Stockport 10 2012

In the week before this race I was talking to Patrick Barry about some of the running blogs we both read. The way the runners describe the pain, effort and mental tests they go through to achieve their placings - invariably very respectable times and performances. The moral of the story? You get out what you put in.

This isn't a 'look at me' post but more of a comment around the approach some of us take to races and training. I'd wanted a PB at this race when I entered as done it twice before, but had no reason to expect one. This side of 40, I'd expect some sort of gradual improvement on the back of a culmination of months and years of running, but hadn’t done anything specific in preparation for this race. In fact I’d hardly run at all since a 50 mile ultra at the end of October.

Mrs theoptimisticrunner and I arrived at registration having had about 3 hours' continuous sleep the previous night due to optimisticjunior Version 2.0 keeping us up, so neither of us were in the best state to start running our socks off. Into the bargain, I'd forgotten to wear a watch so there would be no split timings or similar fancy bollocks. I was lucky to be fully clothed, awake and at the start line given the previous night's disruption.

So ahead of us lay race around the highs and lows of Stockport, in great conditions, along with 800 or so other runners.

I listened to a great Talk Ultra great podcast once which featured an interview with an American ultra runner (could have been Mike Morton). The gist of the interview was that he had run and won a cracking race (Badwater), but narrowly missed out on a course record by a minute or so. He said that minute probably stemmed from inefficiency during his run - taking too long at checkpoints, changing his shorts, not making full use of downhills etc.

So my approach to this race was that I was going to run as hard as I could for as long as I could. It hurt a lot, I got really hot and was out of breath for most of the race. I felt like I was going quite slowly and it seemed a while before I got going.

I had to stop and walk at the top of the housing estate opposite the Spread Eagle in Otterspool/Bredbury, but I picked up a good pacer to keep me going through the estate and on towards the final part of the course.

A high five from Rob Taylor at the foot of New Zealand road sent me flying up it with renewed energy. As I entered Woodbank park the race clock said 1:08 – a PB was on the cards but how quick could I be?

I usually try and finish as strong as I can but the final lap round the sports track was more of a trot – even though Bob from Emmerdale read my name out over the tannoy - with a good dose of coughing and spluttering at the end.

1:12:18.

What has this taught me? Leave the watch at home and just enjoy yourself!

Bob

Are YOU an optimistic runner?

Here's a very interesting article on the power of the mind over longer distances.

http://www.sirc.ca/newsletters/july12/documents/Free/Mental%20Preparation%20for%20Distance%20Runners.pdf

I'd say the main thing I do is to set out with a goal every time I run, be it to make it all the way to the top of the hill, define a decent finish time give or take 30 mins, or something similar. If you don't have a goal you'll never know if you've succeeded or failed.

Dusk Till Dawn Ultramarathon 2012 - 50miles 9000'

Some people will do anything to avoid watching the X Factor. With this one I managed to miss Sunday’s repeat as well!

The Dusk Til’ Dawn ultra is a 50 mile, 9000’ jaunt with a couple of twists – it talks place nearly entirely in the dark and you must finish the course before the Grim Sweeper crosses the finish line at sunrise.

Starting from Losehill YHA in Hope it takes in Back Tor, Lose Hill, Cave Dale, the Limestone Way, Priestcliffe, Hind Low, Earl Sterndale, the Cat and Fiddle, Shining Tor, Taxal, Whitehough, Chinley Churn, Cracken Edge, Mount Famine, the Pennine Bridleway through Roych Clough, over to Rushup Edge and Lord’s Seat, before plunging back down to Losehill YHA via Hollins Cross.

Organised by the very thorough team at Beyond Marathon, the pre-race briefing consisted of a 22 page Powerpoint walk through of the entire course, along with the various pitfalls along the way. Despite this I still managed to fall over on the rutted caterpillar track on the moors above Earl Sterndale – just goes to show the briefing was accurate!

I started off at my own pace up Lose Hill, which was a decent climb to the token drop to get the legs going ready for the long descent into Castleton and the end of civilisation for a while. I bumped into fellow Pennine runners Mark Cliff and Hanno coming out of Cave Dale and we ended up sticking together until the end.
The first vehicle checkpoint looked more akin to a landing strip and featured flashing yellow lights and fruit cake. After a quick refuel we were back on our way again, it was getting a bit nippy by this point and we were glad to keep moving.

We were maintaining a conservative pace but making good time for an ultra – so much so we got to the second vehicle checkpoint ahead of the vehicle checkpoint itself! However the hardest working race organiser in history™ was on hand with water rations and advice on the route ahead. We’d see him 3 times during the race in total.

Between here and the indoor CP (2) at Earl Sterndale Primary School I started to feel decidedly sorry for myself and was starting to crumble severely. It was past my bedtime, I was missing Match of the Day and it was bloody freezing!

But prior to the event the organisers Richard and Wendy had sent all competitors an online survey as to our checkpoint dietary requirements; firmly on my list was Rice Pudding. I think this and a good brew helped save me here. Hanno changed his shoes, Mark put another layer on as I did the same, combined with a thermal buff to complement the existing Pennine buff on my head. Mark Cliff also had his buff on his head and together we looked like a pair of Peak District kamikaze fellrunners as we charged around in the darkness that night.

The next 10 miles From Earl Sterndale to CP3 at the Cat and Fiddle (30 miles) were relatively straightforward, we’d all agreed that the C&F was the place to get to where we were nearly on home turf and more than halfway through the race. Mark and Hanno were pleased to see Big Col here, who was running around making brews for everyone upon request. The flapjack squares and brownie here were a lovely touch and perfectly complemented the hot drinks on offer.

