For a Fell race, it's big!
There were around 500 runners..... all milling about at the start. And that was intimidating enough as it was. Because there were some hardy looking wiry, strip o' wind, proper fell running types who I doubted I'd see again once we were off!
On Thursday and Friday there had been "End-Of-The-World" weather according to my very good friend and 'confidence' booster, Stu!!!!! And the evidence was there to be seen with the amount of wet stuff coming off the hill!
"Martcrag Moor is going to EAT people," I wryly observed to Lorna on the way up!!!
Having no idea how I was going to do, and no idea who the characters around me were and what THEY might do, I stuck myself right in the middle of the crowd for the start. I didn't fancy being too far in front - being knocked down by a tidal wave of rampaging Fast Folk Fell Runners, and then being ceremoniously trampled into the path by 500 pairs of be-studded feet.....
and yet I knew that from previous years' results, that it was unlikely that I'd be last.It worked out OK!
The first section from Old Dungeon Ghyll is along a footpath - quite narrow, but with a few places for passing people with "Stomp Me Into The Mud" 'written' on their backs
(That SO could've been me!)
It wasn't a path though - it was a river! It made for interesting foot-fall experiences as there was no way of telling what was under the water - Flat stony path, ankle-turning rocks, Sucking Mud, novice who'd started too near the front, perhaps ........
By looking for the often easier alternatives to the main path, I made up quite a few places in that first section.
Then the first climb started. Already there were loads of folk breathing much harder than me I noted.
That's got to be good, I thought!
The first mile 'beeped' just under Pike Howe on a very narrow little bit of traversing path.
From here up to Stickle Tarn I kept thinking "I can run this" but there was no way that I could with the volume of people around me... so I accepted that for the most part this was a fact-finding mission.
Yes - I can Run up hills
Yes - I can run down hills (though not as well as I go UP them!)
Yes - I can do THIS route
Yes - I COULD be going faster
But......
I'd never put all the bits together at the same time before!
There are types of ground that I'm confident on - big rocks is one of them, so while loads of people were tentatively crossing Stickle Ghyll, I saw the big stepping stones that I knew were there from a previous visit - and hammered across them - and in so doing passed about 20 people!
Excellent!!
Lorna, and our friends Jim and Agi had set off earlier to be up at the Tarn before the runners arrived - I looked for them as I ran around it, but didn't see them. I wondered if they might have gone up higher as I knew the route they were planning to take, so I hoped that I hadn't just missed them, and I'd see them later.
I was quickly learning that making up time on other people was more about making really good route decisions than simply being 'quick'!
And making decisions that play to your strengths too!!
I was really surprised, even at this early stage how quickly I had to think... and adjust... and re-plan
No chance to get bored!!!
Checkpoint 1 came up at 1.8 miles - a couple of folk with clipboards noting down the numbers as people went past.
Mile 2 'pinged' half way up the climb towards Thunacar Knott. Lorna and I have been up this route a couple of times before, and it seemed to go by pretty quickly this time. Thunacar Knott and Checkpoint 2 hovered into view. Which meant the really nice descent on soft ground to Martcrag Moor was to follow!!
Lorna, Jim and Agi saw me go past - the JW Ultra Buff was 'distinctive', apparently!
Runners heading to their doom on Martcarg Moor
Centrally in the cloud is Crinkle Crags,
the col to the right is Three Tarns
The visibility was perfect and route-finding was simple. As I came to the flatter wetter part of the Moor, I saw the bit of bog that had swallowed me the last time I was here, and went to the side that HAD been more solid last time. Didn't slow down at all....Centrally in the cloud is Crinkle Crags,
the col to the right is Three Tarns
HA HA Mr Bog - I WIN!!!
And just as that thought went through my head......
....I plunged to belly button depth into the Quick-Mud. I was carrying quite a bit of forward momentum, so as my legs stopped, my body carried on moving forwards - and in went the chest, arms and head!
For a brief moment I must have looked like a turtle!
But I was enjoying myself so much that I just chuckled quietly to myself - and extricated myself as quickly as I could. I wasn't the only person eaten by the Moor that day..!!
Down into Langdale Combe, and I was overtaken by two runners - I definitely need to work on my descending!
I could see the line of runners on the ascending traverse up through Black Crags, but looking at it, they were intially losing height to gain it again, so I decided to head to the first grassy ledge above the trod, and hammer along that. Good decision! I climbed quickly and was running again at pace, rejoining the trod about halfway up. And I'd passed 15-20 people!!! Nice!!
Over the col and onto the boggy section towards Angle Tarn. Another micro-bog-swallowing moment along here but otherwise relatively easy running and was able to pick off another few runners!
Angle Tarn was at 4.8 miles and 1:08 from the start. I enjoyed this bit - running up the main path (well, mostly on the grass at the side) picking off a few more people and not getting passed until I got to the third checkpoint at Esk Hause shelter.
