Too Hot – Too Far

The Lakes 50 - 30^th July 2011

I entered the Lakes 50 in Autumn 2010 to try and give me some motivation to train and because it was cheaper then!

The Lakes 50 is the second half of the Lakes 100 mile ‘Ultra Tour of the Lake District’, a circular route starting and finishing in Coniston – A race for real tough nutters! The 50 starts at Dalemain House near Pooley Bridge and goes back to Coniston. 50 Miles with almost 10,000 ft of ascent on tracks, trails and Lakeland passes.

Typically almost as soon as I pre-entered this event I got a very painful ankle injury which I struggled with for most of the winter. I eventually went to the doctors in the New Year, got mis-diagnosed and sent for Physio which took another month, the physio took one look at my ankle and decided the diagnosis was wrong (as I suspected) and tried to get me an MRI scan only I had to have an X-Ray first, which showed nothing so MRI was prescribed. By the time I got that it was the middle of April, wait another couple of weeks for the doctor to get the consultants diagnosis and I am sitting in the surgery being told that I have chipped a bone in my ankle and I ought to buy a bike and stop running. Thanks but no thanks; I don’t look good in Lycra.

Funny isn’t it but as soon as I got a diagnosis it didn’t seem to hurt as much. Plenty of strapping on races and long runs together with some Ibuprofen and I was running more happily again.

However all the time waiting meant I was a bit late with my training for a 50 mile race. I think I managed 3 long runs in the build up, one a month from May to July consisting of 20 miles with 10,000 feet of climb; 26 miles 9000 feet of climb and 24 miles with 10,000 feet of climb, each run took about 8 hours. Throw in with that the usual shorter training runs and a bit of circuit training and that was about as good as it was going to get.

On the morning of the race I had to get to the John Ruskin School in Coniston, a familiar place as I have started a few events from here. I arrived at about 0715hrs and registration was already open in the school hall, first job was to get weighed; 72.5kg, this was written on a wristband that I wore throughout the race, if you were looking too rough at a checkpoint they could check your weight again to see if you had lost too much. Move onto registration where you showed photo ID to be checked off on the list of entrants, next move onto kit check, the list of kit had been sent out with the competitor notes, (13 pages), about a month ago:

› First aid kit to include: blister plasters, sterile pad dressing, bandage or tape to secure dressing as a minimum requirement.

› Full waterproof body cover, top and bottom *please note that windproof is not sufficient.

› Spare base layer - top and bottom (this is a spare layer and should not be worn during the event itself).

› Head torch / spare batteries

› Mobile phone fully charged

› Whistle.

› Compass.

› Hat and gloves.

› Emergency foil blanket or bivi bag.

› Emergency food & drink (additional to your general nutrition, this must not to be eaten during event).

› The course map (supplied at registration), will be a waterproof and pre-marked Harvey 1:40,000 scale.

› The road book (supplied at registration), is a written description of the route on waterproof paper.

Move onto the next tables and collect race number, SportIdent timer, map, road book and T-shirt. The whole registration process was very smooth and friendly.

Even though it was only 0730 it was already worryingly warm as I stood at the back of my car greasing up with sun cream and eating my second breakfast. I took the opportunity to have a last look at the map in conjunction with the road book; I was hoping that the road book which was a detailed description of the route would be all I needed today.

Russ Mabbett arrived on the car park just before the compulsory briefing which went over final details and featured a short address by Joss Naylor a fell running legend. After a short wait the coaches arrived to take us to Dalemain House near Penrith from where we would run back to Coniston. Russ and I caught up on the coach trip. I hadn’t really talked to Russ since his successful Bob Graham earlier this year.

Dalemain was the halfway checkpoint on the 100 mile race and contenders were coming through in various states. Our start was delayed by 30 minutes as a couple of the coaches had got stuck in traffic but we soon got away on the opening 4 mile loop across farm land. I decided to get a strong start as there were a few stiles and I did not really want to queue but this meant breaking my plan for the day of walking the ups and trotting the flats and the downs however it paid off and I was still feeling comfortable as we set off on the rest of the route. We were soon passing 100 mile contenders, they were recognisable by their race numbers which had a yellow background unlike our plain white ones, and their painful limping was also a giveaway!

As we trotted through a very busy Pooley Bridge holiday makers gave us a cheer, I felt a bit of a fake as we had only just started. We were soon off the roads again and onto the good footpaths towards Howtown and the first checkpoint. Dip the timing chip, a quick drink and some cake and I was walking out of the checkpoint towards Fusedale with more cake in my hand. This section had a steep climb and on a misty day would probably provide the hardest navigation on the route, no worries today as the air was clear, not a cloud in the sky and the sun was beating down. Sweat was pouring off me by the time I descended to Mardale before a tough run along the rough path on the South side of the lake. I was dipping my buff in any streams I could find and then putting it on my head to try and cool down but it was not having a lot of effect. I had forgotten how far round Haweswater was and I could see the checkpoint (CP) a long time before I got to it. The CP at Mardale was manned by the army and they were offering drinks, soup, cakes and flapjack. There were quite a few 100 mile competitors here taking a longer break but I didn’t want to stay to long or I might not feel like getting going again.