From here we proceeded to token drop 2 at Shining Tor and along the ridgeline along and down to Taxal – the flagstones were a welcome chance to get some speed up and get out of the driving wind and frozen rain. This was the highest point of the course as well so things were always going to be a bit hairy round here.

From Taxal we followed the High Peak 40 route up to Eccles Pike, then dropped down the other side into Leaden Knowl, Whitehough then Chinley. CP4 was in the form of a floodlit gazebo at the foot of Cracken Edge – slightly surreal at 3 a.m.! Andy announced our presence with ‘WE’RE HERE!!’ and without further ado we were elbow deep in more cake and some lovely veggie soup. I must have bitten off more than I could chew because at this point I found myself unable to breathe as I choked on a peanut butter sandwich, but luckily I managed to clear the airwaves so we could carry on.

The path along Cracken Edge was decent going, we were 40 miles into the race now so we probably looked like a bunch of geriatrics, but progress felt ok. From here on in we went up the side of the Lamb Inn and onto the Pennine Bridleway; the final stretch towards home.

This section went smoothly enough and we were soon at the last vehicle checkpoint on the road just before Rushup Edge. This was around 5 in the morning and the previously clear skies which accompanied our start some 12 hours previously had been replaced with a blanket of cloud, driving rain and a very chilly wind. We were given the option of taking the low road down to Castleton but Hanno said “Isn’t that a bit cheating?” – the decision was made! It later turned out that subsequent runners were not given this option; they were made to take the detour onto the road after feedback from early completers on the conditions on top of Mam Tor ridge.

From here on in all that stood between us and a celebratory fry up were two token drops on Lord’s Seat and Hollins Cross – although the Lord’s Seat drop took an age to loom into view, we finally found it along the side of the track, illuminated by a red glow stick. We’d been shouting at it for a while but it was reluctant to show itself…

Token dropped. Things were getting a bit hairy now. We were all wet through and exposed on the ridgeline. Got to keep moving – we broke into a trot onwards and down towards the road crossing before Mam Tor. By now I was punching the air as I ran in just to keep my arms and hands warm. We could start to see the lights of Castleton through the clouds, and the first tinges of sunrise over in the direction of Sheffield.

Hollins Cross soon loomed into view as we dug out our last tokens for the drop box. Mark kissed his token, Hanno and I had some choicer words for ours and we didn’t need any encouragement to get onto the path back down to Castleton. By this stage Andy was plying us all with sweets and energy drink to keep us going from his tardis-like rucksack – what a comeback he’s made from not being able to walk 12 months ago.

Before long we were on the main road out of Castleton and back up the long, long drive up to the YHA. The sun was coming up now and we were just going to make it in time after over 13 hours out on the hill.

We crossed the line as one, totally shattered but over the moon to have completed an epic run.

Highlights of the day/night/morning:

Seeing all the stars coming out as we moved through Cave Dale
Running 3 abreast as a “wall of Pennine” along the Limestone Way
The aurora round the moon as we passed along the Limestone Way
Rice pudding at CP2
Driving frozen rain at Shining Tor
Mark Cliff’s “I feel decidedly second-hand” comment on Cracken Edge
Hanno singing Wonderwall at 3a.m. round the back of the Lamb Inn
The vehicle marshall at CP5 saying things were ‘a bit wild’ on Rushup Edge
Watching both the sun set and sun rise in the same day

Shelf Moor 2012 5.9 ~1500'

you know it's going to be a good run when on the way there you look up at the hills covered in cloud and wonder 'is this a good idea?'. today was a really foggy one and made for classic conditions. it was a good job this was only a 6 mile horseshoe otherwise the navigation cock up potential would have been pretty high.

well it it turns out I still had a lot of Hadrian's Wall in my legs for this race. despite having run/walked 8 miles of the Lantern Pike & Mellor Moor Footpath Challenge, and the usual 5 miles daily dog walk and commuting, my legs still hadn't got fully back to normal.

the signs were there early in the race and despite the conditions i was overdressed in a Helly base layer with vest on top, and i'd opted for a small pack to carry the required windproof body cover (my kit isn't so lightweight).

to cut a long story short when most of the field have overtaken you by 20 minutes into the race it's never going to be a day for setting records.

I'd decided to call this one a draw once i'd got past Yellowslacks so decided to take it easy on the way down and take in the view - picture above!!

this will be good to come back and do next year - and Glossop isn't getting any easier despite all the practice!!

Hadrian's Wall 2012 - Carlisle to Newcastle

Inspired by a similar race that was organised along a similar route in June (but not by its £250 price tag ), we'd originally planned to run it early that month, but my ankle injury  put it on the back burner until the 18th/19th August.

Beforehand there were plenty of unknowns - how would our bodies react to back to back 30 and 40 mile days? how fast should we go on day 1 so we could still have something in the tank for Sunday? would we get blisters? would we keep pace with each other for the whole 2 days? How much food could I physically eat on the train up to Carlisle?

We booked the train well in advance and it cost us £9 to get to Carlisle from New Mills - bargain. We hit the trail round the back of the leisure centre and were on our way. The Wall has been built on, demolished and long forgotten in the immediate vicinity of Carlisle and it would be 3 hours until we caught our first glimpse of what we'd come all this way to see.

