Archive for the ‘Run’ Category
Last Wednesday evening I took part in the “Trail Race Up The Beast” fell race, from Maeshafn, Mold. Having done this last year I’d hoped it would seem easier, but disappointingly it was just as bone crunching as last time 
The route is of mixed terrain – muddy forest, onto track, the ascent of the “Beast”, then a lovely soothing green pasture descent, a touch of road, then the steps of doom(!) past the quarry (No! Not the steps!!). All in all, a challenging run which continually tests, not giving a chance to get into a steady rhythm. This is the second year of the “Beast” race and I am already looking forward to another thrashing next year.
This time I finished 17th/45 in 32:30. The results are here.
Big thanks to Peter Douglas for his pics of the race. Keep up the good work Pete!
A grimace or a smile?…
As mentioned in previous post, I spent an exceedingly enjoyable day running on the hills in the Lakes. It was blisteringly hot and I picked up some vest-shaped sunburn as a souvenir.
| Location |
Split |
Accumulative |
| Seathwaite |
0:00 |
0:00 |
| Glaramara |
51:25 |
51:25 |
| Great End |
53:21 |
1:44:00 |
| Ill Crag |
13:55 |
1:58:00 |
| Broad Crag |
9:39 |
2:08:00 |
| Scafell Pike |
9:46 |
2:17:00 |
| Lingmell |
16:53 |
2:34:00 |
| Great Gable |
57:23 |
3:32:00 |
| Green Gable |
12:02 |
3:44:00 |
| Base Brown |
10:59 |
3:55:00 |
| Seathwaite |
28:27 |
4:23:00 |
First real holiday of the year. I recently spent a week in the Lake District, Keswick to be exact. A huge thanks to Kate for organising the accommodation and to the wonderful chefs that provided delicious meals each evening!
My knowledge of the Lakes before this week had been somewhat lacking. I did a number of walks there some 10 years ago whilst in Uni, but apart from trips to Langdale during the last few years I really hadn’t a clue on geography, notable peaks or valleys. I’m pleased to say that I’ve been vastly educated somewhat over the week long stay.
Diary for the week…
Monday: Blencathra from Halls Fell, then on to Bowscale Fell (Fiona)
Tuesday: Red Pike, High Stile, High Crag, Haystacks from Buttermere (Fiona). Thanks to Rebecca for the lift back!
Wednesday: Run (Ade) from Keswick – Walla Crag (7 miles). Walking in Wythop Woods (Andrew), 6 miles.
Thursday: Sam’s big run (see next post).
Friday: Linear walk… Rowling End, Causey Pike, Sail, Crag Hill, Grasmoor, Wandope, Whiteless Pike (Fiona).
Saturday: Helvellyn via Striding Edge, from Glenridding, return via Swirral Edge, Catstye Cam, Brown Cove.
Sadly I began the week with two flat camera batteries, hence no pics. But Ade has kindly sent me these – click the image below for more.
Pictures from the LAMM (Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon) in which my friend Clive and I took part in over the weekend. The location was kept a total secret (more or less) right up until the start. All we knew beforehand was that it was to be held somewhere in Scotland. This turned out to be Morvich in Kintail.
We did the B course, which involved 44km of distance and 3250m of ascent and descent over very mountainous and rugged terrain. It was a wonderful weekend spent out on the hills, with amazing scenery, and a satisfying feeling of freedom gained from carrying all the kit for the overnight stay the whole way. Scrambling up ridiculously steep slopes, pioneering routes through wilderness, running along tops and down isolated wide open valleys… More of this please!
I must say a huge thanks to Clive for getting me into this, and expertly navigating us round the course. Lots of fun!
Click on the photo above to see more…
A favourite for me this one. 10.5 miles and 2927ft of ascent/descent. It was an extremely hot saturday, so warm that even walking from the car to the start required strenuous effort and brought on the hunt for shade from the midday sun.
The race had a slightly higher turnout this year. Was very hard going due to the blazing heat, and suffered near exhaustion by the finish. Wasn’t as quick as last year, some 12 mins slower, finishing near the 2 hour mark.
Thanks to Alastair for the excellent pic.
I recently got an Inov-8 Race Pro 12 rucksack for running. It’s of a very lightweight design and intended to serve as a 2 litre hydration pack with storage space for the essentials needed out on the hills. The main pocket is easily large enough for food, map, compass, waterproofs, first aid kit etc. On the back is a useful mesh which can stretch to accommodate a cycle helmet, and there are also two hip pockets for anything you may need close to hand, such as gels or snacks.
