A Mad March

Winter is a tough time in the outdoors world. Put simply, people don’t want to head outside. Its cold and wet invariably and as such opportunities to work are few and far between. Previous winters have seen me manage to secure regular work in Nursery Schools, however due to funding cuts those options are no longer available… but that’s a very political post for another time.

So the arrival of March and meteorological spring is a welcome one. March spells the return of Duke of Edinburgh Award season and its when the world starts to emerge from its winter slumber and wants to play outside.

My month started on March 1st getting ready for the Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round Fell Race, I’ve written about that before (here) suffice to say, this year was not weather afflicted and we could run the traditional route – which I publicly committed to changing to avoid difficulties with access on one particular farm. So that’s more work created for me then!



The race went well – 252 runners, a race record turnout with both mens and womens records being smashed by top three finishers in both categories! It really has been a dry winter….

The next day saw me joining a new (to me!) school, St Christophers, to support their DofE award efforts. As the qualified ML, I was supervising and training a Gold group over and around Pendle Hill. What a top bunch of lads they were. I hope to cross their paths again.

Week commencing the 4th took me to Outdoor Elements various primary schools and an Adult Employment Scheme undertaking some confidence building activities. I also worked for Climbing Services (Wall work, A-Level PE) and a rescheduled date at Taywood to zip line with some three and four year olds. The weekend came and I took my son bouldering and on the Sunday more St Christophers DofE, this time a silver practice day. Another great group, well drilled and keen to learn.

The 11th March began with some OE work in a Primary school in Rochdale – team challenges for the second day of two. Into McMillan Nursery in Nelson on Tuesday for the first of two and half days over two weeks – great to be back here after a three year hiatus! Although I have worked with them in in local centres since then, was lovely seeing and catching up with the staff of this great nursery. I was working with the McMillan team when my son was born and as such they remain close to me. We were tree climbing and basing a session around a core book the nursery use – “Shark in the Park” by Nick Sharratt. This happened!


More Climbing Services wall work and WAVE Adventure on Wednesday evening, with the first week of a new ten week block of activities with regular children and parents supported by BBC Children in Need. Thursday involved some site work at Whitehough, building some new facilities for groups this summer. Friday was a day off with Mrs Northcol, before heading to Warrington to spend the night on a trading estate awaiting a 5.30 am departure for London to work for Challenge Expeditions at a posh school in London – more DofE training. Home late Sunday night, back to McMillan Monday morning.

OE on the Tuesday. Wednesday will live long in the memory- the morning at McMillan, the afternoon the last Climbing Services A-Level session, Wednesday evening with WAVE… Thursday Friday off… pheww!

Saturday saw me doing some safety marshaling for Outdoor Angels and T2 Events. Good to see Tasha back in the game. Although out from early and out till late afternoon supporting a sportive it was a fairly quiet day, with one cut finger to mend and one mechanical issue to pick up. Being run from Mill Yard in Staveley allowed me to visit one of my favorite bakeries and breweries 🙂 on the way home

The Last week of the month began working for Outdoor Elements, Firstly on site and then on Tuesday off site climbing with a regular group of children with complex needs. Wednesday was off site again, this time to a Primary School in Manchester who book an archery day for the school. Years one to six all come an have a go and shoot 6 arrows! Thats 960 arrows plus staff and my demonstration arrows and a bit of shooting for fun. I estimate over 1000 arrows were shot that day. It doesn’t half make your hands sore!. Thursday was a drive down south to work the weekend for Sam Sykes Ltd (DofE) at a posh school in Maidenhead, which by happy chance is just up the road from some very good friends, so I arranged to see them Thursday evening and catch up. The weekends training and practice expeditions was brilliant – a really good group, keen and eager to learn and who were all capable. If only it could always be thus!

I got home Sunday evening after an uneventful drive home. Roll on April….

2018 Highlights

One of the advantages of always trying to generate content – for here and social media is I have become fairly snap happy, both with the phone on my camera and the little MUVI camera I take out from time to time (think poor mans GoPRo).

So here it is then, a moments reflection on the previous year and some highlights, for each month in pictures…. (click on them to expand)

January 2018

Taken on the 20th January this was an organised reconnoiter of The Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round. designed to get potential participants familiar with the route. Its a great race and one that novice to intermediate fell runners can get a lot out of and the top end experienced fellrunner can really race in – its “runnable”., unless the weather is atrocious – which it was for 2018. The race is in March – we had to manage the Beast from the East… this recce was in much more benign conditions.

February 2018

Outdoor Elements in the snow.  As a freelancer I work for all different types of organisation.  OE are definite favorites! its a charming site to work at all year round.

March 2018

Whilst Safety Marshaling for Outdoor Angels/High Terrain Events.  Their Buttermere Trail run took place on a stunning day. Luckily I had taken my running stuff up so I could get out for a trot once stood down.

April 2018

This view from the top of Pendle always gives people cause to stop and take it in.  Even the most reluctant of walkers (from the local Activity Centre  – Whitehough) seem to appreciate the views across to North and West Yorkshire as well as Bowland to the North East.

May 2018

EYFS outdoors is very important to me. The opportunities I create, most 3&4 year olds simply do not get these days.  Such as wandering along a river exploring and discovering a whole heap of new experiences. Taken at Outdoor Elements hosting a regular Nursery School of mine.

June 2018

I love this photo.  Proper concentration! A session for families, for WAVE Adventure, supported by BBC Children in Need.  A walk around Rivington in order to learn some basic map skills. here they are orientating the map and matching the paths to their current location.

July 2018

Yorkshire Three Peaks. One of my favorite days out. This day was guiding for another provider. Great group, great weather, beautiful views all day.  This pic, taken at about 7.45am I think really sums it up.

August 2018

Rock Climbing. Another WAVE Adventure/BBC Children in Need session for families.  These three are awaiting an abseil and were posing for the shot admirably…. I however wanted the silhouette rather than their characters. that said, the character of this picture is ace! I was lucky to meet and support some aspiring outdoors professionals running these WAVE sessions.

September 2018

Ghyll Scramble at Barbon Ghyll in the Yorkshire Dales with Sedbergh Preparatory School.  Great kids on their way to a great afternoons adventure.

October 2018

There have been some tough decisions in terms of highlights this year, but this month, October I really could have had five or six and in the end narrowed it down to these two.  Thistle Cave with Sedbergh School (again), I loved this session, one of my favourite for the year and has given me a new direction to pursue in 2019. The Pendle Hill pic taken as part of a personal group run. Every Tuesday throughout the winter I run with my club mates around the Pendle area. This was one of the first of the winter runs where you start in the light and finish in the dark. This one at sunset is probably my favourite picture of the year and has been shared amongst that group extensively!

November 2018

A WAVE Adventure young Mentor doing her thing without assistance getting ready to climb.  Taken at Bolton One, possibly the smallest climbing wall ever, but very group friendly and very accessible.

