What a day - as wet as last year's Great Lakes fell race and as windy as last year's Buttermere / Sailbeck race and it's still August !
This is a low key race and, this year, a Helm Hill Club Championship race; I'm the only Helm runner at the race but these will be hard won points !
The rain is incessant as the race starts and I do not climb well to the first checkpoint on Loadpot Hill. The race heads south along the line of the Roman Road and, today, into the wind. Conditions are not good and, having been on these fells last week, I know that checkpoint 2, High Raise, is just East of the main path. I have my map, protected in an Ortlieb case and attached to my jacket pocket, at the ready and used it !
I cut off the Roman Road at just the right point (my plan was to note the kink in the fence line, just by a steep Ghyll that cuts in on the right, continue up the main path from this point until it levels and then turn 90o left) and soon see the summit and the Marshall sensibly tucked in the small stone windbreak, a Bowland lad just behind follows me in but runners who I had seen ahead miss the summit !
I then get a good contour line which cuts right of Rampsgill Head and joins the main path just where a path descends from The Knott - spot on ! Then good running, now with he wind behind or to the side to Angle Tarn and then Boredale Hause. The weather has relented a little and I dig deep on the climb to checkpoint 3 on Place Fell.
There were some comments on Fellrunner forum last week about the best descent route from here to the valley; I had committed these to memory and then recalled them precisely. Right of High Dodd and then soon after zig-zag down to the right and cross the river (by the wee stone bridge today rather than the adjacent ford !).
Then a bit of road running to St Peter's church, and time to down a gel, before the sting in the tail, Hallin Fell; but the gel kicks in and I climb this small fell well, it's then all downhill to the finish at the Bobbin Mill, a familiar place to me as it was a checkpoint on the UTLD 50 & 100.
I finish in just over 2:56 and am placed 13th; I am pleased with this, this came down to careful and accurate navigation and strong running when the conditions got tough; perhaps the steady initial climb made sense. I must have picked up at least a dozen or so places, and not by directly overtaking other runners, by accurately locating the High Raise checkpoint.
Hot, sweet tea and great cakes round off an epic race. I am totally soaked and, sensibly, have the camper with me today (although this is less capable of getting out of a muddy field than the Quattro !).
There is a lot of chatter on the forum about High Raise !
What a great race, would be good to run it again, hopefully in better conditions.
What a great race, would be good to run it again, hopefully in better conditions.
Results:
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