Fell / Trail section

For more info please contact Caroline Pollard caroline@nym.ac

  Castleton Beacon
14th Feb 2010

Paul prepares to test his 230gm Inov8's. Photo by David Aspin (more photos here)

"It�s funny how you make decisions sometimes isn�t it? January had seen my form take a dip and coupled with a dose of man flu I had been feeling pretty sorry for myself. Having said in a previous entry that I intended to do all the races in the series I was starting to regret that bold statement as the 14th loomed. The problem was that my running had slumped to such a degree that I was afraid that I would embarrass myself and would end up having to be airlifted off the moor in an undignified heap. A week before I went for an eight mile run along a combination of flat road and cycle track � hardly great preparation for a fell run � and I decided that I�d only do the fell race if I could manage to do this in under an hour. I scraped in with only 18 seconds to spare, six minutes off my best time on that route and I was absolutely knackered. So that was it then I was going to Castleton in a weeks time.

One week later and I was feeling a whole lot better. Is there a better way to start Valentine�s Day I thought as I considered the start which was just about wide enough for two abreast right from the gun. This is one of the few fell runs where a runner of my modest ability can actually run the whole route, well almost. On a good day maybe I could, today was an okay day but not a good day and on the steepest sections on the initial rise I had to slow to a fast walk for a time. Once on to the top of the moor it�s more of a battle through the rough heather rather than the gradient and this creates fatigue in the mind more so than the body. This is one of the key ingredients of fell running and a lack of mental alertness can cost you dearly as it nearly did for me just after halfway. Having struggled up the path across Castleton Pits I made up some places on the subsequent descent and then after heading back northwards we came across one of those ladder stiles that take you over a wall. It was here that I had a near disaster. I was conscious of a couple of runners behind me and I was trying to work out how I could use the stile to my advantage to gain a few precious seconds. My initial thought was to jump off the top of the stile but once I was actually on top the ground on the other side seemed to be further away than I thought it would be. So I did a stupid thing I decided to put my foot on the rung below and propel myself from there, my foot slipped to the inside of the rung and only by the narrowest of margins did I manage to avoid a nasty injury. Fifty metres up the path and I had already forgotten about it, the focus once again on trying to improve my position. Sadly, for me, I didn�t quite manage this but on the whole I was more than happy with my run being just off the back of a group of runners who are normally in or around me on fell runs. This changed once I�d seen the results of course as I did the usual thing and started to forget the pain that I endured throughout the race to struggle to my 69.50. �If I ran just 37 seconds quicker I would have been 20th rather than 25th�, I thought, as though running those 37 seconds wouldn�t have been a problem and I simply chose not to do it.

Back to the real world, our men�s teams finished second and fourth and our women won their team competition with Caroline Pollard taking second overall and first in the female 50 category with Brian Roberts first in the male 50 category.

NYMAC results
8th Jamie Roberts 62.24
11th Brian Roberts 65.18
22nd Julian Barwick 69.21
23rd Gordon Brown 69.34
25th Paul Christon 69.50
39th Caroline Pollard 73.09
40th Barry Manning 73.11
46th Mark Behrens 74.36
58th Diane Jobson 78.17
61st Doug Welsh 78.30
63rd Kath Blakey 79.01
64th Eddie Meehan 79.10
67th Paul Lyons 79.35
71st Bill Gayter 80.26

The Unstoppable March of Technology

One of the appealing things about running, for there are many, is the relative absence of technology, and therefore expense. You can just stick on a pair of trainers and off you go. This cannot be said for many sports where you will be at a disadvantage if you haven�t got the right gear. My other favourite sport cycling is a prime example, the latest thing is power meters where your wattage is measured through the cranks and the back wheel. This is just so you know how miserable your power is in comparison to the pros.

