampposts), TP (Telegraph Poles), GB (Green Boxes) or other types of street furniture including telephone numbers on the front of shops or maybe the number garages on a house, but as yet you don’t know the location of these items. Each control is worth 10,20,30,40,50 or 60 points (normally).

It’s worth pointing out that a street-O map contains very little detail in comparison to a normal O type map. The Street O map contains no contour lines and doesn’t always show wooded areas or open land. It basically shows Roads and footpaths/tracks and controls are marks on with a red dot which should be accurately placed at the correct point and the correct side of the street to allow you to find, for example, the correct lamppost number.

Once you start the map is given to you. You now have up to 75 mins to visit as many control sites, in any order, as you can ensuring that you return WITHIN your chosen time frame to avoid penalties. Penalties are accrued at something like 1 point lost for every 2 SECONDS you are late, so if you are 2 1/2 minutes over you will lose 75 of your hard earned points, but if you come back in too early you have wasted your valuable minutes that could have been spent getting that extra 50 point control.

I think it involves quick thinking and route planning plus good time management. I normally find that running along the roads/pavements is pretty boring but when doing this the time flies by. I also think that I run harder too with all the stopping to note controls on the sheet and route planning. I find the speed I run between controls feels faster than if I had run the same route continually. Ultimately I feel pretty tired by the end of the 75 minutes.

If anybody has a spare evening and heads out occasionally for a road run, then I would recommend you try at least one, especially at the bargain price of £2. Don’t forget to bring along a torch, pencil and reflective clothing.

Not blogged for ages

2011-02-03T00:00:00.001Z

Chris reminded me today that I hadn’t blogged for ages. I had only reminded myself about that a few days ago so it was a bit of a co-incidence really. I’ve not really blogged much as I haven’t done much that (I thought) was worth writing about.

There has been quite a bit of Orienteering on the cards of late though and the smaller Orienteering events are normally pretty much same old same old to write about even if running in them is another matter altogether. With Orienteering I find it far better browsing your routes and looking at your split times than writing about each event and this can be done using Routegadget. This is a great little tool that allows competitors to draw the route they took at an event and then compare (up to 10 at a time) their route to others that have drawn theirs.

I also joined the committee for SELOC and took on the SELOC and NWOA websites which has also taken up a little of my time over these past few months.

Once the dark nights draw in the head torch running begins. It started with some Wednesday night runs with Lostock AC over Winter hill but then the Street-Orienteering (Street-O) started (normally every two weeks) which runs until the start of march. Also there are 5 Night Orienteering events held over the winter period which are typically (but not always) held in local country parks and take the normal daytime events that one step further. A good head torch is key for these events and I find them very challenging.

The beginning of this year has too been busy with O too as we had a regional level event at Watergrove (Near Rochdale) which attracted over 400 runners and despite a couple of hiccoughs on the day with the IT the event seemed to go OK (if not a little stressful at times). I was hoping to get out for a run but this didn’t happen. The weekend after saw another busy time as we also had a Day and Night event on at Haigh Hall. The day event being an easier event to try and attract some new potential members and the night being the final event of the Night League calendar. Again, a couple of little issues but on the whole I think they were a success.

I have managed the odd Fell race too. The Dave Staff race was a cold one but it’s always a nice race and very fresh. I had also planned to enter Whinberry Naze Fell Race on Boxing day and intended to go in Fancy dress but by the time the day came I still had no fancy dress so just did the event as a runner (boring!). A good turn out with the snow and ice on the ground which made for some tiring running on the way up but I collected my Smarties from Santa and then made my way back. Then off home to fill up on more Xmas food.

Although there’s a shortage of Fell races under the belt of the last couple of months I have managed a few of LDWA events too. Back in October Chris, Lisa and I entered the Bottoms Up (Short route) which took us around Houghton Bottoms and the outskirts of Blackburn. Then a couple of weeks later Chris, Albert and I entered the John Knox Challenge in Staffordshire. December brought the Christmas Charity Walk which is a 12 mile route from Wigan Rugby Union Club going round Redrock, Worthington Lakes, Blackrod and Haigh Hall.

The Future

So what are my plans for this year. Well I want the emphasis to be on increasing my distance and trying to lose some more weight (including the Xmas podge). The beginning of the year has already been taken up with Orienteering which has consumed quite a bit of my time, especially the Haigh day event in which I had agreed to plan the courses for the event and have also taken on the role of map printer.

But February starts to bring in the Fell races and LDWA events too. This coming weekend I am entered in the BRITISH night orienteering championships in Atherstone. I don’t expect to do well but I’ll give it a go and set the benchmark for next year. The Winter Hill Fell Race follows the weekend after which I have been hoping to enter for about 2 years now (I did offer to marshal but as yet am not needed). The weekend after Winter Hill is the Beacon Bash (LDWA) event. This (bash) is a 22 mile only event travelling around Ashurst Beacon and Parbold but I’m not sure about making the distance but will give it a go.

Further forward I have plans to enter the Two Crosses (LDWA) event again, this time on the longer route and I am considering the Anniversary Waltz although I haven’t been to the Lakes in ages, in fact I think the Borrowdale Fell Race was the last time I was there, which is another race I want to enter this year but actually complete it this time. There is also the Harvester Relays (orienteering) that I wouldn’t mind entering to. These involve a team competing over several night legs (I believe). Ben Nevis - My entry has already been sent off for the Ben Nevis Race again, this is an epic race and I hope I get in again.

I was thinking to myself the other day about making a few trips to the lakes soon, but was quickly drawn back by the fact that with fuel prices increasing as they have been doing, travelling anywhere is just getting too expensive. It cost my £87 to fill the car the other day.

Mark

Snow.

2010-12-20T20:37:00.008Z

In a moment of madness a month or so ago I entered 'Le Tour De Helvellyn - En Hiver' and have spent the rest of the time leading up to the event fretting over weather, kit and my fitness! In the end it wasn't to be, the weather beat me.

We were very lucky to arrive back home in Wigan Friday night during a blizzard, an hour later and we would have been stuck on the M6. There was no way I was going to try and head further North early Saturday. It turns out they had a successful event and I was a bit disappointed not to have been there.

So Saturday afternoon I went for a trot up Winter Hill, it was a bit of a struggle to just get there in the car the roads were so bad. I was glad I did though; I took the camera and shot a few pictures.

The cafe at the Lower Barn, where I was going to park, was closed. I took this from up near the other barn as I turned the car round.

On the way up to the Pike there were some lads snowboarding, something I have not seen before up there.

It was getting quite hazy near the top with the wind whipping up the dry snow.

There were still a few people out on the hill enjoying the snow, one bloke was wearing a pair of snowshoes the size of tennis rackets. On my way back down I was breaking the path down from the mast and almost broke my leg, the snow had drifted over a culvert which my right leg fell into banging my shin on the concrete cover over the stream. I dread to think what may have happened if I was moving that bit faster and it served to remind me about the importance of taking proper kit and a means of alerting people when you are in danger.

An LDWA hat-trick.

2010-11-03T13:19:00.003Z

The Long Distance Walker's Association run many events throughout the year and I find them a great way of getting a long run in during the weekend.

I recently managed to do 3 on consecutive weekends, the first one being: 'Bottom's Up' from Hoghton Village Hall near Blackburn. This took you through Samlesbury and Hoghton Bottoms and followed the Witton Weaver's Way for a while. I did the short route since my wife was 'encouraged' to enter (by me of course), it was the furthest she has ever travelled on foot and I was really impressed with her for completing it on just 3 weeks of preparation. I'm not sure she enjoyed the mud, hills and lane of cow slurry we had to negotiate though.

The weekend after I was back down south for the 1st Roding's Romp which is a new event (obviously) organised by the essex trail-running club Mid Essex Casuals. The route took you through 'The Rodings', a collection of villages in Essex around the River Roding, a tributary of the River Thames. This time I opted for the long route (full marathon) since I was by myself and had a really good run, though crossing freshly ploughed fields became a bit of a struggle after 20+ miles; I swear some of the farmers had been out deliberately beforehand just to make it harder. We ran past many ancient Norman churches and also past the only surviving windmill in the area:

I was pleased with the way the run went, taking my time since it was the furthest I had run in over a year.

Finally the weekend after me, Mark and Albert made our way to Hollinsclough in the Peak District for the John Knox Challenge Walks. We did the short route partly due to the state of the weather when we got there, a bit of a shame since the long route goes over the Roaches and I haven't been that way before but I just couldn't gather any enthusiasm to be out in the mist and rain for that long. Thankfully it cleared up while we were out but the first few miles were a bit grim, and the whole route was very muddy. Here's a picture Mark took on the last track down to the finish:

You can't beat these ldwa events for value and laid-back atmosphere. Invariably there are many checkpoints all with food and drink then a hot meal at the finish, all for the price of a couple of pints. I plan to do as many as I can between now and Spring next year when hopefully I will start getting out to do some fell races again.

Cami De Cavalls

2010-10-02T21:38:00.019+01:00

The 'Cami De Cavalls' (route GR223) is the recently re-opened medieval coastal 'Path of the Horses' around Menorca and when we spent our holidays there in early August it was an ideal opportunity to go and explore some of it.

Being marked all along its 140 or so miles by posts such as these it's easy to follow, my first run was South-East to the next resort down the coast at dawn. I took this picture after the climb up onto the small cliffs behind the hotel we were staying in:

The best routes were North-West of where we stayed, heading past Binigaus (leaving at dawn meant I didn't have to avert my eyes at this secluded nudist spot). Not wanting to cover the same ground twice I stuck to the coast one day then headed inland on the main GR223 route another. The coastal path was very rocky in places with many hidden coves and I didn't see another soul apart from those just waking up on their yachts by this lovely hidden beach at the northern-most point I reached. On the way back I saw a bunch of people who were still asleep under the trees who I hadn't noticed on the way out and I was a bit jealous, it looked a cracking place to spend a night in the open. There are some pictures of the walk here that give you an good idea of the terrain.

The GR223 route was hillier, though remember this is Menorca so there were no big climbs to contend with. You head inland up a small wooded valley where there was plenty shade in the trees...

Just South of the hotel, half hidden slightly off the path there was a large entrance to a staircase that seemed to head underground. Just over the other side of the hill I noticed some steps cut into the rocks...

I couldn't resist exploring so headed down into the darkness being really careful since it was a tunnel built through the rock with lots of loose boulders on the ground and I couldn't see anything apart from the room at the other end. It lead to this small room:

You can see the entrance/exit on the left where I came from then the other hole in the back wall that seemed to have been added sometime after the original construction. This led to a 20ft drop to a cave...
this cave led out to sea by the steps I mentioned earlier. I never found out what the purpose of this construction was but I can only assume it was used during some of the many military campaigns the island has seen over the centuries. In the next picture, taken from the main beach you can see the two slits cut out through the rock that afforded a view from the room a long way up the coastline (just to the left of the car at the same level as the boat on its roof). It really did seem a very well chosen defensive position.

I had a great stay on the island, being so flat it was hardly the best preparation for Ben Nevis but there was still plenty of good running to be had though I will think twice before going and doing hill reps up the few hundred foot climb up the ridge behind the hotel again in the midday heat.

3 Shires 2010 and sore legs!

2010-09-28T09:59:00.003+01:00

I’d not done much running in the previous weeks but with Ben Nevis, then the Horwich Downhill Race, Orienteering on Formby Dunes I don’t think I’d let my legs recover from the Ben. Whilst they had felt fine after the race I maybe should have rested them a little more. Anyway, the Thursday before 3 Shires I went for a training run with Albert and Tony up on Winter Hill, nothing to hard and only out for 1 1/2 hours. I do have to push a little harder when in company as I don’t like people having to keep waiting for me and if I run alone I tend to go easier on myself. Anyway, after the run I felt fine. The Saturday morning of the race I woke at about 3AM to make Lucy’s bottle and couldn’t walk down the stairs. My calves were murdering me! This wasn’t a good thing on race day.

I really like this race. I don’t think it is just one thing in particular. It’s a race I took Chris to twice before doing it myself and I like the village of Little Langdale. I like the buzz of the race. I like the run through the ford at the start. I like the spectacular route the race takes and I love watching this video on youtube and up to last year it was the longest fell race I had ever entered. It’s just great!!

I’ll not got through the full details of the race route as I have already done that in blog entries from last year (1, 2). Parking this year was at Hodge Close quarry because the recent rains made the field too wet for cars which meant a 25 minute walk from the parking to the start. We met Ian and Pauline Charters and Mick Green on the way so there was plenty of chat as we went. My legs were still feeling sore and I was already having doubts about completing the race. The race was delayed starting so Albert bought a 2nd round of tea which meant I would need a couple of toilet breaks en-route.

The race headed of and with the narrow bridge over the ford out for repairs it meant everybody got wet at the start. After the ford my legs felt slow and heavy with a steady stream of runners passing me I felt slow too. By the start of the climb up Wetherlam I think I was about 20 from last and by about 100m into the climb I was considering retiring. I had to keep stopping to stretch my calves, of course losing the odd position when I did. By the time I got 1/2 way I decided I would just see what my time was at the top and if it was much off last years then I would retire.

Surprisingly I made the top in the same time as last year so carried on however this didn’t remove the thoughts of retiring. The run towards Prison band and up to Swirl How still felt slow and heavy but I did manage to make up a couple of positions on the climb. The 3 Shires stone would be my next opportunity to retire and on the descent round Great Carrs and down to the stone the retirement feeling was starting to fade. Hitting the checkpoint in 1hr 50min (the same time as last year) I continued onwards to the top of Blisco. Again I managed to pick up a couple of places on the climb. At one point a sugar rush kicked in so I started running but after about 25m slow running up hill the sugar rush ended and I carried on walking.

On the run from Blisco the runners trod was pretty well defined in most places. Eventually it starts to drop before cutting across to the fence crossing but I always seem to stay too high and veer off the path. I have a marker that I head for and it works for me. Not sure if it is much quicker but it definitely isn’t slower.

Passing Blea Tarn (without falling and getting cramps this year) the climb up to Lingmoor was as hard as I remember from last year. Slow steady steps, pushing on for the top which isn’t too far (on fresh legs) but eventually it comes. The marshalls guided me along the right route as last year I ended up sticking to the wall which isn’t the best way as there are a few more ups to tackle on those “fresh legs”.

Running in to the finish I noticed the line of runners queuing for the free tea and pasties after the race and the thought of a pasty made me smile. Imagine my disappointment on finding all the Meat & Potato ones had gone and only Cheese and Onion were left. So I sulked and just had two cups of tea and some left over flapjack.

I finished the race in 3hr 36min which was 3 minutes quicker than last year. Considering how I felt slow and had heavy legs all the way round I’d hope that on good legs my time would be quicker still. We’ll see how it goes next year.

Pictures from:
http://justusandafewfriends.blogspot.com/2010/09/3-shires-fell-race.html (Ian Charters)
http://wfdbwgua.blogspot.com/2010/09/three-shires-weekend.html (Pauline Charters)

Ben Nevis 2010 – From the back!

2010-09-09T02:13:00.002+01:00

Having entered the Ben Nevis Race early this year I have been a little worried about if I would be fit enough to make it. I had plenty of time to try and do more training/lose more weight but it didn’t happen. Then in June along came my little princess Lucy. I’d not really done many long runs or been up to the lakes much to get some climb into them. So after cramming in Kentmere, Rydal Round and a failed Borrowdale I was still feeling a little less than confident about making the cut-offs at Ben Nevis. In fact I have to admit that at one point I thought about not starting race at all.

Heading up on Friday I collected Chris at Glasgow Airport and we took the wonderful drive up past Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor and Glen Coe. Arriving in Fort William around 7PM and straight out for food to our favourite restaurant the “Grog and Gruel”. Food seemed to become my topic for the weekend after eating some Stornoway Black Pudding. This has to be the best black pudding I have EVER tasted.

After a morning wandering around Fort William and bumping into Ian & Pauline in the butchers (whilst looking for Stornoway Black pudding, not pies as was suggested!) we got ourselves ready for the race.

Before the race the runners are required to line up behind the pipers and they walk round to the start with the pipers playing. The race sets off around the field, out of the gate and off for a mile down the tarmac road to the inn before you start the climb up towards the peak.

Once off the tarmac I started up the path which had plenty of supporters cheering people on. It was at this point I passed Suzanne Budget cheering me on but finished by reminding me about the cut-offs. So now having managed to stop worrying about the cut-off and with them firmly planted back in the fore of my mind I pushed on as I felt I could.

Running/walking along the path the line of runners unexpectedly split off through the bracken. Given the choice I decided that less climb was good and stayed on the path. Of course the climb had to be done and not long after this the path turned back on itself and the rest of the runners I’d followed then headed off on another path up through the bracken to meet the runners that previously split. I felt that taking this route was quicker based on the runners i joined back with. Onward and upward the climb just goes on and on and everytime you look up you can only see more climb ahead of you.

With the first cut-off (1hr) still in my mind we split from the path as it again turned back to head up towards Red Burn. I did get held up a little here but not enough to make a difference, this didn’t stop me checking my watch constantly. Eventually I passed the marshall at 58 mins.

The path from here zigzags up the mountain but the runners turn straight off the path directly up the scree. The climb now is much more intense and the loose scree makes it even harder. After what seemed like about 15 mins of climbing I could hear some cheering from up ahead. On looking up I could see the leaders coming down. These guys make it look so easy! I carried on up the scree but by now was finding the climb very hard work and had to stop a few times to recover, losing a few places.

Eventually rejoining the path the climb eases off now and the route is mainly on the paths to the summit but it’s still a bit of a trek. The route was very busy with walkers and now all the runners descending made it even busier. It did look like a lot of the walkers were non too impressed by the constant stream of runners coming past. With the marshalls in sight I checked my clock to see how far off the cut-off (2hrs) I was, making it to them in 1hr 58mins.

