2010 round up & thoughts on 2011

I've been slack on the blogging front.  The thought of a 140 character Tweet is less hassle than writing something more lengthy, but it's about time I wrapped up 2010 and laid down some plans for the New Year.

After the UTMB it was nice just to get back into running.  To be honest, since August I've not really focused on racing and I've just spent time getting back to what t's all about - enjoying time on the fells and towards the end of the year, starting to build a winter base fitness ready for what I hope will be an epic 2011.  I did do one race, the Langdale Horseshoe (see pic above) in glorious weather on my 30th birthday.  Despite getting lost coming off Bowfell in the mist I ran a respectable 3hrs1min and it has certainly got me thinking about dropping a few more 'Lakeland Classics' into the calendar for next year.  They're shorter races, but the climbing is still severe and the atmosphere is quite different to the long stuff.  People are more likely to hang about to see you finish if they don't have to wait literally all day or more...

It's not been a good year for cancellations either.  After the OMM in 2008 I thought I'd seen it all but the UTMB certainly topped that for drama.  I wont start on that again, but the end of year was disrupted further when Tanky's Trog was cancelled and the Calderdale Way Relay too a week later due to snow!  We (Tim Whittaker, Colin Bishop and I) were out on the fells anyway and to be fair the conditions were fairly extreme.  Hauling yourself up the side of some of the Chew Valley edges, waist deep in snow is fairly arduous - Tanky's would have been epic!  I would have loved to run the inaugural Tour de Helvellyn last weekend but sadly I was otherwise engaged at a wedding - that one went ahead too!  Maybe I'm a curse...

Thoughts have now turned to 2011.  In terms of major goals I'm giving the UTMB a rest for a year, I'll be back in 2012 but I think I need to let the disappointment of this year fade and go back more focused at a later date.  The main aim for 2011 is a Bob Graham Round.  I've been mulling running a BG for years and I think this year seems like the right time.  I've chosen the same weekend at the Grand Union so as not to be tempted back there again!  All races until the end of May will probably have a 'BG preperation' slant but that's not to say I wont be thrashing myself as usual!  Currently pencilled in the diary is The Hebden (Jan), The High Peak Marathon - sub-11 this year hopefully, Hardmoors 55 (both March), Calderdale and The Highland Fling (both April) which will mean over 200 miles of competitive running before I embark on my trot around the Lake District!  After that there are no firm plans - maybe a bash at the LAMM or the OMM again, or possibly something totally random at home or even abroad, we'll see.

Until then it's Christmas on the fells in the snow, browsing the internet for new gear, maintain my new winter gym class routine with the wife (!) and maybe taking up Bikram Yoga at some place in Manchester!  And of course there's always AM Mayhem...

UTMB 2010

The UTMB was a disaster in the end!  Anne and I arrived on the Monday and in the days leading up to it we were soaking up the atmosphere and really enjoying our time in Chamonix.  The weather was fantastic and initially it wasn't forecasted to be too bad during the race.  Tim Whittaker, Charlie Johnson and I were planning to run together and when it became clear, on the Thursday, that there was going to be heavy rain we thought it was great news as none of us really enjoy the sun!  Anyway, the weather on the day was pretty awful - heavy rain and wind - although by the time we arrived in town for the bag drop before the start it had cleared up (although the clouds were ominous).  

The start was fantastic but as we ran along the road towards Les Houches the rain started again and was heavy.  The climb up from Les Houches over to St Gervais was wet although we we were in our element, passing loads of runners and feeling great in the soggy conditions - it was like being at home!  Anyway, we reached St Gervais in about 3'30" and having filled up our bottles and stuffed some salami down our necks we looked for the exit from the aid station.  I thought it was always this busy but Tim suspected something was fishy and eventually some French guy translated that the race had been cancelled!  We were all gutted - there were stories of landslides further up the course although I'm still not sure if this was true.  Anyway, having calmed Charlie down (he was ready to smack someone) we ended up being ferried onto a train and then coach back to Chamonix at around 1am on Saturday morning.  Tim and Charlie decided they were going for a run anyway the next day but I wasn't interested in leaving Anne, whilst on holiday, for a 'friendly run', so I declined and went to bed.  At 8:30am ish I was woken up by a text from Tim saying they'd set off for their run and some guy had said they were restarting a reduced race from Courmayeur - had I heard and could I get there?  At this point I found a text from the organisers sent overnight (about 2am I think) in garbled French/English that I think (it certainly wasn't clear) that there WAS a restart of a reduced race and there was 1000 places available (for any of the 2300 UTMB runners and 1200 TDS) on coaches from Chamonix at 6:30am.  I was already 2hrs late, still in bed (soaking kit in a pile in the hotel room) - there was no chance.  Plus, did I really want to do a 'less than half UTMB' , especially after all the disappointment of the night before?  I was gutted, even more so now that this other race had been organised whilst I slept.  Had I have known that it was going to happen when the race was originally cancelled I'd have probably done it but the way it panned out I wasn't really left with a choice.