December 2018

I have wanted to make campfire pizza for ages. Normally one tests the idea, does it a few times to get the session slick and imprinted in ones mind. This one, nah off the cuff and made up as we went along! At Outdoor Elements with a regular school booking (PRU). Wow. Its amazing. The kids (13-15) loved it, we made the dough, sauce and toppings all selected by the group and made 3 pizzas.  A session to be repeated!

What a year its been. Bring on 2019!

Tour of Pendle 2018 (or A Strongly Worded Letter to the Running Gods)

I wasn’t going to write this one.  After all, I’ve described the Tour in all its glory here before.  But this one was different.  I felt ready for this one.  I have had a good period of consistent running – not the distance, but I definitely have the time in my legs ( and on my feet!) and I run very much as a head game – if I feel good I tend to run good. I’d even got a couple of good recce’s in over the previous few weeks to refresh my memory of the route having missed it in 2017 due to a last minute work commitment cropping up.

So I started the race at just after 10.30 am on Saturday 17th November feeling good, strong and light on my feet.  The first few miles bore testament to this, I was where I thought I should be in the field, some familiar faces around me in the pack.  the usual bench marks of performance (“if I run *this*  uphill bit I am running well”) I was trotting over quite smoothly. My breathing was good from the word go – since running with a race vest rather than bum bag I have noticed my breathing has been better, where as I have in the past struggled to get my breathing right early on in a race.  There was some good banter with fellow fell runners and club mates on the way up, including supporting a chap new to the race (and as it turns out fell running! – what a way to start!?). All in all a great way to start one of the toughest races in the calendar.

And that’s how it continued.  I even took a gamble on an experimental line across the moor from CP 1 to CP 2 which paid off – I got ahead of several faces in my immediate pack as I crossed the CP1 hurdle – some came back at me and got back ahead by CP3, some did not.  Result! Even the cut off at CP4 (be through by 12.30, at the bottom of the legendary ‘Geronimo’ descent) I knew I would get through, but to do it by the best part of 25 minutes was very pleasing.  Plenty of chatter to the marshals and some thank you’s as well, in the most stunning of conditions – even the mist lifted to offer a ‘haze’ against clear skies.  It was a cold wind for sure, but  not so strong as to impede progress.

Other things that went well – clothing – 3/4 length running leggings with a long sleeve base layer (no zip) with club vest over the top, race vest (Alpkit – Artlu) over that.  Innov 8 Mudclaws (classics) I had forgotten my cap – which would have helped manage the bright and low sun, but it was no biggy to not have it. Plus the usual FRA race kit.  Nutrition. After porridge for breakfast I had with me two Babybel cheeses, four small lumps of Malt Loaf, three SIS Gels and over three containers – about 950ml of water, 500 of that had SIS Electrolyte tabs in.  Also a small bag with some wine gums and jelly babies in it. The pics I took were on a MUVI camera, best described as poor mans GoPro. Its the ultimate point and shoot as there is no viewfinder on it.

 

The only point I had to dig deep was on the final climb, from CP9 to CP10. up the Big End, from its lowest point on the moor to its highest just before the actual summit. Truth be told – everyone has to dig deep here and its fair to say that I gain  a degree of motivation from schadenfreude.  I focused on a steady step pattern and keeping as light as I can on my feet as I passed a few on the way up.  It seemed to work.  I got to the top able to keep moving, where as some around me were pausing for breath. I even donated my final Babybel to a club mate who was bonking big time.

So why am I tapping this out then?  Well, my finish time was 4.12 on my Garmin (Strava here).  The official results are not out yet, suffice to say I was very pleased with 4 hours 12 minutes.  I wanted sub 4.30 and got it comfortably. I was buzzing!  I would have been happy with a 4.29!  I am on the whole not one to obsess over times, if I ran well; I am generally happy , better than the aim I set myself  –  I am more pleased. Better than the previous time – I am over the moon.  Having said that I never look the previous times up before a race, preferring to run on feel rather than time pressure.  When people ask me what my Tour PB is I always say its about 3.45 I can never remember what it actually is… so 4.12 is quite away short, but that’s okay I was happy with the time and more importantly the way I ran and felt all the way round. SO in getting home to record the result on my log of races (GEEK) I casually check what my PB is… 3.43.  gosh, quite a way short then.  That prompted me to look over previous results:

2011 first Tour – 4.44 (It hurt. Lots.)

2012 PB 3.43  (I learnt a lot that year about fell running!)

2014 3.50

2015 Weather shortened course – 2.45  (doesn’t count)

2016 In the snow – see here – 4.09.

Making 4.12 in 2018 My second worst time running this race!!!  How does that work?? How can I have felt so good, had great conditions and seemingly ran so well to deliver as duff a time as that!  I was slower than the snow year where you couldn’t actually pass anyone or else you were in knee deep snow!

So can someone please contact me with an address for the running gods.  I have a complaint to make.

( That said, see you in 2019, TOP!)

A Quick Mountain Fix

I am far from original when I post on social media another “todays office” picture.  I am lucky to work in the parts of this country I work in across the north west.  But…. and you saw that coming I am sure, It does tend to be the same parts!  So mid way through the silly season (April to July) I hatched a plan to get some hill time for myself as a solo mission…. between work, holiday, parenting, my wife’s work and life and stuff we narrowed it down to a window over two days in early August.  So that was that then.

My plan was to bag a few Wainwrights in an area of the Lake District I did not really know.  What with the weather we have been enjoying this summer, one could almost say I was getting quite excited! some hill time, a wild camp, more hill time and a pass to enjoy them. Brilliant!

I decided on the Northern Fells, beyond Skiddaw Forest/Blencathra. I had not been up beyond there before and decided that nine of these hills/mountains could be strung together in an approximate 30 km route.  Over two days this would be ideal.  Whats more having finally got my entry in for the ROC Mountain Marathon, I could use this as  training and so treated it as a “fast & light” exercise the aim being to achieve a gentle run, practice some micro nav and do all that carrying a mountain marathon kit list on my back.

The afternoon of August 3rd arrived and once I’d tagged my wife on the parenting front I set off, slightly later than planned up the A65 to avoid any M6 Friday northbound problems.  I found road works instead!  Eventually arriving on the road out of Mosedale where I figured there would be somewhere to park – there was (thank you Google Earth), plenty of spots fortunately.  I set off at 17.00 (I’d hoped for 3.30-4.00 ish) in gentle drizzle, warm, but you could see that the visibility would be limited on the tops.

The first objective was Carrock Fell (663m). I’d planned a fell runners line straight out of the valley, anticipating an element of bushwhacking – it being the height of summer and the ferns at their deepest. what I hadn’t anticipated was the density of the heather, the amount of gorse and the scree banks peppering the sides of the fell.  Although steep, the angle in fell shoes is not intimidating (go Mudclaw 300’s!) but what was tricky was the combination of loose surface, prickly bushes and impenetrable shrubbery!  I’d clocked a path on the map and decided to follow that up, the path ended on the map, usually they carry on in the real world on the ground… this one may as well have met a brick wall! I couldn’t get round the gorse and scree combination, so  I retreated back to the road thinking I would just jog the 2.5km on tarmac to the actual right of way up Carrock Fell, unless I spotted a clearer way through the undergrowth, which I eventually did. Phew.  By now the weather was lifting and I was fortunate to get a shot like this:

Two thirds of the way up Carrock Fell

Carrock Fell has a real charm to it.  With old earthworks and stone formations on top (‘fort’ on the map), it is also right at the edge of the park and offers great views over the less hilly parts of Cumbria to the east.

