The Snowdonia Marathon

The Snowdonia Marathon. Sounds easy when you say it quickly. It’s also probably the most scenic road race in the UK, alongside the Langdale Marathon, and lined with friendly supporters all the way.

I’d done this one twice before:

2009: 4h46

2011:4h16

2013: target sub-4.

After July’s Lakeland 50 I had 13 weeks in which to go from an ultra-distance, slow paced running routine to a fast, consistent paced, continuous running style. I had a week or so off after the 50 miler and then got back into things with the Cracken Edge fell race. My plan was to use the 50 as a general foundation for fitness, and slot some short, sharp speed work on top, combined with a good foundation of 8 to 15 mile runs.

Having done Snowdonia twice before I really couldn’t be bothered doing it too many times again, and the lack of a sub-4 hour finish was starting to annoy me. I set about devising a training schedule that had a mix of speed, distance and climb – all on the road therefore specific to the race in hand – working up to the clichéd 20 mile long run about 3 weeks before race day.

Luckily mrs theoptimistic runner had also signed up for the race, so more often than not our Sundays saw us getting up, sorting the kids out and doing family stuff then passing each other on the doorstep as we set out on our long runs.

Training for a specific time on a road marathon, at around 7 weeks before race day the long runs were getting to be 2+ hours long, and whilst they were enjoyable, I felt a bit like a hamster on a wheel at times – the runs had to be done whether I felt like it or not. For the record I did about 85% of the training runs in my plan, if I ever missed something I’d try to make up for it by putting more into the next run, or taking the dog for an extra walk or something. During my training I did find some lovely routes over Werneth Low and down the back of Mellor, it’s always great when you discover new routes.

I averaged around 20 miles a week over 3 runs. I think I had two 30+ mile weeks. If you think that just by putting in the miles you will get the job done, you are wrong. It takes a good diet, a plan of how you’re going to run the race, a desire to do well with a positive mindset, and good overall fitness. Also – if you live by your schedule and you miss a session, the feelings of guilt and despair when you miss a run can really knock you back. By incorporating more factors that you can actually control, you stand a better chance of running the race you want to run.

My 20 mile long run a few weeks before the race was an absolute disaster and I was hobbling from about 15 miles onwards. Even downhilling I could only manage 7:30 minute miles. I put it down to a bad day and decided to bank the strength I’d gained – when you run 20 miles, no-one can take that away from you – either if you stuff yourself with junk food afterwards, or the run itself doesn’t go to plan, you’ve still done those 20 miles and your legs have still got that little bit stronger.

I think of running as building up a foundation of capability – so for instance on a marathon, if you can get to the stage where you feel comfortable for the first 15 miles, then you are only left with an 11.2 mile run – and an 11.2 mile run should be pretty straightforward for someone wanting to run a marathon. It’s a bit of kidology but similar to how I approach ultras – just keep chipping away and keeping yourself hydrated and fed, resetting yourself back to zero with food and drink from checkpoint to checkpoint as far as possible whenever you can.

In the 10 days leading up to the race I laid off all caffeine, processed food and cakes, but I did have a cheeky bottle of Pendle Witch’s Brew and it tasted rank! Together with mrs theoptimistic runner we knocked our cake intake right back and mainly kept to dark chocolate for treats. So we approached Carnarvon on the Friday night excited and ready to run the next day. We nipped to Llanberis to get our numbers and the weather was doing its worst – I’ve got to be honest and say if it stayed like that I wasn’t going to have a great run the next day.

We had a look around the registration area which has now moved into the Electric Mountain visitor centre and incorporates a mini-Expo (more like a jumble sale but it’s nice to see the race getting bigger and more popular by the year), and then ran back to our car through the wind and rain.

Tea on Friday was a big lasagne with sweet potato chips for me, and I finished off mrs t.o.r.’s steak and ale pie, along with a medicinal pint of stout. Breakfast on race morning was a bowl of porridge, with a full English in sandwich format to eat after the race.

On the day, things went great. The weather was perfect and we got there in plenty of time. I'd borrowed a Garmin to keep me on pace, anything like 8 mins on the flat, 7 mins on the downhills and 9 mins on the up would see me right to the tune of 3h39. I'd planned each mile against the course profile and my knowledge of the route and it felt achievable.

planned timings

Mile 1 went a minute faster than predicted so that was 60 seconds in the bank. Halfway up the climb to Pen-y-Pass I realised one of the Garmin displays was wrong, so I got that sorted and pushed on uphill.