Along this first stretch of the trail there were a couple of honesty boxes where you could get water, chocolate and crisps in return for leaving some money. We were carrying plenty of gear and I wanted to be as self sufficient as possible so didn't bother with anything but it was a nice touch.



Despite having known each other for over 3 years, we've only run together once before at last year's Snowdonia Marathon, so 2 days of running side by side was going to be interesting. I was allocated map reading duties (head East!) whilst Nick kept us on pace with his garmin.

The terrain on Saturday was fairly flat with perhaps 2000' of climb, but in a lot of places the mud was ankle deep and even the high ground was waterlogged after weeks of rain. I struggled in a pair of trail shoes and Nick seemed to be having fun too in his road/trail numbers.

Hadrians Wall Path sign

We made it to the pub just in time for last orders on food (steak and ale pie apiece) and plan our approach to Sunday.

After the day's slog over muddy ground we opted to take the road option as early as possible on Sunday to get some traction going and bash out a few quick miles.

Having being tipped off that the first few miles of the second day were pretty hilly, we decided to power walk the first 5 miles to get our legs going again. The section featured some of the best preserved bits of the Wall so it was good to be able to take it all in and admire the views over the moorland.

With our legs nicely warmed up we broke into a trot after 3 miles along a nice grassy stretch of ground leading off the moorland.

Nick came into his own on this section and we were soon doing 7:30 minute miles down the alarmingly hilly road - a sign of things to come!

Seeing this sign below really brought the scale of things home - having an end destination to aim for made things feel like they were drawing to an end, even though that end was a good few hours away!

only around a marathon to go!

The contours on the Harvey's map belied the hilliness of the roads outside Chollerford and Brunton. We'd hashed out a strategy for the rest of the run - get some quick miles under the belt, we were nearly on the last section of the map and could sense the end - when a whacking great 1 in 3 hill loomed into view up the road. This section was really hilly and soon after the heavens opened.

The next few miles were a case of plodding down the side of the road through a contstant stream of water with our heads down, over unrelenting hills with traffic constantly showering us with water from the puddles. We had a quick pit stop in the lobby of a cafe to sort our clothes out, fill up our water bottles and have some of our food - I was starting to get a bit ratty at this point; I could feel the effects of the cold and rain starting to set in so the fact we got some shelter was key to how the rest of the day would progress.

By this stage we had about 10 miles to go and were approaching the outskirts of Newcastle. After running to the end of the main road and over the flyover, we were into the last village before the city limits. Although there were a few signposts, navigation was a bit fiddly round this section and we had to stop and ask for directions.

Having being put on the right course we were grateful of a long downhill stretch, which took us round a corner where the Tyne Bridge loomed into view - the scale of what we'd done was starting to sink in now.

By this stage we'd covered about 60 miles over 2 days and were starting to feel the effects of our running. I was aware of a dull ache in my left leg that would prove to keep me awake for the next 2 nights, and Nick was starting to wobble a bit.

We downed the last of our energy gels and plodded on. By now the Hadrian's Wall Path had become Hadrian's Way and we were in suburbia.

This last section was flat and allowed us to get up a good head of steam. The rain was relentless now and we were both soaked to the bone.

We were still bashing out 8 minute miles during the final run along the quayside in Newcastle, but when the wall path fizzled out and we found ourselves running down the back of a housing estate past kids on bikes and empty pizza boxes, we decided to call it a day.

After 17 hours and 24 minutes of running over 2 days, covering 68 miles, we were at Journey's End - a terraced house in Byker.

Back at the train station we attracted a few funny looks as we:

stripped off in the pub toilets and tried to dry ourselves off - a geordie bloke walked in and asked 'what's going on here like?!'
ordered 2 pints of water at the bar and poured recovery powder into them whilst dripping water all over the floor
boarded the train dressed in bin bags provided from Burger King and shaking uncontrollably (me)

Eccles Pike fell race 3.7 m ~1100'




as short, sharp races go, this one's got the lot. runnable flat sections, muddy paths and a steep climb to the top of the hill that everyone's trying to get to the top of first.

a low key start in the playing field round the back of the Navigation Inn took us through the pub car park, over the footbridge before a right turn then sharp left to start the climb up Eccles Pike.

the good thing about races like this is by the time you've glanced at your watch the first 10 minutes or so have already passed and you're already 1/3 into the race. no time for resting during these ones.

As soon as the race heads off road the climbing is relentless but still runnable, it's not until the final climb up to the summit that you're reduced to a walk. this is one where the leading runners pass you on their way back down as you're still making your way up, but a passing team mate cheered me on and put a spring in my step to help me up the hill. it's not too bad up to the summit as you can see how far's left to climb; I remember thinking that the ~1000' of climb had come about quickly.

from there on in it's a case of how fast you dare go back down the way you came, i gave it a fair bit but didn't want to over do it before Saturday's Hadrian's Wall attempt.

I had a good tussle with a Glossopdale runner and managed to see him off over the footbridge (the Millennium Walkway training must have paid off!)

there didn't seem to be many runners at this one, maybe they were put off by the rain earlier in the day. there certainly were very few Goyt Valley vests on show.

it was good to catch up with Nick Ham who came in about a minute before me. well done Nick.

next stop Hadrian's Wall!

millennium bug

it could be down to the Olympics but this is the only time i've measured my efforts in Metric.

mindful of the old Yorkshire adage "same shite in, same shite out", last Sunday I decided to add some variety to my training with 10 x 160 metre sprint reps along the Millennium Walkway at the end of my road.

the walkway rises about 30 feet along its 160 metre length so there's plenty to test the legs. well i could definately feel it the next day so something must have worked.