As a result the whole thing was soured.  We took an early flight back on the Sunday (we'd planned to leave on the Tuesday) as neither Anne nor I wanted to hang about.  I'd spent months training, a load of cash on the holiday/race entry etc and I wanted to forget it ever happened!  There is still no word on whether there will be any preferential entry into the 2011 race (I suspect not) so I'll just have to take my chances in the lottery (assuming they give me points for the GUCR which I have enquired about).  I've calmed down now but for a week or so but I still have several issues with the organisers; were we not capable of running in rough conditions (I've certainly experienced worse condition on the fells at home), why in such a big race wasn't there an alternative route to the affected sections, why bother starting the race when the forecast was for exactly what happened and trying to organise a race in the middle of the night via text for 3600 people is lunacy.  Ultimately though, I respect the decision to cancel the race on safety grounds, I'm not even bothered about compensation, but to not be offered the chance to complete the race in 2011 seems unfair.  Hopefully I'll be there to complete what seems to be an amazing race unlike any other...

Follow me @ UTMB 2010

We're off to France next week for a week relaxing and sunning ourselves on the south coast before we drive up to Chamonix in preparation for the Ultra Tour du Mont-Blanc.  The race is a complete tour of the Mont-Blanc Massif mountain range through the French, Italian and Swiss Alps, starting and finishing at Chamonix.  The distance is a mere 166km (103 miles) with about 32,000feet of ascent/decent.  There are over 2000 competitors from all over the world and the race starts at 6pm CET on Friday 27th August.  The winner will be done in 21hours ish but I expect to take around 35hours which will make it about 5am on Sunday morning by the time I'm finished.  If you want to follow me, the UTMB website (http://www.ultratrailmb.com) has live tracking of all competitors - just search for my name (or number, I'm wearing bib 2623) - where you can monitor my progress as I pass through each control.  I'm aiming to Tweet en-route with maybe the occasional TwitPic, if you don't follow me on Twitter (@TeamWebb) the tweets and pictures should appear on the right hand side of this blog.  I've got a feeling that the frequency of my tweeting will drop off as the race goes on and as I descend into an exhaustion-induced stupor!  Anyway, I'm due to start tapering my training this weekend so I can stop doing hill reps up Alphin Pike and start eating everything in sight - one of the nice by-products of running ultras!  Toodlepip...

Osmotherley Phoenix

2010 is the third year on the trot I've run the Osmotherley Phoenix.  It's a fantastic race through the North York Moors and this year I persuaded my Dad and sister Clare's other half, Rich, to join me and run the 17 mile route.  I was on the 33 miler and was hoping to improve on two previous distinctly average runs here.  I'd been training on the hills for a few weeks - pacing leg 1 of Craig Stansfield and Mick Flatley's Bob Graham, some big days out in the Dark Peak and regular weeknight runs on the Saddleworth Moors - so I was in reasonable nick.

The race started in perfect conditions but I was concerned about the possibility of suffering in the heat later.  The first few miles are along the Cleveland Way and the rolling trail proved a good warm up and an opportunity to catch up with people.  Despite a brief gaff with navigation I was going pretty well through to Carlton Bank where the shorter route runners split.  Grabbing some water and a flapjack I opted for the 'fast' route round the bank rather than over the top via the trig point.  I was running with Ian Leach who I'd run with before and we made relatively easy progress all the way to the top of Round Hill.  I struggled for pace on the climbs but outpaced Ian on the flats and downhills and at the 'turnaround' I felt in excellent shape to run under 6 hours.

