National Cross Country Championships and Brough Law fell race

National Cross Country Championships, Nottingham, 22nd February 2014

Wollaton Park, Nottingham was the destination for this year's National Cross Country Championships. A three and a half hour 'entertaining' journey on a sunny, cool day was well justified. The event was fantastic and a great experience being my first one.

Wollaton Park

It was a lovely setting and the course had a bit of everything. Mud, trail, long grass, hills and even a large tree trunk to leap over on each lap. The mass start was a joy to be part of, all in starting pens and aiming for the same corner at the top of the first climb.

Three Musketeers

You had to be very careful here, not to be trampled on and not go off too fast. I got away with both and eased into a steady pace which I maintained for the rest of the race. Needless to say, the mud was like running through treacle by the final lap and was energy sapping.

I was well pleased to finish 233rd out of a field of around 1600 and ninth counter for Morpeth. I'll be back for next year's, wherever that will be.

Brough Law, 9th March 2014

Great conditions greeted the competitors and spectators at this year's Brough Law fell race at Ingram.  It was mild for this time of year, around 9 degrees with a bit of a wind on the tops. Sunny intervals though with no rain and the ground was quite firm with only a few boggy areas. What a turnout too, record number of 120+ and a Northumberland Fell Runners Grand Prix counter so lots of NFR vests milling about the start area.

First climb

As always, it was a very well organised event with very supportive marshalling throughout. The weather was so good that kit wasn't required!

On a personal level, I was chuffed with 4th spot, second counter for NFR so I have some GP points on the board.  The first mile sets the tone for the rest of your race as it is a canny climb for just short of a mile before the horizon opens up to the tops of the hills. I felt reasonably ok until the second climb and felt quite tired but was spurred on by the oncoming NFR vests behind me. 

Well done to all competitors and thanks again to Will H and John T for a great morning.

Short, sharp shrift

It is now one week before the National cross country championships in Nottingham. My first time at this event which I'm told is all about the experience!

January and February have been good to me so far, I'm training well and have already competed in four events. Hillforts and Headaches fell race, Durham cathedral relays, Wrekenton cross country (now in the fast pack) and the Hetton road relays. This is a far cry from the beginning of 2013 when I was fully focused on high mileage preparing for my first ultra and avoiding any kind of competition.

My whole running picture changed when I failed to get a place in the CCC. Discussions with friends and most importantly my coach, I now have a plan. Next 'big race' is the Yorkshire 3 peaks in April. Really enjoying this short stuff though, and the comarardery of club mates. If I'm lucky to get into the CCC next year then so be it. It is something I intend to do no matter what. Never stand still.

I'm writing this post on a train journey down to Lincoln to meet up with my wife (who is visiting her sister). We then travel to Southport to pick up our new springer spaniel puppy. A bit of a life changer! A long day of travelling ahead....

Down’s, up’s and a lottery

Part 1 – down’s

Just before Christmas I aimed to participate in the Tour de Helvellyn race.  A 38 mile loop starting from Askham and taking in Martindale, Patterdale, Stick’s pass, Thirlmere and Grisedale.  I did participate, but unfortunately this was to be the first race I have ever had to pull out of, notching up my first DNF.

The weather on the drive over to Askham the day before the event was what can only be described as horrendous.  Gale force winds, rain beating against the windows and chilly temperatures.  We were praying for the weather to improve as I hunkered down on the Community centre floor for a night’s kip, along with thirty or so others taking advantage of the cheap accommodation with porridge for breakfast thrown in.  Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much.  A combination of the wild weather and the snoring/farting combo at frequent intervals put paid to that.

Battered

I set off at 8am sharp and it wasn’t raining at this point.  I caught up with Mr D Troman and Mr M Wilson early on who both knew the route so I could get a good start and on the right path.  I was familiar with part of the route from the Lakeland 50 along Ullswater to Howtown.  Other than that, I hadn’t reccied any of it so was hoping there would be plenty of runners to follow so I could keep my rubbish nav skills in my back pocket….