Cracken Edge fell race 7m/1450'

I'd done all of this route in separate parts during club training runs and solo jaunts so was pretty familiar with the terrain. at 7 miles this is getting on a bit for a midweek race and the climbing involved meant we were going to be in for a cracker.

despite a couple of showers before the race the weather cleared up to give great views of the hillside above us and back over Hayfield to Kinder as we made our way to the start line.

the first few miles are all uphill but deceptively gentle enough that you end up running them, until coming out on Over Hill Road before the long pull up to New Allotments.

this climb always gets me and i tucked in between a Glossopdale vest and a KMRT runner for a brisk walk up to the top, ready for the section of flat trail to take us gradually downhill to meet the road again and turn back up past Chinley Churn and Cracken Edge.

this race was one of those where i was glad i'd been optimistic and just worn my vest as it was hot work all the way through and my head had a bit of a wobble as we crossed the stile that takes you onto the churn past all the old mine workings.


at this point the lads in front of me started to walk and i made the same mistake; if i'd been on my own or not behind those two i might have gone a bit quicker on this section.

this race is a real tough one, there's no hiding from it as the uphills are runnable for the main part, as are the flats and the last 2 miles or so are all downhill so it's a real intense race.

pretty happy with my run overall, should come back faster next year but a good trot out nonetheless.

my time of 1h07 for a 7 mile fell race says it all really - the most fun you can have (legally) for £4 on a Wednesday night!

Crowden Horseshoe 2012 8m 1700'

the car park

Nothing is easy round Glossop. Today saw my second encounter with the Crowden Horseshoe, and I was hoping that forewarned would mean forearmed and help me do a bit better on this tough course.

Pretty similar to the Kinder Downfall route in profile and terrain, the Crowden Horseshoe’s got rocky scrambles, narrow paths with big drops off the side, plenty of bogs and a cheeky dose of flagstones just to offer an extra chance to break your neck, in case you had missed it during the first part of the course.

This one climbs steadily upwards for the first 4 miles or so up to Soldier’s Lump which is just about as high as Holme Moss TV mast which is visible in the near distance. Rivers and streams that were trickles last year were well up this time round, which made for interesting running and crossing. Recent downpours had also given the bogs a helping hand and they were at their shoe-sucking best, coming just after the trig point and the previous few miles ascending to add an extra dimension to the race.

Once the turn is made at the trig point you strike back down a parallel route towards Crowden YHA, this part is undulating through groughs and bogs for a good few miles until some tricky descending back into the campsite.

I had a good few tussles with some other runners and everyone said how tough it was this time round – the weather was pretty fine except a brief downpour and a hailstorm over the tops.

I think there were 4 of us from Pennine there today, the rest of whom came in before me but I was just happy I managed to run all of the race as my comeback since chipping my ankle in April.

Next stop Cracken Edge on Wednesday!

http://fellrunner.org.uk/results.php?id=1423

Weber A fracture - ankle

I'm writing this post as an aid to anyone who sustains a Weber A fracture of the ankle, as I could find little help or information on the internet after chipping the outside of my ankle earlier this year.


A Weber A fracture is the least severe type of fracture in terms of implications on tendons, ligaments or surrounding muscles - in my case I bent my foot prety much all the way back on itself running down a skate ramp and somewhere along the line managed to chip the bottom of the bony lump on the outside of my ankle.


It hurt like hell at the time and my ankle pretty soon swelled up to the clichéd size of a golf ball. Mrs theoptimisticrunner took the opportunity to have a good laugh at my predicament, which was severe enough for me to roll around in a puddle groaning, oblivious to the soaking i was getting.




 I took a fair whack of Ibuprofen and paracetamol and was put in a half/open plaster the next day at Buxton Hospital. They were unable to diagnose me from the X Ray and so booked me in at the Fracture Clinic the following Monday.

the docs at the fracture clinic saw straight away the ankle was fractured, explaining it as a Weber A fracture. They said I was ok to walk on it as long as I could manage the pain, but advised against running for 6-8 weeks.

my return to mobility looked like this:

1 week - back walking again
3 weeks - 5 mile walk over flat ground with little discomfort
4 weeks - all clear and referred to physio
6 weeks - 1 mile gentle run, some hills
7 weeks onwards - walking 5 miles daily as part of my commute and dog walking
8 weeks - 5 mile fell run (moderate hills)
9 weeks - 9 mile fell run (moderate hills)
10 weeks - 13 mile fell run (easy hills)

As the docs explained to me, all bones have a 6 week healing process no matter who you are. I eat a reasonably good diet (5 a day and only a modest amount of cake, which is stricly earnt by doing exercise) so had a decent starting point in terms of vitamins and goodies existing in my body to help the healing process.