The long track and then road down into Chop Gate car park took quite a bit out of my legs and the next few miles were tough.  The sun never came out for too long but I still needed a couple of salt tablets washed down to keep fully hydrated.  The navigation on this section is tricky and we seemed to pick off quite a few people with good route choice and eventually arrived at Hawnby way ahead of schedule.  From this point on the route is simple to navigate but far from simple to run.  The 3 mile uphill is gruelling and at the top I welcomed the chance to top off the water bottles and take a few moments to sort myself out.  Ian's 6'5" legs helped him take off at this point as we upped to the pace into the finish.  I kept it going well and was greeted with the 'Osmotherley 2 miles' sign pleasingly early!  Passing a few other runners on the network of paths into the village I rolled in in 36th place in 5hrs 46mins - over half an hour of my previous best and feeling I'd run well within myself.

 

A pint and some chips and I sat with Dad and Rich to enjoy the festivities in the village.  Another good day out - I'll be back in 2011 to run under 5hrs 30mins...

Wharmton Dash

Just a fortnight after the GUCR my next race was a 2 mile 'dash' up Wharmton Hill in Saddleworth.  It's a race organised by Saddleworth Runners, but the reason I was there was to help introduce several kids from school into the world of fell running.  Every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7:15am I run a hill rep session with staff and pupils from Blue Coat on Oldham Edge.  It originated as training session I did with a friend and colleague, Swallow, but we decided to invite some kids along.  Bizarrely, it seemed to catch on with a select few and ever since a hardcore (and a few others...) have braved all conditions at the crack of dawn to, amongst other things; run up and down hills, do sprints, drag tyres and do Tabata.

Our aim was to get the kids enjoying running and what better way to inspire them than the get them all running in a local fell race!  A few kids run track athletics and cross country at school but none do any fell running.  In the end I got 7 kids and one other teacher to come along and take part in what turned out to be a tough 2 miles!  We set off from Churchill Playing Fields in Uppermill in the middle of the Saddleworth Show.  The first hundred metres or so are a fast run out to the road before skipping up some steps and into the severe climb up to the Wharmton mast!  Aaron Platt, one of the AM Mayhem-ers, was leading the pack at the start (!) and I had visions of him romping home 1st but he, like me struggled on the climb.  My legs were still feeling the 145 miles and by the top I was back in 5th place and feeling shattered!  The run straight back down didn't help and I barely stayed on my feet down some slippery steps before hitting the road again.  At this point the route takes you back along the canal and then down to the river where you plough straight through!  The highlight of the race, it took me somewhat by surprise when I was submerged up to my chest at one point!

The AM Mayhem lot loved it behind me (as did the crowd who cheered as each runner plunged into the water!) and it's pretty much all they've talked about since.  I finished a reasonable 5th considering the distance and the proximity to the GUCR...hopefully we'll all be back next year.  In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for the next race to take 'Team Mayhem' to...

Grand Union Canal Race 2010

After last year’s failed attempt to complete this 145 mile epic from Birmingham to London I was forced to rethink my strategy. Last year I had been forced to withdraw after 121 miles at Springwell Lock - not too far from the end, which prompted many people to ask, “why didn’t you just grit it out and finish?” The problem was my shin. Each step after about 100 miles was getting increasingly painful and although in the context of the race it seemed ‘nearly done’, I still had nearly a marathon to do. My conclusion from last year was that I’d created the shin problem as a result of my decision to walk a large stretch of the overnight section. I was running with a couple of veterans of the race and guys who’d completed the even tougher 150 Spartathalon and both suggested that walking the night section would leave me refreshed for the next day. But having not trained for walking, several hours of it proved enough for my anterior tibialis to rebel and inflame, reducing me to a rather feeble hobble and eventually to the rank of DNF.


So, a year later and I felt in fantastic shape fitness-wise as I hunkered down in my hotel room in Birmingham the night before. However, with the race playing over in my mind I couldn’t get any sleep (despite taking some herbal sleeping remedy) – not ideal when you know you’re going to be running for the next 2 days non-stop! At 5am, knackered, I trudged over to Gas Street Basin, the venue for the start of the race in a bit of mood. I registered and knocked back some GatoSport cake before taking my position at the start. Organiser Dick Kearn said a few things (inspirational stuff I’m sure but I can’t remember a word of it!) and we were off. I headed the pack down the first section of the canal and found myself in the company of the reigning champion Pat Robbins and many-time winner John Kinder (also winner of last years insane Thames Ring 250). Chatting to the two of them revealed they were attempting to break 24-hours for the race and there was a definite air of competition between them. Ironically, running alongside these two we took a wrong turn just a mile in and had to re-route to pick up the main trunk of the canal that headed out of the city through the industrial surrounds and into the heart of Warwickshire. I let Pat and John go although they were, like me, on a 25/5 minute run/walk strategy – the difference was that they were likely to keep it up for 24hrs and I was looking at more like 6 hours before switching.