5.5 miles in and 1:20
970m of ascent to this point!!
I was hoping to get here in 1:30 - so I was quite chuffed at being there a little earlier than that.
Decision time - Over Esk Pike - or follow the race line on the traverse
There was a gap ahead of me - so Traverse it was.
This section is quite difficult, the ground is really rough and steep - there are soapy rocks everywhere - and BIG holes of thigh-deep Sucking Mud, and the 'path' is small, clinging as it does to the North-East slopes of Esk Pike
I LOVED it
About half way along the traverse I caught the 3 blokes ahead of me which slowed me up a little - but that was fine, I kept reminding myself - you've still got 3 climbs and 2 long descents to come!!!!!
As the traverse ended and widened at the Ore Gap -
(1:33, 6.3 miles) - I went past 2 of the 3 chaps. And on to the grassy trod which I KNEW I could find on my way up to Bowfell.
Couldn't have done that better! I saw lots of people who'd gone the longer way, over to my left, and I got to Bowfell summit and Checkpoint 4
1:42 (6.9 miles).
Into unknown territory for me now.
There was no-one ahead of me that I could see when I reached 3 tarns having come off Bowfell - and I knew the race line traversed around the right side of the crags at the 730m contour. I needn't have worried, it was REALLY obvious where I needed to go - and the 'path' was really nice to run on too.
I rounded a corner and there were 3 other runners going the same way as me. It was nice to have confirmation that I was in the right place - but I was relying on my own hill-craft to get me where I wanted to go. I really enjoyed this section. SO much nicer than following the 'safe' cairned route some 60 metres above!
The ground steepened a little but as still runnable until the last little scramble onto Crinkle Crags and Checkpoint 5
2:03 (8.2 miles)
Again I was at the front of the group heading to the Bad Step - No queue - Excellent. No question as to which route to take then!!!!
As I started on the descent to the Step, I did my ankle-turning thing. The ligaments on my left ankle are very 'loose' and occasionally I'll turn my ankle - It always looks worse than it is, as my foot turns through a whole 90 degrees so that the sole faces where my right foot would be if I were standing still - but there was a collective [GASP] from a group of lads sat eating their Butties.
I just carried on running
When I got there there was a walker struggling their way up the Step..
"OK if I come down, mate?"
"Not while I'm on it"
So I gave him enough space to continue and lowered myself down, pushed off, turned and started running again.
Here I made a tiny error
I was looking for the path that skirted the right hand side of the ridge path - though I saw it at the col, and dropped 10 metres in height - only to realise that I had to then traverse back up to it on an easy grassy path. I was a bit annoyed with myself about that, but I didn't really lose much because of it.
Then came a reasonably grassy (if you chose your route carefully) descent towards Red Tarn and the final little climb to Pike of Blisco. When I started to ascend, I realised that I was getting a little tired, and the middle of my right quad started to suggest that it might like to cramp.
I dropped to a fast walk (still ascending at 20m/minute though) and part way up it started to ease.
It was both a relief and with a degree of dread that I touched the cairn on Pike o'Blisco
2:27 (10 miles)
Climbing done, 1495m of it - just 600m of descent over the next 4km to come...
[GULP]
I was able to follow an Ambleside runner onto the grassy line - which luckily just served to confirm that I was going where I thought I should have been, and then the trod over Wrynose Fell and down to the final checkpoint at the cattle grid by Side Pike was really obvious.
Actually - It's a nicer way off the hill than the main footpath - by SOME margin!!!!
I was really tiring now though and 4 runners went past me over the course of the descent. My running-on-the-flat legs were working pretty well though, and once we reached the last 0.3 mile flat section to the finish, I was reeling in a couple of the runners who had previously passed me.
I didn't catch them - but I didn't mind. I'd worked as hard as I could on the day.
I finished in 2:48 which I was really pleased with
In 82nd place on the very provisional Sticky-Label-On-A-Board results at the finish.
So what were my impressions of my first Fell Race...??
▬ It was tough! My legs haven't worked that hard in a long time
▬ I'm glad that I can read a map and that I did some planning - it made life a lot easier!
▬ I'm not a great descender - I need to work on it!
▬ X-talons are a very good racing shoe - I only had one loss-of-traction fall and that was on the final descent
▬ Fully weighting a foot against the sharp edge of a rock causes bruising (did this on the Esk Pike Traverse)
▬ Peat bog doesn't taste great!
▬ Plastic buckets filled with water to scoop into your own self-service paper cup (Pint ones - none of this 330ml rubbish!!) and add Orange squash to - is the drink of the Gods when you are thirsty after a hard run on the Fell
▬ Doing an AL as your first one is probably a bit silly - but this one ROCKED!!!!
If you are at all tempted to have a go at running on Trails and Fells, then do it!!!
It is awesome in the extreme..!!
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