I had two subsequent physio sessions which involved being given some exercises to do - along the lines of standing on the affected foot and raising my body up and down, also hopping on the spot in different directions (imagine a 2 x 2 grid, starting with your foot in the bottom left box and jumping to and from the various other boxes)

I don't go much for physio and stretching, I found that by listening to my body and building a good foundation of walking before trying anything too adventurous I was able to get back running within a reasonable time. I hope this helps. If anyone has any questions please leave a comment on here and i'll do my best to help.

thanks

TOR

My Downfall

10 mile fell race with about 2,000' of climb up kinder scout? no problem.

walk in the park with the dog? =

spot the difference

thinking i was clever after my little run in the morning, whilst out with the Optimistic clan i spotted a skate ramp in the park and ran up it. unfortunately it had been raining that day so coming down the ramp my right foot got caught under itself, with the result being mrstheoptimisticrunner in stitches at my predicament, and my right foot in plaster =

looks like a 6-8 week layoff, suspected chipped bone in my ankle but we will see. Max is now in the hands of mrs t.o.r. who is less than happy at the prospect of picking up dog poo for the next two months

Kinder Downfall 9.6m c. 2200'

i don't think a novice runner such as myself can add much value to a route description of this race, and if you want a laugh then have a read of this write up from yesteryear on the Pennine website.

Kinder Downfall from Lantern Pike

having said that, i was really looking forward to this one - it's funny how your body tricks you into feeling non-existant niggles in the days before a race, and i was a bit worried to get a touch of the DOMS on Friday after Herod Farm, but after walking the dog, a decent bowl of porridge and some positive energy by way of the BBC1 London Marathon coverage, i was on my way to the scout hut in Hayfield and race HQ.

Kinder was shrouded in mist as i approached from New Mills, but i didn't mind this - if anything it would give me an incentive to stay in touch with other runners instead of bimbling round the edge of the plateau when we got up there.

with this being a Category M race, there were certain kit requirements in force, unfortunately Nick Ham was missing a couple of bits of essential kit as i bumped into him at registration. there wasn't any other option than to nip home and get him the map and compass that would enable him to pass the spot kit checks carried out at the start.

all runners i know are totally accepting of the rules under which we run, this was just a technical oversight on Nick's part - even though he had enough kit and equipment to set up a small holiday camp on the Kinder plateau, the contents of his kit bag as they stood at 10:55 a.m. meant a quick jaunt back to Optimistic Towers in New Mills to resolve the issue for him.

well that was one way to get the metabolism going! i got back to Hayfield with a few minutes to spare, we assembled on the bridge for starter's orders and were soon off up the Snake Path.

up towards Twenty Trees and the shooting cabin

i'd run the first part of the route in reverse the week previous and had resolved to take a high line up through the grassy field, avoiding the rocks and boulders along the path past Twenty Trees and up to the shooting cabin.

coming up to the shooting cabin with the Downfall in the distance -
taken on a clearer day!

I covered the first part of the climb in decent order and tucked along a pack of runners along White Brow, keeping up a steady pace as we made our way towards the foot of William Clough. this is a key part of the route as it involves the worst of the climbing and route choice is vital.

still being a novice round these parts, i spotted a Pennine vest who later turned out to be Graham Parker, who took some great lines up and spurred me on to keep running where i would normally have stopped to walk. i introduced myself at the top, just before the final climb onto the plateau, where he eventually took off into the mist.

the run along the top was its usual rocky, bouldery self, a clearer day and some reccying of the route might have led me a different way, but i was happy to get my head down and get behind a pack of 5 other runners as we made our way round the edge.

visibility was down to about 30 feet as we ran along, and there were plenty of walkers out and about. everything was hurting by this point, a swig of water grabbed whilst waiting for the stile above Sandy Heys helped things, but i still lost a few places and was struggling to keep the Penistone runner ahead of me in sight.

the flagged section round the side of Swine's Back eventually loomed into view, and i was glad of a stretch of downhill running, even though it was over treacherous flagstones. we hit Edale Cross where the path becomes quite bouldery, this really takes it out of the legs at this point of the race and i slowed down quite a bit.

once we'd dropped out of the clouds however, a clear day was revealed and it was a great run down the grassy fields through Tunstead Clough and the campsite, onto Valley Road.

another runner had a nibble at me over my left shoulder as we came through the campsite, a bit far to go to be giving it full throttle yet so i lengthened my stride to put some distance between us. there's still a good few hundred yards to go at this point, and the road rises slightly uphill to give a bit of a twist in the tail.

i had just enough left to nick a couple of places before coming to the finish field and bumping back into Nick Ham - it turns out i came in around 20 seconds after Nick - if i'd had chance to warm up properly, i would have had him :-)

pretty happy with my time of 1h45 but the bigger picture is that i ran 90% of the race, i would have expected William Clough to destroy me before the race but once that was in the bag the rest was relatively straighforward. 

makes you fell guilty that this much fun only costs £4!

Herod Farm 3m 1100'

with the happy arrival of optimisticjunior v 2.0 in February, my time on the hill has been pretty limited so far this year, but i have managed a couple of 10 mile / 2 hour sessions over recent weekends, along with running the Edale Skyline through to the Mam Nick checkpoint, where i pulled out as i'd been running with a raging flu infection and was actually shivering despite temperatures of around 20 degrees C - but i'd still done around 3000' so had a good trot out none the less.

so with an almost (relatively) respectable amount of longer running in my legs, but a lack of short sharp stuff, i was slightly nervous about my second attempt at this race.

i'm hoping to 'race myself to fitness' in the absence of a decent training schedule, so was ready to give this one all i had. at least i knew about the second hill as i'd be really gutted if i thought the race was over once i'd got to the top first time round!!

took a wrong line into the heather!

conditions on the night were pretty drizzly, and the foot of the second climb was a quagmire by the time us mere mortals came to plough our furrows through it, but i managed to run most of the course to clock a time that was 1m20 faster than 2011's time.

