Great Lakes Run 2011 - 13 miles 7000ft.

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.

New Chew

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

3 Shires 2010 and sore legs!

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)

Borrowdale Fell Race – Unplanned!

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.

Tockholes Fell Race 2010

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.

My version of the Screes Race!

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

Night Street Orienteering

During my first night-time head torch run up on Winter Hill, Albert had mentioned a night orienteering event held by SROC (South Ribble Orienteering Club). The event basically involves running around the streets looking for various items of street furniture, be it Lamppost numbers, telegraph pole numbers etc…

I was a little unsure what to expect from this type of event but I’d always enjoyed orienteering type things I done as a kid. The first event was held in Warton near Preston. Once registered you are given a sheet with a list of the street furniture you need to make note of but as yet you don’t know where these items are, the map is only given to you as you start the event.

With headtorches at the ready,everybody is set off individually. You have to choose to do a 40, 60 or 75 min trek but whichever you do you must ensure you’re back within your selected time allowance otherwise you are penalised 10 points for each 10 second interval you are late.

I really enjoyed this first event in Warton and managed to find a good line that got me back to the finish with just 2 mins to spare. When the points were totalled up I was shocked to see that I had beaten Albert and Neil from Lostock. I was sure this was more down to luck than anything else.

The 2nd event was held 1 week later in Whalley, this time I caught a lift up with Albert and Neil. The Start/Finish for this event was located in the centre of the map unlike the first which was located out in one corner of the map. On setting off i had a choice of 3 corners of the map to head towards, I picked one and off I headed. I made a couple of little route errors on this one where I could have collected an extra 50-80 points. this night though I managed to make it back to the finish with only 40 seconds to spare.

Again I somehow managed to beat Albert and Neil. Not sure if again this is luck although Albert did confess to following a road on the map that turned out to be a train line.

The next event is to be held in Morecambe on the 11th November and I am really looking forward to this next one.

Mark

 

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I blame the Peanut M & M's

Why do they sell peanut M&M's in such large bags and what happened to normal one person size bags of M&M's?

On Tuesday I needed to visit the office in Coalville and had to stop en-route for fuel. After filling the car I strolled across the forecourt to pay for the fuel but as I had only had a bowl of cereal instead of my usual 1/2 loaf of toast for breakfast, I felt the urge to eat. I have a bit of a thing for Peanut M&M's at the minute so had a quick look for the Normal, standard, one person, generally available size pack of these Peanut delights. But NO! not here, only the large "Re-Sealable" bags where on the shelf along with Big Eat bags of Walkers Crisps and Ginsters Sausage Rolls and Pasties.

Beliving I could control my craving I bought the large bag and headed back to the car to continue my journey. "Control my craving?????" HA!! like hell. 20 mins later with only 1/4 of the bag left I threw what was left into the rear of the car so that I would have to stop to climb over the seats if I wanted them. It was of course a waste of time, the journey ended and I reached over picked up the bag and finished the packet.

Well it affected me. Harrock Hill on Wednesday. The 4th race in the series and for the last two races I had been so close to a PB that I needed to do it this time otherwise there had been NO improvement from last year. I lined up at the start with no plan in my head other than to keep a good steady pace like the last few races but with the rain that had fallen today I was convinced the going would be a little heavy in places, so as we set off, feeling great, I up'd the pace a little thinking I'll attack the hill and recover on the descent where I normally get stuck behind someone on the narrow path. Keeping up with Tony Varley (and passing him at one point) I ploughed on up this first hill but just as I reached the top the pace started to hit me. Fool!!! What had I done?

And so it was for the rest of the race. I tried to push on a steady pace but I just didn't feel it was good enough. It felt slow, I felt tired and my legs felt heavy all the way round. The only burst of speed coming on the final descent knowing that Jan Atkins (Who I had seen just as I entered the woods) was following close behind me. A quick look at my watch and I was two minutes under my PB but not at the finish line yet. I passed Albert who gave a quick spur on but as I rounded the final corner my watch passed the 49:22 mark and I cursed myself all the way to the line, crossing it in 50:00 exactly, Wrecked and out of breath knowing only that I couldn't have given it any more than I did but also wishing I hadn't gone too fast on that first climb.