Are things changing though? Heart rate monitors have been with us for some time now and I�ve had a few conversations with fellow runners over the last few months about GPS�s. If you combine this with an ever expanding range of footwear and the advance of technical fabrics it seems that there is something within us, or modern life, that demands these things. I must admit that there is an appeal to knowing exactly how far I�ve run, what ascent I�ve climbed, what my minute per mile is etc. etc. I also admit that I bought some new fell shoes recently as my old ones do not grip well on damp rock. This is where the internet is great of course (another impact of technology) because you can scour the reviews. This is a far cry from when I started running competitively a few years ago when I embarrassed myself by taking in my existing trainers into a running shop so they could advise me on what sort of new trainers I needed. Until this point I thought running trainers were running trainers. The guy in the shop patiently told me about supportive running shoes and neutral running shoes and a whole load of other variations before saying �what you�ve been running in aren�t really running trainers�. This along with an alarming amount of wear that I hadn�t even noticed explained my knee problems.

I realised that I had a real problem, probably psychological, when I found myself weighing my different sets of trainers on the kitchen scales last year. I can explain myself, well to some degree, although my wife still thinks I�m a bit odd. Nothing new there then. I was reading reviews of lightweight road shoes you see and was noting how some warned against the low weight of some models as being at the expense of realistic practical use being around 160 grams or something. �Okay if you�re running as far as the toilet� was typical of the sort of comment. Better weigh mine I thought, I nearly had a heart attack when I realised that I�d been lugging around trainers weighing over 350 grams each, how did I run at all? I immediately went out and bought a nice lightweight pair coming in at only 230 grams each, first time on it felt like I was running in bare feet. Problem is now that I�ve got used to them my other trainers feel like lead weights. If you are a fell runner or trail runner and like the Innov8 range they very helpfully state the weight after each model. Is it accurate? Of course I got the kitchen scales out to check them and they are spot on.

Trainers are only part of the story though, if you are a fell runner carrying any excess weight is going to cost you on the uphills in particular. In cycling in the 1980�s there was a trend that involved drilling out seemingly unneeded metal from components to lower weight � brake levers, chainsets, gear shifters and the like. A similar approach is impractical for runners, especially if you don�t like the sight of blood so the only option seems to be losing body weight by traditional means i.e. by eating less. At 5 ft 9 and about 10 and a half stone non runners think I�ve gone round the bend when I tell them that I am probably a bit heavier than I ought to be for fell running. �Joss Naylor was two inches taller than me and over a stone lighter� I tell them. �Who�s he?� they will nearly always say. �Oh never mind�, I reply in disgust.

Paul Christon"

Castleton Beacon results

Photos by David Aspin

 Captain Cook�s
New Year�s Day

Photo by David Aspin (more photos here)

"After my below par performance at Guisborough Woods I put myself through a hill session going up and down Wilton Bank. I also used this bank for cycling training when I prepared for Carlton Bank Hill Climb so I know it so well, I hate every yard of it, 400 metres of agony. Which is all very well if it pays you back, gets you that extra place or two and as I warm up along the opening section of the course I feel quite good.

Along with Gisborough Moors, the final race in the series, this is perhaps the one that most people would choose to win, if they could choose that is. A few regulars aren�t here, probably a combination of the weather hindering travel and the fact that it is on New Year�s Day after all. On the other hand it does attract a wider type of runner, for some this will be their only fell run of the year. Somehow this doesn�t feel like a fell run though, sure it has a steep and lung bursting section of ascent but the descent is relatively gentle and straightforward and a significant proportion of the race is on the road. So for road runners this is probably as good a choice as any. The hour before the race sees a decent fall of snow and a few last minute changes of attire for some of the 200 plus athletes gathered nervously on the start line.

I always like to start reasonably briskly in most fell races so I can get a clear view of the ground below my feet and so I don�t get stuck at bottlenecks such as kissing gates and styles. For some reason I tell myself that this is important today with a big field many of whom will go off too fast because they don�t normally do fell. I�d forgotten that the paths are wide enough to overtake easily for the first half mile at least and by the time that the path starts to go upwards with any anger I am paying the price for that fast start and once we are on the lower slopes a number of North Yorks runners come past: Gordon Brown, Simon Deakin, Martin Dietrich, Julian Barwick, and Mark Potter also draws level. When we hit the steepest section the field concertinas together as our shuffles transform into awkward walks and scrambles. Normally here I would make some ground even though I suffer as much as everyone but today it�s as much as I can do to hold my own. A small and enthusiastic crowd are gathered at the monument including my mate Dave and his fianc� Rebecca, �Dig in you�re beating Phil� they shout, a joke referring to a fellow Cleveland Wheeler Phil Meadows who�s also doing the race. �Digging in� is what cyclists always seem to demand of one another in a race just in case you�re not trying hard enough, if I wasn�t suffering like an ill treated dog I�m sure I would have appreciated the joke.