Thanks to the marshalls at the top for the Jelly babies and then the descent. For some reason I found running over the rocky ground very difficult. I was passed at some speed by a few local Lochaber runners and also managed to pass a few runners myself, particularly once I got to the loose scree and was able to pick my speed up. I had to stop a couple of times as I’m not used to these big long descents and my legs were shattered. Reaching the grassy bank I managed to pass a couple of people by sliding on my bum. It wasn’t the comfiest part of the descent!

After crossing the stream the majority of the descent is now on the paths and i was again able to pick up speed a little. At one point another runner (of Wold Veteran Runners) fell in front of me and I stopped to help him up (Any excuse for a break, eh). Looking at my clock I wondered if I would be able to make it back in under three hours, thinking there wasn’t much descent left but I was wrong. Despite making it back to the tarmac in under three hours, the run in down the road is a killer and I eventually crossed the line in 3hr 07min 52sec, exhausted.

After a few cups of Tea and a slice of cake, we headed back to the hotel to clean up and then out for tea. Back in the Grog and Gruel I was looking forward to the black pudding again, and managed to talk the waitress into serving up a large portion instead of me having to order two starters. I tried to get black pudding added to the burger but she was having none of it. Id had the steak the night before and found too much fat on it, then I tried to warn Chris on the Saturday about ordering it and in the end he was wondering if he should have ordered the burger instead. After the meal it was off to the presentation and few beers with some of the runners.

On Sunday morning Chris had considered going for another run and I was contemplating going for a swim, but in the end none of it happened. After a quick walk up the high street to see if the butchers was open (still searching for black pudding), it wasn’t, we checked out and took a leisurely drive back.

On the way back we took in some of the scenery and stopped of at a hotel where Chris and Lisa stayed a few years back.

I had a great weekend and am already planning to enter for next year. Hopefully I’ll be aiming to beat the 3hr mark next year.

NB: Some of the above pictures were taken from here....http://trainnowlivelater.blogspot.com/

Mark

Ben Nevis Race 2010

2010-09-08T07:36:00.020+01:00

Only someone as clumsy and accident prone as me could smash my knee on a bedpost so hard that I had trouble walking, let alone running 6 days before I was due to run the Ben Nevis Race. I managed a bike ride 4 days before with some success but tried running 3 days before and didn't last more than 400m so I was a little apprehensive on my way up the day before the race.

Mark picked me up at Glasgow airport and we made our way to Fort William on a beautiful evening; me in a hurry to arrive, Mark getting tired after more than 5 hours in the driving seat. Even the stairs in the hotel had my knee complaining but to be honest I think it was more down to me worrying about it and noticing every niggle.

Saturday was a lovely morning and with a bit of time to kill we had a stroll around Fort William where Mark was spotted in the local butchers of all places by Ian and Pauline so he was soundly ribbed about being in search of pies already!

While warming up on the field I was happy with the fact that my knee would hold up, at least uphill! Mark was looking a bit nervous, he had been worrying about making the cutoffs since entering and there was nothing I could say to him that seemed to help. With the sun out it was reasonably warm and I was feeling great lining up for the start.

I'm not a fan of the first and last mile of this race but I think it's a necessary evil due to the size of the event. I took my time up the road, impressed as I always am by the quality of the runners at this race; the field was already stretched out far up the tarmac. I enjoyed the climb, I left it until as late as possible to cut off left through the Bracken following one other solitary runner off the path while everyone else had already headed up and this was quicker probably due to the fact that you don't get held up being bunched together on the narrow trod.

The clear skies were a blessing giving us views all around and it was inspiring heading up towards the Red Burn being able to see the huge line of runners slogging up to the summit. I had a gel and filled my bottle up at the stream before beginning the hands-on-knees trudge straight up through the scree, hot work where there was no breeze but thankfully most of the time the wind was there to cool you down. It wasn't much further along that the leaders came crashing down, just as I was passing the cameraman from the TV crew that were filming the race.

As the path became more rock than scree and the flow of runners steaming back down increased I ate a little coconut treat I had brought with me and drank the rest of my water, picking up the pace as the gradient eased. It was quite busy up there; in places it was hard to keep up a pace while trying to keep out of the way of runners heading back down and negotiate your way past all the walkers out enjoying their day.

Handing my tag in at the summit there was a rush of noise coming over the cliffs which at first I thought was a gust of wind but it was the rescue helicopter heading up over the north face, maybe they had another tv crew on board? I hope so since they would have got some fantastic shots from where they were.

I made a real effort now to pick off the people in front; my descending is much better than my climbing and I had a lot of fun crashing down over the rocks and through the scree, the only drawback being you have to concentrate really hard on the ground in front so you can't enjoy the view. I heard Mark shouting some encouragement to my left and I was glad he had obviously made it that far then a bit further down I had to slow down a bit since my knee had started complaining after a stumble where my leg got a little bent underneath me.

Reaching the grassy bank I was surprised that there was no sign of the taped off ground we had been warned about. It's steep here; my thighs had started complaining as I got near the stream at the bottom, relieved again to have only fell on my arse a couple of times.

Then it was just a case of trying to keep up a decent pace on spent legs, remembering where the little short cuts through the bracken were and trying to get to the finish quicker than in previous years. I thought I was in with a chance at first but I just couldn't run fast enough; all the downhill had taken its toll on my thighs so all I could manage was to pick off a couple more runners in front who were struggling even more than me before reaching the tarmac.

This was the usual torture; fighting off the urge to just walk back then on reaching the first little incline in the road some walkers tried to sound encouraging and said: "Well done this is the last little hill", "Oh no, I mean one more.... no two.... no hang on..." to which I had to laugh and just shout: "Stop it!".

Entering the sports field I realised I could just about beat 2h20m if I picked up the pace so a last spurt with a grimace for the cameraman there had me 2 seconds under by my watch at the finish. I couldn't have felt much happier!

It's always good to get a drink and a sit down in that field after the race, especially when the sun is shining. After a little rest I went to the car to drop my kit off and get the camera before waiting for Mark to finish by the entrance to the field. Just as I was getting a bit concerned for his time he appeared down the road, looking as knackered as everyone else does by that point. He was well chuffed to have finished in 3:07.

After loitering for a bit, chatting, eating cake and drinking tea we headed back to the hotel for a clean up and then headed out to the Grog n Gruel for the second time that weekend to eat. I was feeling ok, Mark seemed to be suffering a bit and we were both a right state travelling back Sunday. Even today 3 days after racing my legs still complain when I walk downstairs, whereas Mark reckons his aren't too bad; maybe I should try his black pudding diet he ate about 12 of the things over the course of 2 days. The Stornoway ones were nice though and I don't usually eat them.

I remember at my first Ben Race thinking it's a long way to travel and that I would only do it that one time, now I am counting down to getting my plaque: only 17 more to go! It makes for a great weekend in the Highlands and a bonus for me this year that we were blessed with good weather. Well done to all who ran, it was good to meet lots of friendly people and also finally meet some of the 'virtual' people I had previously only known online.

Two Weeks Off

2010-08-20T11:59:00.004+01:00

Just got back from my summer holidays. This began with a well overdue trip up to Wasdale for the weekend to see friends, my excuse being to pick up some stuff from the father-in-law we needed while passing through Wigan. I got up to Wasdale late Friday night as usual and as expected it was busy with 3 peakers even after 11pm, a very contentious issue with the locals. The farm was quiet however since they had given up waiting for me and gone to bed!

Most of Saturday was spent chasing sheep around Miterdale. I got to meet Mark's next door neighbour Anthony at Low Farm on the other side of the screes since he was gathering and Mark had agreed to go and help with me just tagging along. With Mark's 2 dogs and Anthony's 7 or so (I couldn't count them all - he has about 40 in total!) we made a bit too much noise on the way up the fell, not good since you don't want the sheep to scatter and make the job even harder. This was mainly down to a young pup Anthony was training getting far too excited with all the activity and yelping away.

I was amused by a story Anthony told us about the sign in his farmyard, one of his ancestors got fed up with people asking the way to Eskdale so got a sign made up and built into the wall, for some reason he decided to word it in broad Cumberland so then the questions just increased: "What does the sign mean?".

There was lots of forestry work going on up the valley and quite a few trees were down in the woods due to recent past storms, the forestry commission are slowly replacing all the pines in the area with more traditional broad leaf trees. We carried on climbing up Great Grain Gill, splitting from Anthony who headed towards Whinn Rigg but the weather turned for the worse and just as we neared the path across the top the mist came down and we lost any chance of gathering the 15 or so sheep we had seen up towards Illgill Head. We headed back to the 2 tarns to meet up with Anthony and see what he had in mind.

The rain started coming down here and I found myself chuckling at the different attitudes of people to the fells. There I was in borrowed boots and hooded fleece, Mark and Anthony with similar clothes with only a club, caramel and Galaxy chocolate bar between us. No water (Mark hasn't drunk from streams since picking up Cryptosporidium up near Red Pike a few years ago) and certainly no map/compass. This is their back yards though and they know virtually every boulder, we were out for about 5 hours and I was gasping when I got back.

I find it fascinating watching them work with their dogs on the fells; those dogs work hard and travelled miles over the fells at speed all the while listening out for and responding to the commands Mark & Anthony were issuing. It takes a loud voice and a very good eye to farm those hills, they were pointing out sheep to me in the far distance that I could hardly make out then sending the dogs off to collect them. Slowly, tiny black & white dots on the distant fell side gathered into groups and made their way to wherever the dogs were shepherding them.
We slowly headed back down to the farm, stopping off to try and find a small group that had managed to break off into some woods. The bracken here was shoulder high in places and it was a nightmare to keep track of the sheep; you had to watch for the bracken moving. This was proper tick country as well, some of the sheep had the telltale signs of infestation on their heads that occurs from rubbing to try to remove the ticks.

Back at the farm the sheep were sorted into those that had already been sheared and those in lamb from those that weren't then it was into the farm for a well earned fry-up which I washed down with about 2 pints of juice.

Sunday morning the weather was a bit grim again so I went for a run up onto the screes first since it looked a bit clearer that way, it wasn't so I headed back down then climbed Scafell and came back down the main path over the crags; I just wanted to get some climb in my legs as training for the Ben in a few weeks time. The views here were stunning below the mist, it's a shame I left my camera in the car! I climbed back up a little though later on before heading off and took some pictures:

Then came the long drive home before an early night due to being up at 3:30am to catch a flight to Menorca for 2 weeks. Got some running done there but not far (it was a family holiday after all!) I will post some pictures from that soon.

Borrowdale Fell Race – Unplanned!

2010-08-10T13:20:00.001+01:00

On Friday (6th Aug) I decided I needed to get some miles and some climb in my legs with the Ben Nevis race only around 4 weeks away. Tony Varley and Albert Sunter were entered in the Borrowdale fell race and I had a plan to catch a lift up with them and go for a run around some part of the route maybe from Styhead to the finish and watch the runner pass me along the way.

If you have never heard of the Borrowdale race before, it is a race covering 17 miles and 6500ft of climb around the northern lake district. The route starts in Rosthwaite in the Borrowdale Valley and has checkpoints at Bessyboot, Esk Hause Shelter, Scafell Pike, Styhead Tarn, Great Gable & Honister Slate Mine with the last point having a timed cut-off of 4 1/2 hours. It’s a tough race and I haven’t seen the race run in anything but wet weather. For about 3 years now I have watched Chris do the race and met him at Styhead to cheer him on and give out food and had no inclination to attempt the race myself, until earlier this year when I decided to myself I would possibly attempt it NEXT year!

So, Albert replied to my query of a lift with “Why don’t you do the race? There are a couple of numbers going spare!”. I couldn’t really think of any good reason why I shouldn’t have a go (other than I hadn’t trained for it, and didn’t know the route) as I could always drop out at Styhead. And so the plan was forged. Saturday morning I grabbed my kit, rucsac and bumbag, a few gels and a flapjack and off I set to Tony’s, with a little nervousness.

By the time we arrived in Rosthwaite I was pretty relaxed. I registered to sub Colin's number and went to buy a map from Pete Blands van. I was AMAZED they had run out of race maps though, bit of poor planning there on Mr Blands side! Anyway I had an Ordnance Survey map with me so that would have to do. I packed my rucsac and put my food in my bumbag then headed to the start.

At 11AM the race started and it was a gentle trot through the village to the bridge where 400 people all try to fit down a narrow track. Eventually the group now spread out heads off down the valley towards Bessyboot. I always find that at the start of any race I am out of breath in no time and seriously wonder what the hell I am doing. Billy Bland was stood at the at the foot of the climb to Bessyboot giving us some encouragement and then I looked up to see the stream of bodies heading up this steep first climb. At this point I was about 5th from last!! After about 3/4 hour (I think) I reached the first checkpoint with a small gap to the people in front of me and a lady very close behind me.

I descended from the checkpoint and tried to play catch-up with the runners in front of me. I was a little worried about the route and would rather follow someone who knew the route than be left alone to navigate it myself. After 25 mins running behind Glaramara I eventually caught up to the guy in front (Colin) from Long Eaton. I had noticed though that for the last 25 mins I had not seen ANYBODY behind me and I think the lady had retired. Keeping a steady pace we plodded on to Esk Hause shelter (Checkpoint 2) which is as far as I had ever made it on a previous recce with Chris (I had an abscess and was on strong medication at the time so I can be excused!)

On the ascent up towards Scafell Pike, not knowing the route and not wanting to stop to get my map out I chose to stay with Colin. Had I known the route I probably would have pulled ahead a little but I wasn’t bothered about that. I hadn’t studied the route up here at all and was surprised when we started to descend having not yet made it to the top. Eventually though we made it to the top and out of the mist appeared about 30 people sat right on the peak having their photo taken. I recall Chris saying the path up from Wasdale is like a motorway sometimes and i can imagine it is now.

Now off the Pike and heading for the scree run and the corridor route down to Styhead tarn. Colin started to pull ahead of me here as I tried to negotiate the scree. Once onto a path I tried a couple of short cuts and at one point fell over as my left leg slid from underneath me and my right stayed where it was. Luckily I managed to avoid the rocks and carry on. Further down though I passed a large rock on the path and caught my knee. Then further along still my weak ankle (been problematic for a few weeks now) stopped me for about a minute or so after stepping funny on a small rock in the ground. At this point I had made my mind up to retire at Styhead which was getting ever so close. Taking a trod across the grass I managed to shave a couple of minute from two runners in front who stuck to the path and on arriving at Styhead Colin was there with some friends getting refreshments. Stubbornly I headed on for the climb up to Great Gable followed by Colin.

The climb up Great Gable is a tough one and after the previous climbs my energy levels were low. At one point I was feeling so low that when a woman on her way down told me I was doing well, I nearly burst into a flood of tears. Slowly I plodded up and up this huge lump of rock which still had its head buried in the mist. But then through the mist I managed to pick out the shapes of the mountain rescue guys manning the checkpoint. After a minute or so rest on the summit I headed off, following the cairns on the descent to Windy Gap.

I’d never been on this side of Great Gable and was surprised when I saw the steep descent (just hadn’t expected it). The path was rocky and steep(ish) and a couple of times I worried about the wet rock and my useless Mudrock shoes. It was at this point too that I notice 6 million teeny tiny flies buzzing around my head. After much wafting of my hat I realised that it wasn’t going to make much difference and just proceeded to eat them as I moved through them. At one point, as I came down from the mist I wondered if I had taken the right line (Not that I knew is there was a wrong path to follow) as I saw the path heading down to Styhead Tarn and wondered if I was somehow going too low. I passed a couple of walkers stood browsing the OS map and they confirmed that this was Windy Gap and I was in the right place.

Taking a minute I took on water and ate a sweet and heard someone descending from above. It was Colin, who had made the climb up Great gable look harder than I had. Anyway it turned out that he had retired at the top of Great Gable. I looked up towards Green Gable and into the mist, then looked at my watch… 4hr 23min meant I had only 7 mins to make the cut-off at Honister. Knowing I wouldn’t make it and with the thought of wandering round Green Gable in the mist somehow not seeming the least bit appealing, I decided to take the descent down to Styhead Tarn.

I know I could have made it over to Honister OK, but as I hadn’t planned to do this race and already making it about 11 miles and 4000ft I was happy I had done enough for the day anyway. It certainly made an impact on me and I’ll make sure I’m more prepared for the next time I may attempt it.

Despite retiring at Windy Gap and with tired legs you still have a good way to head back to the start making the total distance covered around 15 miles and I was out around 6 hours. When I got back to the car Albert was asleep on the back seat, he hadn’t run well and said he was all over the place but still finished in 4hr 29mins. I couldn’t though see Tony. After washing my clothes and legs in the stream I saw Tony enter the parking field. It turned out that he was only about 20 mins ahead of me at Windy Gap and after Green Gable decided to retire. He then made a bit of a hash of coming down off the mountain first heading for Seatoller, then deciding to carry on to Honister and actually coming out at Seatoller. He even managed to catch the bus back to the start. I however had to walk (running wasn’t really an option) all the way to the main road and every time a car came passed I tried to look more tired than I was in the hope that somebody would give me a lift. Fortunately somebody stopped and it turned out to be the people who were supporting Colin at Styhead. Colin was no longer with me at this point as he had run ahead to the finish when I could run no more.

Overall I was quite happy with the day although part of me thinks I should have tried to make it to Honister to get timed out. The aim of getting some more miles and climb in my legs was achieved and after 3 1/2 years of running I finally made it to the top of Scafell Pike.

Gallopen – High Brow (11/07/2010)

2010-07-28T17:53:00.001+01:00

With the challenge of Orienteering up in the lakes Tony Varley and I decided to take on the Gallopen at High Brow. On arrival at the event it was very windy and I have to say that I thought about just letting Tony head off and I would just stay in the car and go to sleep, but I didn’t. Tony headed off while I was still faffing and getting changed and I headed off about 10 mins later.