The grimy industry of Birmingham quickly gave way to open farmland and the race really felt like it had begun as I reached the first checkpoint at 10 miles just short of Catherine de-Barnes bridge. I was 20mins head (the plan was 5mph) but I knew I’d erode that in future food/rest stops. The aim with this race is to delay fatigue for a long as possible. I knew after 6hours I may be able to still run 25/5s but it would start to take something out of me, I wanted to get as far as possible just cruising. If I was out of breath, I was going too fast. I picked up a companion in copper Lee Chamberline at 18miles or so who told me about his recent world record for 7-days on a treadmill and his planned attempt at the JOGLE (John O’Groats – Lands End) record for September – sounds like your average GUCR competitor then! I knocked out the first half-marathon in 2hrs 30mins and arrived at Hatton Locks (22.5 miles) ready for some food. I necked quite a bit of a cooked breakfast (I take nutrition seriously!) before setting off at a leisurely pace to digest it. I passed the marathon point after 5hours ish and was feeling pretty good. The only problem was the rain had set in and it was more than just drizzle by this point. In fact, it would start to rain heavily from this point on for about 6 hours which was really tough for both me and the crew who were desperately trying to dry my kit on the car heater, brew up under bridges and stand over me with umbrellas when I stopped making me feel like some kind of Pharoe! All I needed were some bikini-clad dancers with fans...


The rain eventually stopped and I had switched from the 25/5 strategy to a 10/5 strategy. This proved an inspired move, allowing me to keep up my 5mph by knocking out the 10 minute runs quite quickly. I think I actually kept this up for the next 20 hours, with occasional 5/5 breaks. I was running with Chris Conway at this point who was great company but eventually Chris needed to slow so I cracked on, maintaining a constant pace. I passed through the lovely Braunston and over the Braunston Tunnel (a rare diversion off the towpath) until I eventually reached Weedon (53.1 miles) feeling the best I’d felt all race. I had a sit and some food and felt pretty chuffed I’d managed 2 marathons without too much effort and little aching to show for it in my legs. The wheels were bound to come off at some point and I hit my first low approaching the Gayton Junction checkpoint (60.6miles) where the sun had set and the endless rain bagan to take its toll as I got really cold. Fortunately my crew were on hand with hot chocolate and layers of dry clothes and I was quickly ushered on my way. I think the crew suspected I was starting to tire a bit and brother-in-law Wilson met me (not a checkpoint) as I climbed the hill onto the road section whilst the canal makes its way through the Blisworth tunnel. He shouted some abuse to the effect of “stop slacking and get a move on” and I chugged over towards Stoke Bruerne. There’s a downhill section for about 600 yards before you rejoin the canal along some cracking singletrack and it seemed to inspire me as I breezed through the Stoke Bruerne checkpoint, missing the crew! My mind was on Navigation Bridge at this point – the half-way point (almost) and the point at which I can pick up buddy-runners. Apart from the odd stint with another runner, I’d been listening to my ipod for hours and even the possibility of running with someone I knew seemed pretty appealing! I arrived at Navigation Bridge to a warm round of applause at about 9:15pm – 45mins behind schedule but in one piece and ready for the night. I downed some pasta, donned some clean kit and a headtorch and headed out of the checkpoint in 32nd place.


My quads were feeling a bit mashed but otherwise my legs were okay, the main problem with the night section is staying focussed and keeping awake and alert. The fact that you’re outside amplifies your bodies senses and mine had sensed that it was time to sleep! Not having slept since Thursday night wasn’t helping but a couple of Pro-Plus and some chat with Wilson kept me on my game. The 10/5 pace was good but as I left Wilson at Water Eaton (84.5 miles) I could sense that I was getting really fatigued and I needed to really dig in. Fortunately, our friends Sarah and Ben had joined us – pretty impressive really considering by this point it was 1:15am and they live in Oxford! Anyway, having arrived at the checkpoint an hour early to witness one runner collapse as he arrived they were happy to see me trot in in relatively good form. Sarah strapped on the rucksack and we set off, it was really nice to have someone to chat to who hadn’t been a part of the last 19hours.

