- the location (the Lake District), definitely my favourite part of the UK. I just wish it was a bit closer so we could visit more often.
- the atmosphere of the race. Maybe it is the same with other ultras, but everyone is so friendly and would rather help out other runners than try to beat them.
I had a free place in this thanks to winning the mixed team prize with Deborah and Will last year. We had finished in 13:23 but I was pretty sure I could go quite a bit quicker. My aim was to try to finish before it got dark (which would be a time of around 10:30), as that would make the navigation and terrain a lot easier on the last leg or two - I felt like this cost us a lot of time last year. However, I hadn't done any specific prep/training for this race - I felt pretty fit from Ironman training but had done no running on hills/offroad and only one run over 18M since April (which was the Ironman run!).
Alex and Jake (our dog) came up for the weekend and we stayed at a lovely guesthouse near Skelwith Bridge. They hadn't been to the Lakes before so it was great that the hills looked amazing as we arrived in perfect late evening weather on Friday. We quickly checked into the guesthouse and then I went to register. At the weigh-in I discovered that I was around 3.5kg lighter than last year (80.4kg) - I never weigh myself so this was interesting as I thought I might have lost a bit of weight training for Nice.
After an awesome breakfast at the guesthouse, we headed to Coniston for the race briefing. Nothing particularly interesting, although they did confirm that last year the first leg was 2M short because the lead runner had gone wrong on the 4M loop around Dalemain at the start (there is a lead runner for the 4M loop before the competitors are left to make their own way on the 46M from Dalemain back to Coniston). This year it would actually be 50M, so I mentally added 15-20 mins into my time estimates, which I had based on the times we did last year. We drove from Coniston to Dalemain and it was at this point I realised it was actually pretty hot - I was sweating just waiting for the start. I thought it was cold up north! I said goodbye to Alex and Jake and got in the start pen.
The race is basically 7 legs of varying distances with a checkpoint at the end of each leg where you 'dib in' (recording your time electronically) and can stock up on food and water. Each checkpoint is run by a local shop/running club/group of volunteers and some have a theme (e.g. disco). Each checkpoint is trying to outdo the others so they put on some fantastic food e.g. great pasta and smoothies at Kentmere, soup at Mardale etc. I had given Alex some estimated times for each leg as she was planning on seeing me just after Ambleside (near the guesthouse) and I'd signed her up to get a text message each time I dibbed in - this worked perfectly apparently!
On the same weekend is the Lakeland 100, a 104M loop which starts on the Friday evening. The 50M race is basically the second half of that loop. This means that while you're running the 50M you pass lots of the 100M runners who have been going for 24 hours or so - madness! Some of them didn't look good when I passed them, can't imagine why.
Leg 1 - Dalemain to Howtown (11.2M)
This is the longest leg, but by far the easiest terrain. All of it is runnable with just some small (for the Lakes, not for Hertfordshire!) hills. I felt like I was running fairly fast on the initial 4M loop round Dalemain but wanted to get a bit up the field to see how the fast guys did it. I waved to Alex and Jake as we went back through the start at the end of the loop and headed out on the route proper. I guess I was in about 15th place at that point, but didn't really know. Up the first main climb I walked the steeper sections even though I could have run them (everyone else around me ran up the whole way) as I knew it was going to be a long day. The long gradual descent down to Howtown was fun and I was trying to minimise the impact on the quads as I knew this would be an issue later due to all the steep descents. We were soon at Howtown - I dibbed in, grabbed a flapjack, downed a cup of squash and set off (didn't bother to refill water).
Time for leg 1:24 (estimate was 1:25, but with the extra 2M I was much faster than expected)
Leg 2 - Howtown to Mardale Head (9.4M)
This leg includes the highest point on the route (High Kop, around 670m I think). It is basically a long climb from Howtown to High Kop (gaining about 500m in elevation), a descent down to Haweswater and then 4M or so along the edge of the lake. The climb was just a long grind, hands on knees and getting increasing sweaty in the heat. I passed a couple of people and a couple of people passed me, but everyone was travelling at a fairly similar speed (around 2mph I would guess!). Eventually I reached the top and took a second to turn around and look back to Ullswater - you then feel quite proud of how high you've climbed.