With both of us on the Brown course I knew it was going to be a hard run on the way to the first point. The ground was very tussocky and it was difficult to get any sort of rhythm. Finding the 2nd control first was my first error but then just seemed to drop on to the next few controls. After number 6 though I went disastrously wrong. I read the map wrong and then didn’t believe the compass when it told me north was in a different direction to what i knew it to be. After 15 mins of messing about on the wrong side of the hill I ended up back at point 6 and realised the error of my ways. On reaching point 7 I saw Tony just in front of me heading for point 8. This was a little frustrating as I had already passed him on the way to point 4.

From here the rest of the controls were found without much problem, my other issue now is to try and increase my speed over the ground. The windy weather eased as the event went on and I finally made it to the finish, but with a mild twist on my ankle, in a terrible 2:06.37. Tony followed behind in 3:19.40. However all experience is good experience and Tony is feeling more and more confident with the map and compass.

Results Here

MDOC Town & Country Orienteering Weekend (26th/27th June 2010)

2010-07-27T11:17:00.001+01:00

Having only done one Regional orienteering event I have had my sights on the Town & Country weekend for a month or so. I enjoy the bigger events with the longer courses and a good challenge! Along with this I have only had 1 qualifying entry on the BOF rankings so I’m also keen to get 6 Regional/National events under my belt to get a ranking!

Saturday – Macclesfield Forest
Held in the North part of the forest the course was challenging as I foolishly turned up with shorts on (It was hot!). Tackling the black course was good fun and the trees helped to shade you from the intense heat of the day. I had the odd navigational issue but on the whole, after the first couple of points, finding the controls wasn’t a problem. Some of the controls in the later stages did however seem to have been strategically placed in or behind brambles, thorns and nettles and at one point, not being able to find a route through, I had to just make a route through and let my legs take a battering. However, at the end I can say I was happy with the course and felt thoroughly challenged. I certainly won’t be challenging any of the front runners on these courses but I’m getting better.

Finishing in 16th position, I have something to improve upon.

Sunday – Stockport City Urban
Starting right in the centre of the Stockport Shopping area this urban event did have the same lure of Nettles and brambles as the previous day however the temperature would have a greater effect as all of the running is in the open rather than in the shade of the forest.

Plenty of route choice is available on the urban events and with many alleys and split levels in the centre it was easy to take wrong paths (Which I did). The Black course had lots of points requiring running larger distances across the map with the last control being added, I’m sure, just for the sheer pain value. I made a few mistakes and the heat took it’s toll which had I not could have moved me up a position but then I'll put it down to inexperience.

Finishing in 9th position on the day I needed a stop at the poundshop on the way back to the download station to top up with water.

I left as soon as I had finished on the Sunday but was pleased to find out that I had won my category (Being as only 2 M35’s completed the Black course on both days).

A win is a win!

Tockholes Fell Race 2010

2010-07-15T13:21:00.005+01:00

After much ummming and ahhhing during the week we decided to stay local and head for Tockholes. I had my mind on an ldwa event in Langdale but it just looked too far for me in my current state plus we would have been out all day again which probably wouldn't have gone down too well with the better halves.

So it was we lined up in the sunny but slightly breezy conditions outside the village school where the annual fate was also on. It's four years since I last did this one and the first time I had seen a gala here for even longer so it was a nice surprise and gave the kids something to do while we were off running.

There was the usual warnings from the organiser, along with some about cows on the course and killer dogs then we were off. You run down the lane then climb back up, crossing the main road that goes through the village then joining a farm track that heads towards Sunnyhurst Woods.

I was enjoying myself, taking it steady in the sunshine. Through the woods the path undulates for a while then you start the main climb up past Darwen tower. It was quite windy on top but it was a relief to get cooled down a little and I managed to pick up my pace here heading across to the top of Aggie's Staircase. As paths go the one down there is not great but I managed to pass a couple of others and stay upright then saw 'NotOnYourHelly' from the fra forum marshaling so had a quick chat with him while climbing the stile at the bottom.

The woman in front of me went wrong here, she turned right heading back to the tower so I shouted her back then we headed back down towards the other main road crossing past Vaughn's Cafe. I was having a good run and felt strong running down through the woods to Roddlesworth Reservoir, my favourite part of this route. The path then undulates for a while along the side of the reservoir before you turn right and climb back up out of the woods heading for the village. Looking at my watch I was surprised to see I was a good 5 mins quicker than last time I ran four years ago and if I pushed it I could beat 50mins. So that's what I did, we passed the cows and the killer dogs (they hadn't killed anyone, not that I could see anyway) and as I reached the tarmac road back to the school I put in a final spurt and made it with about 4 secs to spare.

I was really chuffed with the whole run, the fact that I had run it faster than ever and also that my knee finally seems to be on the mend. I had a quick drink then it wasn't long before Mark finished just under the hour saying he struggled a bit with the heat. We met up with the others, had a quick pint in the pub while the results were done then headed home for a well deserved curry.

The question then was what to do Sunday. The forecast wasn't great so again we decided to stay local, Skiddaw Fell Race was on but I didn't fancy the drive and was also struggling to find all the kit I would need. I wanted to go somewhere I hadn't been before so we ended up going for a trot round Pendle Hill. Mark has done a couple of the races they hold on there so he showed me a few of the routes. We parked in Barley and headed up the half tour route to the trig point then carried on round to the 'Nick of Pendle' road. It was quite windy but the predicted rain never arrived, I was having a great time but Mark started suffering a bit with tightness in his legs as we headed back past the reservoir.

Back up the climb to the top of Geronimo I was surprised how dry the ground was, you could tell this could get really slippery though in wet weather. Geronimo seemed like a great descent, once we figured out where we were going anyway! We split up here, Mark headed back past the reservoirs while I headed back up to the trig point for a bit more climb. I was also surprised how few people we saw, maybe the weather forecast kept them away. One good thing about the weather was the wind seemed to blow me up the hills making me feel much stronger than I actually was.

I had a cracking run and was still feeling good as we got back to the car, I could have stayed out all day. A brew from the cafe there before leaving for home with me promising to spend more time training around there. Those that did Skiddaw seemed to get the bad weather though, the race ended up being shortened due to the conditions.

Richmond Cyclosportive... all by myself.

2010-06-14T21:53:00.020+01:00

Another early start Saturday 29th May saw me heading east over the Pennines for a change and up to Richmond in Yorkshire, this time with most of my family in tow (less my eldest daughter who is old enough to find an excuse not to come!). I had entered the 5 Dales Cyclosportive a few months ago, looking for something different to do on the Bank Holiday weekend (I usually do Hutton Roof Crags) since we were back home visiting anyway. There was me thinking I would be nicely recovered and feeling fit from the Fred Whitton Challenge at the beginning of the month, the reality being that I got caught a cold a few days after doing that which developed into sinusitis after trying to train through it so I had only been out on the bike about 3 times since.

The forecast had been for heavy gusts and rain spreading during the afternoon but it didn't look too bad on arriving (late) in Richmond. I wanted to set of as soon as the start opened but roadworks on the A1 and various other bits of me faffing about meant I only set off about 9:30 when it seemed virtually everyone else were already on their way. The 10+% hill out of Richmond made for a nice warm-up then came what seemed like miles of quiet lanes heading out towards the first climb of 'The Stang'. Being so close to Catterick Garrison there was quite a military feel to things with many different warning signs such as those in the villages of speed limits for MoD vehicles and big red triangles with silhouettes of tanks in them.

I caught some stragglers here who seemed to be taking it easy and a few groups passed me who I couldn't stay with, the scenery gradually changing to open moorland. There were more cyclists about thankfully on the climb of the Stang, quite a steep drag up onto the moor and there were more than a few who had got off to walk. I remember reaching some switchbacks through the trees that were pretty steep but just after those we were on a lovely sweeping road across the tops, this gradually dropped off and I got some good speed up heading down before turning right for the climb up Tan Hill.

I got chatting to a local here who had caught me; he had lost the group he was in due to stopping to take his jacket off and it was good to pass some time with someone else it was becoming a lonely ride but he slowly pulled away though, I couldn't stay with him on the steeper bits. I noticed a nice lady sat by the side of the road taking pictures, I was quite enjoying myself on this section; the bad weather hadn't arrived and the views across the moors were lovely. I was surprised to see the Tan Hill Inn, the local I was chatting too earlier had said that the first feed stop in Keld was before Tan Hill so I was pleased to have done 2 rather than one of the main climbs.

Turning left here though things rapidly went downhill, though not just in a good way. The wind, which we had so far been sheltered from by the hills was now fully head-on and gave me a taste of things to come later on though it was still a nice descent down to the first feed at Keld. One poor young lad was looking for first aid here for a gash on his knee and was struggling to find anyone who could treat him. The food was great: sausage rolls, jelly babies, flapjacks, jaffa cake bars, cereal bars, I was stuffing my face. One bloke commented on the value saying they did an event last week which cost 30 quid and got no food!

The first route split is here for those doing the 50 and I was a bit disheartened to be the only one of the large group of people at that time to be heading right to do the longer ones so it was back to lonely old me for the ride over Birkdale Common. At least the wind was no longer in my face. This was another really nice, quiet section of the ride with great views and virtually empty roads where over the top I was a little surprised to find we were entering Cumbria.

The descent from there into Nateby was fantastic and thinking back was the best part of the ride for me, apart from one point where 3 sheep appeared out of nowhere and darted across the road in front of me; I must have been doing 40mph+ and did a huge sideways skid as I slammed the brakes on, it's a good job the roads were still dry at that point or I think I would have been off.
Turning left through Nateby meant facing that awful wind head-on again plus the dark clouds were gathering now threatening rain. All the way from there to the second feed at Hawes was a real struggle where I spent a surprising amount of time on the smallest front ring - I was riding a triple! I was desperate for some respite from the wind but none came, even those that caught and passed me I couldn't stay with it was torture. I saw a few 'travellers' heading the other way in their traditional horse-drawn caravans that Yorkshire always seems full of May Bank Holiday and I found myself wishing for one going my way so I could get a tow!

Turning left onto the main A-road into Hawes it had started raining which didn't make for a good ride into the second feed, what with the fast traffic as well. I had told the wife I would get there around 12, it was now about 1:15 and she didn't seem too pleased to see me. My youngest was asleep in her pram and the boys were off getting their lunch at the chippy round the corner. I stuffed my face again while complaining about the headwind, I could see the wife's eyes pleading with me to take the 80 mile option here when she said: "You're not doing the full route now are you?". The organisers had also put a note in saying if you reach Hawes after 2pm *please* do the 80 mile and not the 100. It was only half one though and there were the odd one or two still setting off on the 100. She didn't complain though bless her when I climbed back on and headed off up towards the next climb of Fleet Moss.

This is the first of the two hardest climbs that are only done on the 100 and I was expecting something steep after reading reports online so took my time on the lower section, holding almost bottom gear all the way up. I passed a couple of riders at about half way up and they turned out to be the last riders I would see until the finish. You can see almost all the climb up through the valley which helps with pacing but this also meant you could see how much it kicks up near the top. I had to stop for a breather part way up (what I thought was) the last bit and there was a little sting in the tail as you think you have reached the top where there is a last little kick to the summit.

There were a few walkers here, one of whom said: "Well done!" as I passed then quickly: "Almost half way up!". To which I thanked him and also said that wasn't funny, trouble is since we were virtually in the mist and I had never been up there before I almost took him seriously!

Up there it was windy, wet and cold but at least it was mostly downhill along some great descents through Wharfedale heading for the last stop in Kettlewell. It was a shame the weather was so bad because the scenery was wonderful I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy it; I was already beginning to wish it was over. Riding alongside the river past the houses and farms towards Buckden the rain got heavier and it seemed to take an age to do the 4 miles or so from Buckden to Kettlewell; the air was blue as I entered the village, I hit a pothole just past the school and swore out loud I hope nobody was around.

I almost missed the last checkpoint outside the Blue Bell Inn since the lady and her son, along with the guy from St.John's Ambulance were wisely sheltering in the pub doorway. I was pleased to see there was food and drink as well since the course notes said it would just be a dib station. They were curious as to how many people were still out but all I could tell them was the time I left Hawes and that I had passed 2 people on the way. I needed the loo so went into the pub (The Blue Bell Inn) and really, really did not want to leave; the warmth, the smell of the wood burning fire and the real ale were such a strong pull it was one of the biggest struggles of the day to walk back outside into that weather for the last 25 or so miles back to Richmond.

The climb out of Kettlewell got some warmth back anyway it kicks up straight away, I didn't even know there was a road that goes this way. I like Kettlewell, it being where the Great Wherside fell race is held late autumn which is a cracking short race and from this road you could see the campsite the race is held from and the lower slopes of that hill. After a really steep bit you drop back down where you can see the road snaking up the next hill in the distance and it looks very steep. This was definitely the sharpest climb of the day; I resorted to zig-zags across the road to try and get up and stopped for a breather as well at one point just before the s-bend where it was so steep the road surface was falling apart similar to the way it does on hardknott pass, thankfully there was no traffic so I was able to do whatever I needed to do to get up. After that horror there was still quite a gradient and for some reason I kept expecting it to kick up again but I must have been remembering something wrong since after a few more smaller inclines it flattened out.

The weather had lightened a little and what had been helping was the wind was almost behind me here but it wasn't long before the rain came again during the long, lonely descent through Coverdale. I had been soaked through since well before Kettlewell and had even forgotten about looking for the route arrows. From here it's just back through Leyburn and onto Richmond but I still didn't know how long I had left, I saw a sign that said it was 6 miles to Leyburn and with me thinking at that point it was 6 miles to Richmond from Leyburn I perked up a bit thinking it wasn't far to go. Every incline was slowing me down now and I needed to get the rest of my food and drink down me so I stopped near what looked like the edge of a racecourse on what google maps tells me is Cotescue Bank. It didn't do me good stopping like that for too long I was so cold my teeth were chattering as I set off and I got worried about punctures; if I had to stop for any length of time I would struggle.

My heart sank as I reached Leyburn and saw a sign saying Richmond was another 12 miles, twice as far as I had been thinking but there was nothing else to do but get my head down and push through the rain. This last stretch down the main A-road into Richmond was not good; the traffic was fast moving, the rain was heavy and I wanted so much to be somewhere warm and dry. After an eternity I saw a yellow sign saying '1Km to go' and I pushed up the pace but I couldn't even hold that for long; I started to wonder whether that sign was for some other event since it seemed like another 2 miles before I saw another sign saying '200m to go'. I also saw our car heading the other way, the family got fed up of waiting and decided to come see if they could find me!

Thankfully just on arrival into Richmond there was a welcome sight of a small gazebo with a lovely lady waiting to dib my card. Lisa parked up just up the road but I rode past her wanting to ride the last bit to the school, she said: 'Don't bother there's nobody left!', I had to give my dibber in though anyway. I almost forgot the way back!

Arriving at the school I said hello to two blokes stood under a white gazebo who just glared back at me without smiling, 'Nice welcome' I thought but maybe they were as cold and wet as I felt! I gave my dibber in and got a printout with my time: 8hr04min which was a bit disappointing but what with the weather, the feed stops and having ridden virtually every mile by myself I can't complain.

I was drenched, I had to get changed then picked up some hot food which again was included in the entry fee, a bargain for twelve quid! Just a shame the weather wasn't right on the day but what can you expect for England in May? They also gave the time bands out wrong; according to the website I should have got 'bronze' but got a 'merit' instead, not that it makes any difference!

Bank holiday Monday I went for a run round Winter Hill, alone since I was unsuccessful in persuading Mark to drag himself out! It was a good run and I felt ok considering I hadn't really ran more than once or twice since April, my intention being to test my legs before deciding what to do about the following weekend. I really wanted to do Duddon having never done it before but with spending so little time running in the hills this year I was not very confident. I was still undecided by Friday but I had almost made my mind up to do Pen-y-Ghent instead, more due to Duddon being yet another long day out for me than any worries about getting round. I had spent all week alone at work while the family were staying up North for half-term and yet another day spent with me doing something for myself wasn't really fair.

Pen-Y-Ghent Fell Race

So it was we found ourselves in Horton-in-Ribblesdale for the first time in a few years on the gala field eating cakes before the race! It was quite warm in the sun but there was a nice breeze blowing. I honestly didn't know what to expect from the race; with all the cycling I have done this year my climbing has really improved but at the expense of leg speed due to doing almost no decent running to speak of so I just started mid-pack as usual and settled in to a steady pace through the village to see what would happen. I obviously started way too close to the front since I spent most of the climb being steadily passed (this always happens!) so I'm not sure whether it was the mental effect of this or the heat that ground me down but I just felt so slow, all the way round. The wind was behind us on the way up so there wasn't much to cool us down and I was really hot on reaching the 'steps' up the back. Over the top though the breeze was in my face which was good but I just couldn't get any speed up on the descent, I quite like this run down and still passed a few but felt like my legs just wouldn't keep up with what I wanted them to do.

I found myself following a couple of the runners in front towards the gate before Whitber Hill however to me it felt like we had gone too far right, I was sure I hadn't been this far out before. It seemed like I had been out ages (I hadn't brought my watch) as I crested the hill and the flagged section to the finish started, it's still a bit of a run back from there though where again I felt so slow. Down the stony track where you can see the finish field then out onto the road for that painful tarmac run-in. I finished in about 1h14m which is about 6mins slower than my best for this route.

I wasn't sure whether I had a good or bad race. It certainly didn't feel too great while out and I was a bit disappointed with my time but at least I was back running and I got round even though I have hardly run at all this year.

