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!)

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.

 

Open 5 Series – Lake District – Coniston

Another winter, another Open 5 series… Yay! I look forward to these in a big way, once Barley Badgers start night running on Pendle again I know its not long to wait before the Open 5’s kick off.  Previous Open 5 posts and an explanation of the format are here.  This season there are only three events, every other month which I am disappointed about, but with Dark Mountains coming up in January, perhaps that’s no bad thing!

Coniston.  An area I know well having biked, walked, run, camped, climbed and raced around before, bring it on.  Feeling quite fit, with a sound bike under me I was fired up… the only curve ball might be the weather. the forecast for the preceding few days was for heavy snow, with yellow and amber warnings from the midlands up I loaded a van on Friday ready for an epic journey and was prepared to battle up the night before to ensure I could reach the start line….but on the Saturday (day before) the forecast changed and it looked like benign conditions, for the journey and settled snow and ice around Coniston with sunny skies promised too. Perfect conditions for an entertaining race.

With low level patches of snow and ice and definitely snow on the ground the scene was a pretty one.

Start/Transition/Finish area at John Ruskin School, Coniston

Last season I had biked first, then run.  Time to go back to run first then bike.  The theory being no matter how tired I am I can bike faster than I can run and if all else fails I would be able to walk and push the bike. Last seasons experiment hadn’t done anything to convince me biking first was a better bet.

The first job on collecting the map for me is to try and come up with a possible run and bike strategy, its a rough sketch of a plan as the control points values are not given to you until you cross the start line and the clock is ticking. This map revealed a few controls along the lake shore, meaning a good flat run, that appeals to me as it gets me warmed up and the blood pumping rather than straight over the line and uphill – which any where north of the Start line would be, so subject to points values, I would be heading south first.  The bike was more complex with some fast roads in and out of Coniston and a big hill or two in either direction I decided it was an anti or clockwise choice, involving the quarries or not subject to how many points were available.

Ready to go.

I started at 9.21 by my watch, meaning I had to be back for 14.21, I knelt down on some dryish looking tarmac to mark up the map…clock ticking.  My plan was sound for the run, the bike bit was looking like skipping the quarries and heading east first. I would reflect more on that later.  So I tore off at a good pace heading toward Coniston Hall and the water. With three controls bagged in the first 25 minutes I was feeling good and the conditions although intermittently slippy (wearing my usual roclite 280’s) it was definitely runnable.  Sub zero and crisp – a beautiful morning!  I try to bag points against time and scoring something every fifteen minutes is my usual aim, I was well on plan… but maybe I paused and took one too many pictures..?  Still part of doing this is all about appreciating where I am. Well it is for me anyway!

Torver Common Woods

The real uphill began at Little Arrow, a path I know well and my aim was Walna Scar Road to pick up the furthest westerly controls before heading back to Transition, bagging a few more on the way. Its been a while since I last ran in snow and it definitely hit my pace, but by now I was just beaming, I love running being out in conditions like this.

Looking north to the Old Man of Coniston

The Walna Scar Road was a mix of runnable compact snow and icy patches easily avoided. I knew it was time to start heading in once I had bagged 34 on Torver Bridge, but a part of me was thinking its cracking out here, should I just complete the run course and get all the points (250) and give myself only a short bike?  But no, I bailed out of that thought process as there are 350 points available on the bike so I picked up the controls close to the main track on my way back in (32&30). I did take a tumble on the hill into town, some black ice caught me out, but in true fell running style I bounced back up, although as I type this my elbow is still bloody sore!

The furthest west control worth a meagre 10 points…looks pretty though.

At transition I prepared to bike and whilst slurping on some soup and scoffing a scotch egg (the food of champions) I nailed my bike plan down to east first toward Hawkshead and then north toward Skelwith. I knew most of these tracks and roads so figured with an unknown quantity of ice on the roads I would manage that better on familiar territory.  The plan started with control 16, worth a bold 30 points…… which wasn’t where it was marked on the map. I expected the way mark with control on it no more than a couple of hundred metres from the buildings, yet I reached my catching feature (a sharp bend in the track with no control.  I stopped and checked the map again, measuring for accuracy… I knew where I was for sure, but no control.  I noticed a marshal on the course – very rare to see one of those on these events…”so where is it then?” I asked, “a bit further up” was the reply, so I carried on and sure enough another few hundred metres up the track there was a marshal holding control 16 in his hand, “its in the wrong place then eh?” I offered, “yes, we are thinking of moving it” came the reply.  “I would” -beep-“cheers!”. In the seven years I have been doing these events I think is the first time a control has been marked on the map wrong/placed wrong (depending upon how you look at it).  No big issue, It cost me maybe three or four minutes or so maximum.  Onward!