When the road after Pen-y-Pass opens up and the route down the valley is laid out before you, at that point of a marathon, there aren't many better places to be in the world. The next downhill is as fast as you want it to be, the fastest part of the course, so I took advantage and got a couple of 6 minute miles under my belt - another 2 minutes in the bank.

From then on it's a bit more downhill to mile 8ish, then along the valley bottom to Bedgellert which seemed to take an age to come. Just keep the head down and concentrate on running, no thought about planning for retirement, pints at the end or anything else - stay focused on the job.

Bedgellert finally arrives along with the following uphill slog for a couple of miles. This gave me a chance to use some different leg muscles, there was a brief shower too which was a nice break as well. Time for another gel - during the race I took one at 3, 9, 16 and 21 miles. 9 and 21 were caffeine gels, I swear by SIS, they always seem to do the trick.

From mile 16 it's tough for a few reasons - no suppport, it's quite an isolated stretch, flat, and nearly 'wall' time. Time to bash out some consistent miles and tick them off. They fell soon enough, and a few runners overtook me. Just concentrate on my own timing and my own race; stick to the plan.

By this time we were approaching Waunfawr and the famous last climb - looking across the valley, it looked much the same as Lantern Pike near me which I run up all the time, which was reassuring.

There's no big story about the last hill on this run - I ran about 90% of it, but there were a couple of times I was reduced to a walk. I looked down at my watch  and it was about 3:15; I had around 3 miles to go. It was decision time. Find something extra in the tank and be home in half an hour, or forget it all and get back sometime later. The path flattened out and I pushed on, the quarry gradually came into view. I stopped for a quick drink at the final station and then it was time for the final descent. The last downhill on the tarmac is brutal at that stage of the race, but it's all free energy and I tried to take advantage as best I could.

Turning the corner into the finish strait in Llanberis I had the biggest smile on my face as I saw the clock: 3h39. I crossed the line and went into the kit hut. I was bleeding in 4 places and pretty emotional and had a bit of a moment to myself. After 9 months of planning and prep, and 2 previous attempts over the past 4 years, I'd done it. Should have run quicker in the first place!

I hope you enjoyed my tale.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/397520005

Tour of Pendle 16m 4,100'

The last AL of the season and my longest and steepest fell race to date. We organised a Pennine minibus to take 12 of us on the 60 minute journey to Barley and race HQ. The start was bitterly cold which promised clear conditions on top and easy navigation. This isn't a classic route but it's certainly tough and interesting.

the route

There are 6 major climbs (and descents), the most notorious descent being Geronimo (how fast do you dare come down?!); the final climb doesn't have a name but i'm sure it's been given a few unofficial titles by runners over the years! I was so strung out on this last bit that I picked up a half-eaten Murray Mint and ate it. It was delicious!

                                                                      Geronimo!

Marple Parkrun 5k

1 week before Snowdonia. If I can’t run 5k flat out in just over 20 mins, what hope do I have in running a marathon for 3.5 hours plus? Me and mrs theoptimisticrunner brought the kids down to Brabyns Park in Marple for the grandparents to look after whilst we had a final fling training run.

There’s nothing like having kids to bring you down to earth – forget about preparing for a sub-4 hour marathon target time, there’s coats to put on, dummies to find and screaming to deal with. You’re 14^th out of 104 runners in the parkrun? I don’t care, I’m knee deep in a puddle and I’m having a great time!

After a brief warm up we were away. I felt close to the front of the pack but the pace was painful. Managed to hang on for the first lap; the second lap was a skin of the teeth job. One runner (Frank Fielding, fellow Pennine fell runner and track athlete extraordinaire [now 50+]) overtook me, I managed to claw him back but couldn’t get any nearer the next man. 21:22 I think I did it in, a new PB. Like I say, it’s all relative. Didn’t mean anything on the day, I had bigger fish to fry in a week’s time.

Windgather fell race 13.5miles ~2,500’

 

The first taste of winter? Weak showers and a mild breeze played with our thoughts of kit selection as we lined up at the start.

At just over 13 miles and around 2,500’ of ascent – but on trail & fell terrain – this race would be a reasonably accurate barometer of my overall fitness in preparation for Snowdonia.

It was all pretty runnable and navigation was easy apart from one bit where instinct should have kicked in – but I gave in and followed someone else. This only continued for a few yards as a spectator saw us back on the correct route.