I was relieved not to have entered Duddon though it would have been a huge struggle judging by the way I felt at the finish. Proves to me though that all the cycling has at least kept some of the fitness at the expense of the speed. I'm not sure what my plans are now, I'm doing Ben Nevis again this year and Mark is entered too so I might just concentrate on that. It's a shame I couldn't get some points in the Lakeland classics like last year (not doing Ennerdale this year, it's a champs race plus I'm not quick enough) but what can I expect with my knee playing up earlier this year!

(Thanks to Dave and Eileen Woodhead for taking the pictures on the fell - http://www.woodentops.org.uk )

Pike O’Blisco Regional Orienteering Event

2010-05-24T17:00:00.001+01:00

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With clouds on the peaks that promised to lift the Langdale valley played host to the LOC Regional Pike O’Blisco orienteering event. An early registration for this event was required (depending on your start time) due to the start on most of the courses being some 1.5km from registration and about 350m up the path towards the Blisco summit. The trek to the start made for a good warm up though, not that a warm up would make much difference.

I’d been planning to enter this event but hadn’t managed to pre-enter. Uncertain of which course I should attempt I plumped for the Black, the basis being it was no harder than the Blues/Browns just longer (10km as the crow flies). I hadn’t run much this week so I needed a long run out anyway. On meeting a few people in the parking area I was beginning to wonder if Black was the right course for me, one comment being “are you mad!”. I enjoyed the slog to the start as it helped loosen me up as I’ve been suffering lately. Just after 11:00 I lined up at the start and headed off.

Once I looked at the map I had a good idea which direction I thought I should be heading in, just ahead off me was Paul Turner (SELOC Chairman). Then about 50m from the start Paul stepped in some soft bog and his foot came out without his shoe. After stopping to help him recover his shoe from the vacuum that was holding it in the bog I headed for point 1 and decided to take a bearing just to check I’d read the map correctly but for some reason the bearing just seemed VERY wrong. I carried on and found the 1st control then decided to take another bearing. Again it seemed wrong so I head off in the direction I thought I should go. Finding another control (Not the one I wanted) I got the compass out again and this time compared somebody else's version of NORTH to my version of NORTH. It turned out my compass has de/re-magnetised itself and now SOUTH = NORTH.

From here I seemed to drop on to the points quite well with my only problem being speed over the ground, which I knew would be my dis-advantage. I ran the three shires fell race last year so had been around this area a little and able to pick out a few points that I had run over before. After point 6 a long plod over toward Cold Pike again managing quite well to drop on or very close to the controls. By the time I left Cold Pike and started heading for point 18, I was tiring a little and there were quite a few people darting in all directions across the landscape. However point 18 took me a little longer to find after finding two other controls in the same area before the one I actually wanted.

The final few points were dotted around Blake Rigg and Bleaberry Knott and by this time I was tiring, thankful that the last three controls didn’t have much distance between them, then lastly the finish tent and a nice jog back down the hill to the parking area and a cup of tea. Back in the parking field, there was a tent selling cakes. It seemed a shame to pass by the opportunity to eat cake. I resisted the opportunity to clear out the whole stand just buying 3 small cakes. A thoroughly enjoyable event, now if only I can try and speed up a little I can do something about my position!

I finished 19th out of 20 on the Black course in 2hr 28 min which I suppose isn’t too bad, for a 10km

Mark

Fred Whitton Challenge 2010

2010-05-19T07:33:00.013+01:00

What a cracking day out the Fred Whitton Challenge is. I was determined to start as early as I could due to having to drive the 300ish miles home after the event so I set my alarm for 4:45am the night before, after popping round to see the Sammons and take over their kitchen for my pre-race meal. Mark said he would come and support me which was good of him, though he did have an ulterior motive which was to go for a trot round the Coniston Fell Race route while I was out. I picked him up just after 5am then we headed up there, the weather looking really promising it was quite clear with little wind.

We got there around 6:30 and the centre was already busy with people getting ready and setting off. I picked up my dibber and some goodies then set about faffing around my bike; first lesson learned of the day was not to buy stuff on the way to an event and use it for the first time in the event. I wanted a mini-pump that would fit in my saddle bag (it didn't fit) so I had to try and mount it on the bottle cage mounts, the allen key for which I had only gone and left at home! Anyway while I was faffing around trying to find a suitable tool Mark just went and borrowed a multitool from someone and we used that. One more toilet stop then I was ready, about an hour later than planned.

Don't forget to dib at the start then I was off down the lane. Hawkshead Hill is not marked as a pass on the route map but it still makes for a good warm-up, I fell in behind a few blokes who like me were taking it steady at the start chatting away amongst themselves commenting on how many fast lads where there and muttering things like: "It's a marathon, not a sprint" every time someone shot past us. Over the top a good sized group caught us so I went with them on the descent down through Ambleside to the start of the long climb up to Kirkstone. The views as we got higher were lovely, early on a sunny spring morning looking out over Windermere it couldn't get much better!

Through Troutbeck and down onto the main A-road up to the pass I was a little surprised to see marshals in the road, the first event I had done that you didn't have to give way at every junction. I noticed a headwind here too, blowing down from the pass so made an effort to catch up with a small group in front; the weather was looking a bit more gloomy further up which made me glad I had decided to put an extra layer on before heading off. I got chatting to a guy nearer the top who commented on the paramedic cars that were following us round he reckoned that they are usually kept busy each year on the descents. Kirkstone is more of a long drag than a short, sharp slap in the face that some of the later climbs are but nevertheless I was glad to reach the top and get some speed up. There were lots of people up here supporting the event which was really good to see as was the view. Not that I got much time to take it in. This descent is fast; I tried not to think about the 'what if?'s and concentrated on passing the slower cyclists while at the same time allowing room for the nutters who were flying past lying flat on their top tubes 'Le Tour' style. This as well as keeping an eye out for vehicles coming the other way and potholes in the road, we must have been touching 50mph at some of the steeper bits.

The gradient finally eased and I had a big smile on my face; it gave me a similar rush to a long, runnable descent in a fell race such as Great Whernside. It was here we caught up to a guy on a hand-cranked bike and I was impressed, his hands still frantically pedalling with the speed from the slope, he seemed to be loving it and I wished him luck as we passed.

I got some food down me then fell in behind a couple of riders for the flatter section past Ullswater, they were going a little slow for me but I would rather have waited for a faster group to catch us than try and catch one up. It wasn't long before I looked back to see quite an impressive sight, there seemed to be a group of around 30-40 riders spread out across the road as a peloton and they were gaining ground fast! There was no way I was going to be able to stick with this lot but it made for an enjoyable few miles before the climb up to Matterdale watching these guys work together as a group, steadily dropping people like me out of the back.

Climbing up to Matterdale End I was becoming mindful of trying to stick with some others for the drag down the A66 to Keswick, I needn't have worried though there were so many people out today if you lose one group another one will be along shortly! One guy was going slow here and a Saddleback support van pulled up alongside to offer him some help, I didn't know what the problem was but it was reassuring to know they were there to help out just in case.

Blencathra came into view here, left onto the A66 where there was some good supporters cheering us on then began for most people the only bad section of the route. This can be a busy road so it is just a case of sticking to the last metre or so of tarmac at the left in a long train of bikes until you reach Keswick. We passed the odd slower rider though and some faster lads came through, I noticed on the flatter sections I was struggling to keep up with those in front but it seemed more of a mechanical thing than me feeling tired; the guys in front just seemed to have less rolling resistance than me I found myself pedalling much more often than the guy whose wheel I was on. There was a group in a car here who must have been the family of one of the blokes in the group since they were stopping periodically in laybys and jumping out to take pictures and shout encouragement as we sped past, then back in the car to catch us up to do the same again!

I lost the group at the roundabout where we turned for Keswick due to a car (not every junction was marshaled unfortunately) so flew through the town trying to catch them up but this was unnecessary, again I was killing myself trying to stick with a group when I should have just slackened off a bit and waited for the next one to come along. The next group at this point though I had no chance sticking with since it was the wheelbase lot with Rob Jebb in tow; there were plenty hangers on however so it made for good progress down past Derwentwater and into Borrowdale. The road had a new surface in sections down here but there was still the odd pothole; I caught one while distracted struggling to keep up with a car behind trying to get past so I slowed down, drank the rest of my water and readied myself for the climb up Honister, I was going far too fast anyway. Rosthwaite was nice, I have fond memories of camping there (and some not so fond - have you ever camped at Stonethwaite?) and from doing the Borrowdale Race in August; the sun was out and I was feeling good with only a niggling worry of puncture from the pothole, my tyres were feeling a bit flat especially the rear.

Through Seatoller I almost stopped at the toilets there, I remember reading recommendations to do this since at the feed stop in Buttermere there is only limited facilities but in the end I didn't - a decision I regretted. Then began the climb up to Honister, this starts off really steep through the trees and I saw a couple of riders get off right there and start walking. I was in bottom gear and stayed there for most of the way up to the slate mine but I had managed to find a nice steady rhythm and was getting a bit warm now the sun was out. The traffic got worse further up but people were patient enough and I don't remember anyone getting in the way. Sweat was dripping off me as we climbed above the trees and again I was aware of the bumps through my back tyre much more than usual, there just didn't seem to be enough air in it. I was climbing at about the same rate as a Swedish bloke who breathlessly commented on how another 2 riders could just breeze past chatting away as they had just done, I could hardly reply. There was loads of support again here one woman was shouting out "Come on lads you're doing well" at which point a girl climbing just behind us shouted back: "and lasses!". It wasn't much longer until we rounded the corner and passed the slate mine then it was brakes on straight away, the road drops off steeply and quickly so you have to be really careful not to let your speed get away with you or else it becomes really hard to slow down due to the bumps and ruts in the poor road surface. Two riders had come a cropper further down; it was a bit of a blur but one bloke was sat with a foil blanket on next to a paramedic on the right-hand verge and someone else was off on the left. The road bends to the right there with a dry stone wall at the left, on top of which was a slightly mangled looking bike. From reading some other reports after the event this could have been the guy who built up too much speed, slid sideways into the wall breaking his collarbone and knocking himself out.

Once again I tried to block out the 'what if?' thoughts and focus on the road, luckily there was little traffic coming the other way and I was thankful for that my brakes were taking enough abuse. One bloke with no fear at all came flying down the outside shouting out: "ON YOU'RE RIGHT!".

It's a nice ride down towards Buttermere once the steep stuff is behind you but I had forgotten how far it was from Honister, the descent had cooled me down nicely but my gloves were now quite damp so as soon as I stopped at the Hostel I packed them away. It was very busy here, they were even running out of sandwiches. I was feeling a bit queasy which is always a sign for me of not eating and drinking enough so I got some food quick, settling for a banana, some jam sandwiches and flapjack then plenty juice. Once my water bottle was filled I debated leaving then and stopping for a pee in a bush somewhere but the climb to Newlands starts almost immediately so I went inside the Hostel to find the loo. Thankfully there was only about 4 people in the queue but what with only having 2 toilets it still took about 10 mins. While in the queue I overheard a guy on the payphone talking to some supporters: "Where are you Whinlatter?".... "Aye, I'm at Buttermere I couldn't get a signal"......."I will carry on to meet you but I'm quitting, I'm covered in bandages I dropped it down through Borrowdale". At which point everyone in the queue turned round to see the damage the guy had done to himself, poor bloke he looked in a bit of a mess.

I contemplated checking my tyres here, or getting them checked but just wanted to get off; it was busy and I had already spent far too long there. I dibbed and set off down the road then before you are even settled you turn right and head up Newlands Pass, a guy in front said he didn't remember it being so close to the food stop but I said it's one thing they mention in the route notes: not to eat too much due to the next climb being so close. This is a nice climb with some fantastic views, unfortunately I heard a "POP!Hiiisssssssssss" from just behind me where another poor bloke's front tyre went. Still, better here than about 5 miles back coming down from Honister.

Having never been up this way before I wasn't sure what to expect and the climb does kick up steeply towards the top but I was still feeling ok and even managed a smile for the photographer at the top. Another steep drop off here similar to the Honister one then it was a nice descent down through the quiet valley where the only drawback was the headwind. It seemed to take ages to reach Braithwaite where again there was lots of support before the climb up Whinlatter. I don't remember much about this climb apart from there being lots of trees and quite a few cars on the road, it certainly wasn't much trouble on my granny ring. I nearly went the wrong way at the top following the bloke in front who pulled off to the right where the mechanics were, again the support here was great.

Things after here got a lot quieter and I continued to enjoy myself, a nice steady descent through the lanes towards Loweswater where I spent long stretches on my own without seeing any other cyclists. At one point my mobile rang in my back pocket, it was Lisa asking how I was; due to having no signal for most of the route I hadn't managed to speak to her to let her know how things were going and it was a bit odd for both of us to be talking while riding the event. Heading down through Loweswater you could hear sirens echoing up the valley, I never saw the vehicle but whoever it was they were speeding up towards Honister.

This part of the route dragged for me, I was starting to feel tired and my mind was wandering; with the various slight ups and downs you couldn't stick in one gear and find a rhythm and I just wanted to get through Ennerdale Bridge and reach the feed stop. Fangs Brow was the next climb and not too long or taxing; there were a few groups of cyclists heading the other way here presumably on the coast to coast, most of them had huge panniers with them. I think the guy next to me on the climb must have hit a real bad patch since he stopped pedalling and dropped his head into his hands resting on his handlebars letting out a huge groan. My knees were starting to ache a little above the kneecaps which made me wonder whether my seat height had dropped a bit, either that or just another symptom of fatigue.

Once up Fangs Brow the view got even better, you could see out over the coast to the Isle of Man on the horizon. Western Lakes is my favourite part of Cumbria by far, it seems quieter than other parts and somehow more remote. The ride was good over from here down into Ennerdale Bridge, we must have had a slight tailwind since the speed came easy. On reaching another cattle grid at speed the guy in front hardly slowed and did a little 'bunny hop' to clear the grid which looked a great idea so I had a go; this might have worked if my tyres had had enough air in them but as it was I could virtually feel my rims hit the road so I wasn't going to try that little trick again.

We passed some nice downhill switchbacks on the way down to Ennerdale Bridge then picked up some good speed on the lanes before the village, definitely a tail wind. I was already thinking that we were almost at the food stop but then remembered the sign at Calderbridge saying 9 miles to Ennerdale and that is over Cold Fell. On the climb up there I started getting cramps in my left thigh on every 'pull' of the left pedal so that was another sign telling me to drink the rest of my water and eat something.

More often than not in the reports I have read people describe this climb as a real drag into the prevailing wind off the sea, thankfully today that wasn't the case as the wind if anything seemed to be helping. It didn't take too long to get over the top and gain some speed, it was a decent run over to the second feed; the view spoiled somewhat by the blot of Sellafield on the coast. A few tricky hairpin bends later I pulled into a busy, sunny Calderbridge at about 2pm.

First thing I wanted to do was get my tyres checked so I went over to one of the support mechanics who was stood next to two big track pumps and said something like: "Have you got a trackpump?". He gave me an odd look as I realised what I had just said so I just smiled and asked him whether he could check my tyres, sure enough they were about half what they should have been which explained the bounciness over the bumps and maybe even the decreased rolling resistance. I can't believe I rode so far without checking them.

Once again I wasn't hungry but that shouldn't stop you from shovelling the food in however I had grown sick of sugary and oaty things so was pleased to see plenty of tuna sandwiches, they tasted fantastic! Surprising how the quality of food seems to improve the further into these type of events you get it must be a biological thing, something to do with the body making sure it gets what is lacking. There were some nice fresh orange segments here as well as lots of cake and flapjack, I even tried the energy drink but it tasted foul. Off inside for another toilet stop where I could hear somebody dry heaving in one of the cubicles. More juice then I sent a quick text message while listening to the paramedics planning their logistics over Hardknott then it was time to get going. The atmosphere at that second stop was great and I felt like I could have stayed there a lot longer but I just wanted to get back.

The roads down that way are quite familiar to me now since we have spent some time round there the past few years, it's not far to Gosforth but that road can get a bit busy. My phone bleeped just on the section with the depressing view of Sellafield, it was Mark telling me that Rob Jebb had just finished. Through Gosforth then down towards Santon Bridge I was feeling refreshed and led a small group down through the lanes, pedalling hard, burning all those calories I had just eaten so that I reach empty just in time for Hardknott! Up over Irton Pike we passed a few slower people, though I'm sure they were just sensibly pacing themselves.

I fell in with a group from a club I can't remember now but they were in yellow and blue, through the lanes of Eskdale. I'm sure it was in my mind but I detected some tension, everyone seemed to have gone quiet and there were a lot more riders taking their time. We had done nearly 100 miles though by that point.

Me, foremost in my mind was my bladder I must have drank a little too much at that last feedstop so I decided to stop after that cattle grid at the bottom of the climb and nip behind the wall. The amount of people I saw who just crossed the grid and got off to walk was surprising. I clipped back in and set off to see how far I would get and it was hard work. I got up that first ramp and past the zig-zags leading up past the fort sweat already dripping from me but I was thankful for the slight ease in gradient; the route notes say to use this to get your breath back and I did. The support up here was again really encouraging even the riders walking would say something good as you passed.

The trouble with Hardknott is not just how physically tough it is with 100 miles and plenty hills already in the legs, I think mentally the fact that you can see virtually all the climb from the bottom up breaks you. I was supposed to be recovering and steeling myself for the last push to the top but all I could do was watch the riders in front reach the next set of hairpins and thinking there was no way I was going to be able to get up those the way I was feeling. It was my lower back more than anything else my hips were swaying all over the place! I passed another guy walking just before hitting the steep bit and as he said:"Well done" I said I wouldn't be that far behind him in getting off and walking, I had obviously made my mind up and on reaching the last viciously steep hairpin I could take the cramps in my back no more so just stopped, unclipped and got off.

