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...

Tanky's Trog & Calderdale Way Relay

It's the end of the season and I signed up to do a couple of local races with Saddleworth Runners to finish what has been an eventful year. I've been training fairly well after the disappointment of the OMM (my partner went over on his ankle towards the end of Day 1 forcing us to retire) with AM Mayhem at school (hill reps, sprints, dragging tyres etc) keeping things ticking over whilst some decent night runs and weekend long jaunts have racked up a few miles.

So Tanky's seemed like a good idea. Much hyped amongst the Saddleworth lot the race is about 21 miles from Marsden to Edale. The route is up to you as long as you pass through a checkpoint at Crowden and the Snake Inn. Unprepared as ever, I rocked up on a wet and windy December morning having not properly recce'd the route - a bad idea according to Tanky's veterans! I had a good idea of the route to Crowden and I thought I could wing it over Kinder but the Bleaklow section would be pot luck on the navigation. Support from Swallow and Vangrove (cheers gents) from school at Wessenden was much appreciated as I settled into the race, not really straining myself until Crowden. I had initially thought I'd stick to the Pennine Way over Bleaklow but made a last minute call to go via Wild Boar Clough with Kev from Dark Peak Fell Runners. This turned out to be a good call (cheers Kev!) as we tailed Nicky Spinks all the way past Bleaklow head in fairly awful conditions. It was pretty cold with horizontal hail. It seems that this was the quicker option as most of the top runners had taken that route over the Torside option. The section down the Snake Pass to the Inn was unpleasant and the path over Kinder couldn't come quickly enough. After 18 or so miles the steep ascent over Kinder was tricky and the boggy path on the plateau was slow going. I'd lost Kev by this point and was freestyling the nav, quite enjoying some sunshine that had appeared from nowhere. I yomped down into Edale in 3hrs 53mins, 29th spot.

It was nice to be a part of a race with other Saddleworth Runners. Colin came 11th and was the first home, a good effort. I think next year I will have to make more effort with the preparation! On the positives, the Skins compression half-tights were excellent, my hams felt great during and after the race. Unlike my shins that took as dislike to that kind of pace down steep hills.

Anyway, I ignored the sore shins to run with Roy Gardner at the Calderdale Way relay for Saddleworth the following week. We were running leg 5 and Colin and Sean had set a fast pace - we were 3rd after leg 1. Good runs from Ray and Adam, the Bowden brothers and Howard and Andy left us in 17th at the start of our leg. Unfortunately we were a bit too keen and set off from the wrong point (apparently outside the changeover area - although I'm suspicious) and were given a 2minute time penalty. Unaware of this, Roy and I shot off with Todmorden and Keighley & Craven in our sights. Roy was struggling with a cold and I think I nearly finished him off with a 'keen' pace as we winged the nav and managed only to drop one place as we handed over to Chris and Adam for the final leg. In the end we came in a creditable 17th, which would have been 15th without the 2min penalty - sorry chaps! 7.5miles - not my cup of tea distance wise but enjoyable to part of a race like this.

So...2010...big plans. The Paris Marathon, The Grand Union Canal Race again and hopefully the Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc assuming the entry goes through okay. There will be the usual races and some new ones no doubt. Staying injury free whilst training harder than I have ever done before will be the challenge and I'll be posting race reports on here (is anyone actually reading?!)

High Peak 40

The High Peak 40 was a test. Could my dodgy shins survive intact and would I be able to race at the Caesar's Camp 100 in 2 weeks? I've had Anterior Tibial Tendinitis in both shins on and off since the GUCR. Over the summer it was fine, but in the last month it resurfaced and has been pretty painful during and after long runs. So I packed the ibuprofen and lathered on some Volterol gel and set off from Buxton not really expecting anything quick but hoping I could last the distance unscathed.

The first 10 miles or so passed without note, in fact I barely noticed I'd been running (that's what a 5:30am get up does for you) and before I realised it I was pacing up Mam Tor with Ian from Dark Peak for company. The Edale valley looked fantastic as we raced along the ridge at a fair pace, dropping down from Hollins Cross into Castleton (easier this way than in reverse - see the Long Tour of Bradwell report). Ian's wife met us at the bottom of Cavedale with some food and we started up the rocky path refueled. It was a slog to the top, but we were rewarded with miles of downhill along tracks, road and then more tracks through Tideswell and into Tideswelldale - one of the most beautiful areas in the Peak District. The problem was, my shins didn't see it as a reward and by the time I joined the Monsall Trail I was feeling a bit shot. Fortunately I joined up with Rich Clark and between us we kept up a good pace and after a bit my legs were feeling a bit less delicate. In fact we were doing okay in terms of time and we were on for a 7hrs 30min finish. Thoughts of this and a post-race massage (what a good idea, I'm hoping other race organisers will take note!) spurred us on and we trotted home just over the 7hrs 30min mark.

