the Leaden Boot Challenge 26.2m

situated in the Lovely Village of Alstonfield deep in the White Peak, the Leaden Boot was a marathon length challenge event that took in the rolling countryside of the surrounding area and an associated 5300'+ of climb.

Alstonefield's Best Kept Village awards 1980 - present!

the concept of challenge events is that route instructions are given beforehand and competitors should navigate round using these on the day. with this being primarily a walking event, the numerous checkpoints on the way round were well stocked with biscuits, cake and water to keep us going.

with the walkers starting at 9am, us runners were afforded a later start at 10 which gave me plenty of time to collect my number and get ready for the race. milling around the start, it was clear that most people didn't have a clue where they were heading! after a quick briefing from the race organiser - along the lines of "be careful, respect the country code... you might as well get going now...!" we were on our way.

conditions underfoot, the weather (intermittent driving rain, sleet and gusting winds combined with baking sunshine) and the course itself made this feel more like a marathon-and-a-half - this was seriously tough and closer to what i'd imagine an ultramarathon to be like.

however, the views and scenery were amazing, with rolling hills as far as the eye could see:

view from Baley Hill - the first spike on the graph below!



elevation profile

 it was striking to note the difference in terrain in this fell race/challenge event/marathon in the White Peak as opposed to the Dark Peak of home - after discussing this with my old man it is definately true the difference between the surrouding area once you travel south of Buxton - the peat bogs and heather of New Mills/Hayfield are replaced with rolling turf hillsides and meandering streams.

this event will hopefully become a firm fixture in the fell running/LDWA calendar in years to come - there was a real sense of occasion on this first running, whose name came about after the lead was stolen from the village church and the locals were forced to come up with an idea to raise money to replace it.

i think the course took many people by surprise - the amount of climb coupled with the rough terrain and length of the course combined to make this a really tough event - in hindsight i could have travelled lighter and ploughed on through the driving sleet/rain as opposed to messing around with changes of clothes, but it was really nice to get out into the countryside and enjoy some wonderful views:



Narrowdale - the last climb before Alstonfield and home



there was a real sense of cameraderie amonst the runners and it was great fun navigating round the course - the route was really well marked though.

the winning runner was Steve Temple of Hayfield Races website fame in c.4h30 - an indication of how tough the course was.

once i'd finally made it back to the village hall i was greeted with a choice of pie or veggie bake-type thing... I opted for the veggie but the pie looked belting!



it is food like this that made this country great.





i just picked at my food - a small helping of veggie bake and a sliver of cake



the Leaden Boot Challenge - make it a part of your life in 2012!!!!!

high peak madness - 10.7m / 3050'

careful study of the FRA calendar (bit of an in-joke at Optimistic Towers as I read it most nights in bed) threw up two races in one day this weeked - Mount Famine and the Bollington Festival Three Peaks.

I had also hoped to tie in the Lantern Pike Dash on Sunday, but higher powers conspired against me, delaying the race by one week to clash with my entry into the inaugral Leaden Boot Challenge.

i was quite looking forward to this bumper day of racing, but unsure how to pace myself to stay the course over both races. on one hand, Mount Famine was the harder, with 1850' of climb over 5 miles, but my second race of the day weighed in at a longer 5.7 miles and a not inconsiderable 1200' of climb.

there is a great account of Mount Famine here at a fellow FRA forumite's blog, so i'll save the details on this race, however i will include a picture of the start (taken at the 2010 running, but I can vouch that the hill is still there):



(picture courtesy Geoff Briggs)

i was pretty happy with my run at this first race of the day, and made my way home as quickly as possible to round up the troops for a trip to Bollington and the day's second race. after refuelling with a slice of pizza and a lucozade, i was on my way again.

the Three Peaks race was to take in the summits of Kerridge Pike, White Nancy and the Nab, before returning to the cricket ground below the Middlewood Way viaduct where we started from.

luckily this race started off on the flat and continued like this for the first couple of miles, giving me time to coax my legs into action. we were soon climbing up to the first hill, i didn't find the going too tough, perhaps as I knew that the climb would be spread over the three peaks.