This was also my first run as a Pennine member - unfortunately i've not got round to getting a vest yet - John Jodrell was on his jols when i spoke to him to try and arrange one - and a sense of not wanting to let the side down helped spur me on.

It was good to speak to George Scott and another Pennine runner whose name escapes me.

happy with my race, didn't set the world on fire but after a pretty hectic start to the year, it's a pleasure to be out on the hill. next stop: Kinder Downfall on Sunday!

Lamb's Longer Leg 3m 950'

back to where it all started with a vengeance in 2011. this one chewed me up and spat me out again so it was always going to be a date with destiny.

developing a month long cold/throat infection after Snowdonia didn't help, and waking up on my 30th birthday with what would turn out to be a 3 week long back complaint meant that i'd not had the greatest winter's training.

however i managed to overturn all this (and the three-weekend birthday binge orchestrated by mrs theoptimisticrunner!) to make a 26% improvement on my time from last year:

http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/temples-bin/hc.pl?a=cmp&d=hc&f=lambs-leg-2012&w=lambs-leg-2011&z=compare

no resting on my laurels though as this is about the standard i should be, let alone aspiring to - so let's see what the next 12 months bring!

Peak O Trial

not to be mistaken for an Irish mountain, this is another one of the local races run by the prolific Des Gibbons of Glossop.

I was running this one with a really bad back that i'd developed on the morning of my 30th birthday a couple of weeks earlier- getting old?!?! so i was happy to treat this one as a gentle trot out and a chance to get to know some of the paths i tread less frequently around Glossop and the back of  Lantern Pike.

after bumping into Will Meredith i was soon off on my requested 10am start (family commitments) and trotting down the Monks Road towards the first checkpoint. i felt some twinges in my back but was prepared for a little discomfort so plodded through it.

i'd already made up my mind to run my own version of the shorter course (i.e. pick off as many of the near-lying checkpoints as possible then head back to base) so when i saw some of the early starters head off left towards Lantern Pike, clearly on a long run strategy, i knew this was going to be a solo effort as i was on the way to CP4 by Plainsteads Farm which was the closest checkpoint and  a quick win, one that i was confident i could link to Whiteley Nab and CP1 from.

as i made my way, the nav was pretty straighforward, i was still in sight of the start of the race so not too far from home. it's always good to get the first dib under your belt (reassurance that you can at least read a map to some extent).

from here it was uphill over some of the Chunal race course and over to the top of Whiteley Nab. It was here that i bumped into John Jodrell and another Pennine runner, and could we find CP1? No!

After i'd been up, down and across the hill i reluctantly pressed on towards Cown Edge in the knowledge that i'd be disqualified from the event, but happy to be out on a clear day. This was the first time i'd been up on the Edge and the view from up here was amazing. I love being on top of Lantern Pike and other high points to the West of Kinder as I can see all the places i've lived in since moving to Manchester in 1999 - from Whalley Range down to Didsbury, Stockport and now New Mills.

i think i only made one other CP that day, at the end of the woods on Cown Edge, i had a look around a couple more but having a niggle in my back coupled with the need to get back to the family meant that once i'd had a good morning's trot i was happy to return back to base for some cracking turkey soup and cakes.

maybe next time i'll team up with someone else and get a few more of those dibs eh?

Snowdonia Marathon

This one as a bit of a date with destiny as I’d run this totally off the hoof in 2009, having run the Great Langdale Marathon 5 weeks previous, and came in at 4h46 – so the gloves were off this time. Myself and a mate (Nick Burnside) were running in aid of Myeloma UK and NSPCC – so finishing and claiming our sponsor money on behalf of our charities was the main priority, getting a quick time next down the pecking order.

I’d planned to rely on the food and drink stations on the way round the course, I remembered from last time that from around mile 10 onwards there were energy bars and drink every couple of miles.

This would make a nice change from running with the usual bum bag complete with provisions and would mean I could concentrate fully on the task in hand.

The weather was being it usual SNOD self, with a (very) brisk breeze whipping the rain into our faces for most of the course. At times it was like trying to run uphill whilst being sprayed with a shower head at the same time as having a small person hanging off my back.

I could have given it a little bit more up the first hill but I knew there was a decent downhill stretch waiting for us at the top of Pen-y-pass, where the first crowds were waiting to cheer us on. I managed to make up some lost time on the recently added trail section, and caught up with my running partner Nick who I’d lost earlier on in the race after stopping briefly at the first aid station.

We were making good time at this point, clocking around 8:15 minute miles on the road into Bedgellert. I knew things were going to get a bit tougher after this point from memory of last time and the route profile, but the constant climb from miles 13-16 really takes it out of you, it’s one of those where you have to be careful not to burn yourself out and just slow to a pace you can maintain. I felt like I was hitting the wall for the first time in the race, and it was a case of digging in with the knowledge that there was an aid station at mile 16 where I could refuel on snacks and drinks.

As it turned out when I got there one of the St John’s Ambulance blokes grabbed my head and starting rubbing me with a towel – I’m not sure if I was looking like I was struggling or just generally bedraggled – but it did the trick and I was on my way again.

The route goes quiet around this point, and I suddenly felt quite alone on the course, at a tough point in the race – the course is undulating for the next couple of miles, but the cold wind and rain kept battering us from every angle, which meant that slowing down too much meant losing valuable heat and wasting precious energy to get warm again.