Thinking back I could have just rested and stretched my back but it all boils down to what your goals are; I just wanted to get back, sure it would have been nice to be able to say I rode the whole route but that will have to wait for another year, at that point my main aim was to finish as soon as I could and walking was quicker than battling the gradient. So I did what felt like a walk of shame to the top, even some of the supporters lining the route would be shouting encouragement to those still pedalling while remaining distinctly quiet as I passed.

It wasn't long before I could clip back in and ride past the Mountain Rescue guys at the top and get ready for the descent. This was very steep and really dangerous, the hairpins are really tight and the road surface is rutted and broken which meant you have to be very careful while braking, which you pretty much do all the way down. My brakes were getting louder towards the bottom which I assume was due to them getting hot but they still worked well, more than can be said for my arms! I passed a bloke who seemed to be fixing a puncture, what a place to end up with a flat but he looked to be in good shape so that was a blessing at least.

The wind seemed to be blowing down from Wrynose pass which made progress across the valley slow, or I was just too knackered to be able to pedal hard enough. I got as far as the last steep kick up to the top and had to get off again, Hardknott had broken me I was so slow on the steep bits it was quicker to walk. Over the top and past some familiar running territory at the 3 Shires Stone for another scary descent into Little Langdale, this one is not quite as bad as the last descent down from Hardknot but there are still some dodgy hairpins and I was less lucky with traffic here. Again the pressure on my arms was hurting but it wasn't too long before we were heading down through the lanes past the Three Shires Inn, more familiar running terriotory; it made a change passing the pub completely knackered on a bike as opposed to on foot at the end of the Three Shires Race.

Down past the T-junction and then up onto the main Coniston road it was good to see marshalls and policemen in the road keeping an eye out for you, one of them telling me it was only just over 2 miles to the finish now. There were a few cars queued up waiting especially on the way out of Coniston, all the cyclists who had obviously finished well before me showered, changed, packed up and heading for home! This was a long 2 miles; there is a slight incline for the first stretch but the rest makes for a nice end to the route. I was feeling quite emotional too, thinking back over the months since getting the entry back in winter and the long rides I had done since then. It felt good arriving back in Coniston and heading to the finish, loads of people on the lane and the was Mark wondering where I had got to.

We couldn't quite remember exactly what time I had set off and it seemed I hadn't beaten 9 hours but when I handed my dibber in a got my printout my time was 8h48min so I was reasonably chuffed with that. A bit disappointed to have walked on the last two passes and if I hadn't faffed about at the feed stops I probably could've knocked over half an hour off that but considering I hadn't ridden 100 miles up until the last weekend of April this year I was very happy.

It was good to have a lie down on the sports field and get some food down me, Mark had been for a trot round the Coniston Fell Race route so at least he had something to keep him occupied for a few hours anyway and he even offered to drive back which was good of him. I was completely spent but over the moon, it was a prefect way to spend a day in the saddle and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys long days out riding. Thanks must go to everyone involved with putting the event on the whole day went without a hitch the organisation being flawless. I even wanted to buy a t-shirt but the only size they had left by the time I finished was XL.

Thanks to Mark for the support too :) Oh and don't forget the missus for giving me all the passes to let me train!

As ready as I'll ever be.

2010-05-07T20:04:00.020+01:00

I can hardly believe we're already in May, or that my last update here was from the middle of February! The weekend after my last update I had a terrible time on the bike, being so stubborn I went out on the bike despite the sub-zero temperatures first thing on the Saturday and fell off on black ice in the middle of Billinge. My poor bike hit the deck as hard as I did; luckily it was ride able and again, being so stubborn I carried on. I got as far as Up-Holland towards Ashurst Beacon then fell off again, this time on my right side.

Even I got the message then and trundled off back to my Mum's with my tail between my legs to lick my wounds. I felt such an idiot, when I got back ice had formed on my helmet and across my handlebars just to remind me how cold it was. My legs were a bit of a mess too I had a good case of road rash on both hips plus my knees were gashed, as I warmed up they really started to sting.

Anyway once the sun had come out and most of the ice cleared I went back out and did the rest of the route bandaged up, finishing on the mast road up Winter Hill which became impassable towards the top due to the snow. I always seem to learn my lessons the hard way and I won't be taking my bike out in that sort of frost again.

It took about three days for the sores to stop weeping and about a week for them to stop hurting! My poor cross bike needed some patching up too. I did the Kentish Killer at the end of Feb which was a sportive on the roads across some of the North Downs in Kent and it was typical for me that the day before there was gale force winds and torrential rain forecast. The 100Km route had unfortunately been shortened to 70Km when I registered but by the end I was glad, the only time I remember being so wet with clothes on was at the end of the Ben Nevis race last year! I was quite tired too even though I had only been out for about 3 1/2 hours. My first ever sportive and I really enjoyed it, gaining some good experience on the roads with other riders and also showing me what a difference a good road bike makes; with my cross bike and 'road style' tyres I struggled just to keep up with the groups on full road bikes, pedalling like buggery to stick behind other riders who appeared to be freewheeling!

I spent March running a couple of times a week and cycling much more, my Sunday rides getting steadily further; up to 5 hours and by the end of the month I was really fed up of getting numb feet from the cold even though I had 3 pairs of socks on.

Over Easter as Mark mentioned we spent the week back up north, I brought the bike with me hoping to do some of the Fred Whitton route while we were staying in Wasdale. I wanted to get back into the running though as well so I went out early Good Friday morning to test out the knee (and the fitness!) over Winter Hill way. I always find it odd going up there when the burger vans are setting up smelling all that grease cooking first thing. My knee felt ok though and all the cycling seemed to have helped with the uphill running.

Rivington Pike Race

Easter Saturday I couldn't make my mind up whether to do Pendle or The Pike race. I have done Rivington Pike a few times but never done Pendle, in the end with some pressure from Mark I decided to do Rivi Pike. I started towards the back and decided to pace myself, it would have been good to match last year's time but considering that last year I had been doing about 30 miles a week leading up to the race and this year only running twice a week I can't complain. In fact I reckon I reached the top quicker but lost it on the way down, I have lost lots of leg speed. Main thing was the knee felt ok.

Junk food at the Sammon's that night then we arranged to meet at my Mum's for nine the next morning. My plan was to get out for seven and do a couple of hours on the bike, then head up to Horwich with Mark to meet up with Albert & Tony for a couple of hours running in the hills. I had a good morning but I probably should have eaten a bit more before heading out; I was getting tired on the way back through Horwich to Tony's house. The great thing about running in a group with people like Tony & Albert is you get to see routes and paths you didn't know existed; including some you might not usually take, like running on the concrete bricks alongside Belmont Reservoir (don't ask!).

We headed up to Wasdale Easter Monday and I went for a ride Tuesday morning from the farm, it was so wet and windy riding out of the valley and felt a bit odd; I'm so used to running on the fells when we come up here I felt I was missing out on something. Over Irton Pike and up through Eskdale I saw a couple of other cyclists going the other way then as I got to the bottom of Hardknott pass just before the cattle grid another cyclist caught me up and said: "Here we go". I really wasn't planning on going all the way up but I couldn't resist, I mumbled a reply to him along the lines of: "I dunno I might just chicken out here" but carried on anyway. I quickly realised that the gearing on my bike is not set up for these kind of hills, I'm pretty sure the lowest gear is a 38 tooth on the front with 26 at the back and I had hardly reached the first set of bends leading up past the fort before I was breathing out of my arse. The other guy was already past the fort and I had to stop, my cadence was just too low to get anywhere. After a few more attempts I reached the less steep section where I could see the other guy on the skyline, taking a last look back at me struggling before he disappeared down the other side. I gave up trying to cycle all the way up when I nearly fell off just trying to get going on the final steep bit, the wind was blowing down from the summit of the pass and it was quicker to walk with the bike. At the top I stopped for a bite to eat before heading back the way I came, this turned out to be even tougher with my dodgy brakes. The front ones judder and really need replacing, they just weren't safe on those gradients so I ended up walking down most of the way! It was a nice ride back with the wind behind me but the rain came back and I was glad when I finally got back to the farm.

Loughrigg Fell Race

Mark posing for the TV cameras:

Wednesday was the best day of the week, the weather was lovely as was the company. We drove over to Bowness to meet up with the Sammons, spent the afternoon there then headed up to Ambleside for about 5pm. I wanted to have a look round the Lakes Runner shop and also find out where the race was run from but they had already shut; luckily I spotted Ben just across the road who helps organise the race and said hello, he gave me all the details. There was quite a turnout in the park for an evening race and I spotted a TV camera filming us all warming up. My knee was still on my mind, it wasn't painful just tight around the outside of my left knee probably due to me neglecting the stretching again. The start caught me out, it's usually a sign of a bottleneck somewhere near when most of the field tear off like greyhounds and sure enough at the edge of the park there was a narrow bridge over a stream where we had to slow to a walk. Just after this we started to climb up a tarmac track where I thought it wouldn't be much fun on the way back down then the track became the usual hard-packed stone of well trodden lakes paths. I felt quite good here and started passing a few in front, the field was already quite spread out up the fell. The views further up were great; the sun was setting over Langdale and the sky was clear, we really couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions.

The leaders started passing us here on their way back down, always a nice sight but sometimes also a reminder of how far down the field you are though it wasn't that long before I started the descent too, shouting some encouragement to Mark who wasn't far behind. I really enjoyed the descent despite feeling like I should be much quicker, my legs just couldn't keep up, in fact I really enjoyed the whole evening; everything seemed perfect apart from my performance of course but I'm not particularly competitive! This is only the second evening fell race I have done, the other being Blisco Dash and I would thoroughly recommend both of them being very similar in laid-back, friendly atmosphere and typical fell terrain (well apart from the extra 1000ft or so up Blisco). I hardly had chance to get a drink and some flapjack before Mark finished, he seemed to enjoy himself too.

The family was getting cold now so we watched the presentation then left, turns out the TV camera was from lakestv.net and the race was going to be shown on Sky. The only disappointment to the whole day was not being able to get a table at the place we planned on eating at due to it being full so we got pizza on the way back to Wasdale instead.

Friday morning we were leaving the farm so I got up early with the intention of doing a long run round Wasdale but I woke up with a bit of a headache, probably a combination of sleeping in so many different beds the past week but also a stiff neck from cycling so in the end I just climbed Scafell instead. The clouds had come in after sunrise but as I got higher there was the telltale brightening of the mist that usually signifies an inversion and sure enough just before the final rocky section near the top the sky cleared and the view was wonderful. There was still quite a bit of snow on the peak so I had to watch my step then at the summit it was so peaceful and quiet, it was lovely. Shame I didn't take my camera but I took a few pictures on my phone then sat and ate some breakfast, it was a perfect end to a lovely week.

Back at the Sammon's that night we were discussing what we should do the day after. We fancied Yorkshire somewhere and I needed to get a long ride in so a plan was hatched for me to leave early in the morning and make my way up to Hawes. Mark was doing an orienteering event in east Lancs somewhere so the wives were taking the kids in our car then me and Mark would make our way up there mid-afternoon. It turned out to be a cracking ride on a lovely, sunny day. Took me ages though, I spent a while printing out the route at Mark's but got lost near Blackburn twice. I wanted to keep to the back roads and found some great, quiet roads over Bowland where I met loads of other cyclists on the way. I stopped in Slaidburn for lunch outside the post office in the sun and I counted almost as many cyclists as motorbikes, just after Slaidburn was a great road over to Ingleton where I hardly saw any traffic at all just lots of other cyclists. I stopped again at Ribblehead Viaduct for some more food from the old lady in her van there and Mark turned up. He offered me a lift for the last stretch but I wanted to ride it even though I was feeling a bit wrecked, I struggled but finally made it to Hawes and met up with everyone on the park.

It was the furthest I had ever rode and really enjoyed myself though it took much longer than I thought it would. Since then I decided to buy a new bike, one more suitable for sportives than my cross bike; I didn't want to spend money sorting my brakes, tyres, gearing etc. so got a Specialized Sectuer and to break it in did the 'Ups and Downs' sportive in Surrey a couple of weeks ago: 101 miles and about 8500ft of hills apparently but I was really surprised at the ascent figures. This was another really enjoyable event apart from the rain at the start but I was really knackered at the end, I think my seat was a little too low too since both my knees were sore at the top.

So that was pretty much my preparation for Fred Whitton tomorrow, I'm feeling a little apprehensive but more due to the warnings about potholes and fast descents than the distance. I plan on turning up as early as I can to give me plenty of time to get round, not really got a time in mind but anything between 8 and 9 hours would suit me. Once that's done I want to get back into the running and have a go at Duddon but that completely depends on the knee, oh and I'm entered into the Richmond 5 Dales Sportive at the end of this month.

Catch Up!

2010-04-14T20:52:00.001+01:00

Rivington Pike Fell Race

Well this is my 3rd time at running this race and it hold a special place for me as it was the 2nd Fell race I ever did. Plus it’s a club race AND it’s on my normal stomping ground.

For those that have never done this race it is a very short up and down of 3 1/4 miles. Starting from the end of Lever Park Drive, running up the road and off just as reach Rivington & Blackrod High school, then up through the farmers fields to reach Rivington Pike at the Top. Then it’s around the Pike and downhill all the way from whence you you came. The route is well supported with cheers from people along many parts of the race route.

On the run out I managed a brief conversation with Ed and NicO (part of http://wfdbwgua.blogspot.com/) but despite trying to keep going both of them were ahead of me at the top (Ed passing me on the final climb). On the descent from the pike though I passed Ed and YJ (Another member of that blog group) and hoped to keep them both behind me, but it wasn’t to be. As we reached the Farmers road, YJ passed picked up the pace (or I slowed down, probably the later)and took back his position. After a smile for the camera I checked behind me to see where Ed was and I was happy to have pulled away from him enough. Finally on to the road section, this is the WORST part of this race as the road just drags on and my pace slows further, I pushed on towards the finishing line and was passed by a couple of other runners. With a few spectators cheering on friends and without looking back I was happy thinking that Ed wasn’t close behind me.

I crossed the line in 147th position (175 finishers) and in a slower time than last year of 30min 08sec. On seeing the results though I was surprised to see that Ed finished only 3 seconds behind me. I really need to do a little more flat running practice!

Chris also finished in a slightly slower time than last year in 26min 02sec but then his knee injury has meant a shortage of running recently so I think we can let him off with that one.

LoughRigg Fell Race

With the Greens up at Wasdale Head Farm farm for the 5 days over Easter we managed to meet up on the 7th around Windermere for the day. The plan was to spend a little time together, go to Dodds Italian in Ambleside and do the Loughrigg Fell Race. During the afternoon we decided that it would probably be best if we went to Dodds AFTER the race and so spent longer at the lake district visitors centre letting the kids play on the park there.

After getting some directions in Ambleside we found the race start and registered. There was a good turn out for the race, I over heard one of the organisers commenting on the large turnout possibly because of the Easter holiday. Chris pointed to one one of the peaks that was overlooking the park and suggested that was where the race would run to but I was convinced it wasn’t as it didn’t look far enough away (I was right too!). The race sets off as a mad dash to cross the bridge as you leave the park. After crossing this the route starts a climb up a steep narrow road which turns into a track as you head for the fell gate. Once out on the fell the route twists and winds gradually upwards and I ask myself again why I do this, but then, after the final climb you reach the peak and the easier downhill section starts.

I’d started pretty much at the back and managed to gain 3-4 positions on the way up, then on the descent I managed to pass 3-4 more people. I’d noticed the leaders taking a slightly different route on the way down and this helped me to gain one place then three runners in front of me managed to miss the flagged path to the left and whilst getting back to the path it allowed me to catch up and pass two of them however the third one picked up the pace once we got on to a section of track and easier running. On the final run down the narrow road I pushed hard to catch up to the lady in front of me coming just past her as I reached the bottom but as usual the flat section, over the bridge and across the park, was a slow section for me and she pulled ahead right away to finished before me.

I crossed the line in 127th place (from 139) in a time of 45min 20sec. This is a great little race and a nice one as my first lakes race of the year. I suspect I won’t get many lakes races in until after the baby is born now but it was a nice day and a nice route to keep me going for now.

Chris managed a respectable 85th in a time of 37min 57sec. I think all that bike work is paying off for him

Upper Rossendale (Bacup) Town & Country Orienteering

The other weekend saw an orienteering event in Bacup that I had been planning to do. I thought I might have been able to talk Chris into doing it but he was having none of it and wanted to go for a bike ride in his build up to doing the Fred Witton Challenge in May. I arrived at Bacup at 10:30, registered and got ready to set off. As it is with these events you don’t get to see the map until you start and the first thing I noticed when I did was the scale of the map. 1:25000 which meant I would run further between points. Being a score event mean that you can pick off the points in any old order so after a quick glance at the map I’d picked a route (ish) and headed off to my first point, uphill. The map was a section of an Ordnance Survey map rather than the usual Orienteering style map and I found it more difficult to read. Heading in a clockwise direction I tried to pick out a route that would get me the best chance of points in my allowed 2 hour time limit. Working my way out to the top of the map and Theivley Pike then across Heald More where I had to decide if I was going to head out for the 75 points (109), I took the decision not to head out for the extra 75 points and thought I would be able to pick off more smaller value points in the time it would take me to head out to Chatham Hill for the 75.

The distance between the points away from the centre of the map was greater with plenty of route choice. Overall I enjoyed the long run out however I think the course could have done with a few more controls to break up the long running.

After a shower at the finish I needed to head to Hawes in Wensleydale. Chris had decided to Bike from Wigan to Hawes that morning, I was coming to the Orienteering and the Ladies & Kids meeting us in Hawes. I thought I would be the last one to Hawes as Chris was suggesting Wigan – Hawes would be about 5 hours on the bike and he planned to leave at about 7-8AM. So I drove up towards Burnley then along the M65 towards Colne and onwards through Gisburn, Little Nelson, Settle, Horton-in-Ribblesdale and then just as I was passing the viaduct below Whernside I saw Chris, sat besides the road taking a break. I pulled over and he smiled, then said “I’m F00ked!”. It seems he’d gone wrong a little near Preston and Whalley (I think), but was enjoying the ride. After a very brief chat we both headed of with some 10 miles to go.