I was glad of the Snickers bar (remember they used to be called Marathon?) I’d brought with me; I had half on the climb out of the reservoir valley bottom and the second half on the top just after Windgather rocks. This shows the logic of running your own race; some runners overtook me as I slowed down to eat the second half of my Snickers, but then I finished it off and soon overtook them, never to be seen again. Know the route and know what you’re looking to achieve – unless you’re just out for a fun run, in which case just enjoy it. Personally I’ve been disappointed too many times in races that have fallen in the middle of a training schedule and I’ve been too tired to compete. Don’t get distracted by the detail if you’ve got your eyes on something bigger.

I think I finished around 2h25, not a brilliant time but something to take to Snowdonia in a couple of weeks time and a nice reminder of the beauty of the Peak District in which we live.

Cracken Edge 2013

After the Lakeland 50, running 7 miles over a bit of moorland was a doddle. No sore legs and a beautiful evening. Is performance all in the mind? 5 mins quicker this year.

Some runners were wearing rucksacks, I presume they’d either run there or were being overly cautions. Better that than the other extreme.

Lakeland 50 2013 - 50 miles, 9000'

Nearly 9 months in the offing, this was going to be my first race of any sort in the Lake District since the 2009 Great Langdale Marathon. This would be something like my 6^th ultra, having run a few marathons too, but the first time I’d ever had anything like a Training Diary leading up to a race so I was feeling confident and had been running well in the local midweek races back in the Peak District.

I was really looking forward to this race as it promised to cover some of the lesser visited corners of the area, but the section down the Langdale valley was one I knew fairly well.

The day before the race was pretty uneventful but I took the chance to sit in the 100 mile briefing and watch the 6PM start of their event. Thinking of them running through the night and morning before we started at Dalemain really brought home to me the scale of what they were doing. As I write this after the race, I think I could do the distance but running through 2 nights would really play with my mind.

On the morning of the race I bumped into Col Wilshaw from Pennine who told me our other clubmate Paul Booth was running the 50 as his car broke down Friday evening en route to the 100 – so he’d been let on the 50 instead. We ended up running together up until Haweswater and I was glad of the early company. Topics discussed included stalkers and private email addresses, I wonder what another 10 hours on the trail would have thrown up?!

There are plenty of other descriptions of the route so I’ll leave most of that to others. The main factor in the early stages, in fact through to the early evening, was the heat – in turns sunshine and humidity – so keeping a lid on things and not flying off too fast, aside from the normal ultra pacing, was going to be key.

We did a 4 mile loop round Dalemain estate then we hit Pooley Bridge and the first few crowds cheering us on. I wondered if 12:30 was too early for a Pepperami but Col suggested I get one down me. The 60 grams of carbohydrate that Paul reckoned I’d burnt off by now were replaced in one helping of processed salty crap.

CP1 at Howtown (11 miles) came and went. Back up the road to tackle the second climb and for me the start of the toughest section of the course.

The ascent up Fusedale is around 3 miles and the best part of 2,500’. The heat was coming up from Martindale in waves that sapped all energy and breath. I’d take a drink of water and my mouth would be immediately dry again. However, we were still picking people off and some were laid down by the path, trying to gather their energy to get to the top. False summits came and went until finally we were there. I tried to break into something faster than a walk and managed to shuffle onwards.

Thinking it might help replace some lost salt, I tried to get another Pepperami down but this wasn’t advisable whilst trying to run, and I ended up coughing most of it out over the moorland. The dogs would have been happy.

Down through the bracken towards Haweswater, Colin and Paul are still picking people off on the path. I knew I could keep it up for a while but not for the rest of the day, so I let them push on whilst I got myself together. This would prove to be my quickest section overall but interestingly even though I slowed down, I only lost 30 or so places to the end of the day, so everyone must have maintained a similar pace from then on in.

It was around this time that the wheels started to fall off – nothing specific just a general tiredness (I could feel my eyes closing) and a feeling of wanting to sit down by the path and have a rest. I was 17 miles into the race and couldn’t image running another step that day, let alone covering another 33 miles. I kept dunking my cup into the streams but no sooner had I drank it than I was thirsty again. I dipped my hat into another stream and put it on my head, and in my disorientated state I put the peak into my mouth and sucked out the stream water along with years of accumulated sweat. I stumbled along, gagging, and tried to pull myself together.

