So Russ and I decide to recce this race; he has run it a couple of times previously, for me it is a race that I intend to run for the first time this year. I know these fells relatively well but a recce is still good preparation.
The forecast is not great, turning worse as the day progresses. So we decide to park close the the Purple House, that was, and start / finish the route from CP 2. This gives us a tough ascent of Sleet Hause and Causey Pike straight out of the blocks, just a couple of hundred metres along the valley bottom as a warm-up.
Still we climb well and make good progress. In and out of the clag on Causey Pike, then to along to Sail and Eel Crag. We decide to take a rough bearing from here, perhaps to rough as we drift a little low and hit the main path coming from the Hause rather than the contour path. As it is a recce, we head up to find the trod and then make good progress descending to Buttermere where, ordinarily the races starts and finishes.
The climb out of Buttermere is up the Newlands Pass road and then a long contour on a muddy trod. A steep climb takes us back onto to the fells and along to our last checkpoint on Ard Crags. The wind had picked up a bit and it was turning wet, the descent back to the valley and the car was very slippy, even Russ's new Inov-8's were struggling to cope.
A good run out, about 3 hours, Russ predicts well inside 2 hours for me on race day. We wash off in the beck, change drink coffee and then head to the Hawkshead Brewery for a quick pint - we're in luck, a new brew - Drystone Stout.....great.
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