I was going well up until the descent of Boredale Hause.  Everywhere was saturated.  I lost concentration on the rocky path down to Patterdale and slipped and fell onto my leg.  The force of my body weight pressing my leg into a rock.  I got up straight away but looked down and my thermal legwear had torn, exposing a large swelling of my outer shin.  It didn’t look good but a fellow competitor advised me to walk for a while to assess the damage.  I reached the Patterdale checkpoint and felt sore but confident I could keep going.  It looked like it was a damaged muscle which was petruding out, and not bone (thankfully).  Was I doing more damage running on it?  I carried on until the Swirl How car park where I was intending to eat and drink then head off again.  The marshall at the checkpoint spotted the injury and advised I pulled out.  I was gutted, but resigned to the fact that I had another 20 miles to go on an injured leg.  It wasn’t going to improve by running on it, stupid to carry on.

The organisation of the event and the route were excellent.  I hope to return one year to do it justice.  Thanks to Joe Faulkner for the lift back to the start!

Part 2 – up’s

Having rested for a few days after the TdeH disappointment, my leg had improved a lot and I was out having a bimble in the hills with my brother on Boxing day.  I was back training at the club and thought about entering the Hill forts and headaches race on New Year’s day.  A 3 mile blast from the Newcastle Hotel at Rothbury up to the top of Beacon Hill.  I had run this the previous year and really enjoyed starting the New Year with a great fell race.  Four quid for a race and cracking soup at the end.

As usual I set off too fast but kept with the leading two of Lee Bennett and Phil Sanderson up to 1.5 miles.  It was a bit of a struggle after that, the clag had come down and temperatures dipped the higher we climbed. 

I was over the moon to finish third, but I was thinking I was going to be caught at any moment.  A bottle of ale for third and a chocolate orange for first team.  Cracking start to the year and a boost to the confidence. There were mutters that this could be the last Hill forts race unless someone steps in to take over the organisation.  It would be a great shame if nobody came forward.  I can imagine it would be a lot of work involved.

Part 3 – Ultra-trail du Mont Blanc – the CCC lottery outcome

I am, without doubt, hugely disappointed with the draw - “refused”.  There was the opportunity to transfer my entry to the TDS, but I would lose my co-efficient for the CCC next year.  My goal for the last 18 months was to be selected for the CCC, so I will re-apply next time.  I will be focussing on representing Morpeth harriers and Northumberland Fell runners over the coming months and look forward to the Lakeland 50 with my brother in July and perhaps helping out on a Bob Graham round attempt. A few road PB's to aim for too

Hexham Hobble, 1st December 2013 (10.4 miles, 1,243ft)

I last competed in the Hexhamshire Hobble fell race in 2011 on a wintry day in Allendale.  There were blizzards, ice and a bitterly cold wind.  This year’s event was held in probably the best conditions for a number of years.  No wind, sunny spells and a toasty 8 degrees.  There was no alternative but to get the legs out on display.  The long sleeved Helly Hansen baselayer with the sleeves rolled up even turned out to be too warm!

There was a fantastic turn out this year with mutterings of an appearance by a certain Mr Ricky Lightfoot.  What a coup!

Given the conditions, it was highly likely that the course record would be smashed.  I paid my seven groats and made sure my bum bag had the necessary mandatory kit.

The start was prompt and I found myself in the top 10-15 on the first climb out of Allendale town.  Mr L was off like a rabbit, bounding up the hill and off into the distance.  I settled into my own pace keeping in touch with Andy Blackett (winner of the event the last two years).  The terrain was very runnable with the odd bog littered about, some of which I had no option but to plough through and get a soaking.  There was some to-ing and fro-ing between Andy and myself for a couple of miles then Lee Bennett stormed past.  Andy attached himself to Lee which helped pull me along, barely keeping in touch but certainly in sight.

