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...

Lakeland 50 27th July 2013

View from tent at finish

We arrived in Coniston on Friday afternoon greeted with glorious sunshine and warm temperatures.  Not exactly what I wished for – cool with cloud cover would have been perfection.  We headed to the main field at the John Ruskin school to pitch the tents which we would be falling into after the race on Saturday.  Friday night was intended to get a good kip at the local hostel... if only!

We met up with John M and checked in at the hostel then returned to the school to watch the start of the L100 and get ourselves registered.  I watched with admiration as the L100 runners got underway, what an epic journey they were about to embark upon.  Massive respect.

I got weighed and had my mandatory kit check – all the boxes ticked.  We had plenty of time to relax and get some food before turning in.  The hostel itself was adequate enough but some of us didn’t get a great amount of sleep with the amount of snoring going on.

I was up early for a quick shower, change then a quick pot of porridge.  I thankfully got a lift to the start at Dalemain rather than spending an hour on a full bus.  The weather at Dalemain was very warm and humid with the sun blazing down.  There were L100 runners coming through to a well-deserved round of applause.  I tried to get under some shade to cool down before the start at 11:30am, a little stretching of the niggling Achilles to warm it up.

All the L50 runners congregated at the start having dibbed in and the butterflies began to start.  A 4 mile loop around the Dalemain estate the off on the adventure to Coniston.  We were off at a brisk pace around the fields surrounding the estate and back through the crowds at the start.  I was already starting on the water bottle at this point, why the heck didn’t I wear a white t-shirt to deflect the sun! 

We passed through Pooley bridge and then climbed up above Ullswater taking in the cracking views on a beautiful day.  John and I unintentionally found ourselves running around the same pace. It was good to have the company.  The first checkpoint was at Howtown at 11 miles.  Bottles topped up and a bite of flapjack and then off up Fusedale.  This section up to High Kop was tough and involved lots of hiking but once at the top (the highest point of the route) it was good running along to Low Kop and descending to Haweswater.  The heat was sapping and found myself constantly taking on liquid. I remember from the recce a couple of months ago that the section along Haweswater to Mardale Head went on and on.  I tried to block that out and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other.  I was glad to reach Mardale for some refreshments and an attempt at having a pee. (only one pee all race was a little worrying).

The next section headed up Gatesgarth pass, another hike but I knew the descent was nice and steady pretty much all the way to Kentmere.  I ploughed on passing a few L100 runners offering my best wishes.  Only 20+ miles to go.  John and I had parted company at this stage as he was having some stomach issues at the top of Gatesgarth. All of the checkpoints were fantastic with a wide variety of food and drink and the support was brilliant.  I thought Kentmere was my favourite after necking a banana and apple smoothie.  Delicious at just over half way.

which way now

By this point runners were few and far between so I whipped out the road book to make sure I wouldn't go wrong.  Sadly that didn't work out as planned, in the wood section before Ambleside I went off track and came out onto the main road about a mile further out of Ambleside. Bummer.  

I ran through Ambleside with cheers from the pub gardens and random folk on the street, a great motivator.  I sat down in the Ambleside checkpoint and John walks in thankfully feeling better.  I gave my folks a wave and continued on with John to Chapel Stile.  It was so helpful having someone running with you to give you that encouragement and I thank John for that.  We helped each other for the last 15 miles.  I was also grateful he was there when I took a tumble on the way to Chapel Stile, a lapse of concentration and I was over on my side.  Knee,hip and hand got a bit of a hammering but was fine to continue.  The hand is currently multicoloured and fat!

From Chapel Stile we went on to Langdale and the running was becoming more comfortable. The banter was good and helped the miles tick over.  We reached the last checkpoint at Tilberthwaite and we had one a final push to the end. 3.5 miles to go - not easy by any means with the climb and descent.  We didn't think we would make sub 10 hours but plugged away and had a storming last mile into Coniston.  No headtorches needed.  The cheers from the pubs and the spectators was a huge lift all the way to the finish.  We finished in 9 hours 58 minutes and 7 seconds.  Fantastic!

finished

My folks and Mike S were at the finish and it was good to see them, they must have had a long day.  It was a great race and fabulous organisation and support throughout.  It was brutal and challenging but we made it.  Joint 21st place.

I had no sleep that night as the rain started soon after we finished and I was in the tent.  I was up early passing the finish gantry and surprised to see Fergus' wife there.  Fergus was running as a team of four and was still out - due in at 8:15am.  He'd been out all night in the rain.  Unbelieveable.  If he'd ran the race on his own he would have been top 20.