Pleased to have finally bagged the first hill of the day an embarrassing two hours hours after I set out, I hatched a plan that the next hill  – High Pike (658m)- would likely be the last today, aiming too have topped out on this an hour later or so at 8 pm.  After the top of that hill, I would then find somewhere to pitch up for the night.  That gave me plenty of time to find a good pitch, get water and feed myself in day light. I had a couple of locations in mind looking at the map, but had given myself plenty of time to choose. Site selection really is the difference between a good nights sleep and a poor one when wild camping. By now the visibility had dropped again and the mist was down, making progress slower but to be honest much more fun!  I had to proper navigate!  Great Mountain Marathon practice, using aiming off, hand rails, catching features and timing I got to a misty High Pike at 20.01.  Perfect timing!

Although I enjoyed getting to this one in the conditions, I bet the views on a clear day would be amazing. One to re-visit.

My first choice on the map wild camp spot was just off off the Cumbria Way by a gil which looked like it might offer both fast flowing water and several flatter areas.  Off I set in to the gloom…. it was not long before I noticed this:

look carefully!

 

A building?  I checked the map – yep definitely – a tiny one – marked on the map but not one I had noticed, choosing the breadth of Cumbria Way and a sheepfold and water course or two to navigate by. Well a building may provide shelter from the wind, it was on the track so I knew I was destined to check it out.  As I got closer I saw the door was open and it dawned on me it was one of the Lakes Bothys.  A bothy being a simple shelter designed to offer a roof and walls for the night for free,to whomever needed it.  Some are literally just that, four walls and a roof, others are quite stunning with open fires or stoves, tables and chairs.  Now this was a game changer! Never mind wild camping  when there is a bothy on the menu!

I got closer to…

And a voice loomed out of the dark – “alright mate” Rather making me jump, but in I bowled to say hello to the occupant.  First thing I noticed was he was the dead spitting image of an old mate of mine (Duncan) he even sounded like him weirdly. We got chatting – he didn’t seem like an axe murderer (I couldn’t see an axe) and said he would be grateful for the company as he was on a through hike – self supported – of all the Wainwrights (that’s 214  hills!) as his holiday.  That was my decision made – anyone doing that in one go would be well worth the conversation, so I decided to sack off the tent and go for water to then return and spend the night in the bothy.  And what a top decision that was to be!

Kyle, as it happened lived in a town 20 minutes from me in Burnley and worked in the outdoors.  This meant he must work for Robinwood – yes he replied!  Which meant we would know some of the same people, which of course we did…. small world indeed.  Kyle was a great chap to natter to for the evening and when the time came to close the door and batten down for the night, the bothy decision was looking inspired… until 8 minutes past 2 in the morning when some voices could be heard outside:

” Oh look a bothy”, “yeah, thats Lingy Hut” “shall we look inside?”, “no we better not, in case there is someone in there and we wake them”

Too bloody late for that mate!

A bleary morning followed but the forecast better weather looked like it was on the way for the day.

the view from the window of Lingy Hut

Kyle was up and away early I took a more leisurely pace getting ready. To be fair poor sleep on top of a dodgy dehydrated meal I had ‘tried’ the night before and actually abandoned a few spoons in to it – it tasted and smelled chemically vile – had left me feeling a wee bit fragile….

A big part of the Bothy Code  is to leave the bothy better than you found it. So I made sure I gave the place a good sweep through and took some other peoples sweetie papers with me and by  7.30 am I was off to collect seven more Wainwrights and several connecting hills between them. The weather was drier for sure but the cloud base was low – about 550 to 600m so I was back on nav mode and moving well, fueled by Haribo, Babybel cheese, coffee and a cereal bar or two.

Next on the list was Knott (710m). The biggy of my plan and from here had it been clear I would have been able to see all the target hills for the day.  Never mind!

Tempting as it is to post a number of pictures of summit cairns surrounded by mist I shall resist…   The day passed quickly and I felt as though I was making good steady progress and feeling stronger than I thought I might  having not tackled this number of hills at pace in a while. From Knott, I headed to Great Sc Fell (651m) to Little Sca Fell then on to Brae Fell (586m) which looked lovely in and out of the mist, before climbing back up and over some gils toward Longlands Fell (483m) Lowthwaite Fell, Meal Fell (550m), Great Cock Up (526m) then ascending Burn Tod, over looking Frozen Fell targeting Little Calva and Great Calva (690m) to then descend back to the valley bottom and return to the van.

By Little Calva the weather was lifting and the sun was becoming el scorchio.  The last 90 minutes of my foray were very pretty but tough in the heat.  The whole area is one to visit again…. if only I could guarantee the views!

the top of Great Calva

looking back up to Great Calva following a never ending descent through acres of heather.

a welcome stream to cool tired legs and feet.

I got back tot he van just before 14.00. Perfect really as the van was still there and I had said I would be home around 16.00.

Cant wait for the next trip out – it was great and has reignited my desire to bag the Wainwrights.  118 done, 96 to go….

To contact me to discuss navigation training/coaching for walking or running or indeed any other hill skills you can contact me here.

Race Organising

When I started Fell running, or running off road before that, I had no ambition to race (despite that being the impetus to get me started – I got entered into a race in 2008 – the GRIM).  But as the runs got longer, faster and more challenging and my fitness grew and being a smidge competitive the racing idea really bit.  Now lets be frank – I am a mid to back pack runner.  A top 50% finish for me is a good day and racing typically for me is as much an extension to the ‘adventure’ an off road run offers me – but typically in a different place over unfamiliar ground .

That all said I have grown to really enjoy the buzz and the sense of camaraderie at Fell races.  a Fell race start line is second only to a doctors waiting room for horrific medical stories.  “Hello mate – how are you?”, “oh blimey, you wouldn’t believe the ache I have in my left leg..” OR “well I’ve got this cold and I’ve not run for over two weeks”, “rough mate, I just want to get round and finish today you know..?” and so on.  Make no mistake, the minute “go!” is shouted these people, if you so much as blink, will have left you in their wake for dead.

Its great.

2018 SBPR start line, just before my brief.

One such race that I really enjoyed was the Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round.  A classic race on Pendle Hill, just short of ten miles and about 590m of climb its reputation is that of a very runnable race – the record is an hour and six minutes.  The bulk of the climb is all at the beginning, the rest is level or trending downhill, bar too short sharp climbs near the end. It is a race organised by my running club – Clayton Le Moors Harriers. Check points to run too, no marked course to follow, local knowledge and or navigation skills required.  In Fell runners speak it looks like this: BM, 16.7km/590m ER/LK/NS over 18.