The next few controls were where I expected them to be, so things were going well. Really well to be honest and I started thinking this could be a really good day following on from a great run, a fun bike trip and then a possible good score (350+ ish I reckoned) to boot!  I got to control 11 with my plan being to head up and over to 10 before hitting Hodge Close and then the fast track back to town. I had an hour to play with and felt confident of squeezing it all in time. I then looked at the on the ground conditions – boggy icy hell it looked like, up a steepening hill, a theory supported by the chap coming down, who suggested it was like that all the way up, I would be managing a slow trudge at best, so I decided to drop control 10 (worth 20pts) and pile down to Yewfield and go over Tarn Hows to pick up the main road, control 14&15 and then in to the finish, if I got there sharp I could possibly get the 20 pointer at Hodge Close there and back. Head down and peddle!

Tarn Hows looking lovely. Picture by James Kirby.

It was looking like a good plan right up to to the point I got to the parking place at Tarn Hows.  The road down the hill on the other side was sheet ice and looked and felt treacherous. I stayed on my bike, but images of a fast descent froze in the winter sun and I trickled down the tarmac hill painfully slowly. I got to 14 knowing I was going to have to drop the 20 pointer at Hodge Close, but I had time (about 15 minutes) to get back in the five hours,so I set off at a pace to be proud of 4 hours 45 minutes into the event and was buzzing right up to the puncture!  My first ever competitive puncture!  ARRGGGHH! I reckoned I had just under 2km to go and a control to find. I think I got the hole dodging some kids on the track out for a walk, I am sure I went over a bramble branch and that’s what got me (as I write this I have yet to repair it…). My thought process was this, put a new inner tube in and peddle back, having got really cold (hands especially) and be late in or just run the bike back in, be late – but stay warm.  Well, warm won out so I started trotting… Thank you to all those who inquired if I was okay..”yep, just a puncture” was the often repeated reply, I got 15 (worth 30 points) with three minutes to spare and I eventually crossed the finish line seven minutes over time. Bugger!  The points loss, coupled with the forty points I  Left on the course left me with a disappointing 314 after penalties, well down the field.

Whilst chatting to other competitors (Steve and Andy) it turned out I wasn’t the only one who  had considered having a long run and shorter bike – they had executed that plan and done really well on it scoring 370 each!  Next time I might give that plan some more serious thought, I would say I am a better runner than MTB’er. Having scanned the results there were some big scores which seemed run heavy/bike light. Perhaps I missed a trick there.

Irrespective of a disappointing result  I had a fantastic day, the course planners did a great job offering some testing route choices and well positioned controls.  Roll on Edale in February!

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.

Open 5 Series – North Lakes

The Open 5 Series is a series of Adventure Races held over the winter each year.  The objective is to visit (navigate/find) as many checkpoints as you can in five hours.  Some checkpoints can only be visited on foot (using a 1:25000 map), some on mountain bike (using a 1:50000).  I have been doing these events since 2011 and absolutely love them.  These take top priority race wise in my diary each winter and I have traveled the length and breadth of the country to take part (Somerset to Scotland anyway).  One thing these events do well is take you ‘just’ off the beaten track: places you wouldn’t necessarily visit and after a five hour foray you  get a good sense of the place you are racing in.  I enjoy the personal challenge of keeping moving at pace for 5 hours (if you are late back, you incur penalty point deductions) and the fun in navigating over two different map scales.

This event, the first of the 2016/2017 season containing 4 events was bound for a place I know well.  The North Lakes area around Threlkeld promised great mountain biking and some challenging navigation depending on which side of the road (A66) the organisers took us.  In the end it was north – around the foot of Skiddaw and the Skiddaw Forest for the biking and south, essentially an exploration of St. John’s in the Vale, for the run stage.

I headed up the night before, to sleep in the van as I anticipated parking in Threlkeld to be a challenge for a hundred or so teams!  Now at this point its worth noting that  all the gear I use is well tested and trusted, including the bike, having been out on it locally the week before, I knew all I needed to do was lube the chain from when I cleaned it after that trip out.  The morning of the race arrived and I got registered and organised and ready for the ride to the Start/Transition/Finish line, which on this occasion was a 20 minute/4km ride away (by Keswick climbing Wall).