The pace wasn’t great but I felt that the miles were rolling by without too much effort. We passed Leighton Buzzard Tesco and arrived at Slapton Lock (94.2miles) at 4:25am – by now I’d abandoned the schedule and was just ‘feeling’ my pace to the finish. I’d got to the point where the Pro-Plus had worn off and I was really knackered though and poor old Ben really drew the short straw as I could barely muster any conversation. He did regale me with the story of his preparation to break the 4-minute mile though – I’ll be sure to post congratulations on this blog when he does it! My vision was getting a bit dodgy here too. I was running behind Ben and when I tried to focus on his feet as they moved they just blurred into one and I’m not entirely sure that I didn’t fall asleep whilst running! The sun had risen (Ben and I shared that particular romantic moment in exhausted silence!) and I was granted mercy at Tring where there was a bed (well, a ground sheet) and I had 30mins nap. I’m sure my wife Anne was having a laugh because she seemed to wake me up about 10 seconds later but apparently it had been 30mins...gutted! Sarah massaged my aching quads (I need to suggest Anne takes a course in massage!) and I was off again with Ben for his final leg. I really perked up at this point but it took the whole 3.9miles to Berkhamsted to get my legs moving faster! Ben and Sarah left to get some kip and Dad joined me here for his stint. He’d come in for some stick last year as he joined me overnight when I was suffering with injury and I might have made some ‘choice’ remarks to him. Anyway, I felt I owed him a good run and we reverted to 10/5s and made really good ground all the way to West Watford (115 miles) with Dad’s motivational chat inspiring me to really pick up some speed. My sister Clare joined me here and a brief detour to a toilet in a used-car dealership (there was nowhere else!) was the only incident as we breezed along towards the scene of last year’s drop-out point, Springwell Lock (121 miles). The sun was really hot now and when I set off I was struggling to control my temperature, sweating really heavily and having to drink loads and take a couple of salt tablets to keep me hydrated. I’d been munching food happily over the race so far but I was starting to lose my appetite – not a good sign with 24 miles left. I pushed on and met up with my final buddy runner, Rich at Wide Water Lock (123 miles). This was the point where I felt the worst in the entire race – my legs were completely shot but because I hadn’t eaten enough I was exhausted (the 30hrs running and no sleep for 2 nights had nothing to do with it!). I forced down some crisps, sweets and some biscuits and we departed the checkpoint a sorry pair.


Rich then suggested I lie on my back and he’d stretch out my hamstrings and calves – this worked wonders! We were soon up and moving and suddenly the thought that I had less than a marathon to go made me realise it was all nearly over! We knocked out consistently steady (and I mean steady) miles arriving at Hambrough Tavern on the outskirts of the centre of London at 5:30pm in hot sun. The crew saw immediately how ‘up’ we were and food and drinks were troughed and we were on our way again, knowing that the next time we saw the crew it would be at Little Venice. An annoying detour through Southall extended the race by 1mile but soon we were back on the canal and chatting to a couple of drunk Irishmen who were insisting that the only way I’d finish is if I had some of their lager! I declined. Maybe I should have taken them up on their offer though as the last few miles went on for ages! Every turn we expected to see the finish sign. We went past Wembley, Paddington Station, we could see the London Eye...we even asked people walking/running on the canal where Little Venice was – “just a mile or so” was always the answer! Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity the ‘Compton Harriers Running Club: FINISH’ sign came into view and suddenly I was running. I crossed the finish line in 39hours 18mins feeling amazing despite the ordeal and the heavyweight medal round my neck was fitting for such an epic event. The winner, Pat Robbins, didn’t manage to break 24hours, instead coming in in just over 26 hours – still unbelievable. I managed a respectable 24th position and given that over half the competitors dropped out I wasn’t complaining.


Thanks to all of those who helped organise the race (particularly Dick, pictured with me below), it’s a fantastic event. Now onto the UTMB...