On the descent I manage to catch a small group including Julian Barwick and Simon Deakin and we stay together as the route joins the road and we overtake a couple of quicker runners who seem to have lost confidence in their shoes� ability to grip the surface. It is slippy but you�ve got to believe, if your faith weakens you will slow to a crawl, got to stay relaxed, any tension and it will transmit itself through your body and you�ll be down. As we approach the ninety degree right hand turn just before the bridge the pressure applied at the front begins to split the group and I ignore the warnings of a small group of spectators who advise us of the polished snow. I go down, so does another runner, I get straight up but can�t get back on up the short uphill section before we leave the road and one of the runners that we passed comes flying past, his confidence in his shoes seemingly restored. As often happens the fatigue really sets in once you get dropped, the hope of hanging on is replaced by the fear of being caught from behind and you run scared. Sometimes running is all about fear and if you�re not careful it can drain you. On the last section of the course we go through a series of gates and you can�t help but count the seconds between the gates slamming behind you as you go through and the same noise a few seconds later as the runner behind hunts you down. Soon I give up all hope of catching those ahead and become preoccupied with keeping the interval the same between those gates opening and shutting. I feel awful and the end can�t come quickly enough, it never does when you feel like this.

�You didn�t look well when you crossed the line�, my wife says just after I�ve finished. A few minutes later Darren comes over the line looking fresh as a daisy after completing his second fell run �really enjoyed that� he says with a smile on his face. I used to feel like that, what�s happened?

Looking at the results a few days later I�m encouraged to see that we qualified three men�s teams and three women�s teams getting first and second in both competitions. Jon Skidmore, Kevin Mcloughlin, Gordon Brown and Martin Dietrich make the A team, I make the B team coming 27th overall (the others being Julian Barwick, Simon Deakin and Paul Thornton). Of late I�ve been making the A team which is perhaps more of a reflection on a decline in fell running in the club rather than any marked improvement on my part. The ladies� team is led home by Caroline Pollard in 55th overall and first lady in the F50 category, ably supported by Clare Lowe and Sharon Gayter.


Even Bekele Makes Excuses

I could feel my form dipping over the last couple of races so when I found out that Clay Bank East had been postponed I had mixed feelings. I felt as though I could have squeezed one more performance out before a complete loss of condition, my lack of volume of training finally catching up with me. On the other hand it should give me the time to get this sciatic thing sorted out and do some longer steady runs to get my base fitness back. Also the latest overall tables are out and as I�m one of a few to complete all six races I am joint third in the overall and still leading the M40 category. It is all downhill from here as I have little room for improvement and others will overtake me once they get their six races in. As the next scheduled race isn�t for another six weeks though I will happily bask in the glory.

While watching the international cross country from Edinburgh I was as shocked as anybody to see Bekele come in a distant 4th place. Afterwards he had a microphone thrust into his face inviting him to explain himself. The great man offered a good range of excuses or �reasons� for his defeat: missed training and the conditions (snow) among other things which he articulated while looking a little embarrassed. I was initially disappointed �he�s just like the rest of us� I thought. But then I thought again, this is the world�s greatest distance runner, he doesn�t have the option of admitting that he�s not as good as he was or that the three in front of him are now more talented than he is so he has to look for something else. I just wish they hadn�t asked him the question.
 