On reflection though I blame the Cocoa from the M&M's for putting my mind in an unfit state and the Scrumptious Milk Chocolate for adding to my waist line, making it more difficult to carry this lump of a body up those hills. Perhaps I should write a letter of complaint to Mars and Tesco???

Don't forget to visit www.comparethecomparesites.com!!

Disoriented on Winter Hill

Saturday night I had a post from Emma on Facebook asking if I fancied a run up Winter Hill on Sunday morning. I had planned to go up anyway so was happy to get an invite and some company.

5 of us (Emma, Al, George, Richard (I think) and me) met at 08:30 at the Top barn and headed off along with Dave (Emma's dog, complete with cow bell) along the Winter Hill race route. The morning was wet, the clouds were in and the rain wasn't too heavy. Young Al Fowler was along for the ride and I have to say that he seems to target puddles and mud, almost detouring to splash through them. It was near impossible for me to get muddy as by the time I got to all the puddles, young Al was already wearing most of the must they contained.

Past the pigeon tower and round the Pike then you head over the wet boggy top towards the shooting hut. By now the visibility had been reduced and whilst the other 4 runners ran ahead it wasn't so bad that I would lose sight of them. Even if I did I would still have been able to hear Dave with his cowbell ringing constantly for nearly 3 hours. We crossed the road to the mast and just after this we must have crossed the small path that I normally use that goes from the road near Two Lads to the mast. I don't like running in the mist unless I know the exact path I am following and today I didn't and not being able to get a visual bearing on anything threw me. I must have missed the path and we ended up climbing a stile I didn't expect to see but then I assumed that I had just never seen it before and still waited to cross the path. Running at the back it seemed as if we kept bearing right and after a few minutes I was convinced we had turned through 180 degrees and we were heading back for the fence we had just crossed. Emma had been leading and she was looking for a path but was unable to locate it and we all ended up clambering over the tussocks. I asked someone to get a compass out as I was completely disoriented by now when we never came up on the path or the fence I thought were nearby. Emma told me the mast was over to our left (north) and that threw me even more because where I thought we were I expected the mast to be more east of us. Anyway being as Emma seemed really confident in her general direction and I basically had no idea of where I was on a hill i am normally very happy running around I followed the crowd.

It got quite funny at one point, Emma would take a step and then fall and disappear in to the tussocks and then somebody else would. Eventually we reached a road which initially confused me even more as it was a road I didn't recognise and didn't understand where the hell it had come from. I had by now convinced myself that I should never run in the hills and mist EVER again. A sign on a post said private road and suddenly I knew where I was. I had run down this road once before about 4 months ago; if you follow the road to the right it takes you to a farm and then on towards the part of the two lads race route that passes the quarry near Matchmore lane. No I knew where we were my bearings had come back and I lead the way for a short distance back to the shooting hut.

When we got to the shooting hut somebody commented that it wasn't that impressive, I joked asking if they had expected a tea room or something. The path now continues back towards the mast but we only followed this for a short way before Emma took us off on a path to the right which takes us across wall from the mast and then on down to bottom of the 'ramp' (that's how I know it; it's the path to the kissing gate next to the woods and the road through Belmont). On this descent there isn't really a path all the way, one minute you are on what seems link a faint path and the next everyone was spread out.