A lot of races talk about a ‘sting in the tail’, but Snowdonia has the mother of them all – miles 22-25 are all uphill, leading gradually up the hillside before dropping back down into Llanberis and the end. It may seem easy for fell runners or those used to off road pursuits to dismiss this as 'another road race', but this is a real toughie and the relentless climbs and bad weather put it up there in terms of overall difficulty.

Whilst I was kept going during the previous miles by the thought that the race would be over, one way or another, in around 45 minutes time, there really is no comfort climbing that hill – initially I was walking/running between telegraph poles, until the road got really steep and I was reduced to a walk. The road gradually becomes a trail up to the quarry at the top of the hill, and despite being tired it was quite dangerous to walk, as I was soaking through and the windchill made it around freezing, meaning that it wasn’t safe to spend too long up there. I was passed in the quarry by Nick Ham, who I had passed around mile 14 and was looking strong. He would duly finish in a little over 4 hours – sub 4 still eludes him, which is testament to the difficulty of this race.

Once through the quarry the track turns steeply downhill into a path, which in road shoes is always quite an experience! I will definitely wear trail shoes next time around, as there are a couple of minutes to be made up on this section with the right choice of footwear.

The last downhill section is really steep but it was heartening to see plenty of other runners, all fighting their own battles with the final stretch of course.

the best bit was the decision the organisers have made to the finishing strait, doing away with the cruel detour round the back of the village to instead leave a final straight couple-of-hundred-metres finish to the line to be wrapped in a space blanket and towel.

there's something about this race that makes you feel quite emotional when you finish - whether it's the friendly local atmosphere or the sheer relief to have taken on the course and completed it i don't know. Nick came in 5 minutes after me in 4h21, looking slightly worse for wear; i was worried he'd got exposure, but an energy bar and hot drink soon saw him right and we were swapping tales about the race in no time.

SNOD - make sure you do it at least once in your lifetime!

'The High Peak 40' - 42miles 5,400'

 

I blame the mrs for this one! After drunkenly agreeing to do this one Sunday night back in May, as we gathered on the start line in Buxton at 8am on Saturday morning I was wondering what the hell I’d let myself in for. My plan for this one was to run the flat and walk the uphills – a bit of research indicated this would give me a finish time within 10 hours, but provided my finish time was within Saturday I’d be more than happy!!

With a great deal of thanks to the course profile on the excellent Hayfield Races website, I was able to work out my fuelling tactics in advance of the race (mile 15 and the Rushup Edge checkpoint was the big one, for reference, not only was it almost midway through the race, it preceded a steep descent followed by a consderable ascent), but in truth I was fuelling from the early stages to ensure I stayed on top of things.

With the run/walk strategy I did this event at a pretty low intensity, covering the first 6 miles in around 63 minutes, but without feeling like I’d run any distance at all. This first part only featured a bit of climb, taking us outside Buxton and down the Goyt Valley towards the second CP at Taxal Layby where I had my first gel.

CP3 - Digleach Farm

With this being my first ultra I was prepared to fail completely and put it down to experience, and it was hard to run 'within myself' on some of the lesser climbs, but my fear of dying in the middle of nowhere after 20-odd miles made me keep a lid on things.

I'd covered marathon distance by around 5 hours into the race and was feeling pretty jazzy, seeing mrs theoptimisticrunner with her arms full of tuna sandwiches and coffee at Tideswell Dale provided a nice break from the driving rain at the time.

I just kept chipping away at the race to be honest - once i'd covered the first 10 miles comfortably then it just became a 30 mile race, and I knew I was good for a marathon, and once I got to 30 miles without my legs dropping off I could start thinking about a likely finish - it was looking like i'd be comfortably within the 9 hours I'd been keeping to myself as a realistic target.

This was a great way to spend a day, meeting Will Meredith and Nick Ham, two people whose blogs I read all the time – Nick Ham’s blog probably got me into Ultra running – and swapping places along the course with a great bunch of people who were telling me about their recent exploits on long distance events around Europe.  

Will Meredith wrote a much funnier account of the day here so I will point you in the direction of his account, there is also a much moredetailed route description hidden away on the aforementioned Hayfield Races website for those looking to complete this one in the future.

To cut a long story short I finished in 8h16mins (someone bizarrely tried to sprint finish me but I saw him off) and was absolutely buzzing at the finsh – mrs theoptimisticrunner was waiting for me there with the dog  and we tucked into a cheese and onion pie and a slice of cake in the school canteen whilst I recovered.

I didn’t have any aches and pains after this one (maybe because of the low intensity I ran at) and managed 14 miles the Thursday afterwards with no problems, but I reckon it knocked 30 seconds a mile or so off my pace for the following 4 weeks or more.

Thanks to mrs TOR for 1) entering me! 2) buying me a waterproof coat the week earlier in case it rainsed and 3) coming to meet me at mile 26 with a tuna sandwich and a cup of coffee.

Whilst I couldn’t run an ultra every weekend like Nick Ham, (a bit too time consuming), I think I’ll stick one a year in the calendar – next year the Bullock Smithy perhaps??

Reeth Show 2.5m 800’

This was my first BOFRA event, the premise of which was to determine who could get to the top of the hill overlooking the showground and back again the quickest.

Great Fremington Edge had been looming over us all morning as we’d made our way round the show, inspecting bales of hay, sheep and Stripey Jelly, and at the appointed time we were under starters orders and heading up to the skyline.

It was a fair pull up to the top, but thinking of the forthcoming pie and pint for my evening meal, I dug in and finally made it up after the false summit 50 metres from the top. 