Paul Christon"

Captain Cooks result

Photos by David Aspin

 Guisborough Woods
27th Dec 2009

Photo by David Aspin (more photos here)

"I am in a battle to hold off another runner who�s been swapping places with me during the race, I don�t know who he is but it has become an intense and personal battle. Well for me at least. These things tend to happen in fell races perhaps more so than in road races where, by and large, people are either quicker than you over the duration of a race or they�re not. Because the terrain in fell runs varies it suits different runners at different stages in a race so you tend to get more swapping of places. Sometimes this happens to such a degree that you can start to get paranoid and think that they are playing games with you. Every time I went past this runner he would make an effort to stay with me before passing me again, he would make it difficult for me to go round him when the path narrowed, his breathing started to annoy me, his running style started to annoy me, even his kit started to annoy me and here he was just behind me going up the steep ascent for the final time. My memory of this race from my one previous attempt was a steep ascent followed by a long drag up to the high point that in some ways was worse as you felt you should be going faster. For once my memory hadn�t played tricks on me as this was exactly as it was. As Neil Scruton, my yardstick, gradually moved further away from me so I gained a small amount of ground from my new rival and by the time the ground levelled off I thought my work was done, I couldn�t possibly catch Neil or Gordon who were immediately ahead of me but this guy couldn�t catch me, could he? He obviously had other ideas because at the start of the descent to the finish I could hear his rasping breathing. No way was I going to give this up, the only way he was going to beat me was if I fell over. By the line I was just behind Neil and Gordon and had managed to gain about ten seconds or so. This prompted a comment from him after the finish about my descending which I took as a compliment although I�m not sure that he meant it that way.

I thought that I was better prepared for this, I�d trained hard, had a couple of good runs over Eston Nab in the snow to get used to the conditions and I�d been off the bike due to the weather. Normally at this time of year I would do a long bike ride on a Sunday, typically around 3 to 4 hours, and ride to work a couple of times a week. Instead of this for the last two weeks I�ve done more running, so I should have been in good shape. The jog up the gentle incline from Guisborough Rugby Club to the start told me that I wasn�t. Still I�d felt like this before and once the race had started things had gone well.

The race should have suited me in theory as there�s very little flat in it but when you�re not in good form theory goes out of the window. The only things that saved me from a poor performance today was the descent and a stubborn refusal to believe that I wasn�t running well. I started off okay but soon people were coming past me, people that I would normally expect to beat or hold my own against. As I approached the descent at the end of the first lap I noticed that Neil Scruton was right on my shoulder as was Gordon Brown from the club and they both start quite steady. I managed to gain some breathing space on the descent which I took as fast as I dared. Gordon went past me half way around the second lap and Neil was back on my shoulder again as the descent beckoned for the second time. Again I managed to gain some ground on Neil and I passed Gordon as he seemed to have got his shoe stuck in the mud, and despite falling over I still had a few seconds to spare as we went into the last lap. On each lap though as my energy eked away I�d got gradually slower and they both passed me earlier than they did on the last lap. This was when I knew I had to focus my attention on this unknown man, I know that my thoughts towards him were totally unfair and unjustified but today they were necessary to get me through this race.

A quick look over Dave Parry�s shoulder as he writes the results down tells me that I�ve come 28th, I was 3rd North York Moors athlete in behind Kevin Mcloughlin in 11th and Gordon Brown in 26th, I�d hoped for more but as Oliver Twist found out you don�t always get it. Instead I take my mind off this by watching my fellow competitors finish on the slushy descent, some are merely content to make the bottom in one piece while others risk life and limb to gain that extra place that will make the reading of the results that little bit more enjoyable. I�m particularly interested to see how Darren does; I�ve played football with Darren for a few years now and tried to gently encourage his running over this period of time. Of late he�s been getting a bit close for comfort clocking an agonising 1.30.01 for the Great North Run and being within around 20 seconds of me in a couple of the park runs. Fell running is where it�s at I�ve been telling him and he turned up today to see what it�s all about �I�ll just take it easy� he told me beforehand. I remember thinking this when I first tried one, �just something to keep me fit over the winter� but if you are at all competitive this doesn�t work of course. Darren looked as though he�d suffered, looked quite ill in fact, he�d run it properly.