The run from High Kop to Low Kop is my favourite part of the whole race - slightly downhill but not steep, soft ground but not difficult and you can just cruise down for 5-10 mins. Then the descent gets steep and painful. A few of us were close together and I knew we had to turn right on an indistinct (i.e. non-existent!) path towards the beck crossing near Haweswater, The others clearly didn't know where to turn, and I didn't know exactly, but I knew we'd gone a bit far. So I suggested we turn - a bit of pushing through ferns and we found the path down towards the waterfalls and the lake. The route from there was fairly simple along the lake, although the path is very narrow and rocky in places. I pushed on a bit towards the end and passed a couple of people, and was pleased to arrive at Mardale well ahead of schedule.
Time for leg 1:40 (estimate was 2:00)
Leg 3 - Mardale Head to Kentmere (6.5M)
I think this is the hardest of the remaining legs, and in my mind you've 'broken the back' of the race once you get to Kentmere as you're over halfway and have done the biggest climbs. Immediately out of Mardale you start to climb Gatesgarth Pass, a very steep and long stoney track. At one point you reach a crest, which you think is the top, and then realise you're only halfway up - I think I said some words to myself at that point.
There were no other runners with me at this point (for the rest of the race actually), so I just trudged on, occasionally looking back to the view to Haweswater and the other runners below. I could see one guy ahead - it didn't look like much of a gap but when I took a split it was over 3 mins (probably about 150m at the pace I was going!). Long descent on the rocky track down to Sadgill, trying (but failing) to protect the quads. Then a short climb from there to a slightly tricky bit of navigation towards Kentmere - but I like that bit as I know the route and there are some interesting bridges, stiles etc. I still felt pretty strong at this point, although I could feel the quads a lot on the downhills. Looking at my watch I knew I was again well ahead of schedule and should comfortably get round before it got dark - maybe even under 10 hours? Arrived in Kentmere to a warm reception and I think I set a world record for the time taken to eat a bowl of pasta!
Time for leg 1:17 (estimate was 1:40)
Leg 4 - Kentmere to Ambleside (7.3M)
I didn't know this leg so well as we didn't recce it before the race last year. I was starting to get a bit tired, although I felt strong on the uphills and flats. I was really looking forward to seeing Alex and Jake just after Ambleside (for some reason I get quite emotional about these things in these long races), so in my head I thought "get through this leg, the one after that I will see Alex and Jake, and then it's only 10M to go". Another long climb up Garburn pass, but not as steep as Gatesgarth, then a long descent the other side which was thankfully not as steep as some of the others. Cross the birdge at Troutbeck and then a climb up a road (the longest section on road), a gentle descent with great views to Windermere, and then you enter Skelghyll Woods.
The book says that after Jenkins Crag the path forks and either path takes you to a stone bridge - this is the only part of the route where it says you have a choice of paths. I couldn't remember where we went last year, but I picked the right-hand fork. Shortly afterwards (before I had reached a stone bridge) I hit another fork - hmmm, now I have no idea which way. However, I knew we were aiming down to Ambleside so picked the left fork downhill. Soon I could see the main road by the lake between Ambleside and Windermere, which I knew wasn't right. So I stopped and got the map out of my rucksack for the first time in the race. The route headed higher in the woods, so I retraced my steps and then just kept heading right. Back on track I cruised down to Ambleside, slightly annoyed, but it probably only cost me 5 mins.
The checkpoint in Ambleside was in a different place from last year and now had steps up to the checkpoint - evil! I spent a couple of minutes in there eating, refilling my water (which had run out a mile or so beforehand), and I noticed at least one person overtake me by not stopping for as long. But to be honest I didn't care, and had no idea what position I was in anyway (I guessed somewhere between 10th and 20th).
Time for leg 1:33 (estimate was 1:45)
Leg 5 - Ambleside to Chapel Stile (5.6M)
This is the easiest leg in terms of terrain, and I was looking forward to seeing Alex (and Jake!). As I left Ambleside I called Alex to check she knew I was ahead of schedule. The conversation started something like this:
Me: I'm just leaving Ambleside [proud of myself]
Alex: Oh, you're miles behind...
Me: No, I'm about an hour ahead of schedule
Alex: I mean you're miles behind the leader, he's already through Chapel Stile
Me: Well obviously I'm miles behind the leader....
