Saturday, 3rd June 2006
20 Miles,
6000 feet of ascent, Grade
For a while
now I have wanted to do some longer fell runs, but the only trouble was I
didn’t want to do all the training! I
have been doing about 20 – 30 miles a week, a lot of which has been on the
fells but the longest distance I had ever raced was a half marathon. At the beginning of May I managed a slow 24 mile run around the fells near
I had been
planning to do the Duddon Valley Fell
Race but, as the day neared, I was still a bit apprehensive. Saturday
3rd June was a
beautiful day; probably a bit hot but so clear that navigation would not be a
problem. I had studied the map and knew some of the route from walks I had
done.
I drove over Wrynose Pass from Windermere where I had been staying
with friends. At the Three Shires Stone I stopped to cast an
eye over part of the route I would follow later on. As I stood looking at my
map a Bingley runner parked and we
had a chat for a while about the race.
The rest of the drive to Seathwaite
was quiet and I arrived at the field behind the Newfield Inn in plenty of time for the race.
When
registration opened, it was entry on the day only. I waited a while for the low
numbers to go, (I didn’t fancy getting number 1), then paid my entry, £5, a bargain
for a day out up here. The field started
to fill up; some people had obviously camped overnight. I bumped into Keith who runs with Bowland.
He wasn’t running today but had come up in his VW van for a couple of days out and to watch the race. There was a good turn out of Bowland and
The
atmosphere before the start was great. People were packing their kit and little
groups were discussing route choices. Martin
Walsh from Lytham was quite
happy to share his knowledge gained on a ‘recce’ about part of the route, for
which I was grateful. Lots of sun cream
was applied as the sun was beating down and everyone was loading up with water. I carried all the safety equipment, as
specified, in my bum bag, and almost 2 litres of water in a camel back, (small
rucksack), on my back; a lot of people were carrying water today.
The usual pre
race briefing could almost be heard, “Please retire at checkpoints”, “Shout
out your number at manned checkpoints”, “Follow the flags at the finish”,
“£18
if you lose your dibber, and then we were off; one hundred
and twenty three runners trotting off the field.
The route was
narrow at the start and we all fell into single file on the paths with a bit of
jostling for position. I recognised Wallowbarrow Crag as we passed it,
where I had climbed a few routes some years ago, and then we were off towards Harter Fell. Steve
Cox from Bowland advised me to
“take it steady as far as Harter and
on the ascent, as there was a long way to go.”
I didn’t worry I had already decided that this was a recce for next
year, I just wanted to get round.
The first
checkpoint was on top of Harter Fell.
We dibbed into the recorder of the ‘Sportident’
system - the dibber fastens onto your finger and transmits your time as you
pass the checkpoint. Down we went
heading for Hard Knott Pass about
1.5 miles away; the field was quite spread out already but I was never out of
touch with other runners. There 
were a few spectators at Hard Knott Pass as we started the
second climb to the checkpoint at the top of the pass. People were already
making a few different route choices here and it was interesting to see their
positions as we arrived at the top. We
descended into Mosedale; different
coloured vests strung out across the fell side in the sunshine with a line of
runners already toiling up Little Stand
as we headed east. We crossed a
well-used footpath in the valley bottom; the walkers using it must have felt
like they were being attacked as runners crossed the path at right angles to
them. The beck in the bottom caused some
excitement; a lady from a local club, who shall remain nameless, stepped in and
disappeared up to her chest with a gasp! I crossed, only about a yard away, stepping
on a grassy island; I was across in a stride with one wet foot. I turned to help her out but she looked
pre-occupied. My suspicions were confirmed when we chatted after the race - she
was having a wee!
The climb up Little Stand was awful; about 1300 feet
in less than a mile. Even though I took it steady, this climb did for me, and I
was struggling off the top and lots of people passed me. I had a gel, which was hard to swallow and
left my hands sticky. We went slightly north, away from some steep crags, and
then cut under the summit of Cold Pike contouring
round until we could see a direct line to Three
Shires Stone, the next check point.
I thought of dropping out as I dibbed there, but psychologically I had
turned south and was heading back towards the finish and so, after a drink, I
carried on. A few more spectators here,
lying on the grass enjoying the heat of the day. It would have been nice to
have a sit down with them.
Almost as
soon as I left the road and started up Wet
Side Edge I started to feel some cramps in my thigh but it soon
disappeared. I stuffed a few jelly
babies into my mouth and carried on. I
have walked up here a few times but walkers always head for the high points
while we took the line of least resistance and avoided the top of Little Carrs, passing the
The two
runners I was with showed me a path that took a contour line below the summit
of Brim Fell saving a lot of climbing. I was starting to struggle now and my stomach
felt bad. They left me and I caught a guy who was getting some cramps. We
jogged over Goats Hause together
but, as we started to climb, he pulled up again with cramp. I carried on but as I got near the summit of Dow I threw up a couple of times. That
made me feel a lot better and I decided I was going to finish. Keith from
Bowland was on Dow and asked how I was, “Rough”, I said and he chuckled, “Not far now”. The running off Dow was quite nice; not on the ridge over Buck Pike and Brown Pike but
on a contour to cross the Walna Scar
Road and straight on to White Pike. I could see the finish and the cars glinting
in the sun from Walna Scar, but
there were another two tops and two checkpoints to go!
I ran behind
two Bowland runners, who had passed
me on Dow, as far as the checkpoint
on White Pike. The marshal here had
come up on a quad bike and brought water; unusual on a fell race as everyone
usually has to look after themselves, but it tasted great. I couldn’t keep up with the Bowland lads on the descent and ended
up walking all the way to the last checkpoint at Caw. On the climb, my thighs
cramped up and I was passed by two ladies.
The marshals on Caw were
jovial and suggested I could roll to the finish from here.
I managed to
run a direct line down to the wall crossing at a new stile; the route from here
was flagged as far as the finish line, which I crossed in 4 hours 43mins, (on
my watch).
I was pleased
to have finished especially in these conditions, disappointed with my place, 91st / 123 starters and a
bit disappointed with my time as I had hoped for 4:30. Well there’s always next year - I’ve done the ‘recce’.
I got cleaned
off a bit, changed and went to watch the presentations; it was a pleasure to
watch Joss Naylor get 1st V70 prize in the short
race - (11 miles and 3000ft ascent).
I will do
some more long category, fell races but I hope for cooler days and a bit more
stamina training before attempting them.
Written by: Richard Davies
Submitted: 4th
June 2006
Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Website/Magazine Editor