The extra challenge is that it is an early spring race – the first Saturday in March so the weather can play its role too.  I ran it three times in all and continue to enjoy the running the route to this day, which is just as well really!

After the 2015 the Race Organiser (RO) wanted to step down and was keen to off load the race ASAP.  I had long thought that organising races might be a way to make some income – you know £25 race entry for a medal and t-shirt type races. Fell Running is about as far from that as one could imagine, but might be a good place to learn the skills required to operate commercial races.  The SBPR was essentially a fundraiser for the Clayton Junior section (subsidised vests and race entries for the kids etc.) but also made a donation to the local Mountain Rescue Team (Rossendale and Pendle MRT). the conversation ran between various committee members and running training nights, but no one wanted to pick it up.  I wanted to run it, so stayed quiet.. (RO’s cant run in their own races… ish) Then I thought, well perhaps I should be the one to RO, I like the race, I know the hill and the route well, i felt I would be a suitable ‘custodian’ of such a well established race.  Although the SBPR came in to being in 2011 before this it was named the Half Tour Of Pendle and goes back over 40 years.  I tentatively put my hand up….

Eek! what have I done! How hard can it be?  Book the hall, a few entries, get a few marshals, bit of cash handling….  And to be fair that’s what it is.  Its quite busy for a really short space of time and then it goes silent for about 9 months of the year.  I am fortunate to be a part of a big running club. Clayton organise multiple local races and have a huge amount of resource and expertise an such matters and whatever questions I had – they were well answered.  My regular running group pals were all keen to help out and support me in 2016 – my first bout as RO as well as several of the ‘legacy’ marshals who like to help out at that race in a specific location – some of those I have yet to meet! (CP3)

A big part of Fell Runners Association (FRA) races is the Race HQ, frequently rural, a local school or marquee at a summer fete for example, the SBPR runs out of Barley Village Hall where the committee there put on soup and cakes and drinks for the runners post race – always a long queue for Audrey’s soup! A formal expectation is that RO’s liaise with local land owners to get permission for the race to be run.  This is where the fun started… Most of the land owners are very supportive and understand that 200 odd runners are not going to have a long term impact on some of the less well used tracks and trods on the hill and so are happy to give consent, this includes United Utilities – the local water company who have been nothing but supportive as I learn this trade. One individual farmer however has a tricky set up, his sheep lamb in early March and the home fields he uses to keep the ewe’s close are the same fields we want to finish our race in.  The big concern is rainfall – too much and the ground (boggy at the best of times) gets cut up making it difficult to get his quad bikes up the hill to collect any struggling ewe’s and bring them back to the yard.  Now I get that – this land is his income essentially, where as it is my recreation. Of course I will support him in that and do not want to make a tough job harder but I do believe the impact of the runners – on a public right of way anyway – is over stated.  Either way, I have been asked to re route the finish.  Not a major problem and actually the re route has been praised as a better finish by many.

After that first discussion – and refusal I decided in the medium term I wanted to change the route.  That said in 2017 – were were on the usual finish, 2018 changed again!  I am now determined to change the route to avoid his land full stop.   Best get the map out!

So what are the stresses and worries?

Well, entry forms in advance.  It should be an easy matter – I know, I fill them in to, but peoples hand writing is at least as bad as mine!  ( I type and print mine out). Also – email addresses, I ask for an email so I can acknowledge I have received the runners entry  – a simple courtesy to my mind but also to pass information regarding route changes, or even a possible cancellation, if runners don’t supply an email address – it is a pain – potentially for them! I must confess the idea of an online entry system is appealing….

Flagging the amended course in sub zero gale force winds the night before.

The weather.  We had snow in 2016 and 2018. Barley village is in a valley with several steep hill roads around that regularly get cut off in snow.  The weather is the main consideration really, although the concern is less for the runners well being – they will have decent kit (we check) and tend to like the adventure… it is the marshals, who are stood largely still for several hours and have to get in to position and off the hill again.  I marshal myself in both a paid professional basis and as a club volunteer – I know how baltic it can be stood still for a few hours – even on a summers evening! So the initial risk assessment I did, in line with the FRA’s RO guidelines gave consideration to weather impacting on the race.  In short, if we can get to the start line there will be a race – it just may be a shortened one, as this year 2018.

Marshals.  Getting the right people in the right place at the right time. It takes approximately 25 people to steward the race to the standard I want. This is in part due to various Checkpoints (CP’s) requiring a count of the runners – not just heads, but the actual number on their vest so we know not just how many but WHO is on the hill and ultimatley safe back again. Believe me the various sweepers who have supported the race all tell tales of runners “heading off in the wrong direction” or generally looking confused with a map in their hands.  The count is a vital mechanism.  Following a fatality during a race – that could have possibly been prevented -no one new the runner was missing, the start line count has become a part of the fell running tradition.  We know that as so few people grumble about it now! Especially on the longer races or when the weather is poor.

Three orange marshals

For accounts of the tragic side of fell running – it does have its very real risks – do read Steve Chilton’s “its a hill – get over it”  A great book on Fell running, which mentions several Clayton legends and races including the SBPR amongst its place in the wider athletic world.

Future Plans

As a club Clayton are keen to encourage more people in to the sport (fell running) as are the FRA, so with this in mind, as as a tool to help me keep abreast of the race course conditions as much as anything else, in 2017 I offered to host two reconnoiters of the course (recce’s) for people who perhaps had never done the race, but weren’t sure if that distance on the fell was for them. I offered it at a slow pace, (c2.5 hours) with time spent looking at the map to explore route options and also allow people the time to gain some familiarity with the course.  In 2017 over the two dates I had just under 30 people join me from the club and in 2018 over two dates we had 14.  Most of which came and did the actual race – so time well spent!  Next year I am going to run one for the club and one for the wider fell running community – I shall advertise it to local clubs I expect. I do intend to develop a new route also…. before the bracken gets too tall!

Here is a copy of the race report from the 2018 which should be in the Spring 2018 Fellrunner magazine.

 

The 2018 SBPR started as a pleasure to organise.  The land owner conversations were ‘positive’ despite not getting the usual route (please believe me there is a usual route!). Changed course it is then. I prefer that amended route anyway! I know many of you did to.With a changed course, marshals sorted and memories of last year’s balmy conditions… what could possibly go wrong?                                                                                            Enter “the beast from the east” some family commitments, and various other situations requiring attention in the South East in the preceding days and all of a sudden it got quite tense…. The plan was to leave the South 8.00am Friday morning to be in Barley for 17.00 to assess the route/flag the amendment and make any final decisions that evening to get the word out the night before what was happening – by 8.00pm at the latest.  “The best laid plans…” and all that. After an epic journey back north on Friday, caused not by weather, but by road works led to me being over two hours late (thanks Steve B and Mark N for being so flexible!). Several villagers kept me updated on road conditions, so knew as long as we could get to Barley there would be a race of some sort! (Three times round the car park anyone?)

I eventually got my boots on the hill around 19.30.  Goodness it was windy!  But actually aside from the odd drift, the ground conditions were pretty good. The wind was forecast to be dropping, so the “shortened race” option was the obvious one.  Thank you to my wife for getting a “he is on his way” message out on Facebook!  I eventually got to speak to the Marshal team and all of them were very prepared to don their big coats and make the race happen. Phew!

The race delivered some testing conditions which will live long in the memory of the 156 runners who set off.  A strong field with some great route choice saw a tight battle between some Pendle regulars and an Airedale Orienteer– Alasdair McLeod, eventually stealing a march on Holmesy and Clayton local Holdsworth to take top honours.  Thank you to everyone who thanked me on the day and in the days after, but as ever the biggest thanks go to the marshals who we hope to have thawed by March 2nd 2019. 

Colin.

The race nets about £500 for the club and Mountain Rescue.  I do enjoy the process and like very much seeing racing from a different perspective.

It enables me to “put something back in” to a sport I have come to love and feel passionately about.  I fully intend to continue organising the race for the foreseeable future.

For those wondering who Stan Bradshaw was, and why he has a race named after him, you will have to come to Barley Village Hall, on the first Saturday in March with your fell shoes on and read the history of the great man on a display I put up inside the hall to occupy the awaiting runners.

See you on the fell.

 

The ROC Mountain Marathon 23rd&24th September 2017

Confidence was high approaching this Mountain Marathon. Following the (still) amazing result at the OMM Lite a few weeks ago, described here, I was well up for the ROC, formerly the RAB. This event has changed quite a bit over recent years as the new owners (Ourea Events) seek to leave their mark.  What attracts me to this event is that you can compete as a solo. Most MM’s are aimed at teams of two, so this one is a real novelty.  This would be my 6th RAB/ROC.

Since the OMM Lite, I had kept  my running to a minimum, wanting to be rested for the ROC and had decided that my regular Tuesday CleM runs (about 10-13km per evening) and one other 10km run the weekend between would be enough to ‘turn my legs over’. the Tuesday before the weekend I went off for the usual session BUT with new Mudclaws on.  Fresh out of the box, I wanted to bring these in to circulation as the RAB previously has finished shoes off – and I mean absolutely trashed them, so I thought I would be ahead of the curve and get some km’s on some new shoes, leaving my regular pair ready for the weekend.  That was mistake number one!  I have worn classic Innov-8 Mudclaw 300’s for the past x many years, I have had well over ten pairs, same brand, model and for the last three pairs same colour and probably even the same batch, as I bought a job lot from Pete Bland Sports in a sale.  This was the last pair from that batch – why would they be any different?  Clearly they were and for whatever reason, this pair gave me a hot spot on my left heel two km’s in to the run and by km three I knew I had a blister…  I stopped, had a look and thought with a bit of re lacing I could get back to the van/pub at a slow trot.  Wrong. Within 500m I had bent the back of the heel down and was running gingerly as I was now wearing the equivalent of fell running Crocs…. (a gap in the market may be?)  I left the group and made my way back to the pub.

The blister,from the Tuesday evening run. Picture taken on the Thursday evening before the ROC weekend.

I am pretty good at managing and treating blisters, learnt over many years walking, running, first aiding on running events and reading many articles/books etc, particularly  “Fixing Your Feet” by Jon Vonhof (well worth purchasing – here) so I was confident I could get to a point where I could trot round the ROC, I may not get the result I was hoping for, but still, I would be there… with expectations suitably lowered.

The ROC arrived, or rather I arrived in South West Cumbria, in the shadow of Black Combe, near Millom and I was ready to start and collect my map and control sheet.  The premise behind a “score” event is you have a time (6 hours day one, 5 hours day two for the ROC) to find as many controls as you can over a given area. You get the details at the start line and it is part of the challenge to formulate a plan/route that allows you to collect as many controls on your electronic dibber as you can and get back to where you need to be  – in this event an overnight camp- before the time runs out and you start to lose points by way of penalties.  I have lost all my day one points before on these events… gutting to say the least!

Mistake number 2 then was a real school boy error. somehow in my haste I marked up the map incorrectly and gave a control a points value when it wasn’t in fact live that day – or indeed in use at any point over the weekend!  This tipped my route choice into a direction I otherwise wouldn’t have taken.  I realised my error as I was charging along to what I thought was the first control. I reached for the control description, expecting to see something like “stream source” or “spring” looking at how the map was marked but what I found was nothing. Control 210 wasn’t even on the live list, so why and how I had given it a value of 10 points was beyond me.  I quickly checked the others I had marked…. all fine. Phew!  Not for the mad house yet then… but that took up more precious time. Oh well, I will carry on, I will lose more time if I head back and take an alternative route from the start, the next control about a km away, was in my plan anyway, I’m just down a few points than I had expected.

It was at this point that the cloud came in.

The weather forecast for Saturday was clear, overcast, but not raining and clear visibility on the tops.  By 10.30 am the cloud base was down to about 400 m, it was very damp in the air and any chance at a view was lost.

Famous Lakeland scenic vista.

Now I am a good navigator and back myself in poor conditions like this, but with a scrambled brain from trying to understand why I had made a control up, sore heel and still cursing myself for starting so poorly my relocation took longer than it should have, with the added pressure being against the clock brings I was getting decidedly cranky! Several expletives may well have passed my lips, much to the amusement of the ever present Herdwick Sheep on Black Combe. Rumours I asked ‘lost’ fell runners still on the hill from the 2016 championships held here are unfounded.

I got there in the end- the next control a 20 point one loomed out of the mist.  The game was on!  I tore off north east following a trod heading gently down I was certain about my location and where to head next and the terrain was very runnable.  This would still rank as my worst start ever – 2 hours in and only 20 points!  I then came across three other competitors, a solo male and a male pair, all studying their maps and with compass in hand. They didn’t know where they were with any great conviction, so I advised them accordingly. “We’re here mate”, much gratitude was expressed and the pair carried on their way, the solo – a chap named Dan on his first MM asked to team up for a while.  Sure, with no view, conversation would be good for the next few km’s!

“OS Trig Pillar” control description

Dan was clearly a better runner than I and as we got lower down and the visibility improved he sped off to follow his own plan.

From here on in I was navigating to my usual standard and hitting controls exactly where I expected them to be.  I still get a massive buzz from that, but essentially the damage was done.  The poor tactics, dodgy heel and slower going in the clagg meant I was in damage limitation mode and the main objective was to get back to camp without incurring penalties, which I was able to do and got back in with a meagre 200 points and four minutes to spare.  My plan had seen me get somewhere between 270 and 300 which would have left me comfortably mid table at half way, instead I was languishing in the bottom 20 or so 90 something out of 113.

But tomorrow was another day!

Overnight camp. Mine is the green tent to the left
Overnight camp. Mine is the green tent on the left…

Day two and the weather was much improved.

Sunrise, early in the morning, making all the runners look around…

Feeling good and less achy than I usually feel on day two of these things and with a heel blister that hadn’t got any worse I was raring to go and at 8.13 am I dibbed out of camp to head back via as many controls as I could in a bid to make amends for the previous days woes.

And oh what a day.  Stunning conditions, runnable, although wet ground and with clear visibility.  It was like running a different event, my route choice saw me tackle some controls I had visited the previous day (all correctly marked up this time!) but the views were stunning, with Eskdale and the Scafell Massif to the north and the Irish Sea and coast to the south and west it was a view to inspire.

The going was good and I was pleased with my lines and nav to the controls.  We were all wearing GPS trackers supplied by Open Tracking (part of the Open Adventure team) and being able to review the routes you took is an excellent feature of the ROC -one I hope they continue to maintain.  You can see my day one and two routes with each click search for my name or “303”.

By two hours in from the five I had about 120 points… a much better haul!  My day two total was 300, which placed me 53rd on the day from the 113 that started – which is where I usually am, mid pack, but because of day one’s error and conditions I finished overall in a disappointing 75th.  The heel is now healing nicely and although somewhere between uncomfortable and painful did not get any worse which was pleasing.  Just as well as I am DofEing this weekend for Sam Sykes Ltd down south so will be on my feet all weekend.

I almost wish I was competing at this year’s OMM… I’m gonna have to wait till 2018 for my next Mountain Marathon fix… Still, the adventure racing season is almost upon us!

This short video captures the 2017 ROC nicely I think.

 

For those interested Kit wise I used:

OMM 3/4 length leggings, TNF boxers, Injinji socks ( a pair for each day), and a Berghaus LS tech tee. I wore a Haglofs windproof gillet also as main kit with an Innov 8 cap on top.

I had a Montane Minimus smock and over trousers, both worn at camp. Also a Montane fleece jacket thing – very light and a Rab micro down jacket and New Balance full length running tights and a Montane beanie hat all worn at the over night camp and meeting mandatory kit requirements. Gloves (Aldi Merino ones) and a buff (race swag) were carried but not worn.  I ran in Mudclaws – the classic 300s with the proper 10mm lugs – a well worn in pair!

I slept in a PHD bespoke down sleeping bag, with a silk liner on a 3/4 Thermarest Neo Air mattress which has a slow puncture despite multiple repairs, it takes all night to go down, so it kinda works. Tent wise it is a TerraNova Laser Photon 1, with a foil blanket as a foot print to protect the floor.  I use Alpkit titanium pegs rather than the tooth picks the tent comes with.  I cooked on an Optimus Crux Lite stove and used a 650ml Evernew pan and 300ml cup (titanium)- it all sits together with an aluminium wind shield (home made). I used a 3 litre Nalgene ‘canteen’ for water capture at the camp and on the hill i used a 750ml SIS bottle – filled as a I passed suitable water sources. Food wise I used two small zip lock bags of trail mix, one for each day (Peanut M&M’s jelly babies, cereal bars cut into thirds and malt loaf) plus a couple of gels (SIS) and a Peperami and a Babybel cheese or two. Over night I used a mug shot and some Extreme Adventure Food (dehydrated beef stogganof – disapointing it was..), with a few handfuls of salted peanuts to finish the job of refueling off. (oh and maybe a small whisky to go with them nuts…) two tea bags, two lemon and ginger tea bags and a small serving of coffee for the morning and a porridge pot for breakfast.

My first aid kit got boosted and I deliberately took a 50g tube of Sudacream and some dressings, relifix tape and moleskin to dress and protect the blister. This worked really well. The other stuff that’s in there didn’t get used.

All this was carried in 2 dry bags and an OMM Jirishanca rucsack (35l I think – but it never seems big enough for that number, this is an old one – 7-8 years maybe, not sure they make them anymore.). A few extra bits like contact lenses, specs, a small MUVI Camera (poor mans GoPro!), Smidge and a small ‘swiss army card’, lighter, gas cannister partially used one weighted in at 200g and titanium long handled spork thing (Alpkit again). Despite carrying a tent and sleeping bag you are supposed to carry an emergency bivi as well. I took a SOL Emergency Bivi cause its tiny and light. I took an Alpkit headtorch, whistle, red and black sharpies for map marking on each day, my phone (off) in a sealed bag as it is GPS enabled. I have a small PAYG hill phone, but discovered it wasn’t working to late to do anything about it which is a shame as its very light an weighs next to nothing where as my Phone is a Samsung Edge brick type thing….   All of this kit is well tried and tested – no issues with any of it! I think that’s all the stuff I hauled about, oh two Warburtons bread bags for my feet at camp.

It weighed about 9kg at the start before water and was 7.5kg on the Sunday before water but including all my rubbish, which we quite rightly have to carry out.

midway camp, waiting for the kettle to boil, detritus all around!

Heavy for this sort of event – the elites would be running with between 4 and 6 kg’s.  Personally I prefer a bit of comfort these days so as long as its around 9kg starting weight its good enough for me. I camped next to a competitor who finished in the top ten – she was a tougher nut than I! With a real lightweight purist approach to her kit… may be one day eh?

The OMM Lite, September 9-10 2017

The OMM (Original Mountain Marathon) is just that, a marathon in the mountains originally launched as test of team work, mountain skill and running ability. The OMM has long been the bench mark of multi day navigation based events in the fell running/orienteering community.  The OMM Lite is a more recent idea, developed as an entry point to multi day running events, or as a training vehicle, it is on trails and rights of way rather than open fell/mountain with the navigation being less daunting. The checkpoints are at path junctions or significant features rather than on some tiny contour feature in the middle of nowhere!

The Day One map – with weather enforced edits

The other key difference is that the the competitors in teams of two, don’t need to carry their overnight kit like on the full OMM, you return to a central point to refuel, recover and sleep.  The OMM also want to encourage families to attend so family tents, partners and children  are welcome to make use of the event cafe and bar!  This would be my second OMM Lite (and 10th Mountain Marathon) and the plan was that  last years team mate (and previous OMM partner and general running pal) – Graeme from Scotland would run with me whilst our wives and children would amuse themselves around the Yorkshire Dales for the 7 hours on the Saturday and the 5 hours on the Sunday of the “Long Score” format.  We would be charging around the Hawes area finding red and white flags with Sport Ident dibbers and collecting points.