So did my legs pass the test? Not really. I told myself they had but I was hobbling round for days after, kidding myself that I'd be fine to run 100miles in less than 2 weeks. So I pulled out of Caesars, more concerned with missing out on 3 qualification points for the UTMB 2010 than the race itself which could have been a grueller - 10 laps of a 10 mile course weren't too inviting. But wait - bonus! It turns out that my Fellsman finish from 2007 (!) counts as 3 points, which added to the 1 point for the HP40 gives me my qualification after all. Caesar's wasn't even needed! Well, it would have been today that I was in Aldershot for Caesar's and instead I'm sat typing this - shin-pain free and ready to top up my fitness in preparation for The OMM in 3 weeks. Could I have planned this to work out so well? Probably not. But it seems 2009 could turn out to be ending okay...

Cross Keys Relay

Considering that the majority of races I run are at least 30 miles, 2.5 miles should have been a breeze! The race is organised by my new club, Saddleworth Runners. It's a 4 man event, 2 road legs and 2 fell legs. I was due to run with Ray, Adam and Chris. Ray had bagged the last fell leg as he was arriving late and Adam volunteered for a road leg which was good as he is rapid. Chris Davies (interestingly, also our local MEP)and I tossed for the other fell leg as neither of us fancied 2 laps of a 1.25mile road leg - which turned out to be more tricky than the fell section. I won and was installed in leg 2 on the fell. Adam ran well and we were in 9th when I was 'tagged' and off I trotted up the hill towards Pots & Pans. Having passed one lady on the road before the stile I set my sights on a chap with a funny gait and a lad that looked about 16! On the way up the hill I passed the older guy but the youngster was going like a train! He blew it though and despite feeling like my lungs were on fire I vaulted the stile on the tops and passed him down toward the Isle of Skye road. The race then got unpleasant as I attempted to maintain a good pace back over the tops. Coming down back to the road on the Cross Keys side I took the wrong line and ended up going down the rocks. Three runners followed me too, probably thinking (quite sensibly) that a guy in a Saddleworth vest should know the way (especially when he marked the course!) and we all struggled to stay on our feet. Two of the three passed me on the road section metres from the finish which was annoying, still +1 places gained was not bad. Chris and Ray finished the job in fine fashion (-1 and +1 respectively) leaving us in 8th place at the end. I don't think I'll be taking up the shorter distances any time soon, the intensity of 20 minutes at that pace is horrendous - ultras are far easier!

The Long Tour of Bradwell

It's fairly rare that I get to recce any race routes but, alongside the dog Toby, I'd had a chance to scope out some of this new race in the week leading up to it. In terms of route finding it was of some use but mainly it served to prepare me for the considerable climbing on the course. I took the first few miles fairly steady after suffering on the Osmotherley Phoenix in the heat. The conditions were fairly hot and having come down through Cavedale it was a series of ups and downs - Hollins Cross, Ringing Roger (including a kamikaze decent!) and Lose Hill - before a nice trot into Hope. I was running with Steve Baker who was a similar pace and helped with route finding (his recce was a little more comprehensive than mine!) and we made it to the halfway point at Ladybower just 45mins behind the leader. We made excellent time up around Bole Hill and onto Stanage Edge managing to pick up the elusive CP13. Several runners didn't but the organisers seemed happy not to penalise people, probably fair enough given it was the first time the event was run and some of the controls were a little obscure. Navigation was tricky on our way down the valley from Upper Burbage Bridge into Grindleford as several sections of the path were completely overgrown. I was gasping for a drink by the time we arrived at the last water stop just outside Hathersage but, refueled, we made good time over the last 9km(managing to find the control located under a footbridge) and clocking in at the finish in just under 7hrs and 17th position. Dark & White Peak events have a reputation for putting on good events and this one was no exception.

After the race...

I felt I should post a thank you to everyone who supported me on the run. To the people who posted messages, texted the crew and just anyone who kept track of me over the course of the race I was kept well motivated! I have raised a significant amount of money for The Friends of Blue Coat, sponsors can be sure I suffered for the cause! As for the race, I was gutted not to finish - especially having got so far (123 miles). Suffice to say, my shins were unbearable and I risked completely crippling myself if I had carried on. The race was fantastic and I'll be back to avenge my shortcomings next year. Maybe I'll resurrect the blog for GUCR 2010!

He is still going! 7.45am

There were moments when we thought Chris wasnt going to make it. He needed to apply industrial amounts of anti-imflammatory gel to his shins and thighs. He said it felt like a cheese grater was attacking them. And he wasnt the only one who was in pain. Every runner we have passed this morning is running with a grimace and at 7.30 when we reached the 100 mile mark at least three dropped out. All of the buddy runners have done 10 miles and now Matthew is on his 19 mile leg