Given I thought this leg was easy, I was surprised by the climb up to the open fell above Ambleside. It probably wasn't that bad, but was a bit unexpected. I was really struggling on the downhills now, stopping to walk occasionally to try to sort out the quads, but that wasn't really helping. I managed to run down the road to Skelwith Bridge, clearly this was not at all affected by the fact that I knew Alex would see me run down there!
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| "Running" in Skelwith Bridge |
Time for leg 1:01 (estimate was 1:10)
Leg 6 - Chapel Stile to Tilberthwaite (6.5M)
I looked at my watch and had over 3 hours to do the last 10M to get under 10 hours, so even walking should do it. Last year we walked this entire leg as it was dark (and we were tired), and it was so much easier in the daylight.
As I walked down a steep hill someone (Ben) overtook me for the first time in a while. I managed to stay with him for the rest of the flat bit and up the climb to Blea Tarn, and we were catching someone ahead. After Blea Tarn there is a very technical rocky section before Blea Moss, and Ben seemed to just fly through it while I was scrambling around - he literally gained about a minute in the space of two minutes. This highlighted my lack of experience on this sort of terrain. Somehow Blea Moss was still boggy despite the heat and recent drought, but I managed to keep my feet fairly dry. The downhill road (Wrynose Pass I think) was very painful, then the small climb over to Tilberthwaite. Suddenly there was a heavy rain shower, which felt lovely at that point! Jogged into Tilberthwaite, small top-up of water, flapjack and on my way.
Time for leg 1:21 (estimate was 1:45)
Leg 7 - Tilberthwaite to Coniston (3.5M)
Only 3.5M - how hard can it be?! Very.
From the car park/checkpoint, you immediately climb the Steps of Doom, some large stone steps up to the old quarry. Once you get up these you think it will get easier, but it doesn't - another couple of hundred metres of really steep climbing. Based on my breathing rate, I probably had a heart rate close to 10k race effort, and I was moving forwards at about 1 mph (literally). At the top of the steep bit I actually stopped for 10s with my hands on my knees to catch my breath. A short scramble up some rocks and then it gets a bit easier. At this point I caught a 100M competitor and realised how nuts that is - no way could I climb that after 24 hours or more of walking/running (and considering their race started at 6:30pm, probably at least 36 hours with no sleep). Had a bit of a chat with him as I passed and he seemed OK, although a bit "out of it", but he was actually jogging the easier bits and nearly keeping up with me. For the rest of the climb I looked back occasionally to check he was still on the right route as the navigation is not obvious here, particularly when very tired.
It opens out at the top of the steep bit and you follow the path around - the book says various things like "pass the small cairn on the left" or "pass the big rock on the right", but to me there are just lots of rocks everywhere. The key is a single tree which denotes where to cross a small stream. After a while following the path I was starting to worry that I hadn't found the tree, and started muttering to myself - where are you lone tree? Why do you mock me so? (OK, I was probably starting to get a bit delusional.) Finally I turned a corner and saw the lone tree - crossed the stream and continued uphill to the summit. Now just the horrible descent to the Miner's Bridge - big rocks everywhere and very steep, basically too difficult for me to run, especially with no quads left, although I expect the fell runners were skipping down it. I stumbled down to the main path and tried to run the whole way down to Coniston, but I probably walked once or twice for a few seconds. My watch was reading 9:0x, so I was going to be way under my estimate. Hitting Coniston the pain seemed to disappear as I ran through the high street, past the pubs with beer gardens full of cheering supporters. It's amazing what adrenaline can do and I felt great on the last 400m to the finish line. Final dib in and finished in 9:10. Immediately someone gave me a print out with my times and ushered me into the hall for more cheering, a medal, t-shirt and food.
Time for leg 0:52 (estimate was 1:05)
Time overall 9:10 (estimate was 10:50)
At this point I found out the winner had broken the course record in 7:39, unbelievable running.
So overall, very pleased with the race and enjoyed most of it (not the downhills!). I guess I could find another 20-30 minutes with some proper training. I don't plan to do this again anytime soon, although Alex was so inspired by the race that she is threatening to enter for next year and would require a navigator!
The next day we went for a nice walk up Black Fell which was very close to the guesthouse, and Jake in particular loved it (especially when there were sheep nearby!). My legs felt OK, but coming back down caused more damage and they are still pretty sore (3 days later and counting). Hopefully I'll be recovered soon and can start some training for Kona - 10 weeks on Saturday!
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| Black Fell (Crag?) with Jake |
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