By half way I was feeling quite strong, thinking the past couple of months of swimming sessions were perhaps paying off.  Even my dodgy achilles was niggle free.  I passed Andy on the long downhill road section from 8km to 11km, Lee was off into the distance.  I had no chance of catching him with only one climb and the ultimate descent to Allendale school to come.  There was some welcome encouragement on the last climb from Steph S, (thanks for that Steph).  I ploughed on trying to consolidate my position, conscious that I may be caught.  I made sure I didn’t look behind me just in case!

After the fast downhill road finish I was pleased with my run, and picked up my 20th anniversary race mug! 6th position in 01:10:49. I shook Mr Lightfoot’s hand and found out that he had indeed stormed to a new course record of 1:02:31 (previously Morgan Donnelly’s 01:05:19).

A great turnout from NFR, who picked up the team prize, based on the top 4 finishers from each club and also based on total time.  Emma Bain picked up a combination of 1st lady and 1st V40, great result.

A big thanks goes to Allen Valley striders. The organisation,marshalls and tea and cake were fantastic.  A cracking event.

British FRA fell relays, Llanberis 25th October 2013

When I was asked if I wanted to participate in the British FRA relays I jumped at the chance.  Not only to represent my club (NFR), but to experience my first fell relay event in a place I'd never been to before.  The team was kind of cobbled together through the hard work of the team captain as there were runners injured and had other commitments which is fair enough.  It was a long way to go.

Pen-y-pass

I'd been struggling with niggles, most prominently being the achilles but had a period of decent training so I knew I'd be able to do a reasonable job.  I reached Wales on the Friday night thanks to fellow team mate Emma Bain who did all the driving.  As this was my first time in the Snowdonia area she was kind enough to detour up Pen-y-pass to give me an idea of what i've been missing.  It didn't disappoint, fantastic views of the rugged mountains. Needless to say it was wet!

They're off on leg 1

After little sleep during the Friday night (thanks to drunken louts staying in the same hostel), we arrived at the start in Llanberis.  Weather was cool with heavy downpours and strong winds.  I was on leg 4 which was just shy of 9k with 2,000ft of ascent.  Basically up Moel Eilio and back down.  I prepared myself for a long wait as the approximate time for the first 3 legs would be around 4 hours.  I kept warm and dry in the marquee chatting to a few other competitors.  What a great turn out, around 200 teams from all over the country.

My leg went pretty well.  I was wary of perhaps having to do some navigation as the field was pretty spread out by this time and with the quickly changing weather it was likely that visibility could be pretty low.  It turned out ok in the end, thankfully.  I really must brush up on the map/compass thing.

The ascent was quite tough going with some steep sections but some areas were very runnable. The rain stayed off for me but the wind was strong.  The descent was fantastic, great views and the terrain wasn't too bad, although near the bottom it was becoming a bit of a quagmire.  I got back in around 55 minutes.

The whole team did fantastically well.  Emma Bain, Will Horsley (captain), David Armstrong, Paul Hainsworth and Steve Minnikin.  Top half finish and 45th out of 99 in the Open category.

Looking forward to putting my name forward next year, also for the Ian Hodgson relays!!

5 of the team of 6

Powering through

I've had a good couple of weeks training under my belt after a bad period with virus and persistent achilles problems.  Virus gone and able to manage achilles in such a way that it isn't anywhere near as bad as it was.  I have introduced some swimming into my schedule which I think is helping my all round fitness, working muscles I never knew were there!

British Fell Running relays next weekend in Snowdonia, looking forward to my first visit to Wales!

A few photo's from some recent off road jaunts below.

Bothal Castle

Simonside

Alnham Moor

Cheviots

Aaaaaggghhh-chilles

No running for the forseeable future. 

Finally bitten the bullet and seeing a chap about my progressively worsening Achilles problem next week. I'm taking the opportunity due to an enforced sidelining with a viral infection. 

It has to be done, I'd love to remember what it's like to get out of bed in the morning without hobbling around like an old man.

Cycling only which isn't a bad thing.

Doodled a little chart while watching the boring football. I've had a good year with some great results. Time to rejuvenate and sort the injury out.

I have plans for next year. Important plans...