What we were seeking

Well, that was the plan….
On Wednesday before the Friday night drive to Hawes, Graeme rang to say his wife had been quite poorly and that the weekend was in doubt… They would know more after a Thursday morning doctors visit.  By 10.00 am Thursday morning, the weekend was off!
With Jenny ordered to bed rest, Graeme clearly wasn’t going to abandon her with their 6 year old to come and charge around boggy bits of Yorkshire with me.  Gutted!  A quick scan of the website and OMM rules and a brief exchange of emails and text messages with the organisers and it became clear I could turn up and run solo, but be ‘non competitive’ for the weekend having been judged to have had enough experience to do so -or find a partner and transfer the entry, which we could do right up till the start on Saturday morning.
I was working for Outdoor Elements that day on a ‘big group’ day, so it was much later that afternoon before I could start reaching out to people I thought might be up for it.  But… No joy with the ‘usual suspects’ from the BG Whats App group so I thought it was time for drastic measures and potentially to find someone I perhaps didnt know. After all, worse case scenario I would treat it as work!  A quick post on the Team Clayton Facebook page, after all its a big enough club- someone must be up for it and available!  But no… desperation kicked in… the idea of being non competitive just did not appeal – those that know me, know I am never going to win these things – but I am damn well going to put a shift in and the idea of getting a “good score” but it meaning nothing was too frustrating to consider.  Time for a post on the Fell Runners Association Facebook page.  BINGO!  Within thirty minutes I had some potential partners, with one looking promising, he (Paul) had done the OMM before, completed the Spine Challenger race (110 miles up the Pennine Way) and could get a pass for the weekend which by 9 pm on a Thursday evening was no mean feat!
We arranged to speak Friday lunch time and by then,  the show was back on the road. so Paul, and I met at registration on Saturday morning in Hawes at 8.30 am and by 9.45 were running the OMM Long Score together.

a muddy field with some stuff in it

And what a weekend it was! The weather was wet to say the least, torrential rain had caused many of the rivers to be in spate so several fords were now marked as out of bounds and a few checkpoints were dropped for competitor safety, but the two of us seemed to find an even stride. When you have 7 hours to fill on the hill with a complete stranger, you talk about a lot of stuff! With weirdly loads of that stuff in common, we discussed the possibility that either of us could be some kind of axe murderer, but ultimately agreed the fact we were there meant we were the right kind of crazy!

Day one team selfie

It turned out we were both generally “mid table” in our results. I’ve always said top 50% is a good result for me, top 75% is more common!  SO what happened that Saturday was just bizarre…and amazing.  We came in after 6 hours 45 minutes, 41 km and a score of 500 points to find ourselves in 9th!!!  9th!!! I’ve never been that high up a leader board in my life!  A celebratory beer was in order!

Athlete! We are actually sat with the team in 12th place overnight swapping stories from the days doings.

We were both gob smacked, but very thankful that we clicked the way we did.  Our strategy and tactics seemed in tune.  We were keen to put in a good performance to see what we could achieve on the Sunday…could we improve our lot? Would we slip down the field? Was this as good as it was going to get? We had met the teams in 7th and 12th and seen several of the other teams around us earlier on the hill – competition was going to be strong.  For me, sleep that night was good and deep, tired and satisfied at a good days trot.
A little too good in fact – My alarm went off at 6.55… I shut it off and promptly went back to sleep!  Waking again at 7.25, I was decidedly on the back foot – we had arranged to meet at 8.30 am to set off soon after!
The forecast was shocking – heavy rain due in from mid morning and a stronger wind for the rest of the day. We were going to have to dig deep to battle the elements and see if we would hold on. Neither Paul or I had ever finished in the top ten before… but we were kinda liking the view!
We eventually set off at 8.40.  At a gentle pace initially to allow ourselves a gradual warm up and legs creaking back to life. It was a tough day over much more traditional OMM terrain, with greater distance between the check points to boot.  The high ground was particularly tough in the wind, but we both felt we had enough in the tank to push for the higher value checkpoints – the risk with these events is always that you can push too far and end up burnt out and miles away from the finish line which leads to penalty deductions if you are late back. I have on several occasions early on in my mountain marathon/adventure racing career made this mistake and lost most of my points by being 30 minutes and later back to base! We were both keen to avoid such a mistake today.

Day two. Tired, wet – but determined.

We nailed it. 4 hours 56 minutes and 30km on our feet we came back knowing we couldn’t have done any better or given anymore.  Cold, wet and keen to get the results we sat down to eat the finishers meal and waited for the course to close and results to come in….7th!!!  7th!!!  We’d made up places!  My highest finish ever in a race, never mind a mountain marathon – with a complete stranger by my side!  Astonished didn’t begin to describe the expression on our faces. We knew we had run well, but 7th!
Paul was every bit as amazed as I was, 7th was his best ever result also. To top it all we were 3rd in age category.  3rd!!!

BOOM!

All in all we had plucked triumph from the jaws of my despair – on Thursday evening I wasn’t sure if I was even going to be there at all. To then place in the top ten is still, a few days later, quite astonishing.  I am sure there is a message in there somewhere…..  I am still to chuffed to work out what it is though.
Roll on the ROC Mountain Marathon in two weeks time!
For those interested, I ran in Injinji toe socks, Innov-8 Roclite 280’s (old model) New Balance shorts, and Berghaus zip l/s tech tee with a Haglofs wind proof gillet on top. An 18 litre Mountain Hardwear bag with bladder carried the kit, Montane Minimus waterproofs, first aid kit, survival bag, snacks, SIS gels and electrolyte tabs, 2x buffs (not used), gloves (not used), cap and whistle. My extra ‘warm’ layer (not used) was a Marmot Dri-clime gillet.  Food wise I was a bag a day trail mix man – jelly babies, wine gums, cereal bars cut in to chunks and malt loaf in chunks with peanut M&M’s. Saturday I ate two sausage rolls as snacks, Sunday a small pork pie.

The Tour of Pendle 2016

The 33rd running of the Tour of Pendle.

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Pendle Hill on the drive over, about 8.30 am race day

It’s a classic fell running race up my local hill – Pendle Hill (557m).  I say ‘up’ it.  Its basically up and down it five times from various sides.  Its held in mid November and is the last AL race of the FRA (Fell Runners Association) calendar for the year.  ‘AL’ is the grading of race – ‘A’ being steepest, ‘L’ being longest.  It works out at 27km (16.8miles) and getting on for 1400m of climb.  Part of its attraction is the fact that its a long race at a time of year where the weather can play a big part on the outcome.  None more than in 2015, where the course was shortened (to a BL) due to the threat of a horrendous storm, low temps, driving torrential rain and strong winds.  So with bated breath the 447 entrants on the start list I suspect were watching the forecast with a great deal of anticipation… I know I was!

The forecast was for intermediate snow/sleet/rain lower down throughout the day, and although with windchill the temperature was going to be well below zero, the winds were not strong and from the one direction, meaning part of the course would be ‘chill free’.  Part of me expected a shortened course… but YAY not this time!  I have been ready for this race and looking forward to running it for a while now, several recent long training runs, the BG recce, three mountain marathons this year – I felt the best prepared for this race since about 2012.  Bring.It.On.

I had set myself the goal of sub 4 hours in the previous weeks,  (my PB being 3.45), conscious the snow would have an impact, I still felt that was attainable, even if a PB was not.

With multiple club mates and clubs from all over the country in attendance, the Tour is something of a marquee race in fell terms – everyone wants a good run.  Most first timers just want to “finish it” (there is a cut off two hours in at Checkpoint 4). Fell runners can be judged on their “Tour time” in the same way their  performance is gauged in the ‘Lakes Classics’.  The route is enshrined in Pendle Fell running lore; club runs on the hill are described by Tour route ‘reference’ points. That route being: “From the Village (Barley) Hall, up the reservoir road to Buttock, then to the Trig (top), but don’t stop, across to the gate/ladder stile, then to the gap in the wall – Checkpoint 1, before cutting across the moor (boggy!) to pick up the Ogden/main track heading for Apronfull Hill and the Quarry – CP2, before an about turn down to Churn Clough Res(ervoir) and CP3, then climb up on to Spence Moor before charging down ‘Geronimo’ and on to CP4, also known as “Bill’s Stone” after the memorial there to Bill Smith. (I recommend you Google “Bill Smith Fell Runner“).