I used to ride the motorbike around here a lot with Chris and as I drive through there now I can’t help but notice all the hills and don’t understand how I never noticed them in the past. A nice day with Family and friends followed ending with a nice meal at Papa Luigis in Euxton before heading home.

With Joanne getting closer to having the baby and finding things a little difficult I don’t really have any events planned in at the minute other than a Regional Orienteering event on the Pike O’Blisco on the 16th May, so there might not be many updates in the coming weeks.

Mark

LDWA – Two Crosses

2010-03-22T11:18:00.001Z

Sunday saw the running of the postponed Two Crosses event from January. The event was cancelled because of the heavy snow in January and rescheduled for the 21st March.

I was a little nervous of the distance as my mileage hasn’t been up to much recently but when I entered I had thankfully only entered the 18 mile route rather than the 25 mile route, unlike the first LDWA event I did last year, the Blackwater Marathon, were I just jumped head first in for a 28 mile event.

Up early to make it to Tottington for the 8am start I faffed about getting my rucksack filled with water and packing a few gels, I always get everything ready at the last minute, it’s just my way. I headed out and made it over to the start for about 0730. The LDWA events are great and quite relaxed with Tea, coffee and toast being made for everyone at the start. Milling around I said Hi to a few familiar faces and got ready to start in my natural position at the back of the group. One of the marshall suggested me and the group I was with should head forward with the other runners but at least by starting at the back I would get to pass some people after the start even if they were the walkers.

We headed out of the gate and the group I was with picked off the walkers one by one and by the end of the first street I think we’d just about cleared most of them. I didn’t want to set off too fast as I didn’t want to blow up but I couldn’t help but keep a steady pace that did see me pulling away from the group I started with although Mark, from the group, did start heading off with me but then dropped back to stay with his partner. Despite the forecast of a nice clear day the morning was quite misty and it had still not started to clear and even though you don’t really need your route instructions for the first part of the route I do like reading them so that I know where I am, however I did find them a little confusing in places and a couple of times I saw people being called back who had taken wrong turns.

By the time I arrived at checkpoint one I had managed to catch up a group of three girls and just trotted along at their steady pace past Turton Tower. The next section was about 2km of undulating path and with the mist still in there weren’t really any features I could focus on to try and work out where I was, however after a while came the point where the 18 and 25 mile routes split and I headed right, along the footpath towards the reservoir and the camping barn checkpoint. It didn’t stop me going slightly wrong using the POOR route description but as I descended down the wrong path to the reservoir I saw some runners ahead of me so knew where I needed to get to.

Just after the reservoir was the checkpoint, which despite being only our 2nd checkpoint it would be the 4th checkpoint for those on the 25 mile route and on entering the tent was like an Alladins cave of food. Tea, Coffee, Jelly, cakes, biscuits and a selection of sandwiches were available for people. I could have stayed there all day! Whilst having my Tea and a butty the group I had left arrived and Mark asked if would be ok to run with me as he wanted to run at a slightly quicker pace. I had no problem with that but I wasn’t sure if my pace would drop off later on the route anyway. We were all requested to sing Happy Birthday to one of the marshalls before heading off, so after a rendition of “Happy Birthday to you” which fell silent at the “Happy Birthday dear………” part as nobody knew the marshalls name, Mark and I headed off for the next checkpoint.

The next checkpoint wasn’t too far away and the conversation helped to pass the time. Only stopping briefly we headed straight on towards Bull Hill. Gradually climbing through farmers fields we managed to follow the route description but I constantly felt unsure about being on the right route. We reached boggy ground as we got closer to Bull Hill but at this point the mist was still in and I hadn’t any idea where Bull Hill actually was. Catching up to a lady in front of us who had done the route before we followed her before she told us she wasn’t exactly sure if she was going the right way. But then, all of a sudden, after wading through the wet, boggy ground the mist lifted and Bull Hill was right there in front of us. Looking back too was clear and we could see runners behind us. The world looks far different when you can see other landmarks.

Picking up the pace a little we followed the path that should lead us to the next checkpoint which has to be the other best checkpoint on the route as they were dishing up Tots of whiskey. It would have been rude not to take one and the marshall have to carry the bottles back down with liquid in them! Heading off now the route descriptions again became problematic partly because they were telling me to head of on bearings and I hadn’t brought a compass with me but thankfully we were heading for the Pilgrims Cross and having done the Pilgrims Cross race last year I recognised the area. Passing Pilgrims cross we followed a lone runner towards Peel Hill and kept a steady pace going however I could feel my legs starting to get tired now so I pulled out a Gel and had some of the cereal bar I had brought along with me.

We caught up with the lone runner just as we approached Peel Hill but then on the descent down from Peel Hill He kept catching us up as I stopped to try and make sense of the route description. In the end we just stuck with this guy as he had done the route a number of times and wasn’t reading any instructions. Just before we reached the last checkpoint I managed to slip on a stile which by now was already wet and coupled with the excellent grip of the wet shoes I was wearing, I just slipped right off the stile as I was half way over it. As a result the top of my leg scrapped across the top of the fence. It wasn’t cut but just stung a little however I knew that was gonna make a nice bruise in the morning.

After the final Checkpoint only 2 miles on was the finish but it still seemed to be quite far away and the descriptions still were hard to follow. Turning off the road and onto the final path (the disused railway line), My legs had started to stiffen and my pace slowed more but 3 hours and 31 minutes after leaving I arrived back at the youth centre ready for a nice bowl of soup, some rice pudding and more importantly a couple of cups of tea.

I think I’ll plan a few more of these in to try and get some miles under the belt but with only just over 2 months before Joanne is due she won’t let me venture too far away so trips to the Lakes will be out until late June or early July.

Mark

Orienteering @ Wycollar Country Park

2010-03-22T10:08:00.001Z

Pendle Forest Orienteers hosted an event at Wycollar country park on the far side of Colne on Saturday so we all headed out so Josh and I could take part. Josh initially wanted to do a Yellow course and I sort of talked him into doing the harder Orange course which on reflection was a bad idea. Joanne and Oliver headed of to the café whilst Josh and I headed off in the pouring rain to the start.

With it being called a country park I guessed it would be similar to Haigh Hall or Lever park but in actual fact it was really just a run over the farmers fields. I was supposed to be shadowing Josh but I quickly needed to give him advice as he just looks and heads off without double checking and then just keeps going. He doesn’t stop to check that he is passing expected points on the map. As a result he ran right passed the first point and when I called him to check where he was he adamantly wanted to carry on. After MAKING him check his map he realised that he had gone too far and he worked his way back, still managing to overshoot the point again. After the first point he seemed to get his bearings and we managed the next 3 points without a problem.

As we headed up the hillside the rain came down a little harder and Josh was starting to get cold. He’d forgot his gloves and his hands were getting cold plus he’d put long shorts on and the long grass was prickling his legs. As a result of this he was starting to loose concentration a little and I had to start doing some of the map reading, trying to get him to look at the map with me at each control.

As we headed back down the hillside the wind eased and he picked up a little, with the final few controls being found quite easily. I couldn’t help but think on this course he probably SHOULD have gone for the Yellow option but it can be hard to judge without knowing the area. At the finish Joanne had a cup of Tea and a Bacon butty ready for us. I’m sure they both tasted nice but only Josh can answer that one as I didn’t see any of it!

After the event we all headed over to Oswaldtwistle Mills for something to eat and let the boys get some sweets from the sweet factory. Unfortunately they weren’t making sweets on the day so they couldn’t watch sweets being made :-(

Next week is SELOC orienteering at Darcy Lever in Bolton in the morning and SROC at Yarrow valley, Chorley from lunchtime so we might try to fit both in, however this time I’ll let him build his confidence a little and do the Yellow, possibly even by himself (Well with me about 100m behind anyway).

Mark

Street-O – The Results!

2010-03-15T09:52:00.001Z

And so with the nights staying lighter the night Street-O comes to an end. What a good little series that was! I managed to do all 10 of the events and tried to push myself hard during each. It’s a challenge not only to read the map whilst running but to be able to gauge your timing and get back as close to the time limit as possible so as to make best use of the available time. In some instances though the penalties are not as severe like at Lytham where the penalty was 1 point for every 3 sec late. This means only 20 points per minute are lost so it could be worth being late back if you can claw in those extra few points.

Anyway I have been happy with my positions at each event considering I am not the fittest person around and it’s my first season, managing a respectable place in the league tables in the Gross Scoring and the Age-Adjusted category. (Final league results are still to be add at the time of writing)

I was surprised to find out though that going into the last event I was actually the best-newcomer BUT (godamit, always a but) I was pipped to the prize by Pete Kidd (SELOC) on the night. That has spurred me on to try harder now!

With the FRA calendar getting busier now I’m going to struggle to get in a good mix of Orienteering events with Fell races along with letting Josh do some of the Orienteering events, plus with the baby due in June that is going to rule out any trips afar for a 4 week period around then.

Next event is the LDWA Two Crosses on Sunday. 18 miles across the moors around Bury, Bolton, Belmont and Rossendale. As it’s a walkers event I should be ok once I run out of steam.

Mark

More pictures for the 1/2 tour!

2010-03-12T08:10:00.001Z

Thanks to WoodenTops for these pictures

Geronimo!!!!!!

2010-03-08T22:44:00.001Z

I decided a couple of days before the close of Pre-entries that I would enter the 1/2 tour of Pendle. I missed out on the full tour at the end of last year because I didn’t think I was fit enough to do it, although I suspect I actually was. I sent off my entry form on the 28th February with pre-entries closing on the 1st March, but with the Royal Mail being as spectacular as they are these days I knew it wouldn’t get there until the 2nd at the earliest. Following this I then read on the FRA forum that the race was now full so I wasn’t sure if I was actually in or not.

You know, I don’t mind all of this pre-entry malarky because of restrictions that are imposed on crossing the land etc but if a race is going to be defined as Pre-entry then is should be a requirement that the organiser makes available an entry list online prior to raceday, even if it is only the day before, it’s not hard in todays interconnected world to get this information published. Barley isn’t a fair trek for me but it’s still 40 miles each way and it’s a long way to travel to find out your not entered into a race due to limits. (Sorry, rant over)

Anyway, after collecting young Fowl-up I arrived at Barley and headed in to see if I had a number. On walking into the hall I was surprised to see that there was a sign up for “Entries on the day” but thankfully I DID have a number to collect. I picked up a map which thankfully I didn’t need as it was a poor photocopy.

Back at the car, I looked up to the top of Pendle hill and seeing spots of snow I began my dilemma about layers and if I should have leggings on. Spying a few people with leggings on I convinced myself I would wear them but then on the last minute I decided not to. Although I did have a Helly, my vest AND a windy top to start with.

All the runners milled around on the start line and I settled myself into my natural starting position (At the back) before the crowd headed off. At the back we don’t normally hear the pre-race commentary or the word “GO!” and the conversations suddenly end when the crowd of runners suddenly head off in front off you.

I ran the Pendle Hill race last year and the race heads of down the same road but it doesn’t turn up the hill as soon. Eventually turning up the up off the road the climb gets hard quite quickly but by this point the leaders already have quite a gap on the people socialising at the back.

On the trek up to the peak of Pendle Hill I managed to swap places with a few people a few times but generally I made ground. Passing the peak and after the turn I found the running difficult to get a rhythm on the hard icy ground. It isn’t really what you would call a downhill either it’s just a gradual descent for about 3 miles and for over 1/2 of that I could constantly hear someone breathing down my neck, I kept pushing on but eventually I lost a couple of places to two runners but with passing a couple on the way down I hadn’t really lost any places. During the descent though I looked over to my left and could see the front runners in the distance heading up the 2nd climb. I don’t know how they do it!

After the 2nd Checkpoint and reaching the end of the descent I took the opportunity to take a gel and take on some water before the start of the next climb. I could see it from this point so I knew I was going to need some extra energy soon. And I think I made the right choice as on the next climb I managed to pick off about 4 places but that was tough little climb which by 1/2 way up I was actually starting to enjoy it although I was a little uncertain about the awe of “Geronimo!” to come. At the top of the climb I sort of expected the descent to come quite quickly but it didn’t and there was a little plateau before eventually the ground ever so slightly started to descend, the path split (and the mountain rescue guy pointed his head down the right (left) path and I reached the top of Geronimo!.

Well I had been watching this video all week and I knew it was going to be a good run down which I think I handled quite well considering, although I suspect if I get the opportunity to try it again a few more times I’ll get better at it.

As you come over the crest of the hill and look down it looks very high and nerves kicked in a little. The ground was soft enough for my shoes to grip and I was cautious enough not to make any silly route choices but I can imagine it is a VERY different experience in the rain. I thoroughly enjoyed this bit though and took a good part of the lower 1/4 section on my bum, well it would have been rude not to really!

Crossing the stream and through the gate is a small final climb before a long run in over the fields and the final descent into the finish.

After picking up one more place coming to the top of Geronimo I couldn’t catch up to anyone else before the finish and the one person that was in front of me just seemed to be making up ground quicker than me.

Finishing in a time of 1hr 50min 13sec in 214th place from 244 runners I was very happy with my run and based on (my view of) my current fitness level I didn’t feel I could have given much more. It’s a start and is only my 2nd fell race of the year. I definitely felt that I had earned the MOUNTAIN of Chicken fried rice, Curry sauce and chips I polished off for tea.

Thanks to all the organisers and marshals, and to the mountain rescue guy for guiding me on the right path.

Results

Mark

Bleasdale Circle - 5miles 1250ft

2010-03-04T11:20:00.001Z

Having not done much hill running recently I needed to enter a fell race. Bleasdale Circle would be the first one I have done this year as planned races were cancelled and more emphasis has been on doing some of the orienteering events. Last year I was unable to take part in Bleasdale Circle due to a knee injury but this year I have been ok.

I remembered on the way up to Bleasdale this year that last year Chris and I commented that it isn’t much further to get up to Parlick as it is Winter Hill so we should do more training up there however that never happened but hopefully this year I might make a few more trips up that way when the Lakes is not an option.

Bleasdale is situated just past Beacon Fell country park and seems to consist of a church, school and village hall at the end of a narrow track road. Registration was in the Village Hall, thankfully as there were not too many runners attending then parking wasn’t an issue. After doing my typical NO warming up I readied for the off. The starters horn didn’t work so with a quick shout we were off.

I recalled the first field being damp last year as I watched Chris head off and this year was no different, the land was sodden and I passed one runner at the end of the first field who was struggling to recover her shoe that seemed to have been sucked into a muddy hole. As we passed through the farm in to the field and the start of the climb the snow lay on the ground besides the wall and the more we climbed the more snow lay on the ground. The route follows a track for a while before turning directly uphill and hitting a much steeper ascent. I could tell here that the past few months of struggling to run and orienteering hadn't helped me any and I had a slow climb up to Paddy’s Pole. Once on the top I picked up my speed a little and passed a group of 3 runners who had passed me on the climb up. One further runner was a little too far ahead at this point and by the time I started my run up to Parlick she was still ahead.

The day had been nice and clear, some clouds to the south but otherwise the view was great as you run along the top looking down into Bleasdale. Reaching the top of Parlick I said thanks to the marshal in his windshelter and started on the descent. As I descended I caught up with the girl in front who was taking it easy on very wet, snowy ground where as I had opted for the brakes off approach. The ground got steeper and even my walshes struggled to grip and in the end I resorted to sliding on my ar5e down the hill. As I started to speed up during the slide I ended up having to direct myself towards a large clump of grass just so that I could grab something to slow me down. It was fun but very cold on my bum!

Finally you come off the hill and through a farm to start the final run to the finish. The last couple of fields again are quite wet here and it makes for a bit of harder running to the line. With 71 finishers (I think) I came home in 64 and about 1hr 5mins. I’m gonna need to sort myself out if I am going to be good enough for the Ben Nevis Race in September.

The 1/2 tour of Pendle this weekend coming. I just hope I’m going to be able to finish it! I’ll let you know.

Mark

Winter Hill (again - though not as I know it)

2010-02-19T13:16:00.003Z

...by bike that is. I decided against running the race last week, I'm still seeing a physio about my knee and she has said I shouldn't run just now and stick to cycling so that's what I did. She strapped my kneecap up again, saying that it helps it track properly, last time she did that it did seem to feel better while the strapping was on.

We drove up last Saturday with my bike strapped on a rack, it's the first time I have taken the bike anywhere like that and the wife commented on why I didn't drive so carefully when there's only her and the kids in the car. My plan Sunday morning was to get out as it came light and take a scenic route up to Winter Hill and watch some of the race.

It wasn't half cold in the 'valleys', by that I mean the fields behind Billinge Hill and the Douglas Valley between Ashurst Beacon and Parbold Hill. It was still thick with fog when I got there and I had to stop when I first entered the mist to put a hat on my ears were freezing. Billinge Hill was a bit of a shock so early in the morning but at least it got me warmed up. I stopped on Parbold Hill outside the 'Wiggin Tree', though it's not called that any more! There was a nice view here above the mist. Then around the lanes behind Harrock Hill I made my way through Coppull towards Rivington then through Horwich and up to the mast.

I was going to watch the start from the barn but decided instead to just head up to the top of the ramp and watch the leaders come through. By the time I got to the first crossing of the mast road the runners were already heading through so I stopped there for a bit, I could do with the rest anyway. Then I trundled up past the mast to wait by the gate at the top of the ramp. You could see the runners on the horizon running down to the woods, I was a little envious and it wasn't long before Danny and Rob Hope appeared on the path racing up the hill. It's not often I have seen the sharp end like that and it was surprising how comfortable they looked.