The CP at Mardale Head (20 miles) loomed into view like a mirage, a navy blue gazebo at the top of the lake. This was make or break time. I stocked up on everything – flat Coke, butternut squash soup, jam sandwich (dipped in the soup) and some ibuprofen, for no reason other than things couldn’t get any worse so might as well take some drugs. People were in bits by this stage and 28 people would drop out here. Weather wise, this was the hottest part of the day but another 96 would retire before the race was over – 482 runners crossing the finish line at Coniston from the 587 that started at Dalemain. What kept me going was imagining having to tell people I’d not finished the race, what I would say to them and how I would feel doing that. No T shirt, no medal, better luck next year son.
(There’s a great write up of the power of the mind and how someone applied it to the Lakeland 100 here.)
Something worked anyway – the road book said it was 6.5 miles to Kentmere and it would be a poor state of affairs if I couldn’t cover that distance. I was fully fuelled and had plenty of daylight left so there was no reason not to push on. I had the bright idea to put some sports drink into my water bladder so I could have a steady flow of energy on the next leg – anything was worth a try.

The climb up Gatesgarth started immediately after the checkpoint, I attacked it with renewed vigour and a brew in my hand. I was making the same pace up here as I was with Col and Paul earlier, so I knew things were good again. The climb lasted around 15 minutes I think, then we started the long drop down the other side. The going here (like most of the rest of the day) was very rocky and bouldery, I had a couple of soft ankle turns on the way down but nothing serious. I remember thinking how painful this section must have been for the 100 milers, after 70 miles of their race. There was another cheeky climb before we dropped down into Kentmere, at this point the sun came out from behind the clouds and we were sweating buckets.

Kentmere (27 miles) was soon upon us, with the help of some guidance through the final twists and turns we came across the Institute and the next checkpoint. Outside there was a washing up bowl with a sign saying ‘Wash Your Face Here!’ Me and another lad got stuck in, much to the concern of another runner ‘Isn’t that a bit unhygienic?’ she asked. Deciding we had bigger problems at hand (like running 50 miles!) we carried on.

The checkpoint was an oasis of bad dance music, pasta and smoothies. It somehow felt quite normal to be eating an evening meal at 6pm, except I wouldn’t usually have my tea whilst wearing so much Lycra.

There was also a big clock on the wall which ticked round at alarming speed – a link back to reality – 15 minutes passed in no time and it was time to leave.

It was set to be climbing for the next mile or two out of Kentmere so I unclipped my trusty plastic cup and got a coffee for the journey. Walking up the road I chatted to a 100 miler for a while – I was always a bit unsure what to say to them, didn’t want a slip of the tongue to demoralise them by mistake – and carried on up the hill.

(I saw Nick Ham just before Howtown and he was struggling after drinking too much electrolyte. There wasn’t anything I could do or say, but he would go on to finish in a 33-hour PB)
Prior to the race, the aspect I was worried most about was the ascent, about 9,700’ in total. But I felt really strong throughout and managed to catch a group that was half a mile ahead of me as I started up the hill from Kentmere. A thunderstorm combined with a Mountain Rescue helicopter provided a reminder on a few levels of the dangers of hanging around in exposed places and I cracked on down the hill. A short section of road out of Troutbeck preceded a nice runnable section of trail as we headed down into Ambleside (34 miles).

There were lots of crowds on the streets and outside the pubs cheering us on and I felt a bit emotional as we got to the checkpoint! Unfortunately the indoor CP here was more akin to a sauna so a quick tomato soup, cheese sandwich and ginger cake, flat coke and the usual coffee were all I had time for. As a Yorkshireman I hate turning my back on free food but I needed to keep moving whilst I felt good.

It was on the climb out of Ambleside that I met a couple of Wigan Harriers that I ended up finishing the race with – Julie and Graham. They knew the route inside out and we were running at a similar speed, taking it in turns to lead. We made the Chapel Stile CP (40 miles) at 10pm as it was starting to turn dark. A 50 runner was crashed on the sofa having run an additional 9 miles the wrong way out of the Mardale Head checkpoint and the marshals made him stay until the medical team had checked him out. I saw him the next day in the canteen looking right as rain so the checkpoint staff had done their job. They were keeping a close eye on everyone here and for good reason – we’d done 40 miles of the race but the 100 mile competitors had done 95 – the 100 mile course is actually 105 miles in length. It’s funny to think how we viewed the last 10 miles as us being ‘nearly there’ when we had another 20% of the race to do, but these events are about chipping away and ticking each checkpoint off again and again until you get to the finish.

The long sleeve base layer went on here underneath my jacket and it was headtorch time. It was here I had my first toilet break in nearly 12 hours, a sign of how hot the day had been. Even in the light of my headtorch I could see my urine was a dark yellow colour, but the thirstiness of earlier in the day had luckily passed.