After a Jelly baby stop at the bottom of the ramp we started the steady plod up the ramp. I don't mind this climb but can't keep up with the others on the ascents yet so just plodded on and met them all at the top where, when I arrived, they seemed to be taking photos for the Fell runners calendar 2010. The next section heads back down to the road from Belmont over Winter hill. I have only ever been this way once with my mate Chris (pretty much my first time up Winter Hill, he started me with a nice easy climb!!) and just remember it being very boggy. As we ran down I took a bad step and went right over on my ankle then about 30 secs later Emma did the same thing. We stopped for a minute and George and Richard decided they were going to head back now so only 3 for us remained. By now the ache in my ankle had started to ease and we continue down the hill towards the bracken. At one point not long after Emma ended up knee deep in a boggy area. Al and I being the gentlemen that we are just stopped and had a break whilst Emma tried to pull her leg out. Eventually though she managed it and we carried on, me personally glad of the brief rest.

Before we entered the bracken Emma tried to point out a path but I'm not sure if she found it as the bracken was so overgrown we couldn't really identify a path and seemed to be making our own. We reached the point that was identified as Checkpoint 5 in the race and then headed back up towards the trig point on top of Winter Hill. I didn't see Dave for about the next 5 mins, all I could do was hear his cowbell in the bracken somewhere around me, eventually though the bracken ended and the climb flattened out before the steep climb up to the trig point. Young fowler darted up this next climb so quick that by the time I reached the top he was saying he had started to cool down.

Next we headed down the scar towards the cobbled road and had decided that we would miss out Noon hill on wards and start to head back for the pigeon tower and the top barn. As we ran along the cobbled road in mid conversation we passed a few cows besides the road where the fence allowed them to get out. As Emma was in mid conversation she hadn't noticed them and all of a sudden she gave a shriek and darted off screaming about the cows, it was so funny (You had to be there I guess). It was about 100 meters further on before she stopped and turned around to check they hadn't stampeded both Al and I to get to her.

Were the race crosses the cobbled road to go towards Noon hill we turned off the cobbled road and made our way back through the farmers fields past car park and back to the barn. It was an enjoyable run with some good company on a route I have not done before. I could have done without the disorientation early on as that really threw me but I'll look forward to getting out in a group again when the chance arises.

Harrock Hill

Sorry but no epic tale of Woe for this one.

After the weekends antics I didn't run Monday but was going to try a gentle trot out on Tuesday to track but because of some work I needed to get done I ended up not doing anything at all on Tuesday evening either. Nevermind though, this would keep my legs fresh for Harrock Hill.

The Harrock Hill Race is a nice local race for me. I like Harrock Hill. It's a nice Race, nice Route and I especially like the fact that the prizes are boxes of veg, and if you're ignorant enough not to hang around for your prize, then it gets given to somebody else as it should do (although a lot of people would have to leave their prizes for me to get one)! It involves a run around the back of Parbold Hill, very similar in places to the Parbold Hill Race route, it's a nice mix of field, track and trail.

After race 2 at Harrock Hill I was aiming for a PB as during race 2 I need the loo pretty much from the off and was forced to take a pit stop 1/2 way round. Only after crossing the line did I realise I was only 4 secs off my PB and was a little gutted, so for race 3 I was hoping to get a better time and a PB.

Arriving a little later than normal, the car park was nearly full with plenty of the usual faces about. When you enter this race they always give you a £5 off voucher for Sweatshop but whilst I completed my form one entrant pointed out that the Valid till date had already expired, apparently about 90 had already been handed out and nobody had noticed, you see we all do it for the love of the sport not the freebies ;-)

The race starts about 3/4 mile away from registration at the foot of Hillside Ave where there is a bit of quick socialising before the off. Tonight's race was delayed a few minutes though to wait for one runner who had to head back to the car park for shoes apparently, then off we headed up the the track road. The first hill is a good one to spread out the field and I am normally with the people I finish with by the top of this. I keep noticing a nice house for sale on this track road that looks out towards the sea, must remember to go and see how much they want for it. Not that I'll ever be able to afford it, I'm just curious. (Maybe I'll buy it when I make my first million with www.comparethecomparesites.com)

Once at the top the path turns right for a short way before turning back (Where the Parbold race usually joins the road for a few meters) into the farmers field. I normally make up a couple of positions going down through this field but then you have to stop to cross the stile onto a narrow path on which there is really no chance of passing. Tonight I had managed to pass a couple of people in the field and caught up to a girl in a pink vest from Parbold Pink Panthers. With no chance of passing here I just plodded along behind her and then just near the end of the path she offered to let me pass however there was hardly any point now as I would need to stop to climb the stile in about 10 meters and I normally end up getting passed on the flat field we were approaching (flats are my weak area, along with uphills and downhills) so I told her to carry on.