I stuck around for a bit and chatted to a couple of other people, another guy who had cycled up there said he has run the race in the past but can't at the moment due to a problem with his knee! I was getting cold stood around so headed home.

I really enjoyed the ride out, I think I did about 50miles taking in Billinge Hill, Ashurst Beacon, Parbold Hill and Winter Hill and felt riding home that I could have stayed out all day, apart from the cold feet. That evening we took the kids bowling then back to Mark's for an indian. Mark dug his foam roller out and I gave it a go, not sure if this was the main cause but the day after my knee did seem to feel much better? That may have been partly due to the strapping but that had fallen off by the time I got home at the end of the ride.

Tomorrow is more of the same, I'm getting the train back from Euston tonight and weather permitting will head out early again in the morning. I need to sort my gearing and front brakes out (they judder) before trying anything steeper though. Roll on next Sunday when I'm hoping to do the Kentish Killer.

I tried to persuade Mark to enter By Lake, Ridge and Wainwright the weekend after easter since we're up north then but he was having none of it!!.

More Orienteering!

2010-02-08T14:33:00.001Z

Since the beginning of the year I haven’t managed to do a Fell race. Ashurst Beacon was cancelled and there hasn’t really been anything else that has taken my fancy. I planned on doing the Two Crosses LDWA event (18 miles) but then that was cancelled until March. So my focus has been on my new found enjoyment of Orienteering events.

If I have one complaint about orienteering it’s that the events don’t seem to be long enough. However I suspect that’s simply down to the colour of the course I am entering but I also don’t want to jump in feet first and take on an event that would take me too long and time out. Also, I bring Josh along to some events now and then run along side him but let him doo the navigating, he seems to enjoy it!

For those that don’t know, the course colours go from White to Brown and vary in difficulty and length (White being the easiest & shortest) but all distances tend to be measured as the crow flies and not based on the total distance you should travel after completing the course.

After the cancellation of the MDOC event at Lyme Park, Josh hadn’t been to a club night or any other event, Saturday, 23rd Jan saw another MDOC event at Sale Water Park besides the M60. Easy courses for beginners (White, Yellow & Orange) and a Split Sprint course. I had hoped to do the sprint course depending on how long Josh’s Orange course took but the orange course was much longer than I had expected and as a result Josh did very well in the hour that it took us to complete the course, only going to one wrong point. He did beat himself up about it a little but I re-assured him and he worked it out.

The following week saw another small event held by Pendle Forest Orienteers in Rawtenstall/Rossendale opposite the Ski Slope. Josh and I headed over for this and as the park was quite small, Josh and I managed to both do courses. Mine was a Micro-Orienteering course which has multiple controls in some locations to try and make sure you pick the correct point. The same evening though was the MDOC night event at Reddish Vale, Stockport. Tony Varley and Albert Sunter had planned to do this event but Albert was unable to make it so it was just Tony and I. On arriving at the country park, we were directed into a dark car park and you notice the lights from head torches buzzing around in the trees as other competitors wonder around looking for their controls. I had planned to attempt the Blue course as it is longer than the Green course I had attempted on the previous night event and this worth more points. However I caved in and thought I would just try the Green again. Tony though, being his first night event tried the shorter Orange course.

With no running done during the week after Reddish Vale due to my workload I was ready for the following weekend 6th/7th Feb) which saw an Urban event in the centre of Carlisle on the Saturday and a much harder event on the Sunday (Tim Watkins Blodslitet) on and around the limestone quarries of Farleton Knott (Near the Hutton roof fell race). Carlisle was fun despite me finishing last in my class. I put this down to the fact it was more of a national event and as such had more elite runners in it (That’s what I’m telling myself anyway). The start was slap, bang in the centre and the course covered the map well crisscrossing the city centre and dodging shoppers.

Sunday was an early start as my start was at 10:50. I’ll not describe the full course, it’s enough to say it was hard!, very hard. I think the terrain also made it difficult with the amount of limestone that needed to be crossed and my inov-8 mudrocks are absolutely useless on damp/wet rock. The map was difficult to read also and some points took me ages to find and battling through the wooded areas was also very difficult. As a result though I managed to get to point 24 in about 2hr 45mins and with only about 55 mins left to complete the next 10 points and still heading away from the start/finish point I made the dreadful decision that I wouldn’t be able to complete the course and retired. Onl reflection I suspect the last 10 points would have been easier to find as the 2nd 1/2 of the map didn’t have the same sort of dense tree covering that the first 1/2 of the map had. But I’m not unhappy with my choice and I can now put this one down to experience, knowing what I’ll be in for next year when I enter the event. Another runner I spoke to during the event said that he found this course to have particulary difficult terrain.

Now I’m sore, my claves and feet hurt and I have a couple of cuts and grazes from trapping my foot a few times in Limestone gaps and the brambles on the course. It did highlight my current level of fitness though and now I need to sort that out. So more mid week training runs start now (hopefully).

This weekend coming is Josh’s birthday and is on the same day as the Winter Hill Fell race which I had to avoid last year because of injury. This year I decided that as it was Josh’s birthday then I was to do NO running at all so I’ll miss it again (To be fair, Josh actually told me he didn’t mind if I entered it but I told him definitely not). So on the Saturday I have my first Hill race of the year in the Parbold Hill Race which I did enter last year but ran badly because of my injury. Then on Saturday evening I have the final Night Orienteering event at Haslingdon Grane Night event. So I guess I’ll be going straight from one event to the other.

In between all of this the Night street league continues and I have to say that I have really been enjoying those. The boredom of running on tarmac disappears with the challenge of finding the points and route choice. Currently I am 25th in the Age adjusted league scores and I should be 16th in the gross scores (They haven’t added the totals up correctly). The next event this Wednesday is at Lancaster West and I’m hoping I can’t keep up the higher scores I got in the last two events.

I’ll bore y’all with more orienteering news soon enough but that’ll do for now.

Mark

Winter Hill

2010-01-26T13:32:00.002Z

Quick update seeing as I haven't said much for a while. I'm looking forward to our next trip up north, it's still hard to believe I moved away from Wigan over 5 years ago. I have decided though that my journeys are going to be more selective this year, it got a bit silly last year; driving there and back in a day to do the Three Shires Race, flying to Scotland to do the Ben Nevis Race then back before breakfast Sunday, not to mention the cost!

My knee trouble has put paid to any plans of doing an ultra anytime soon. It was just by chance though that I was looking for an event I could do on my bike and noticed that Fred Whitton entries were open so off my cheque went and after a week's delay due to the weather I checked the website on the 18th to find I had best start training!

I'm really enjoying getting out on the bike at the moment, apart from the cold. I am still getting out running a couple of times a week as well but I want to take it easy on my knee. I have no plans to go back to the physio but I have to admit I went for a sports massage Christmas Eve and another one last week which was painful but seems to have freed my calf and hip up considerably. The knee seems much better though I have to be vigilant with the stretching, if I miss a day or two it shows.

My next visit home will be for half term and I'm considering doing the Winter Hill Race but I am a little uncertain about the distance since I haven't run that far since November however in terms of 'effort' I have been spending a similar amount of time out on the bike. Plus there's still a few weeks to go yet to make my mind up. I am hoping all this cycling has done my climbing some good! I am going to bring my bike up with me since there's some proper hills I can cycle up as opposed to the little lumps down here. My Ben Nevis entry went off yesterday too, I am hoping Mark has sent one off, it's becoming an annual tradition for me now.

“If you buy cheap, you buy twice…”

2010-01-13T13:57:00.001Z

said a fellow runner, after I bought a cheap head torch he had recommended to me for running in. A few of the people I run with have purchased the “Hope Vision 2” and compared to the torch I have, it’s like running in daylight. However at over £160 there is no way in gods earth I would ever be buying one, I could buy over 10 of mine and strap one to each foot, one round my waist, one on each shoulder etc…! Running on Winter Hill on a clear night with it is fine and it provides enough light to run with assuming you use freshly charged batteries each time but one night whilst running though the clag, my torch was relatively useless and I became a little frustrated.

So one night whilst browsing I noticed LED lights (the actual LED’s and circuit boards) on a website I use and started to look at the types of LED’s used in these super bright head torches. I found out that the Hope Vision uses an LED made by CREE and that my head torch claimed to be 51Lumens (the measure of brightness) bright. The Hope Vision 2 claimed to be about 460 Lumens, then I stumbled upon a head torch which claimed to be 150 Lumens (3 times that of mine) and also used a CREE LED light (not the exact same one as the Hope but a bright one none the less). Most of the junk on these websites I would expect to be overstated with the actual brightness being about 1/2 that of the stated however it had a couple of good reviews and best of all it was only $16 with free delivery. I couldn’t turn it down at that and it would do as a spare so I ordered it.

Eventually, after about 3 weeks, it arrived. I threw batteries into it and shone it out of the back window. It lit up the front of the house in the street behind me. I was already happy with it but the proof would be in the running. Last week I ran twice at night. Once to Billinge Hill and once up on Winter hill with the usual crowd. I was very happy with my new purchase, it performed really well and if I had to criticise it I would say that the bright spot in the mind of the beam is too narrow. However it shone a good 100m from where I stood and lasted for a good two hours without issue. As long as the cheap plastic housing holds up, I’m quids in! Might even order a couple more as spares!

Anyway I bought cheap and paid twice but I’ve still paid less than £160 so I’m happy! and I have a spare I can use when we go camping.

A Winter Break Summary

2010-01-11T22:38:00.001Z

The cold weather over Xmas has hampered my running a little however I am hoping that with the start of the New Year I can stick to keeping the training in and shed some more weight. Previously, when I first started running I had started dieting which helped me to shed about 2 stone in a short amount of time, so I’ll try again although I do tend to lapse a little so it might not work as well as last time.

Just prior to Xmas I managed to get out with Lostock for a Head torch run on Winter Hill, a good run off-piste going down the scar at the back of the mast was quite fun too. After this my next intended run was going to be the Whinberry Naze fell race but I came down with a 24hr bug on Xmas day so I ruled out the race to make sure I was over it, I had planned on going as an oXo cube but maybe next year. On the 27th though after feeling on Boxing Day I managed to make it to the alternative venue of the SELOC Christmas orienteering event in Bolton with both Albert and Tony Varley.

No other running happened then before the New Year and then on New Years Day I headed up to Lancaster University for the SROC New Years cracker which had also changed location due to the weather conditions. It was a great event, trundling around the campus. I should have got at least another 10 points and possible even another 10 on top of that but with the score I did get, I managed 13th out of 52 participants on the longer course. I felt a little guilty for not taking Josh, not really knowing what the event would be like, however I planned to take him to the MDOC event on the day after at Lyme Park.

Josh and I set off early the next day (partly because I misread the start time) to get there in time but then en-route the snow started to fall heavier and heavier, so much that when we arrived I worried about being able to get out of the park up the hill. We registered for the event and made a “donation” to the Mountain Rescue in lieu of an entry fee and we waited around for an hour before the off. Then 10 mins before the start, we got out of the, now heavily coated, snow covered car to see the organisers clearing things away. It turned out that Lyme Park had been closed and the staff were only waiting around to make sure we got off the site, so the organiser cancelled the event. I thought about asking for my “donation” back, being the cheap skate that I am but as it was for the Mountain Rescue I left it. Never mind Josh, there’ll be another one soon.

On Sunday (4th) I took the opportunity too get up to Winter Hill nice and early and managed to head up to the trig point. It was slow going and on the top it was still quite thick and made running impossible (for me anyway), but the sky was clear and there wasn’t really any breeze so it made for a great run and I managed about 9.5 miles.

More snow on the Tuesday and I decided that I would just run local. Donning my NEW ($16) Headtorch I headed out over the fields behind our house towards the motorway and went up to Billinge Hill. The snow over the fields made running VERY hard, so it was more of a walk than a run with some parts between 2-3 ft deep and my feet not even coming up above the top of the snow. Eventually though I made it to Billinge Hill, the first time I have actually made it there (most times I just run past it).

The following night again saw a night run with Lostock. Running up to the Trig point was difficult work. I ended up running up the road to the mast whilst the others headed to Two Ladds before heading to the mast but after visiting Two Ladds the other runners also resorted to using the road to the mast. However after passing the mast we were met with snow drifts crossing the road which were over 3ft deep in places and at one point we had to resort to crawling on our hands and knees to get to the trig point. The run down the scar on the back of Winter Hill was hard work with a cold wind blowing much stronger on that side of the hill and the thick snow made finding the path down to the wooden bridge impossible. Eventually, back at in Horwich, I joined Adrian, Alan and Albert for a quick pint before heading off. I have to say that I it was a good run but, at that point, I was glad to be off the hill with a pint in my hand.

No running since Wednesday and my final run of the week (Sunday) I thought I would head up Winter Hill, you know just for a change. Running up from the Barn through the gardens was like running through Narnia. Eventually making it to the Pike I was hit with the wind blowing over the top of the hill. The wind was so bitter that I was actually in two minds as whether to head back down. Although I had thought it was going to be cold so had brought a flask of Tea with me, so it would have been a waste to head down so soon so I headed on to Two Ladds. I had tried to take a few photos on the way up but then the cold must have got to the camera and it stopped working. Sat on the rocks drinking my Tea, I spotted two runners heading up which turned out to be Ian and Pauline Charters. I had decided to run back to the barn and out of the bitter wind so ran down with Ian and Pauline to Georges lane where we departed company when they headed up to the pike. The run down was quite nice but in the car trying to leave Rivington Hall Barn was madness. A bit of snow and people turn into idiots, just parking anywhere and not worrying about the hazards they cause.

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So what next….
I had planned to do the LDWA Two Crosses circuit (the shorter 18 mile course) however it seems that the snow may have cancelled that event. Also the night orienteering event next Wednesday has now been cancelled and the Compass Sports SELOC event on the 24th has also been cancelled. Looking further forward I had hoped to take part in the Winter Hill Fell Race this year after only marshalling last year due to a dodgy knee but as it’s Josh’s birthday I have decided that i will do NO running on that day (even though he has told me he doesn’t mind). I had thought about doing the LDWA Anglezarke Amble but runners are only allowed to enter the longer route which is too long for me so instead I am planning to do the Parbold Hill Race followed by the SELOC night event both on the day before his birthday.

A quick update!

2009-12-11T13:39:00.001Z

Not much running has been done in the past few weeks for one reason or another. The dark nights, the cold nights, being away a little more with work and having a bit of a cold. Any way I did to do the Dave Staff Fell Race which was quite good however it did highlight to me some of the fitness I have lost as I was a whole 2 mins slower than last year. Then I also entered a Night Orienteering event in Kendal. That was funny as Albert and I managed to cover a whole 2.5km in 66-70mins, not too bad a pace I’m sure you’ll agree :-S

Since then I have tried to pick up on the training runs. I went head torch running with Albert, Tony and Emma but ended up letting them go ahead as I just couldn’t keep up. Plus I have tried to make Tuesday night Horwich track sessions so will try to keep that up from now. This week was also the 5th round of the SROC Street Orienteering at Hest Bank (Lancaster) with a tough course (route wise) and I didn’t manage to get my usual average of over 700 points.

Working late last night so I missed the hill session but I might nip out for a run later as Josh isn’t at track tonight so I’m unusually free.

Tomorrow is another orienteering event in Whalley (Blackburn) and Albert and I are planning to make the trip. I’m going to tackle the technical course this time though to see how I fair.

As for Sunday, Josh has Sunday football but it only starts at 12PM so I’m going to do my best to get out of the house for about 7AM and head over Winter Hill for a few hours. Just got to run that by Joanne first :-S

Catch you soon!!!

Cottam!

2009-11-26T21:15:00.001Z

Wednesday night saw the 4th Night Street league in Cottam. Driving past the start doesn’t bode well for taking part in an orienteering event.

Emma managed to make this event and she was hoping to get some map reading practice. Emma and I had planned to run together at the first event but unfortunately Emma didn’t manage to make the event do to…..communication problems! Albert and Neil had already registered and were just readying to set off as Emma and I came out of the pub. I think Albert didn’t want me following him.

Emma decided that as per the plan on the 1st event, we would run together tonight. Emma got her map 1 minute before me and had 1 minute to plan a route before I got mine. Don’t think it made much difference though as Emma seemed to look at the map blankly to start with. However when I started I did forget one key thing and that was to start my stopwatch. I did ask one of the other runners though en-route and we managed to work out what time we needed to be back for.

I tried to let Emma do some map reading but I think the competitive side of me kept taking over and whilst Emma was still looking at the map, sometimes I was already heading off in the direction of the next point. 1/2 way round we saw Albert who yet again suggested he wasn’t doing too well. Shortly after finding two pig shaped statues we headed for the only 1 of 5 60 point points. The 2nd 1/2 of our route though was definitely the muddiest, including a leap over a small stream and a dash to the finish within the allotted time.

I never managed to catch Albert and Neil at the finish as they headed straight off so Emma and I stayed for food and a drink. Chatting to one of the other runners, tonight's map was a higher scoring map which explains my 870 point score (my average is about 700 points).

One more event before Xmas and 5 more after Xmas. It’s a great alternative to normal running and if you fancy something different then you should give it a try. There is a Night event a week saturday in the woods near Kendal which I might have a go at to add a different flavour to the orienteering scene for me.

For more information visit www.sroc.org.
Results at http://www.sroc.org/menu7/menu7_1/2009/SROCnsl.htm

It’s been a bad week!

2009-11-21T15:31:00.001Z

Well this week has seen ZERO miles on the running front. Monday I was tired from Sundays long run, then Tuesday was my birthday and we went out for a meal. Wednesday and Thursday saw me over in Dublin working so no running still and Friday, out again to Bradford with Josh’s running club in the evening.