We made good progress along the valley, slowly rising up the hillside to cross the road at Wrynose Pass. The progress on this last section was pretty good, with some rocky ground but a good few stretches of runnable trail. Running was surprisingly easy, I had no discomfort apart from my feet feeling a bit snug in my shoes. We passed Blea Tarn and skirted around the top of Blea Moss, a boggy section of lower ground we’d been advised to keep out of. We saw a few headtorches bobbing around in the lower ground and they hopefully weren’t stuck in there too long.

I was feeling ok at this point but the cold was just starting to creep in a little, which helped keep me moving so I could stay warm. Nothing was dry any more so I’d played my last card on the kit front. Had to get my head down and make progress as quick as I could to the last checkpoint and on to the end.

The checkpoint at Tilberthwaite had a beach theme as far as I can remember! The marshalls had flowers round their necks and I’m sure the Beach Boys were playing. The staff here were fantastic, really had their heads screwed on as they made us put our waterproof trousers on to conserve as much energy as possible and keep us warm over the last climb and the exposed top of the quarry. One of our group was shivering but the CP staff sorted them out with a warm drink and some more clothes and he was good to go. Another runner came in behind us and the marshalls took one look at him before plonking him into a chair, wrapping him up in foil blankets and rugs and rubbing him to get the heat back into him. I think this CP could have gone either way for many runners and the staff will have played a vital role in some people finishing the race.

Up the steps to Tilberthwaite we went and I’d like to say I can remember the rest – but it was pitch black and driving rain so we all had our heads down trying to get to shelter in the valley bottom. What I do remember is finally hitting the tarmac road that runs in the gully between the hills above Coniston, and seeing the faint orange glow of the streetlights in the distance.

We were soon in the village and there were still some people outside the pubs cheering us on (it was 1am) and we crossed the line together back at the school. The whole canteen applauded us as we came in which was a pretty emotional experience in my tired state!

I finished the race wearing every piece of emergency kit (apart from my gloves) and it later turned out I’d lost 6lbs during the race despite eating like a king all day – the ultimate crash diet?

Boar's Head fell race 7m ~1200'

Good luck in finding a map for this one. With the route a (seemingly) closely guarded secret, I was full of anticipation as we made our way to the start in the Pennine Minibus.

The main choice is – do you take the direct line up the tussocks to Bow Stones, or up and along the wall? Try it for yourself and find out! The tussocks provided a nice break from all-out running though as I made that choice this year. The run along the ridge was followed by an eyeful of blazing sun just above the line of the wall, combined with stinging sweat. Just what you want when plunging downhill at a rate of knots.

 

The recent circuit training paid off, I found that when my legs got tired on the final stretch, my other muscles kicked in and gave me a final spurt. The finish is a downhill sprint which is always a good way to finish a race. Apart from the fact I thought I was through the funnel and someone quite unsportingly pushed past me at the line!

Vanessa Chappel 6.5m ~1300'

Very runnable lung buster of a race. Long climb after an early downhill section then eyeballs out for the rest of the way. I went a few hundred metres off-course otherwise I’d have been a couple of places higher up the pecking order.

spot the moon

we ran across the skyline and then back on ourselves

May Madness 2013

Race 1: Chunal - 3.25m 1189’ - painful

Race 2: Moorfield 5k - ok. 5k PB on a very hilly course for a road race

Race 3: James’s Thorn - 4.78m 1459’ - painful

Whoever would have thought that running on 3 consecutive days would be so painful? I suppose I should say I was racing, not running, but after my pathetic showing at Chunal that would have been pushing the truth a bit. Luckily these races were all within 15 minutes of my house and all short enough that I could run then during optimistic junior v1 and v2's morning sleep, and be back, showered and fed by the time they woke up again.

I ran James' Thorn as a race for the first time, it's nice and runnable and a reminder of how good the hills are around Glossop.

standings after 2 races

 

me and Nick Ham

Herod Farm fell race 2013 - 3m 1099’

The first local midweek race of the season, this race can easily catch the unsuspecting fellrunner off guard . The only similar race prior to Herod Farm is the Lamb’s Longer Leg which is run back in the mists of January, so this is a short sharp re-introduction to the business end of racing.

Up, down, up and finally down again, this race is over before you know it, but you really know about it whilst you’re doing it!

Conditions were dry this year – in 2012 the final climb up Whitely Nab was more like a bad war film as we took one step forward and two steps back through the mud – so this time round we were able to make decent progress to the top ready for the final leg and lung busting run to the finish.