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Grand Union 2010: Pre-Race Update

I’ve not been doing any racing since the Calderdale in preparation for the GUCR2010. Both legs are in working order and I’m feeling in pretty good shape…so it’s all bound to go horribly wrong! The race starts at 6am on Saturday and my crew will be updating my progress via Twitter and posting pictures via TwitPic. Fortunately, for those who don’t ‘Tweet’ you can see my Twitter/TwitPic feeds on the right of this blog which will update automatically. Technology eh?
I will post a full report on here post-race. The plan is to get right back into training for the UTMB – including a BG support for Craig and Mick, the Osmotherley and the Lakeland 50. We’ll have to see how trashed my legs are after 30hours on the towpath…

Calderdale 2010

It’s been a funny winter but the Calderdale Hike has a habit of serving up some random weather conditions - hail/snow/sun/wind...possibly all on the same day! Just 3 days before the race I was trotting over Derwent Edge and there was still snow lying on the ground. Anyway, I arrived at Sowerby Cricket Club this April under clear blue skies looking forward to a good day out. The walkers has already set off but it looked like another good turnout from the runners as there were plenty of people pottering about, fiddling with kit and getting their excuses in. The route changes bi-annually so I was hoping I’d remember all the good lines and paths I’d recced last year. All this was blown however after 10 seconds as I got carried away bombing down the cricket club drive, forgetting the sneaky route round the back. Sure enough, the half-dozen ‘in the know’ runners were ahead on the steep road down to the canal at Luddenden Foot and where we followed the towpath for a while - the pace probably too quick, but it was all good fun after less than 2 miles! After stretching your legs on this section everyone slows as we climb through some typical Calderdale paths up towards Midgely Moor and the second checkpoint at Crow Hill Nook. The ground was soft with some boggy sections encouraging you to skip across the moorland on fresh legs, the leaders were probably setting a quick pace down to the Keighley Road checkpoint but I was happily settled in a pack of 8 or so runners, including eventual ladies winner Sarah Rowell. The route then took us over to Walshaw. I have bad memories of this checkpoint after 2008 when I accidentally arrived there only to be greeted with “this is the short route mate, you should be over at Widdop” – what a complete berk! This year however it was on the route (both routes actually) and it from here there’s the start of some nice running over towards the reservoir at Widdop. The sun was getting up by this point and the road up to the checkpoint is one of those annoying gradients that is just about runnable so you generally arrive feeling a bit knackered. Over towards Long Causeway next via Cant Clough reservoir which provides a choice of route – either stay on the right side on the nice trail and cross the dam on the same route as the Howarth Hobble or go left as I did which is more direct but underfoot was a soft. Long Causeway was basking in sunshine and the marshals here, as they were at every checkpoint, were suitably chipper doling out drinks, jelly babies and custard creams (no doubt this is what Haile Gebrselassie is knocking back when he’s running a 2hr marathon!)



I’m not sure on the optimal route down from here to Holme Chapel but I fudged a direct route through Green Clough and somehow seemed to arrive at the little church hall ahead of the runners I left the last checkpoint with. This is one of the great things about these races, you really can gain places (and a psychological advantage) with some savvy map reading/recceing. Thievely Pike’s provides tough climb out of Holme Chapel and I was passing plenty of the quicker long walkers at this point. I’ve made the mistake in the past of underestimating the walkers – they’re no slouches and they take great delight in cracking up climbs like this pretty damn quickly. I tried the old ‘I’m not out of breath or knackered’ look at the trig’ point before staggering off and regaining some pep in my legs over towards the road on Slate Pit Hill. The next section is a real cracker on the route as you sweep round above Inchfield Moor on a track, great perfect for a steady jog. After the checkpoint you drop down into Walsden where there’s plenty of folk staring at your funny gait and shouting encouragement – “keep going lad, you’re almost done” (not quite true) and “you look like your could do with a pint son!” (very true). After clipping in at the canal I started to feel the effects of the sun on the section over to Lumbutts and it was an effort just to keep it going along this section. Fortunately, when I arrived at the rather picturesque church checkpoint I was surprised to see some other runners struggling in the heat too. I know it’s cruel but I’ve got to say I felt an awful lot better to see someone else having a rough time! I set off up Stoodley Pike with Colm McCoy which is the last serious climb of the race. You have to pick your way through families on weekend walks, mountain bikers and casual runners up this popular section but it’s popular for a reason – the views over Calderdale are cracking and on a day like this there are few places better. The long and short route have re-merged again at this point and as a result the run down to the reservoirs at Withins Clough was busy but is an opportunity for those with something left in their legs to get some pace up and really make up time. A swift stop at the checkpoint after the ever-patient Colm told me to “get a bloody move on” and I could smell the finish. The climb after Crag Vale was a bit dispiriting but alongside Tim Whittaker I dug in and we arrived at the final checkpoint looking forward to a steady run in. The front-runners must race along this last section at a fair clip but we ground out a steady pace and soon enough Sowerby church came into view and we were greeted with warm applause from all the finishers who were relaxing on the cricket pitch. We joined them as more runners arrived, each having completed a tough but thoroughly enjoyable event in one of the nicest areas to run in the country.