A great event, now looking forward to a few days off before getting some short stuff under my belt.  I have the points to enter the CCC at UTMB in 2014, just need to picked out of the hat now!

Chevy Chase Fell Race 6th July 2013 20 miles, 4,000ft

This classic Northumberland race was perfect timing in preparation for the Lakeland 50 on the 27^th July.   This was very much coincidental - I was always going to do this race, as I have done the previous two years.  The route, the challenge, the runners, the organisation and the volunteers make this race one for the diary year after year – hence the rush to apply for a place back at the beginning of February.  The limit is around 200 runners, and fills up quick sharp.  Three weeks to the day before embarking on the Lakeland 50, the Chevy would give me my last big training run in terms of distance, time on feet and ascent for conditioning.  Back in April I had similar preparation for the Highland Fling by running the Allendale Challenge three weeks before.

Chillaxed before the race

The forecast was to be very warm with little wind.  We arrived at Wooler for registration and got “dibbed” up.  The mandatory kit check stated that water had to be carried due to the hot weather with limited refreshments at the checkpoints.  Luckily I had my donut bottle in the car.  It was great to see so many NFR’s at this race and to get a chance to be in the team photo. 

We set off bang on 10:30am at a steady, relaxed pace.  The intention was to enjoy the race and use it as training, not being concerned about where I finished.  The first few miles are easy running, some road, trail and a couple of steady inclines.  At this point I had no idea where I was in the field as I chose not to look too far into the distance.  It was steady going, I was enjoying the scenery and trying to remain relaxed with a clear head.  This works for me, I should use it more often.  Thinking back to the Allendale challenge and the Fling, I adopted this approach there too and the results exceeded my expectations.  It makes such a difference when you are enjoying running rather than having outside influences and pressure get to you.  At shorter road races like 10k’s there seems to be a completely different ethos where runners are in the zone and worried about getting PB’s.

After the first checkpoint at Broadstruther, I was sitting in a group of five letting the others do the work.  The next two sections were going to be tough eventually ending up on the top of the Cheviot, so I was conserving energy.  The heat was having an effect by this time, although there was a nice breeze.  I reached the Cheviot summit after a little “hands on knees” action and scoffed a gel.  The descent from the Cheviot is quite sharp and it takes more effort to stop tumbling down (although this would be quicker!).  With this in mind I was worried about my quads getting a bashing so eased up a little.  This allowed a couple of runners to pass me but I wasn’t overly concerned. 

The next checkpoint would be Hedgehope at halfway, after another long drag.  A bit more walking/hiking on this section but managed to get back the two places I lost on the Cheviot descent.  The Hedgehope descent is more manageable, but still quite acute.  Once this was out the way it should be relatively plain sailing to the finish….

I somehow lost a place between Hedgehope and Langlee Crags; I obviously took a different (and longer) line.  I was still in a good place and feeling comfortable with my pace and nutrition/hydration.  I ran with Bruce Crombie from Alnwick Harriers and Andy Blackett for a while up until Brands Corner which helped pull me along.  The section along Carey Burn seemed to last forever up until the dreaded Hell’s path (and final) checkpoint.  I dibbed my dibber and was told I was in third place – what!!!!  How did this happen?  Did I miss a checkpoint? Are you sure? I clambered up Hell’s path and took a last cup of water ready for the last couple of miles.  I went from not being worried about position to “get a move on, you’re in third!  How often does this happen!”.

The pace quickened and I made sure I didn’t look behind me.  I passed a walker who muttered something about 250 metres – what? I had 250 metres gap?  I ploughed on and dug deep, the legs were suffering now.  I crossed the finish line with relief.  In the end I had quite a gap between myself and fourth.  I found out later that I wasn’t far off second. 

Huge thanks to the organisers and volunteers – fantastic as usual.  There were some great performances, I know Phil G and John T were well chuffed with their times.  It was a shame to see Chris W DNF.  He’s had a period of some rotten luck.  I hope he recovers well to do the 100k he has planned in the Lakes in September.

Had a great chin wag with a certain Mr Tim Bateson, producer of the Great British Trail Running podcast (check it out, it's fantastic!).  It was good to finally get this opportunity having followed his activities on Strava and to quiz him on his Hardmoors exploits - great run Tim.