My Best Ever Fell Race

In my best ever fell race (Pinchinthorpe Plod) I made three mistakes one of which I�m still paying for. I felt good at the start and managed to follow runners that are normally specks on the horizon and towards the top of the second climb I found myself at the front of a small group. This was where I made my first mistake, rather than take the path towards the Hanging Stone I opted to follow a path that makes up the Guisborough Moors race. My competitors generously called me back and rather than retrace my steps I cut through the bracken but had lost 50 yards or so. I knew that I had to get back on so I took some risks descending after Hanging Stone and I fell quite heavily on my backside, not once but twice, my second and third mistakes. I did hang on and managed to finish seventh. That was about six or seven months ago and I am now still struggling with a sciatic problem caused by those falls, thought I�d better get some excuses in just in case. In many ways I have been able to run around it and it doesn�t really effect me when racing, more so the day after, but it�s starting to get worse and I�m a bit worried that it may impact upon my goal to complete all 11 races. So here I am at the osteopath�s getting my legs manoeuvred about all over the place to try to relieve the pressure. Is this a price worth paying for that 7th place? You bet.

Paul Christon"

Guisborough Woods result

Photos by David Aspin

 Eureka!
Sun 6th Dec 2009

Photo by David Aspin (more photos here)

"I have an unhealthy relationship with a certain website, I�ve battled this for some time but my resolve always weakens and I eventually I will succumb. Before you pick up the phone to alert the authorities can I just say that it is with the Met Office website, specifically the five day forecast. As well as running I am also a keen cyclist so wind and levels of precipitation are obsessions of mine.

Despite some last minute wavering I am here on the start line for my fourth consecutive winter series race. It is difficult not to notice how swollen and animated the River Esk looks as we line up for the start, it�s not raining but it has been for the previous 24 hours and for most of the week before that. The night before I was checking the Met Office website at regular intervals and it had promised that the rain would stop, it even said that the sun would shine though it hadn�t quite happened yet. The race was listed at just over 10 miles but the race organiser Dave Parry informed us that this had been shortened to 8.5, so that was 1.5 miles less of terrain that I didn�t know. While this wouldn�t be a problem for me initially as I know I won�t be leading the race it is easy to go wrong once the race has spread out. There had been a recce the week before but the weather put me off, I can race in more or less anything but when it comes to training I can be a wimp!

Another problem when the weather is changeable is what to wear. In terms of apparel fell runners fall into three main camps. There are the hardcore types whose only concession to the weather might be to wear a t-shirt under their vest but only in the most extreme of conditions. Gloves and tights would never be considered by the hardcore fell runner. At the other end of the scale there are fell runners who always prepare for every eventuality and will overdress or carry equipment rather than risk an unpleasant fell experience. According to the rules we should all have this approach really but most of us, me included, fall into the in-between category who try to balance wearing as little as possible without having an unpleasant experience. Today I opt for tights, gloves I nearly always need as I have Reynaud�s Syndrome which is a circulatory problem which means that I lose feeling in my fingers even on reasonably mild winter days, with hindsight a wetsuit might have been better.

The first section of this race is on the road which I find quite a struggle as I forgot to adequately warm up because I got chatting to a fellow club member Mark Potter. Soon we are making our way onto the moor though and it quickly becomes apparent that this is going to be a wet race. After about two minutes my feet are completely soaked and I can feel the chill in my fingers despite the gloves. After about a mile the lead female runner passes me so I try to stay with her but she�s too fast and instead I settle into a group of four and we stay together for about two miles or so. A big part of fell running is about making the right route choice and this is a mixture of big decisions where you have two paths or more that diverge only to converge again at a later point, but also small decisions. Today�s race requires both. For much of the race there are two tracks that run more or less parallel to one another an axle�s distance apart and runners must choose which to take. Going form one to the other may only save or cost you a second or two here and there but it can be the difference between sitting in comfortably with a group and hanging on. I�m off an on, the paths are really streams of ankle deep ice cold water and at the highest point of the moor the clouds come down and a brief shower tests my resolve. Soon the gap to the three is ten metres, then twenty, then fifty and the invisible thread that attached me loosely to the group has snapped.