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Geronimo – a notoriously fast descent to a valley floor

This is about half way in distance terms… however the Tour’s sting is all the big climbs are on the back half of the race!  From CP4, its along Ogden Valley, climb out of this and up to the main track, down Ashendean Clough to CP5, before heading up again to the Memorial Cairn (two CleM runners, who sadly died in the nineties in separate incidents, but both pursuing what they loved to do).  CP6 is beyond here, cross the wall and aim for the ‘Big Dipper’ (Mearley Clough), an insanely steep descent to CP7 at a stream/wall crossing, before crossing the stream then immediately climbing straight back out an equally steep hill to ‘Scout Cairn’-CP8, (Pile of stones on the OS map). Connoisseurs of contours will enjoy looking at Mearley Clough!  From  CP8 its along the top ridge line, past shelter cairn, over the ladder stile and then DOWN to CP9.  This is the killer blow. Its a long way down on ‘Downham side’ (a small village to the north west of Pendle HIll) and an even longer way back up  – ‘the Big End’ again, to the trig, and CP10. Then its time to summon whatever you have left and charge down a long gentle hill from CP10, across Barley Moor to CP11 (same as CP4) to then join the main reservoir track back to the Village Hall.  Sounds simple right?

To be fair it is – even in poor visibility, there is no real navigation required, a well worn trod has been created and even in the snow – well, it was a foot deep rut in places more or less all the way round. So provided you are not in the top ten or so and leading, you just need follow that.  The snow negated any local knowledge I could bring (frustrating – I have plenty) as the moment you were out of the trod, you were in enough snow to impede progress, (unless descending, in which case snow is the best thing ever!) so all the little runners trods and snickets on to runnable/less technical terrain were all the same – snowbound and therefore out of bounds.

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the ‘Trod’

As the pictures and video clip suggest, the snow was on the ground and falling intermittently, making a really challenging race.  Runners wiser and more experienced than I, all remarked “that was the toughest Tour” they could remember – after 18,20,25 odd goes at it, they should know.  It was the combination of fallen snow, but unfrozen and therefore muddy tracks, with the wind, precipitation and poor visibility in places that seemed to add 20-30 minutes on to peoples expected times, the record for the Tour is 2 hours, 11 minutes.  The winning time today was two hours and nearly forty minutes, so there is something in that ‘plus 20 minutes’ for the conditions.

From my perspective this was my best Tour, and up there with some of my best races/runs.  I felt strong, was pleased with my performance and even though the Garmin says 4.09 (results not up as write this – so no official time yet) if you take 20 minutes off, that puts me where I wanted to be before I set off.  I felt as though I was passing more people than were passing me from CP1 onward and I got my food and drink right today, no flagging or bonking on the route at all.  A couple of negative things stood out, concerning other competitors poor decision making, mostly kit related but here and now is not the place for that.  I’ll save that rant for another day!  All in all an amazing days running and one for the memory bank.

I raced in 3/4 length leggings (OMM brand), Injini socks with Seal Skinz over the top, Innov-8 Mudclaw 300’s (classics – green and black), top half I started in a skinny fit long sleeve Helly Hansen base layer with CleM vest on top, but on the first climb from Buttock to the Trig when the frozen rain and wind blew in I put on my Montane Minimus smock and it stayed there for the duration. I also wore an Innov-8 peaked cap – great for protecting eyes in inclement weather. I also wore gloves -ODLO ones with a great pull over mitten feature – used plenty on this run, great for warming fingers/protecting from the wind.  In my OMM bum bag was the usual FRA kit – Waterproof pants (Montane Minimus again), a compass (-Silva type 3), route map, a trail mix bag of malt loaf, jelly babies and jelly beans, two SIS Gels and about 800mls of water with ~High5 electrolyte tabs in.  I can say that all the kit is well tested and trusted, but in particular today, the nutrition bit was spot on.

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first climb, up to Buttock

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tough conditions near the summit Trig

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looking back down the final climb from CP9

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reward. (log fire just out of shot)

Bob Graham Recce

A good running mate has decided that he is to take on the challenge of the Bob Graham Round in summer 2017.  For those that do not know, this is a historic fell running challenge, first completed by hotelier – Bob Graham in 1932, where by he set out to travel 66 miles including 42 peaks (Wainwrights) within 24 hours.  The challenge now has summer and winter completions, clockwise and anti-clockwise route choice and a whole lot of folklore surrounding it.

My mate, just fancies “having a go”.  And why not!  My running club, Clayton -le-Moors Harriers has a long record in fell running and ‘BG’ attempts. With several members having completed BG’s or supported BG’s there is no shortage of expertise in the route.  With a small hardy group of 7 (and Rosie) we arranged to meet in Threlkeld at the “leg change over” point so we could pile in to one vehicle to drive down to Dunmail Raise to then run back to the other car.  CleM run the BG anticlockwise.  I don’t know why… why not?

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Threlkeld in the rain. Before we set off

The forecast was mixed, but with all saying sub zero in the wind, wet and fog/mist for much of the day we all took the decision to set off in full waterproofs.  For a fell runner – that never happens!  By the top of Seat Sandal, the first of our 11 “peaks” on this leg the decision was justified, with snow on the ground still and moisture pretty much everywhere, progress was steady, with time taken to view alternative lines of ascent and descent between the peaks on route.

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top of Fairfield

All of us are experienced runners and mountain walkers so staying fueled, hydrated and warm was easy as all of us kept tabs on each other.  The youngest member of the group (aged 8 – Rosie) got extra attention, especially when the snacks were broken out!

 

Our day – approximately 23km, with 1600m of ascent took us over Helvellyn and the Dodds, some of the Lake’s biggest mountains and a cracking days walk for anyone.  We were rewarded by the fog and mist lifting briefly as we came off Fairfield toward Grisedale Tarn, before Dollywagon Pike.  What a view!

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looking across Grisedale Tarn to Seat Sandal and Fairfield, from the slopes of Dollywaggon Pike

We made good progress and got back to the car (and near by pub) in five hours, with the weather improving all the time as soon as we got off Clough Head.  My lessons learned were very much personal -I can’t imagine the time when I will be fit enough to even dream about doing my own BG!  Other then that all my gear worked and I was comfortable all the way round, we didn’t need the group shelter as we didn’t stop long enough to need it.  It made a pleasant change to not be focussed on the nav for this one as three of the party have done and supported multiple BG’s – their ‘local knowledge’ was astounding.  Given how poor visibility was for much of the route I think I saw two bearings being taken all day!

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Rosie on Dollywaggon Pike