From here on in it was downhill all the way, I struggled to find a decent route through the bracken at one point but got my head down to make it back to the fairground and enjoy my first ever top half finish in a fell race! After finishing 3^rd from last at Lamb’s Longer Leg at the start of the year, it was a good moment.

We were at Reeth Show as part of a few days in Hawes, so I took advantage of the time to get out early one morning and run partway up Dodd Fell, which was a good run but a bit bleak on the day. I’ll be back one day to complete the horseshoe and run round to Wether Fell along the roman road.

Chunal 4m 950’

Another midweek race, I’ve had to miss a few this year but there’s plenty of time to do the rest in the future. Organised by Des Gibbons who seems to organise quite a few events round here, this race takes in parts of the Herod Farm race (the hard parts), and then adds some more hard parts just in case you hadn’t been trying hard enough. 

On paper this was an utterly futile exercise – running up a hill, down it, round the bottom, up it again then back to the finish – but that’s fell running for you!

It was a cracking race and a great chance to get some climb in the legs.  Didn’t set the world on fire with my time but I’d run 9 miles home from work on the Monday so no surprises there. Next summer I might have a proper go at the midweek races, of which there is almost one a week within a 5 mile radius of New Mills during summer time – we really are blessed with this.

Shining Tor 6m 1250’

Midges! And flapjack. One is tastier than the other, but I ended up with both plastered all over my face by the end of tonight.

This event was another reminder of just how tough a short race can be, I suppose the 9 mile run home from work 2 nights previous didn’t do me any favours, but the main climb of the race, up from the valley bottom is a real tough one, up a rocky trail that twists and turns upwards, never allowing you to get your head down and strike up a decent rhythm.

From there it’s a bit of a plod across the flagstones of the open moorland and eventually coming out at Shining Tor, after which you start to come back on yourself and enter the second part of the race.

Apart from the aforementioned midges tonight was quite humid and drizzly, and the views from the top would have been pretty impressive under most other circumstances.

There was just time for a couple of suicidal descents down rocky trails and through the pine forest before we found ourselves by the foot of the dam and a nasty 20 metre uphill finish. There was a lady runner just ahead of me but being a gentleman I held back and let her finish ahead of me J
Then it was flapjack time! The spread at the end was pretty immense, as you can see below.

Probably about the most fun I could have had for £4 tonight in all of England!

Pennine Fell Runners 7th July

Tonight was my first night out running with Pennine. Mrs theoptimisticrunner had insisted that I have a run out with them, she is currently pregnant with optimistic junior v 2.0 but is a keen runner herself so can understand me going there.

It was great to find a new route up Lantern Pike, which is probably my favourite spot round these parts as the views from the top over Kinder, New Mills and further afield to Manchester and the west coast are spectacular. Plus it’s a bit more accessible than Kinder; you can be at the top within 30 mins from New Mills.

National Three Peaks 18th-19th June

I undertook the National Three Peaks Challenge with 12 colleagues and friends of friends, in aid of Francis House Children’s Hospice, a centre that provides care and activities for terminally ill children.

Undertaking the challenge was the idea of one of my colleagues, and we took it upon ourselves to organise a trip that involved two minibuses and support crew, enough food to feed a small army and overnight accommodation on the Friday evening, ready for an 8am assault on Ben Nevis the next day.

Ben Nevis

Investigation into this first peak mainly revealed a host of safety warnings of the danger of walking off the summit plateau and falling thousands of feet down the various gullies below. So we were very relieved to wake on the morning of the challenge to a clear, still day, with some cloud covering the top of the Ben. If anything the conditions were too good – the lack of a breeze in the valley bottom meant we’d soon all worked up a sweat as we made our way up. We made the summit 5 minutes inside our schedule, which was a great start and very encouraging.

The rest of the mountain passed without incident, however traffic and perhaps an optimistic estimation of the descent time by various online sources meant we finished Ben Nevis 25 minutes over schedule, in 5h25.

Sca Fell Pike

We arrived at Wasdale Head having elected to take the shorter, more direct approach to the summit of Sca Fell Pike and we could see that the cloud base was low – within an hour or so we were in the cloud and with night falling it was time to get the head torches out. 

It was vital to stay disciplined on the approach to the summit as it was by now very dark and foggy, and there were a number of other parties so this meant regular stops to re-group. We made the summit in good time having managed to claw back approximately 45 minutes that had been lost on the previous summit and the subsequent journey. The time to summit Scafell was 2h15 minutes – a great achievement.

We almost made a common mistake on the summit – heading off to the North for a few paces until we re-orientated ourselves to get on the path back down. We later met a team on Snowdon who had started at Borrowdale and instead of turning round at the top, had carried on down to Wasdale, 2 hours away from their support team and leaving their 24 hour challenge in tatters.

A review of our GPS track showed that we made a slight deviation on the way back down, but this was to be expected crossing the boulder field in thick fog at night. Our choice of Wasdale as a start point was vindicated as once we’d dropped below the cloud base we could see Wast Water shining in the moonlight below us.

Mount Snowdon

I didn’t have much choice in the matter of sleeping between Sca Fell Pike and Snowdon, we’d been awake all day and climbed two of the highest mountains in the UK.

We were all pretty strung out by this stage and so it was decided to form a breakaway group to ensure we made the Snowdon trig point inside 24 hours.

Suffice to say we go the job done and in the end we raised over £4,200 for our charity, blowing our original target of £3,000 well and truly out of the water.