At this point the rain eases and the path drops down towards the most westerly point of the course where it joins a more substantial track. I�m now well and truly dropped and what�s more I�m not sure of the route at a point where it is not immediately obvious where it will go. I can sense another runner approaching behind so I make a decision to slow a little and follow him, I know that this is a bad tactic as he may actually be following me but he seems to be closing anyway. As we approach a five bar gate he pulls along side me and opts to vault it and we are both surprised when it�s not locked. He lands quite heavily on his side but seems unharmed �are you okay?� I ask as I run by, he doesn�t say he isn�t and I don�t look back, this is a race after all. He runs for Esk Valley and I run for North York Moors - I later find out that he�s called Richard Clark - and for the rest of the race we will swap places at regular intervals. For now though he catches me on the gradual descent and we are joined by two other runners. We drop them on the next short steep climb and then I follow him for about two miles on an undulating path that�s masquerading as a small stream. Then we reach a point where there�s a fairly big decision to make, a longer easier route or a shorter more uncertain route through wet bracken. He takes the shorter and so do I, he falls over into a channel of water, �what a daft place to fall over� I think, then I do the same and flat on my face too, I�m now totally soaked.

Next is Hob Hole, no running through the ford today as the fast running water has already claimed one victim, a van which has been forced against the footbridge. He has about thirty metres on me but on the uphill road section I manage to catch and go past him but once we�re over the top he�s back on and we both choose a shorter more challenging route back towards the finish. We exchange a few words about the wisdom of the route choice then he draws ahead, but then on a short steep drop I�m back on, now there�s only a small bridge and a short ascent to go before we regain the road for the last half mile or so. Then a loss of concentration and I�m on my face again, he senses the gap and looks back making an effort up the last climb to make sure I don�t close. It works, the gap is not great but it is significant and once we�re on the flat of the road it grows and the fatigue and the cold which I�d forced to the back of my mind until now start to creep in. God I�m knackered, now it is me that looks back, no one in sight, good, because if someone made a real effort now I don�t know if I could hold them off. I muster a semi sprint for the finish for no real reason other than pride and then watch the rest of the runners come in.

Dez Fielden seems really pleased with his third overall and then goes on, so I am later told, to run the cross country in the afternoon and Carolyn Pollard wins the ladies 50 competition with NYMAC also claiming their first team victory of the winter series. My hands are now that cold that I can�t turn my car key in the lock and have to hold the key between the palms of my hands to exert the required force. There are some races that you will never forget and this is one of them.


The Story So Far

The latest table is out and if I was the sort to get carried away I would be a very happy man right now. My results to date for the four races are 16th, 19th, 17th and 14th a model of consistency. The only race that I wasn�t really satisfied with was my 19th at Guisborough Three Tops due to my route finding error; the times were that tight that I could maybe have got 12th or 13th. But choosing the right route is part of fell running and it worked to my advantage on the Eureka run, so I can�t complain. So there I am sitting pretty at the top of the 40+ category and 4th in the overall. As I�ve run all four races though and with the best six from eleven to count I know that this is a false position and one that at best I will probably only be able to hold until race seven or eight in the series, after that I will be overhauled by those who have missed a race or two so far. For now though I will take it

Tables aside I am reasonably happy with my running going into the two races over the festive period, both of which I did two years ago as my second and third fell runs, so I know the routes. Normally I would say that this is an advantage, and it should be, but I remember being caught out by Guisborough Woods. I thought it would be easy but as I remember it there was a very testing climb that, being a three lap circuit, got worse each time and had me on my knees by the third lap. Captain Cook�s also caught me out but for different reasons. As a New Year �s Day race it attracts a big field and the start was a bit of a mad dash before the track narrows following the road section. I started off too easily and got held up a fair bit so I know that I need to go off quite hard and hope that this doesn�t cost me for the rest of the ascent."

Paul Christon

Eskdale Eureka Results

Photos by David Aspin

 Clay Bank West  
22nd Nov 2009

Gordon, currently our top V50 fell runner finished an excellent 10th overall. (photo by David Aspin )

We had a good turnout again (14) for the 3rd race in the Winter Series. The men achieved a good 2nd place in the team placing, but again there were only two lady members running. We might not have won 1st ladies team if we had a 3rd runner, but definitely 2nd. If any lady wants to come along please contact me . We have approx 35 lady members so come on lets get a team out on the fells!