As I thought, I didn't have the speed to catch her up across the next field however as we approached the stile she moved to the right to avoid the mud (It's a fell race love!!!) so I just ploughed right through and over the stile. After the next field you cross a small road were some unlucky resident is normally being held up whilst a stream of runners gander by. I heard two runners behind me now talking about the approaching field as last month the cows came running and bucking across our path with the runners and the cows not really knowing if they should run or stop. And yet again on running through the field the cows decided to play this game again. As the field starts to let you pick up speed the cows started to cross our path and I heard a shriek from the girl in pink behind me as she suddenly become worried about the cows.

Onward through the fields that followed you eventually come back out on the main road from Parbold hill and run past the school to the next left turn for a short run up the road and onto a cut through that brings you out near the speed camera on the road coming down from the top of Parbold hill. I don't like this section as I don't normally run well through here and get passed, and nothing new tonight as I was passed by two people including the pink panther who was asking now if it was 1/2 way yet. As we came out on the main road the race route turns back into the woods for a short way (The Parbold hill race heads up passed the Wiggin Tree here) and she kindly moved to the side and let me pass.

Once through the woods the race plods on round the edge of the field before crossing a couple of stiles and joining a track that leads you back to the road near the High Moor Restaurant. After this second stile I was caught up by the pink panther but she said she didn't want to pass and suggested I had a good pace for her. With her footsteps behind me I was trying to keep my pace steady so that she wouldn't get past me. Out and along the road past the High Moor and then you turn left on along the private road besides the restaurant. I took the opportunity to ask if this was the first time she had done this race and it turned out that this was her 'first race'. What a great race to pick as your first race.

Eventually the run along the road turns off and you start what I would class as the last climb. You don't really notice it much as a climb as it gradual and you're in the trees and bushes but I know the running is easier from the top of here (Nearly). Through three fields now and then over a stile and into a wooded area where you pass the old windmill (Emma has done the history lesson on this one). I love the run through here along the narrow paths but if you get caught behind anyone there isn't much chance of passing. Luckily the bracken wasn't as heavy as last month so just after the windmill was a slightly wider part that just allowed me to pass a slightly slower runner I had caught up to as I tried to start my burst for the finish. Just after this the path reaches a stile over a wall which leads to the final field, kindly the next runner I came up behind, who seemed less confident negotiating the few rocks that were on this path, moved over for me to pass and I climbed over the next stile and down the final field. I remember the foot of this field is normally just one big pile of mud but not this time and with nobody close enough to me I wasn't able to make up any positions coming down here either.

Over the final Stile and a track road leading to the final stretch. After a quick check of my watch I knew I would be close to my PB and as I started the final 100m climb to the finish I knew I wouldn't be able to beat my time. I tried to give it a little more pushing for the line but the PB just wasn't going to be had and I crossed the line 6 secs off my time in 49:26, gutted and annoyed with myself. I suppose the race at Kentmere could have left my legs a little tired but I felt like I had a good steady run and really thought I had done enough to improve my time but it wasn't to be.

Back at the pub I went into the bar to get a drink but as the results were ready before the barman actually got round to serving me I got the results and head for the car and home in a sulk. Of course the way home now went via the chip shop to make me feel better!

Next month had better be a good one as I want to end the Harrock Hill series on a high! A well done to Emma though who after having nothing but bad races over the past 2 months managed to knock 1 minute of her PB.