Middle Pack

It was a cold Monday evening with a promise of night time temps hitting -5. First day back at work after the Christmas break and my foot hurt from Ovenden Fell race from the weekend, but that wasn’t going to stop me racing.

This being the only Owl event that I actually knew the route I wasn’t going to miss that. Also the only event with a bit of route choice in it.

I took the tactical decision to wear trail shoes as the ground was like concrete and I thought the additional traction and cushioning would make the race more enjoyable. As I was injured I was really only going for a good run and not to be competitive. The route being just shy of 4 miles with 500 feet of ascent and taking in some of the Ilkley Moor Landmarks. Starting at Millenium Gardens and going via the Calf, Badger Stone and White Wells before descending back to Millenium Gardens.

Even at the start people ran off in different directions across all the little paths across the moor. Finding Badger stone in the dark was a challenge for some as a leading pack took a slight diversion leaving me leading the way directly to the Badger Stone. A slippery descent to a road which was covered by black ice and then a direct line across the moor on little paths to White Wells split people up again as people tried to find the way. Getting to White Wells it turns out I was in 2nd place mainly due to good route choice keeping me in the race. The final descent dropped me into 3rd. Nice to see the Petzl wearers being 2 of the top 3 as opposed to the beams of light from Hope gaining their “running in daylight” advantage (only headtorch envy really).

Full results at the Wharfedale Harriers website

A great evening out and a good result despite not pushing it with my foot. These are great little events with a great atmosphere and a solid core of people coming every time for a gentle run in the dark. Thanks go out to Brett for this event and a massive thanks for the marshals and timekeepers on a cold night to be hanging around.

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Some fell races you are flying, hills are a breeze, the legs feel silkly smooth, the downhills are like lightening with no thought, no effort or concern about saftey. You are invincible as you skim across rough ground. This wasn’t one of those races!

Arriving at Ogden Water for the 14th Ovenden Fell Race, I was feeling quite good. My injured foot had been rested well since the Calderdale Relays 3 weeks previous. I had not done any running whatsoever in an aid to sort my foot out (and ensure I could stay drunk throughout Christmas). This I think was my undoing. Going up the first slight incline my legs felt like lead, my breathing laboured. I was just waiting for a bit of flat ground so that I could get some rythem and start pushing forward. Unfortunatly as soon as I hit the flat ground I realised it was going to be a slower race than I anticipated. The legs were still laboured. The ground was frozen as hard as concrete and I was struggling.

At this point I decided not to beat myself up about it and thought of various excuses to my already poor performace. I have settled on two excuses. First is lack of training due to injury, second is that it is better to get the shocking races over and done with early on in the year. Happy with these I settled in and tried to just enjoy it as a training run.

I do belive there were some points that I was enjoying it, unfortunatly these were all too late in the day. Maybe I am just suited to longer races where I can get settled in for the first 8 miles as opposed to the race being 8 miles?

Two worrying things came from this race (apart from the result) first was the foot was in agony the next morning and second was on the final descent I had real trouble catching breath. My chest felt tight and I had to slow down and take big deep breaths to control my breathing. This isn’t the first time this has happened so off to the docs with this one. Still no excuse as this was on the final descent to the finish.

All in all a cracking race, a good course but I felt like I could have done better. Final result 32nd out of 137 in a time of 66.33. Winning time 53.42 by Karl Gray of Calder Valley.

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42 miles across bleak unhospitable terrain, running through the night? It is usually snowing and it is always cold. Sounds a great idea to a suprising amount of people. Don’t know why I struggle getting a team?

The route followed the Derwent Watershed and goes round the Dark Peak anti-clockwise, starting and finishing in Edale. Taking in the worst the area has to offer. Peat bogs for mile upon mile of dark peak terrain.

This event is always oversubscribed and an addictive kind of race with many people coming back year after year for this perverse pleasure/pain experience. this race is the only race I have not managed to finish. 0 for 1 at present due to twisting my ankle not once, not twice but three times on a cold March evening before retiring at Cut Gate.

This year its going to be different! More consistent training, a team with an entry as opposed to a last miute forum arrangement. Recce’s, warmer clothing, taped ankles, less water, more food, brighter headtorch etc. Basically this year I am going to be better prepared and Team Pie are going to be flying!

On Wednesday I went and did my first night event of the year over near Skipton. This is not a training session but it is also not a race as there is no prizes for being fastest. Prizes go to the people who are closest to their predicted time.

As I am still reasonably new to running, it is the only race event I have actually done more than once so I actually knew the route and knew what to expect. It was also a good chance to see if I had improved in the last year.

Around 30 runners and a bloke on a crosser turned up with varying degrees of lighting. From the top class Hope vision lights to your usual petzls etc. I have to say this is the place for a bit of headtorch envy as there is such a clear advantage to have a bit extra power strapped to your head but it could be claimed to take some of the fun out of running in the dark.

At 7.30pm the event started with a bit of jostling up the road and onto the moors. This is where the fun started as you realise that much of the path was like sheet ice and you knew there was going to be a few falls that night. A sharp run up to the top of Sharp Haw followed by a great descent down towards rough haw before ascending that, round the trig and back down a steep rocky section and back up the slog towards Sharp Haw. As there was still snow on the ground it was often a bit easy to go off the paths and find yourself in some rough stuff which really drained the legs.

Then the final desent back to the road. Last year this was great fun, a slight gradient on pretty flat soft ground. This year just a mix between visible ice and black ice or the option to go slightly off the paths and risk the ankles on the tussocks and slightly longer grass in the dark.

Overall I finished 5th in 38 minutes 21 seconds so I was nearly 2 minutes out of my guesstimate of 40 mins 10 seconds. The spooky thing is that the race time was exactly the same as last year to the second. So why I was so wrong on my guess I do not know? I think I have improved as most peoples times were between 2 and 5 minutes slower than last year due to conditions and I didn’t feel I had pushed as hard this year as finishing in one piece was more important than getting a good time in slippy conditions.

A fair few bloody knees, and tales of slides and falls as we retired to the warmth of a bar to give out the prize for closest to the time.

All in all a great way to spend a cold Wednesday night in December.

Picture courtesy of Bob Wightman

Full results

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.