Regards

Caroline Pollard caroline@nym.ac

In the first of new series, club member Paul Christon enlightens us on "The Loneliness of the Run of the Mill Fell Runner" (Paul's words)

A sombre name for a beautiful place, well at least it�s beautiful today in the clear and still autumn air. I�ve been here before in the rain and mist when it was easy to imagine the dangers that may lurk out there. For now I�m one of a hundred and twenty four nervous souls who have made their way to this isolated spot for the 10.30 start that is almost upon us. Having not done the route before I looked the route map and assumed, wrongly by all accounts, that as fell runs go this, the first one on the winter series, must be quite easy with only 975 feet of ascent in its 8.5 miles. A couple of the more experienced hands have warned me that nearly all of that ascent happens in the last 3-4 miles of the route.

Unusually for a fell race it starts quite high up and follows a broad ridge that skirts the northern and western edges of the impressive Hole of Horcum. This is about as flat as it gets for a fell run and with the going easy underfoot it allows occasional glances at the stunning scenery. About three to four miles further on and I�m laying flat on my face staring uncomfortably into a ravine after coming to grief on the Angel�s Staircase. The route notes point out to be careful here stating that otherwise �you might discover the meaning of the name!� I must take more notice of these in future. This is one of the differences between fell and road though, in fell there are different ways to hang onto a group, or not, as the case may be. I�ve been desperately trying to keep with a group of four others, dropping off on the flat, holding my own on the gentle rises and then getting back on on the descents. As I�ve found out this can be a risky strategy.

I complete the rest of the descent by more orthodox means and after a short flat section we�re on the major climb of the day just after the wonderfully named Yaul Sike Hole. It�s one of those climbs that you could run but is almost as quickly climbed at a strong walk interspersed with brief jogs or shuffles. The climb is through trees and having not done this route before I don�t know the full extent of the pain to come, whether this �ignorance is bliss� approach is a good thing I�m not so sure. Eventually the top of the climb comes, as it always does, and I�m almost back on the group, almost. The invisible thread that connects me to them is broken on the flat section as we head towards Needle Point and rather worryingly as the route twists I realise that I have lost visual contact with the runner ahead and I�m not sure of the route. I know that there is a right turn soon, a shout from a runner behind me tells me that it has already been. I catch him on the descent towards the railway track and we both close on the group ahead, back on again.

This route has a sting in the tail, I knew about it but until now I�d managed to put it out of my mind, that sting is an uphill finish. At first this is a short sharp ascent out of the valley, then a slight incline as we leave Pifelhead Wood before the last pull up to the finish. Realising that I�ve finally been dropped yet having some breathing space behind I opt for covering the last half mile with as little pain as possible. The finish finally comes and I exchange a few words with those that have just beaten me, as always as soon as you�ve recovered you start to think �if only�. �If only I�d not fallen� �If only I�d been that little bit better prepared� �If only I�d delivered my effort more evenly� �If only I�d made more of an effort on the main climb�. If all these �if only�s� had been overcome I may have finished two or three places higher but that�s fell running and everyone no doubt think similar things after a race.


Excuses Excuses!

Always get your excuses in early I say, at least mention it before the start of the race then it seems more plausible if you have a stinker. This can range from vague comments around feeling unwell, tired, unable to train to specific excuses based around injuries that many runners have, or claim to have. I prefer to call my excuses reasons. Coming from a cycling background I sometimes struggle with the narrow range of �reasons� that are available to the runner. In cycling of course there�s the bike added to the equation which can potentially offer all sorts of scope for excuses such as rubbing brake blocks, softening tyres causing drag, gears not going in properly and so on, the list is endless. At the start of a cycle race few people will admit to doing any training (I will return to this subject soon), runners by and large seem to be a different breed and are often happy to tell you how many miles they�ve put in that week. I must admit that I find this a bit unnerving, this honesty and openness; I am used to living in a world where people don�t own up to the extent of what they do before they give you a good kicking."