After a brief stay I left at a walk carrying more food which was taking a bit of chewing. The climb up the Gatesgarth Pass was steep and very hot without any wind, over the top and I was soon running down into Longsleddale, a valley which lives up to its name, it seems VERY LONG. At Sadgill Farm the route turned uphill again over into Kentmere where the CP was in the village hall.

I had a taste for soup this time but they didn’t have any so I settled for cold rice pudding and a drink. I sat down for a while watching the marshals in the checkpoint dashing about helping people and checking that they were OK. This was the first indication that I was feeling a bit rough as I couldn’t get much down and my stomach felt rough. I set off again, got round the corner and was sick at the side of the road, not a good sign!

I plodded on up the Garburn Pass in the company of a couple of guys and we were all interviewed by a chap making a video about the event as we went up the hill. Across the top of the pass I started to run down and on the rough ground I got ahead of the others. After a long descent there was another climb into Troutbeck and I was still feeling rough, I felt dizzy now and was sick again. As I plodded up Robin Lane towards Ambleside I was caught by a group of four who urged me to stay with them but I couldn’t and they pulled ahead. I couldn’t bring myself to run, even on the downhills on the way into Ambleside. My mind was almost made up by this time; I was going to pack it in here, there was another 15 miles to go and I was feeling rough, I had tried to eat some of the stuff I had with me but it was making me retch and wouldn’t go down. I walked all the way to the checkpoint which was in the Lakes Runner I had got here in 7h 22m 56s which was a good time but I felt a bit of a fraud as I was clapped in by a small crowd outside, they didn’t know I had decided to pack in!

I sat down inside and told the lads I was going to quit; “not yet you’re not, it’s only 5 miles to the next CP”; “have a rest and something to eat”; “see how you feel later”.

After a couple of brews and some flat coke I still couldn’t eat anything and I was starting to shake and shiver, I had felt like this before and I thought it felt a bit like sun stroke, half an hour had gone by, there was a steady stream of competitors coming into the CP but I still didn’t feel good so I announced that I was packing in, the marshals reluctantly cut my timer off my wrist and retired me.

The table below shows my checkpoint times:

Checkpoint	Elapsed	Leg	Position	Distance Leg	Ascent Leg	Distance Cumulative	Ascent Cumulative
Pre Start Dalemain	-----	-----
Start	-----	-----
CP9 Howtown Bobbin Mill	01:39:22	01:39:22	31st (469)	11.2	965’
CP10 Mardale Head	03:50:07	02:10:45	22nd (462)	9.4	2510’	20.6	3475’
CP11 Kentmere Village Hall	05:26:06	01:35:59	23rd (447)	6.5	1677’	27.1	5152’
CP12 Lakes Runner Ambleside	07:22:56	01:56:50	29th (430)	7.3	1611’	34.4	6763’
Retired Ambleside	08:05:03	00:42:07

I was disappointed but I know my own body and I knew I had done the right thing. I am sure the sun had been my downfall, I know I had not done the training but my legs felt OK it was my stomach and the problems eating and drinking that had let me down.

Next problem was how to get back to Coniston where my car was! There was a mini bus touring round picking up people but with a high dropout rate today it could be a long time before that arrived. I started chatting to another chap who had dropped out and he had managed to get a lift off a friend and yes there should be room in the car for me, which was good news at least.

The lift took us back to Coniston and I managed to get a shower at the school which made me feel a lot better but not good enough for a pint. I had planned to sleep overnight in my car and drive home next morning, however as it was only about half past 10 and I didn’t feel like a drink I thought I might as well sleep in my own bed. I arrived home about midnight after a long day.

First thoughts were ‘Never Again’! But those thoughts have faded and I am now thinking that if I train properly I might have another go in 2012. It is certainly very well organised but a lot more expensive than the events that I usually enter, (early entry was £60). Nothing is decided yet, I hate being beaten but there are other things that I want to do, the Lakes 50 is a great event but a bit too glitzy for me, it is along the lines of the Lakeland Trails events and those fancy adventure race things.

Russ Mabbett made it round and completed the distance in 14h 32mins, another friend Mick Cottam from Garstang did the 100 in 30h 26min – respect to them and all the others who finished on such a hot day.

Written by: Richard Davies

Submitted: 4^th August 2011

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor