Middle Pack

Some dates for your diary for 2009 if you are interested in Ultra running.

The guys over at runfurther have annouced their 2009 race line up.

There have again been a few changes but the classics are still there and are now forming the backbone of the competition. Other races kind of making guest appearances.

New this year is the Wye Ultra 30 miler and the Dark and White Peak Race that is as yet an undecided length. Both of them fall into the short category along with the Wuthering Hike/Howarth Hobble and the Pumlumon.

The medium category remains unchanged from last year with Calderdale, Malborough Downs, Osmotherly Phoenix and the High Peaks 40 making up that category.

The long had embraced the Lakeland 100 which is an excellent thing to see as it looks and sounds an amazing race and I do hope to be able to complete it this year with a steady away approach. Alongside this future classic is an old classic in the form of the Fellsman. Joining these is the Highland Fling and Long Mynd.

Another great set of races and with over 500 miles of racing to cover this looks to be a series that is growing from year to year and attracting quite a cult like following.

After last years failed attempt at the Runfurther series due to injury I am going to be revisiting the series this year and incorporate these into my main goals for 2009. Already booked in the diary are the three Yorkshire Ultras of the Howarth Hobble, Calderdale Hike and the Fellsman.

I then get to enjoy summmer briefly with a BG and the Saunders Klets just in time for the Lakeland 100 and hopefully extra bonus points for completing this gruelling race. So that would be my 4 races for the series completed. A tough order and relies on a good injury free period.

With the Runfurther series as my backbone of races throughout the year alongside the Saunders, Rab and OMM Mountain marathons it looks like 2009 is coming together quite nicely.

Today is the start of two weeks of lectures organised by the University of Leeds in the weeks between November 24th and 5th December. These celebrate the Olympic and Paralympics, whilst also looking forward to the 2012 Olympics in London.

The University have secured some excellent speakers. Of particular interest to me is Dame Tanni Grey and Giles Long, winner of eleven golds and three golds respectively at the Paralypics. Ed Coats, who has represented Great Britain as a decathlete will be talking about his race across the antarctic with Ben Fogle and James Cracknell and also Dan Salcedo the GB tri coach and Ady Hinchcliffe the diving coach talking about coaching and supporting athletes. This and many other excellent speakers will be speaking about different aspects of the Olympics both past, present and future. 

The events are free to attend and most of the talks are on a lunch time. If you fancy coming along to the free lectures then you may need to take a long lunch. 

So if you work in Leeds then it may be worth just having a look at the timetable and coming along if you have an understanding boss? Uni of Leeds is roughly a 10/15 minute walk from City Centre. 

You can download the timetable for full details. For venue details, download a map of the University campus

All lectures are free of charge and open to all. Due to high demand, lectures by Dame Tanni and Giles Long are ticketed events. Tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact Sarah Stephenson (0113 3434072) to reserve a place.

And oh my god what a tour! I feel like I now know every little bit of the hill a lot more intimately that I did a couple of days ago.

The Tour of Pendle is the last A Long Fell race in the calendar. A race that squeezes in 17 miles into a hill that covers a square of land roughly 2.5 miles wide by 3 miles and has 4800ft of ascent is no mean feat.

I was looking forward to this race as it was my first proper fell race since Wasdale in July although I was running with a few niggles I was feeling strong and fresh on the Saturday morning. I even abstained from alcohol on the Friday night in anticipation.

The race starts off with just over a km on track before the first ascent (of six) up onto the tops. This followed by a great section along the wall on the top of Pendle as a route change from the usual race line to avoid further erosion. I was stuck between trying to hold back and to stay in sight of the people in front. Choosing to try to hold on to the people in front until CP 2. An up and down of the moor took us to CP 4 and the “Geronimo descent”. Managing that okay but being caught by people behind me as I run off up Ogden Clough.

The last half of the race is a series of up and down section. A real roller coaster section, with each descent and ascent feeling bigger and longer than the last. This happens right up to the last ascent of “Big End” Which is literally the big steep end of Pendle hill. A slog that gets the cramp twinging in many a person’s calves. A final tussocky run down to Ogden clough and the run back on the trail takes you back to the finish.

I understand why Tour of Pendle is called a classic as it really is a great race at a good time of year for fell running. A bit of clag, a stiff breeze and plenty of bogs and water aided my enjoyment of the race. Mud up to waist high, some killer descents and some real thigh burning ascents. Also loads or runnable ground. Maybe too much runnable ground as there is little respite in the race.

Time was 2 hrs 51 minutes and a respectable 21st place out of 201 starters. Happy with a sub 3 hours as that was my only goal coming into the race.

Full results

I haven’t posted for over two weeks since the OMM. Just felt a bit low and tired since it finished prematurely.

One of my main goals for the season was the OMM elite and to be denied my goal has left me a bit flat and aimless. So I am aiming to pick up on my posts in the future and I have a variety of things to post on. These include the new Inov8 pack reviews, a review on new released Rab kit and a look at goals for 2009.

Please bear with me as these things are coming.