Paul Christon

Results

Photos
 

13th Sept 2009

"Myself (Duncan Archer) and Richie Clark from NYM took part in this year's Lake District Mountain Trial. The LDMT has been going since 1952 and is an ultimate test of fell running and navigation. The course is different each year, with runners starting at intervals, supplied with a 1:40,000 Harvey's map, and navigating round half a dozen checkpoints using the best route they can find in between.

This year's Men's course was quoted as 16 miles with 7000ft of climb (although that is the straight line so most will have done somewhat more!). It started and finished at Eskdale YHA in the SW Lake District and took in the slopes of Scafell, Great End, Bowfell, Crinkle Crags, Swirl How and Harter Fell. Fortunately the weather was kind with sunny intervals, a contrast to last year when the race was cancelled due to a flooded parking field.

Winner of the Men's course was seasoned fell runner Steve Birkinshaw (Borrowdale Fell Runners) in 4:54:54, 15th Duncan Archer 5:57:34, 81st Richie Clark 8:18:56. Winner of the Women's course was Helene Whitaker (Ilkley Harriers AC) in 4:30:18.

For me, I felt strong for the first two hours, then the legs started to wobble. After a few energy bars and a bit of slow plodding up hills I was refreshed, and once the final climb was out of the way I managed to pick up the pace to find a stronger finish (and looking at the checkpoint times I even managed to gain some places in the last hour). It was great fun to take part, but boy was it nice to collapse at the finish!

Duncan Archer"

Lake District Mountain Trial website

Results, including route maps

B&W Photo is from the 1952 Trial
 

 Saunders Saunter
July 4-5th 2009 

The Saund ers  Lakeland Mountain Marathon was held at C oniston this year. The weather was fairly kind except for a deluge at the start (as we were trying to mark up the map) and another as we queued for water at the overnight camp.

Have you ever tried to mark up a map under a power shower? Nothing writes. I used a pencil to indent large circles in the rough vicinity of the grid references � a kind of inverted Braille. That was our first lesson � work as a team and hold a map case as cover while your partner marks up. Alternatively run to the first check point and hope it is drier when you get there (and that the control sheet is still legible). When we eventually set off the plan was to follow the footpath to checkpoint one. We saw teams take a short cut up a gully and followed them. At the top, in the mist, there were dozens of teams looking for a checkpoint which wasn�t ours anyway. Lesson 2 � stick to plan A and don�t follow teams unless you know they are in your class.

Checkpoint 2 was way beyond Wrynose pass. A large boulder when my soggy map just had a vague pencil depression which covered lots of boulders. Lesson 3 � use a roamer and mark the map precisely.

Checkpoint 3 was on the side of Scafell. Use the stream down as a guide � the slope next to it looks feasible. At the bottom teams were running in from the side � a longer route but with a runnable descent. Lesson 4 � runnable terrain is the quickest.

And so it went on � every checkpoint taught us another lesson.

So too did the overnight camp. An hour queuing for water in a downpour and we still didn�t have enough water carriers to prevent the need for a refill. The stove didn�t work (lesson 5 � check it!). Eventually we got it going with big flames and a lot of soot and managed to get a meal out of it before condemning it to a rubbish bag.

But the pub was only 15 minutes away and it stopped raining and there was a beer garden. So we stayed until we were in danger of needing torches and had a good night of it all.

Day 2 and we had the luxury of 30 minutes to mark up the map and choose routes between checkpoints. The big debate was a long leg from north of Hardknott to a checkpoint among the Coniston coppermines. The brave went straight over Swirl Howe via a stiff climb. The bad weather route took a full tour of the mountain, and the indecisive wimps made a descending traverse to Three Shire Stones and then took the path up Swirl Howe. So we saved 300 ft of climbing and lost 30 minutes in the process. Lesson 6 � don�t look at a hill face on and think it looks too steep. Read the map and see what the contours tell you.

Once back in the copper mines we had a blast through the last three checkpoints and arrived at the finish just as the prizegiving started. There was controversy here as the first Klet was disqualified for not carrying a sleeping bag.

In Wilf�s caf� we met Mark Edwards and Bref �new knees� O�Rourke. Rob and Des also completed safely.

Keith Wilson