perhaps the toughest part of the race was the contouring back from Kerridge Pike back onto White Nancy, but we'd soon made the second summit and there was just time to take in the view from the top before we were ploughing down the hill and back into the village. i managed to squeeze the last drops of energy from my legs to make the top of the Nab, before making one final descent to follow the canal home to the festival site. this last stretch brought home memories of the final stretch of the Troller's Trot, however this stretch of waterside running was not nearly as bad in this case, and the only other similarity was a happy one at the end - a big pile of chilli - and courtesty of the brewery, a pint of Three Peaks ale.

high peak madness indeed! to my knowledge these two races were also run by two other runners, from Wilmslow AC and Springfield Striders (Essex!!).

next stop Vanessa Chappell

Crowden Horseshoe fell race 8 miles

The Crowden Horseshoe is a circular fell race that takes place from Crowden campsite just outside Glossop. a typically low key affair, circumstances were conspiring against me from before the race even began as i'd only brought my race entry fee, so didn't have enough money for the car parking on site. luckily i managed to park just off the main road, but having registered i found myself short of safety pins - luckily i found a kindly soul from North Yorkshire who helped me out.

the race itself started from the centre of the campsite and climbed up a track to the Outdoor Centre, then skirted up its side onto the fell.

it was at this point i encountered what i had previously understood to be Technical Terrain - i think that Difficult Terrain might be more descriptive, but i'll put that down to experience... on this race it wasn't the climbs that killed me, it was the run along the top of the rock face over the sharp uneven surface that meant i couldn't get into my stride, coupled with my tired legs from Friday's Run Home.

the large bowl of porridge and wheatgerm, coupled with a liberal dose of Deep Heat in the shed before leaving the house failed to do much for me, which meant i was goosed for pretty much the whole race.

this was actually a really enjoyable race - ran across pretty bleak Pennine moorland, which eventually turned into a paved path, our goal was the trig point where we would take a sharp right and being our eventual descent back down to the campsite.

having made the trig we duly made the turn, but conditions were extremely windy for the next mile or so, which made running across the peat even more tough - like wading through treacle with someone hanging off you at the same time.

it was around this point that i began work on setting my own personal record of falling over during a race (that's twice, for all the budding statisticians out there), and my planned three weeks of abstinence in preparation for the Leaden Boot went out of the window - i was having a pint afterwards!

after a long trudge across the fell, Crowden Reservoir soon loomed into view, and we found ourselves descending back into the campsite, where i made time to fall flat on my face and roll down the hill right in front of the small crowd that had kindly assembled to cheer us on for the final part of the race.

i've not seen the results from this one yet but it wasn't pretty - a cracking race though. better luck next year!

run home 6th May 8.93 miles

Same run home as the other night along the canal, but this time i came face to face with a heron minding its own business just above the road through Strines:

what you looking at?!

in hindsight i shouldn't have run home tonight as it left me too tired for my race on Sunday, especially after counting election votes at Stockport Town Hall until the small hours of this morning, but more of that later...

run home 3rd May 9.1 miles

after a tip off from our friend Doris, i explored the possibility of running down the Peak Forest Canal from Romiley to New Mills as an alternative run home this evening.

it turns out the route is no shorter, but it does have the added bonus of being almost completely off road, and takes in some lovely views, particularly passing through Chadkirk and through to Marple Aqueduct, running along the canal parallel to the railway viaduct over a wide gorge.

however running along a canal for 9.1 miles does have its limits in terms of keeping you occupied, so much so that i found myself stopping after 8 miles to see if i had inadvertently gone off route and ended up in completely the wrong place - the going got a bit boring this first time round.

however i persevered along the towpath and soon found my nostrils full of the sweet smell of the Swizzels Matlow factory at the top of town, where i left the canal and finished my journey along the main road.

not a bad run home and surprisingly taxing, it's good to have the option of going off road to get home. apart from a bit of ascent around Marple locks, the route is pretty much flat so good for days when i just want a gentle trot.