1m 20 seconds slower this year. I blame the Downfall 3 days prior, mrs t.o.r. says I’m getting old.

I took a couple of mates round this one as their first fell race and they absolutely loved it. One of them even had the cheek to finish in front of me.

Kinder Downfall 2013 - 9m 2000’

Windy. That probably sums this race up. Nice but windy. Rain was a constant threat and occasional companion but light enough to ensure the coat stayed in the bag. 

We gathered on the bridge in Hayfield for the customary race briefing and random equipment checks, and on the stroke of 11 we were off.

I felt like I made decent time up to the top of William Clough, tucking in behind another Pennine runner until we got to Mill Hill and the WIND.

wind.

Too strong to actually be able to move against it, at one point I was wondering if I would have to start crawling to actually make any forward progress.

The Downfall was in full blow-back mode, my first time to experience the showering that results as you run across the mouth of the river with the waterfall blowing back from the plateau edge.

3 minutes slower than last year but a good run all in all.

The Trigger 2013 – Marsden to Edale ~24m ~4,000’

Named after the three trig points that form the spine of its route, this race has filled the shoes of the old Tanky’s Trog race from Marsden to Edale that took a slightly different route to bridge the 20-odd mile gap* between these places in Yorkshire and Derbyshire.

*20 odd miles depending on your ‘choice’ of route (i.e. whether or not you get lost).



where's Wally?



Boarding the Pennine minibus in a pre-dawn Hayfield to set off across to the motherland, the collective mood was pretty buoyant but focused on the task in hand. Visibility over the tops of Kinder and Bleaklow looked promisingly clear as we made our way, but threatened to be a bit more of a problem as we approached Marsden.

Navigation skills were the name of the game in the lead up to the race, but having broken the route into sections it seemed reassuringly clear that the route to Black Hill (Trig 1) would be pretty straightforward, with plenty of people to follow, with a straightforward descent into Crowden.

There then follows a route choice over Bleaklow – straight up Lawrence Edge and across the top to hit the Pennine Way (quite a climb up the face of the hill with a bit of scrambling); Wildboarclough leading onto the Pennine Way (a bit less direct but a gentler ascent) or along to Torside to pick up the Pennine Way (definitely the longest option).

The Pennine Way then leads onto the vicinity of Wain Stones where you dink South-West to Shelf Stones (Trig 2), and then over to Snake Top and onwards any way you fancy to the Sandy Heys trig on Kinder and across to Edale.

I didn’t have a great race – I was wearing too much (inexperience) and so overheated, and for some reason I had nothing in my legs in the run up to Black Hill. This section is no tougher than a Thursday night club run so I think with overdressing and setting off too fast I messed things up for myself here.

The freezing bogs on Black Hill had made my feet numb so I tripped a few times on the trail and on the descent down into Crowden I bashed my leg and ended up walking for a few minutes to shake off the knock. My knee would swell up to the size of a melon the next day but mrs t.o.r. had no sympathy. She has given birth twice, so I’ll forgive her not being overly concerned at my discomfort whilst running a race through the beautiful Peak District countryside!

From Crowden I took the Lawrence Edge route up to Bleaklow. With shotgun blasts from the shooting range next door ringing in my ears, and the trail of blood I was leaving in the snow from my bashed up knee as I climbed up the rocks, The Trigger seemed more like a title for a lo-fi James Bond film than an AL fell race.

Up to the top of Lawrence Edge and cramp sets in. Try to eat a pork pie but it’s frozen - end up choking. Sling the pork pie and it’s over Bleaklow we go. Bleaklow was ok given the clear, frozen conditions. Progress was constant but slow at this point but I’d teamed up with someone else and we kept each other going.



Shelf Stones

Snake Top comes and goes, along with some food to get me up and onto Kinder. I was pretty frazzled by now so took the easy route up onto Kinder via Mill Hill and across to Sandy Heys. Here I met Dave Bowen and we walk/jogged together up the Downfall to Kinder Gates and managed to take a great line down to Crowden Head. We fell in once apiece as we took it in turns to test the bogs, but here was a decent crust on top so progress was fairly decent.

We jogged along the edge path to Grindslow Knoll and down into the valley bottom. 5 hours and 41 minutes after leaving Marsden we crossed the finish line in time for hot pot and prize giving at the village hall.

I had a great time doing this race and learnt lots of valuable lessons – not going off too fast was one of them, along with not needing to wear too much even if it is freezing. I’ll be back for more next year!