I had hoped to run today but Joanne had other plans and then this afternoon I just lost all motivation. So IF I can manage pull my sorry ass out of bed early enough in the morning then I’ll go for a run locally but I have to be back for 9AM as Joanne is out with Josh to Sunday Soccer and Oliver has to go to a birthday party at 12PM. If that fails then I’ll have to run Sunday night.

Next week has signs of too much running. Although Wednesday is Orienteering in Preston and on Thursday I’ll try to make Hill session on my way back from Bradford. However the Dave Staff race is on Sunday and assuming Joanne “gives me permission” then I’ll be heading for that one!

See through bags stop terrorists!!!

2009-11-20T00:45:00.001Z

Readying myself for a flight to Ireland I needed to travel light so crammed what I could into my laptop bag for an over night stay. The only toiletry item I took with me was toothpaste. On arrival at security I took the laptop out of the may bag and put it in the tray, took off my coat off and placed that into a 2nd tray along with my belt (Not the shoes today for some reason) and then placed my bag in another tray. At the same time I opened my bag and took out the toothpaste to place in a tray also.

Now I know you have to place all toiletry items in a small see through bag but I thought this was just to keep the items together I had no idea these bags helped in the detection of strange substances that could be used to take over planes?? I presented the toothpaste to the man helping to feed the X-Ray machine and just said “I only have the one item!”, he replied “It needs to be in a clear bag”. “But it’s just one item!”, “Yes but it still needs to be in a bag!”. Now I was late for my flight and decided that now was not the time to argue and definitely not over a nearly empty tube of toothpaste so when I asked what he wanted me to do I was told “Just put it in your bag”. So I did!

Sure enough, as soon as my bag came out the other side of the X-ray it was pulled to one side for having toiletries in it! After what seemed like 10 mins waiting for a foreign family to empty out all manner of creams, drinks, jams from their bags my bag was brought to be looked at and I told the guy the toothpaste was in the front and that I had been TOLD to put it back in the bag. I may as well of said nothing! Having removed the toothpaste, the bag now needs to be scanned again because I’m guessing that the toothpaste plays havoc with the X-Rays and stops the operator from seeing anything, but this time I was allowed to go on my way.

Now am I being stupid here or does the mystical see through bag perform any other special function and WHY could I not just put the toothpaste in a tray of it’s own! I appreciate the need for security at airports but is there really any need to take away the toothpaste because it wasn’t in a see through plastic bag??????

Answers on a postcard to TheAnti-TerroristMagicalSeeThroughPlasticBag@liverpoolairport.com

I’m too old for this!

2009-11-16T21:51:00.003Z

Well today saw a trip to Wigan Linacre centre for our first scan. Yep Joanne's pregnant again!! I’d always wanted three kids and Joanne only ever wanted two but she also wanted a girl, so after Oliver she changed her mind. Early last year I told here she had until the end of the year and if she wasn’t pregnant by 31st Dec then no more. I then went through a period were I decided I just didn’t want any more kids but I gave in earlier this year.

Joanne had been worrying about today and she wouldn’t be happy until that first scan was out of the way. Anyway, meet the next little Sammon. Boy or Girl doesn’t matter although I would like a daughter now as I always wanted boys when Josh and Oli were born. Joanne wants to find out if possible at the next scan but I’m adamant I DON’T want to know until the day it’s born. I’ve no doubts we’ll have a few arguments about that before the next scan in January.

The dates (9th June) mean that Oliver might get a new brother/sister for his birthday. Am I bad for think that I could save money on Birthday parties!

After 3 events….

2009-11-16T08:21:00.001Z

Street orienteering in Morecambe was a little tougher than the first two. The map was a little larger and the points were more spread out. I picked a rough route and headed out. You can use this link to see the route I took. With more running between points I felt that I was covering more ground but this made it harder to judge if I would make it back in time. I passed Albert over 1/2 way round my route and he was still heading away from the start, asking if he was ok he replied “No!” :-D

Having done a full loop back to the start and with no more points close enough to fit in, I finished with over two minutes to spare. On the run in Albert came flying past me only just making it back with 30 secs to spare. Neil was already back with under 4 mins to spare.

Counting the points in the pub after, Albert wasn’t too happy with his points and decided not to count them. I counted mine and had managed to get 710 which seems to be about the average mark for me. At least I’m consistent. That put me around the mid point in the results for the 75 min group with Albert and Neil propping up the foot of the group. Results here.

The overall results are here. Not sure how the age adjusted scores are adjusted but it puts me 11th out 77 for the gross scores and 18th out of 77 in the age adjusted scored which I think are the ones that count.

Next event is Cottam (Preston) on the 25th Nov and I still have a good buzz for these events. Think I’ll try one of the non street type orienteering events in the future.

I used the GPS to plot me route too but I think I need to increased the plotting interval for the next one.

Mark

Links:

South Ribble Orienteering Club
British Orienteering

The Best Laid Plans.

2009-11-11T12:14:00.003Z

This time of year is usually when I start getting ideas of what to do with myself next year. It must be the arrival of the last fellrunner magazine or maybe due to the evenings getting dark and me training on more tarmac that makes me look forward to getting out in the hills again.

Mark did really well in the Blackwater Marathon the other week, I didn't mention this before the race for obvious reasons but I was a little worried for him; having to cover 27 miles when he hadn't even run half as far before. I felt quite proud of him to be honest as he plodded up the lane towards the village hall around dusk and even slightly guilty for having talked him into doing the event in the first place. I really enjoyed that day, I didn't think an 'outdoors' event could get any more laid back than some of the fell races I have done but this one did, mainly due to it not being a race. It was the first ldwa event I have done and it got me thinking.

Some of the runners I spoke to were into ultras and use these events as training runs and I could see the appeal, for around 5 quid you get manned checkpoints with cakes, biscuits and juice then hot food and as much tea/coffee as you like at the finish. On the longer ones you can even get hot food at checkpoints. It wasn't a bad route either for the most part though there were a few bits that seemed to drag on such as the 4+ miles of grassy sea wall, ok you don't get the peaks and valleys of a fell race but it was still a good run through some nice countryside.

I almost got talked into doing another the week after, this one in Bedfordshire and I think if I hadn't already got an entry for a local 10 mile (road!) race that day I may have gone. Some of the events have shorter versions of the route which is probably what I would have done. The next one near me is a 50K in Surrey at the end of this month so I am considering going to that, then there is a 26.5 mile one near us just before Christmas. I am having a break from training at the moment though, my knees have been complaining a bit which always seems to happen this time of year with running more on tarmac but I want to keep up the long runs over winter ready for next year.

The past few years I have had the Lakeland Classics as my main priority. I did these this year, apart from Duddon and Langdale so I got some points but for next year I wouldn't mind trying an ultra. I still want to do Ennerdale and Wasdale since they are such epic races but the one event I currently have my eye on is The Highland Fling .

The West Highland Way race is one I would ultimately like to have a go at but it would need plenty preparation so before thinking about that I am considering doing either (or both) of the races that cover half of the route. The Highland Fling covers the southern half with The Devil of the Highlands covering the other. I was surprised to see that the Devil was already full even though it is on the first weekend in August 2010! This is the half I would prefer to try first but we will see, lots to think about. Plus I would need some support (... Mark :).

18th Blackwater Marathon

2009-11-03T08:54:00.001Z

A few months ago we planned to head south for Halloween and spend time with Chris, Lisa, Sam, Ben, Jo-vis (Oliver's current pronunciation of Joseph) and Emma (The Waltons). I had decided to take the week off and Lisa asked us if we fancied heading down their on the Thursday instead of Friday so we accepted. We had looked for a race to do that weekend and of the 3 we found only one was off-road, the ‘18th BlackWater Marathon’ run by the Essex and Herts LDWA. I had been a little apprehensive about entering and had the option of just doing a 15 mile route instead of the 27 mile route most runners would be following. On the day we sent in the entry forms though I decided that I would try the full 27 miles. I’d put it into my head that it not a normal marathon, so because it’s being run by walkers then it’s a walkers marathon that you can run in, so walking is ok when I get tired. Plus Essex is pretty flat so surely I should be able to mange a little more distance than the 13/14 miles max I have done on the hills before??

So Saturday morning arrived and Chris and I headed out for Purleigh Village Hall. On arrival we parked and registered in the hall. Having never done an LDWA event I had assumed I would be given a map of the route (I had asked if I’d needed to bring my own and was told I shouldn’t need one if I didn’t have one) but no, I was give a set of instructions. These were step by step instructions of the whole route “….cross the field to the field corner and take a 1/2 right over the field to the stile…..”. We got a brew and a biscuit and they started to ready ourselves. The weather now decided that it was time to open the heavens and I wondered if I should change into my leggings but there wasn’t a cold wind with the rain so I stuck with the shorts and pulled out the waterproof top.

10AM quickly arrived and everybody moved outside to head off. There was no line up and go or race start type procedure, somebody just said “you can go now” and people just headed off. Chris had left something in the car so went to get that and then we both headed off across the road with our instructions in hand. As we entered the second field I reminded Chris that he needn’t stay with me and to run off as he really wanted to do, which he did. However as we entered the third field and we had already entered auto-follow mode, we nearly ended up following the 15 mile walkers instead of going left over the stile to the 27 mile route. That was a quick reminder to CHECK THE INSTRUCTIONS.

Now on the right path we crossed the first farmers field and I realised I had the wrong footwear on. I only have Fell shoes or Road shoes and I had assumed the route would have been mostly tracks and trail and opted for my road shoes. Crossing this first field, the wet mud was sticking to my shoes and making them heavier with each step along with the lack of traction, this was proving a difficult run. If anything it forced me to take my time which is what I needed to do anyway. Onward over fields, crossing roads following the detailed instructions happily trotted away at a comfortable pace to reach the seawall leading to Checkpoint 1 and by this point the rain had passed and the temperature was quite comfortable. I was hoping for a nice cup of tea at this point but only juice and biscuits were on offer. After a few biscuits and a photo I headed off.

Now the instructions said I needed to continue on the sea wall for about 3.5 miles. So I decided there was no need to read them for another 20-30 mins and just followed the path.Reading a little further on in the chapter it said I should reach Harlow Sailing Club so I just trotted on. Eventually I reached a group of 3 runners who seemed a little unsure where to go. I was convinced I needed to pass another sailing club so following the seawall path seemed like the sensible choice. I rounded the next corner and stopped to read the instructions again just in case, I’d also noticed that there was no sign of passing any sailing club soon. This is when I realised that the next three instructions I hadn’t read were describing the route I had already followed and the sailing club had already been passed soon after leaving checkpoint 1. When I read these I also realised that I should have noted down three letters at some point a bit back, but there was no way I was running back to get them. Next I realised that I should have turned down the path were the other runners were stood looking bemused. As I joined this path the runners had only just started to head off and as they looked back and saw me, it seemed to give them more confidence that they had made the right decision.

One person mentioned that the letters were ‘BWM’ (BlackWater Marathon) and they were good enough for me and I had noticed a couple of those signs as I ran along the sea wall. Soon there was a group of about 10 running together and we reached a point were nobody seemed to understand the instructions. Everyone just looking at the paper and wandering back and forth. As I made my decision another guy took the same path as me and everyone followed. I had so far managed to keep a good steady pace and was feeling quite pleased with myself but soon after this just as we approached checkpoint 2 I could feel myself starting to fade a little and the pace dropping ever so slightly.

After a few drinks and more biscuits at checkpoint 2 (Still no Tea!) I headed off keeping to a gentle trot. Because I had stayed a little longer at the checkpoint the rest of the runners had now gone ahead of me and I only had myself for company. Across a few fields, a stint along a road, across the level crossing and it was back out onto another sea wall, at the end of which was checkpoint 3. The instructions said “…approx 4 miles…”. When I arrived at the sea wall (about 14 miles in) I was still running, but getting tired quickly. I managed to jog on for about 1 mile but it just proved to be too much. My Ham-strings and glute had started to ache and walk breaks became more and more frequent. The view along the seawall was also really boring and made it drag on. All in all the “…approx 4 miles…” took me the best part of about 1hr 10mins and at last a rest at checkpoint 3.

I’m not sure what I looked like as I entered the village hall as I was asked by a couple of people if I was ok? Was I going to carry on? I have to say that by that point I had considered throwing in the towel a few times. My feet had started to ache a little too and I was convinced I had a blister forming right in the middle of the sole of my foot. Finally though, a cup of Tea and a plate of sandwiches. “Sandwich spread & Salad”, “Cheese and pickle” the signs read so as I don’t like pickle, I opted for the sandwich spread. Urgh!! It wasn’t sandwich spread, it was Coleslaw! I hate coleslaw more than pickles! I gave up on the butties and headed for the cakes. MMMmm nice chocolate cake :-)

Heading off for Checkpoint 4, the running was hard. Muscles still aching and my foot getting sorer I must have looked funny running at such a slow pace (when I could run). The route now was back over farmers fields and through woods so the scenery changed regularly. After this the running spells were less frequent, the uneven made the ache in my foot worse and I swore I could feel the blister getting bigger. My other foot started to ache a little now but it didn’t feel like a blister. I think my left shoe was a better fit than my right! At the top of the only “incline” of the route it tells you to look back at the view of the river. I did but it wasn’t that impressive after views in the lakes. In fact the view from Winter Hill far far surpasses it. Finally though I approached checkpoint 4 and more juice and biscuits.

With only just over 4-5 miles left from here I had no more thoughts of retiring, but I had started to get over emotional. Only twice have I been emotional like that. Once after Kentmere and once after Wherenside where I didn’t have the best of runs, really struggling towards the end and feeling myself start to well up after crossing the finishing line, however I managed to hold it back whilst shovelling more biscuits and juice down me.

The final leg now and off i ran/walked/hobbled (delete as appropriate). The route was getting a little busier now as I caught up to walkers (albeit very slowly caught them up). It wasn’t getting more difficult as I went, the discomfort was pretty much the same for the rest of the route now., although climbing over the stiles was getting harder on my feet which by now was murdering me. I’d started to have visions of me peeling skin off with my socks at the end. Finally though the finishing was in sight as I joined the road leading to the Purleigh Village Hall. As I rounded the last corner I could see Chris stood at the gat waiting for me. I’d been running/hobbling for the last 10 mins to just get it over with and as I passed Chris he said “You can stop running now!” but I just wanted it over so carried on running until I passed the doors of the village hall. I handed my card in to the desk and headed out to the car. Chris asked if I wanted a brew as I passed him, which I did and I headed straight out of the hall to the car.

That was it, I’d finished the 27 miles in 6hrs 39mins. I stood at the back of the car and burst into tears, I could stop myself. Even when Chris came out with the cup of tea I was still going. All he could do was laugh at me but ne says it was because he knew exactly what I was going through. Once I calmed down I needed to get he shoes off and see what state they were in. I gently took my left soft off as that wasn’t hurting as much and search for a blister to find I had got away without one. Now the right foot. again slowly i rolled the sock over my foot and was shocked to to see ..nothing! No lumps or loose skin. It looked like there was a groove in my foot but no tear or anything. Not really sure what it was but it was painful and I’m thankfully I got away without the blister.

After a few brews and some cheese butties (I decided against the Jacket potato) I collected my certificate and we headed back to Chris’s for Halloween and an Indian. The Indian went down really well and really quick. Later, as we sat relaxing, Oliver woke up crying so I lay down in the bed next to him. Not quite sure which one of use fell asleep first.

Sunday Morning came and the problems started. I couldn’t stand up straight, I couldn’t walk properly. I was generally in agony, as long as I didn’t move I was fine. If a doctor had seen me I swear they’d have given me a mobility scooter!

Could I get any sympathy? Could I hell!!

GPS Tracking before battery died!

My version of the Screes Race!

2009-11-02T10:21:00.002Z

Can I just clarify that when I woke up on the Saturday morning and looked out the window, the view up Lingmell nose, despite its head in the clouds, was something I hadn’t thought about and really made me smile when I saw it. Mark and Karen are really lucky to be able to live in such a place. Then I remembered that I was up here to do a race and I don’t like running in the mist. I found myself constantly watching the clouds the look for signs of blue sky or the clouds lifting and as Chris and I sat on the car park, warming up, I was happy when the blue sky started to appear over Whin Rigg and I could see the top. I also started to worry a little about being too warm as I had leggings on.

As soon as we headed off down the road, frustratingly, my lace came undone so I ended up stopping on the track to the farm to redo that which dropped me from 3rd place to about 39th (you can call me Pinocchio!). After we ran through the farm I realised others were now on a different track to me and the group I had followed and but on emerging out the other side of the farm were signs directing us down a track to where a marshal was stood waiting for us.

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This is where I started to struggle, for some reason as soon as the climb started, my calves just didn’t want to work and I had a really slow ascent. As I got about 1/2 I also noticed that the clag had re-appeared over the top and a little further up the wind started to pick up too. I reached the path to the marshals and passed Barbara coming back from the peak. She tried to spur me on but by this point the climb had taken it out of me. The sight of the marshals on the summit said it all really, as they were huddled together with their backs to the wind, hoods up. They really deserve a prize for staying there in such weather.

Now when I turned into the wind, just like Chris said, the wind hits you and it was hard work running into the wind but it was at this point I was glad to be wearing my leggings. I knew there was one other runner behind me but I still couldn’t see her as she had started to drop further and further back as we climbed. I managed to make some good running for a while as you quickly come out of the clag and I passed the runner in front of me who seemed to be struggling a little on the shallow descent. I started to lose confidence though as the ground got steeper as the Mudrocks I have just didn’t seem to grip. Not sure if I am tackling harder terrain this year but the Mudrocks just haven’t been as good as the pair I had last year.

I’ll not go on now as Chris has already described the rest of the run down and run in although when I did get back onto the last road, I realised just how slow I am when I saw one of the front runners trotting down the road after just coming back from taking his dog for walk.

I’m hoping to attempt this next year and be a little more competitive, although if they are handing out prizes for last senior again, I might just take my time.

Mark