I’m now looking forward to a gentle taper down for the Lakes 50.  It’s going to be a great weekend.

19 days to go.

Humbleton Fell race and final Lakeland 50 recce

Since the Highland Fling, training has been very much up and down due to a combination of a three week old cold and achilles issues. This has interrupted my training and preparation for the Lakeland 50 on July 27th. The achilles has not been happy for some time now, some days are better than others but if it gets irritated it lets me know.

One of many treatments for the achilles - B&Q bucket

 Waking up in the morning like an old bloke hobbling out of bed is becoming the norm. I have been trying all sorts of stretching and exercises to try and relieve the little blighter with some icing and massage but I'm pretty much hoping that it will just go away. The first time I had developed achilles tendinitis was after the Great North Run in 2011. It eased after a few months but has always been slightly tender to the touch. Fingers crossed it'll sort itself out with regular stretching. As I type this I have had a good day of zero pain

Fellow NFR's at Duddon Valley - courtesy of  Andy Russell

I entered the long Duddon Fell race back at the beginning of June as it was a Northumberland Fell Runners Championship race. I wanted to give the champs a good crack this year after 2012 was blighted with anaemia and injuries. I thought it would be tough with being a lakes classic but found it much tougher than Borrowdale the previous year.

18 miles with 6,000 ft of climb, with a 3 week old phlegmy cold and a sore achilles, was not ideal and I did suffer after about 12 miles. Let's just say I wasn't the happiest when runners began to stream past me. What rounded the day off was when I fell into a bog literally 400m from the finish. A hot summer dry day and I hobble in dripping with mud. I chose to write off the race, but happy that I had some points on the board.


This week I was contemplating the Humbleton Fell race, bearing in mind I had a Lakes 50 recce to do the next day. I took the decision and went for it. The race is held at Haydon Bridge and this 5 miler is a little gem. Just short of 800ft of climb and it's pretty fast, especially the downhill finish! I rocked up in my soon to be sold Mini Cooper and paid my six quid for the pleasure. It was a warm night with little wind. A great turn out, around 60 runners and quite a few from NFR. I was around 4th/5th after the first mile and conscious that I should ease into it.

Works pretty well! The leader from NFR was out of sight by this time but I plugged away sticking with 3rd and 4th. We reached the top and went straight on, little did I know it was the wrong way! I heard a shout from behind, they turned left. "oh hell!" This was a shock to the system so immediately turned around and increased the pace to try and get back on track. I was in 4th at this point. I got my number slashed with a red felt tip at the checkpoint, turned and ran hard downhill for the last couple of miles. There was a lot of too-ing and fro-ing with positions on the descent and when we reached the road I thought I was in 4th with the NFR a convincing winner. I crossed the finish line and was told I was third (1st for NFR) as the leader failed to reach the checkpoint. This boosted my confidence after the Duddon race. A great little race and superbly organised. A bottle of red for third place and a bottle of beer for first team.



On Thursday, after a nettle stinged sleep, I was off to the Lakes to do the final recce of the Lakes 50 route taking in Howtown to Mardale Head (9 miles). I met up with a mate at Mardale Head car park and discussed the route. We decided to hop up a few Wainwrights while we were there so headed up to High Street. The weather at home was clear and sunny but in the Lakes it was hazy and cloudy. At least it wasn't torrential rain. I really enjoyed the climbing and the run to the start of the L50 leg. Quite a bit of hillage and good company.

Mardale head car park

We reached Howtown with a few thousand feet in our legs and headed up Fusedale valley. The weather was quite sticky and a lot of moisture in the air. The climb up to High Kop was pretty relentless, climbing on and on. Pretty sure at this point during the race it'll be more of a hike than a run. The descent to Haweswater was a tricky one to make sure we get it right on race day. We negotiated this quite well and headed along the shore of Haweswater for the next 6k or so. It went on and on and on! It was probably the amount of climbing we did before the section but the legs were very heavy at this point. Midges were attacking every bit of exposed flesh. I'm still paying the price! The view and the area were serene. You could hear a pin drop.

Haweswater

The lake was like glass. Perfection. We reached Mardale Head car park after around 5 hours with a sense of achievement but also aware what awaits from this checkpoint. Gatesgarth Pass. Bring it on...... 5 weeks to go.

18+ miles with 5,000ft of ascent, quality training for L50.

 P.S. Giving Windy Gyle a miss - quads are still stiff so easy run it is!