What makes the Inov-8 pack different from other packs I’ve seen is the water bladder, which fits horizontally across the hips area. This means the weight is lower down on your body, where it won’t slosh around and affect your balance as much as with a vertical bladder.
I’ve taken the pack out on two runs so far with it fully loaded with water and gear – one road run, and another off-road on a wide variety of terrain. I found the pack to have a good range of adjustment meaning that it fitted snugly onto my back and didn’t move around a lot. I have suffered some slight bruising around my lower back, but no doubt that this will toughen up with a few more runs. Running with the extra weight does takes a little getting used to, and is definitely more noticeable when climbing or descending very steep banks or hills! It does take a little out of your pace, and certainly makes you work harder than without the pack, however on the flat my time wasn’t too far off normal.
Today I’d set out to do the Moel Wnion fell race (4 miles, 1600ft) near Bethesda, but due to horrendous and most unfortunate traffic I reached my destination some ten minutes too late. I had my kit with me, so to avoid a wasted journey I decided to run up Moel Siabod.
Starting from Plas-Y-Brenin I slogged my way to the summit (872m) in roughly 40 mins. It was extremely cold and windy up there and probably not the best place to be wearing shorts and t-shirt. Gloves and something long would have been a good idea. I sheltered behind the trig point very briefly to admire the view, then went straight back into the strong winds picking my way through the boulders towards a grassy descent. Running down was wonderful, and only took 20 mins. Got a few funny looks off some walkers I passed on the way there and back.
Have wanted to run this mountain for a while. A good dosage of hill training.
Today I took part in the “Pipe Dream” fell race in Dolgarrog, North Wales (5 miles, 1700ft). There was a fair bit of climbing involved, a lot of which was spent zig-zagging in a queue of runners all walking up the ridiculously steep gradient from the start. I soon realised that sprinting at the beginning along the road would have been wise, as its impossible to pass anyone up through the forest. As it’s single file the competitors get very spread out, making it difficult to catch anyone up!
Once out of the forest the course runs alongside large water pipes from a nearby reservoir. This is great fun as you can choose which side of the pipes to run along, the left being slightly longer but flatter, and the right being shorter but hard going. The wind was quite fearsome on this stretch, coming directly at us from the west. It was so strong that it felt like running through treacle! There was a fabulous view from here out over the Conwy estuary, complete with several rainbows (as it was now raining also).
After a mile or so the course leaves the pipes and heads north for a bit and then east towards the summit. As soon as I turned eastwards the wind was behind me and practically blew me up the hill! From the summit everything went a bit crazy as the steep descent started. A steep grassy bank to begin with – all of a sudden you realise how hard your legs have been working to go upwards, as going downhill feels so easy! Then followed a fair bit of tarmac and gravel track to contend with, across a few fields, then onto the suicidal combination of wet slippery rocks, tree roots, mud, all covered in leaves… Nimble footwork required. There were a few runners in front of me who nearly lost it down here. I got down in one piece, albeit after a few scary slips. Near the bottom the course joined an unbelievably steep concrete track, not the best thing to sprint down in fell shoes, but after a while momentum took hold and it was time to disengage the brakes for a flat out sprint. Back on the main road there was a 1/2 mile or so dash to the finish at Dolgarrog visitor centre.
Don’t think I did particularly well in this race, as I’m sure the results will show, but great fun in all and very glad I did it. Also, there was tasty soup, refreshing tea and cakes at the visitor centre later, all of which I felt obliged to sample.
Went out training again this evening with West Cheshire. Tonight we followed a 6 mile route out towards Blacon, which was interlaced with sprint sections of varying distance. Very much enjoyed running with like minded people, all good fun.
My second revelation of this week, after sports yoga… I’ve just broken a long term trend of running solo, and gone training with West Cheshire AC.
I’ve always been wary of joining a club in the past, however its nice to try something new, and a good way to fill up an evening a week doing something I really enjoy.
This evening’s session was hill training. Such a coincidence that’s my favourite 
For me, there’s little things that compare to running up a steep hill/bank/mountain/cliff…
They were all a friendly bunch, and there was lots of good banter this evening. We we’re out for just over an hour. Will definitely be going next week.
Hello.