The eventual winner was Jon Morgan, followed by Mark Hartell and last year’s winner Martin Beale. Sarah Rowell was the first lady back, continuing her impressive form. Thanks to the organisers for their efforts and hopefully we’ll see a similarly good turn out in 2011 for another great day out in Calderdale.

High Peak Marathon 2010

It's been a while since my last race and a winter break has healed all my lingering injuries and given me a new impetuous for 2010! I would usually run The Hebden in January but I took a complete break and only really started building up for the High Peak Marathon in February. We had initially not got a place but we benefited from another team dropping out and so 'Team Porridge' were on the start list. I've done the event a couple of times before and I knew that it was going to be pretty gruelling. It's not enough to run 42 miles through some of the most tricky (both navigationally and in terms of underfoot conditions) areas of the Peak District, throw in the fact you have to do it at night in winter and it becomes particularly tough.

It's a team of 4 event though and I managed to round up Colin Bishop and Chris Maylor from Saddleworth and then Craig Stansfield from Todmorden. None of us had run together before and we each had our own strengths - Colin and Chris were more used to the shorter distances (although Colin had done a BG a couple of years ago) and Craig and I were more used to the longer stuff. We struggled to get together much in advance of the event as a four but we did all get out at some point in various combinations and a night recce the Friday before the race of the Cut Gate to Bleaklow Stones section with Col, Craig and myself proved to be useful on race night. The conditions for the recces were difficult to say the least - thick snow and therefore really slow going.

Anyway, on the night we were all pumped up despite our (relatively) thin preparation. We were off at 11:06 and the weather was perfect. Cold without being Baltic and a clear sky - surely the HPM wasn't going to be this 'easy'?! By Moscar we were running steadily with Chris Maylor keeping the rest of us in check pace-wise. The most difficult section followed but we seemed to breeze over Derwent Edge and be dibbing in at Lost Lad in no time. A good route from Sheepfold Clough to Cut Gate banished memories of a previous year when we went horribly wrong at this point and there was a virtual party at the Cut Gate checkpoint as three teams converged at the same time. I occasionally tried to string out the pace a bit over towards Swains Head but quickly realised that it was a team event and that my compatriots were sensibly holding back! I've never run this section and been able to see before and the sight of a string of lights all the way to Swains Head was quite impressive and we hardly needed to look at the map. The same was true up to Bleaklow Stones although I was a bit iffy about the location of the control which seemed to be a bit off where I expected it to be. Fortunately we saw it over to the east and we dibbed in. Our route choice (via the North-West passage) to Bleaklow Head was, in hindsight, the wrong one and we should have gone straight across but it didn't make too much difference as we weren't going to be troubling the leaders. The snow was pretty thick and we made slow progress.

The Snake served us some hot chocolate and cheese/pickle sandwiches which seemed to revive a flagging Chris who had been suffering. He really dug in a we got over Mill Hill and Kinder in reasonable time. As ever, Brown Knoll goes on for ages but with Edale in sight we were all feeling better and with 12hours looming we wanted to get back. As it turned out we just missed out on getting under 12hours and finished a creditable 17th in 12hrs 10mins. It's the first race of the year and I felt like I had plenty of running left in my legs which bodes well for the year ahead. The winners had clocked in just under 9hours which is really impressive, although I doubt they'll ever have an easier night for navigation. The event was, as usual, organised superbly well by Sheffield University students and the checkpoint marshalls did a sterling job out in the middle of nowhere for hours on end! Sir Ranulph Fiennes obviously found the event pretty exhausting - he had a little prang on his way home down the A6 in Stockport. At 66 and after reaching both poles, the top of Everest etc. I'm pretty impressed he's still doing this kind of stuff - good lad! I'll hopefully be back next year when I reckon we can significantly improve on our time...although I suspect the weather might not be as kind two years on the trot...