DCIM100MEDIA
Ready to go, 9.05 am

I set off and as usual I began to shift up and down the gears on my bike to get it all sorted and make any last minute adjustments to…. hmmm, no gears.  I shifted the lever a few more times (on the rear mech)- nothing, then a sudden jump to the next cog.  I tried the front derailleur – yes!  All three.  So that gives me 6 gears… ish.  I kept shifting… nothing.  This could be a long day!  Feeling utterly deflated, I tried to tighten the cable using the adjustment wheel by the gear trigger lever, this seemed to make no difference.  Now, up till this point I had never had a mechanical issue on these events, not even a puncture, so I began to hatch a b-plan of a shortened bike section and longer time on the run.  I usually split the five hours as two hours run followed by three on the bike (there are more points available on the bike). This time I had already planned to try biking first, and I decided I would stick with that and see how I got on.  I set off at 9.30 and as luck would have it bumped in to a fellow competitor I knew at the first CP on what I planned to be a clockwise tackling of the course, he – Steve and other competitor Andy, having asked if they had any suggestions relating to knackered gearing helped me do as much adjusting as possible whilst I was the bike rack.  Having tightened up everything we could, with still no joy, Steve suggested I head in to Keswick and see if there was a bike shop open (9.50 on a Sunday morning!) that could help.  They wished me luck and I thanked them for stopping to help and I set off into Keswick to start finding a mechanic!  This was going to be a frustrating race!  Steve had suggested Whinlatter bikes, I was thinking Keswick Mountain Bikes, both are a minute apart so off I sped as best I could.  KMB had signs of life (Whinlatter was all dark) and as I peered through the door a chap appeared to sweep the entrance area, I put on my best Bambi eyes and asked “could you help me, I am supposed to be racing now, but my bike has failed”  and the chap – Adam – very kindly said yes, bring it round the side.  So having started racing at 9.30, by 9.58 I was in KMB, with my bike in a stand and receiving some attention from the very helpful staff of KMB.  The verdict was the cable was past its best and needed replacing, that not being an option now (time and money both short!) Adam offered to pull the cable as taut as he could to give me a limited range for the day.

It worked!  I set off throwing thank you’s behind me (card and tenner in the post) and started clicking to see what I had… about 10-12 gears (from 30!)  All in the mid range, so “I can’t go super fast and I’m going to struggle up hills, but I think I can make this work” was the mantra.  Right on with the plan and off to the next CP!

what we were looking for
what we were looking for

It was hard work with the limited gearing and I did cut my plan short – essentially no outlying CPs from the main track and I made it round the course in a full three hours – I definitely could have got more CP’s in less time, but I wanted to have a good run and needed as close to two hours as I could get.  Its about here that I should tell the group about my cold. I have a cold.  Its on the slide, but its still there.  It made it presence felt on the bike, with a seemingly non stop flow of snot which I attributed to the cold air (the whole day was sub zero conditions, largely frozen ground with ice patches), but the minute I set off on the run, I coughed… and coughed and my nose was streaming.

I started walking after the Castlerigg Circle, CP 21… and thought this event keeps getting worse!  My head cold which I thought was on the wane, clearly was not waning enough, as I walked I studied the map and reigned my plan in, this was going to be a conservative day and despite almost perfect conditions (it was a bit slippy in places) I was going to have to be cautious not to push to hard and over extend myself, to then be late back and lose points from the meager total I had.

stunning conditions
stunning conditions

I got back in the end utterly deflated despite the glorious day, I knew I had not done as well as I might.  With 20 minutes left on my clock, I sat and considered what I may have done differently… On the positive side – at least I discovered the mechanical issue at the start and not half way through – when I was in the middle of nowhere and not near a shop!  Also, although a head cold I have, as I write this it certainly seems to be better, barely 24 hours later.  I think I dropped about 50-70 points with changed plans etc and definitely rode less – only 35km’s its usually over 50km for me and I ran only 8 km, I typically run 12-16km’s on these events. I scored 380 points, disappointing, but better than it could have been!  Bring on the next one  in February in the Yorkshire Dales!  (Gutted there isn’t one in January this year).

I was awarded my 10,000 points picture here.  Open Adventure keep a tally of your Open 5 career points and commemorate them at 5,000 with a named number card and wee bottle of bubbly and at 10,000 points a framed picture of you on an event taken by James Kirby, (these are made available to all through Facebook after the race).

10000-pts-open-5-december-4th-2016
Photo by James Kirby