Thanks to the various folk who texted or left voice mail messages for me, concerned about my safety at the recently cancelled, very wet and windy OMM event in Borrowdale.
The event was cancelled at 12pm, about 4 hours after it started due to very heavy winds and rain - 100mph and over 1 month of rain in a 1 day are the figures I've heard.
I'll blog a full report shortly but needless to say I am fine and looking forward to 2009.
Some balanced and thoughtful reporting on fell events and weather by Richard Askwith can be found here in the meantime.
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Friday, 17 October 2008
New OMM partner and lying on a mat
Poor old Marco M-C has had to pull out of the OMM due to surprise work committments - boo. But really rather quickly I've found a replacement, a chap called Ian with what seems like a penchant for mexican headwear. It'll be a wee bit strange doing the event with a complete stranger, particularly sleeping in a 1+ person tent together, but we've spoken on the phone and he seems pretty relaxed and easy to get on with so I'm sure it'll be fine. Well, we've still got to become 'fart comfortable' with each other, something probably best done outside said tent. Actually I'm getting quite excited about the event now that it is just over a week away. I'll be staying up in the Lakes for a few days afterwards for a short break with my family, which I am also looking forward to.
Alun Ward emailed me the photo above earlier this week, wondering whether I was the fella on the mat. Yes, it's me, rather dehydrated and far too hot after running the High Peak 40 in 20C+ heat in mid-September. He came in a place or two behind me but looks like he is just about to start. Damnably unflustered by the exertion, unlike moi. Oh well ... :-)
Alun Ward emailed me the photo above earlier this week, wondering whether I was the fella on the mat. Yes, it's me, rather dehydrated and far too hot after running the High Peak 40 in 20C+ heat in mid-September. He came in a place or two behind me but looks like he is just about to start. Damnably unflustered by the exertion, unlike moi. Oh well ... :-)
Monday, 13 October 2008
Ridgeway Run race report
Distance: 9.68 miles
Terrain: mostly trail, some road
Ascent / descent: +610' / -619'
Time: 01:10:42
Pace: 7:18 (avg)
Position: 47/438
This is a regular race of mine, the nearest thing to a fell race within 30 minutes of Milton Keynes, and an event that always seems to get a lovely weekend. This year was no exception. The race has been running for 27 odd years now so is quite a fixture locally for the road boys wanting to try something out with hills and for all us poor fell and trail obsessed runners locked in living down south. Tring Running club organise the event and big cheers must go out to them - every year the t-shirt is a great design, the car parking works with military precision and the finish line is well constructed. Even with the sizeable field of 438 it all went well.
The Chiltern Hills over which the race runs
The sun was shining, the sky was blue and I set out to better my PB of 01:11:00 set a few years back. I did this with a few seconds to spare so am very pleased.
The race started at a pretty furious pace (6:12 mins/mile according to my Garmin) so I deliberately slowed to 6:30 pace after half a mile, not wanting to burn out. I slowed down further to 6:50 as we hit the first field and I then became aware of a grunter on my tail. Heavy breathing and a particular noise which meant I could recognise the fella. I think it was the Burnham Joggers runner who came in directly behind me but I can't be sure.
Anyway he was in close as we hit the first slope and I decided to stretch out a little, feeling confident about my climbing strength and endurance. Sure enough I quickly and easily lost him from earshot but he reappeared on the next, downhill, section where it sounded like he was putting in some effort to catch me so I stretched out again and kept him at bay.
Tring Ridgeway Run course profile and my pace
We crossed the stableyard to the north of Aldbury and gradually wound our way up to the monument in the Ashridge Estate. He was right at my heels and to his credit kept it there till the incline increased when he dropped back and I ploughed on, passing a few other runners. If only the race had more climbing I'd have easily (ha) moved up 10 positions. I managed to keep some of these runners at bay but the long flattish run through the Ashridge Estate saw me gradually picked off by the stronger on the flat runners. Damn these ultra trained legs of mine, faster faster I thought but to little avail.
The thought and possibly the imagined grunting of the runner I was determined to keep at bay kept my speed up, up and over Pitstone Hill in glorious sunshine then down through the woods to the final 1.5 ish mile road section. My legs were heavy by this point and try as I might I couldn't sustain faster than 7:14 ish pace so lost a few places, but importantly kept the grunter at bay. Hooray! A thoroughly enjoyable run.
Father and daughter enjoy the post-race sun and wet grass
The OMM in Borrowdale is fast looming (25th of this month) and Marco M-C and I still haven't got our tent sorted. I am humming and hawing about buying a new one as Marco has an old Vango 100 that might do the job, but it looks pretty wee. The dimensions below are for the Laser Competition, but they are about the same as the Vango 100. Has anyone tried out one of these tents with 2 people? How comfy are they? Can 2 folk actually fit in? They are supposedly big enough for 2 under mountain marathon race conditions.
Laser Competition tent dimensions
Finally, I have received some gentle encouragement from Mr Cunningham to stop being a big woose. I was thinking of doing a 2 day Bobby Gee (Bob Graham Round) as training for the 09 UTMB. Mr C has probably correctly pointed out that I ought to just get on and do the actual thing as training. Well, I might well just. Cheers for the motivation Richie. :-)
Terrain: mostly trail, some road
Ascent / descent: +610' / -619'
Time: 01:10:42
Pace: 7:18 (avg)
Position: 47/438
This is a regular race of mine, the nearest thing to a fell race within 30 minutes of Milton Keynes, and an event that always seems to get a lovely weekend. This year was no exception. The race has been running for 27 odd years now so is quite a fixture locally for the road boys wanting to try something out with hills and for all us poor fell and trail obsessed runners locked in living down south. Tring Running club organise the event and big cheers must go out to them - every year the t-shirt is a great design, the car parking works with military precision and the finish line is well constructed. Even with the sizeable field of 438 it all went well.
The Chiltern Hills over which the race runs
The sun was shining, the sky was blue and I set out to better my PB of 01:11:00 set a few years back. I did this with a few seconds to spare so am very pleased.
The race started at a pretty furious pace (6:12 mins/mile according to my Garmin) so I deliberately slowed to 6:30 pace after half a mile, not wanting to burn out. I slowed down further to 6:50 as we hit the first field and I then became aware of a grunter on my tail. Heavy breathing and a particular noise which meant I could recognise the fella. I think it was the Burnham Joggers runner who came in directly behind me but I can't be sure.
Anyway he was in close as we hit the first slope and I decided to stretch out a little, feeling confident about my climbing strength and endurance. Sure enough I quickly and easily lost him from earshot but he reappeared on the next, downhill, section where it sounded like he was putting in some effort to catch me so I stretched out again and kept him at bay.
Tring Ridgeway Run course profile and my pace
We crossed the stableyard to the north of Aldbury and gradually wound our way up to the monument in the Ashridge Estate. He was right at my heels and to his credit kept it there till the incline increased when he dropped back and I ploughed on, passing a few other runners. If only the race had more climbing I'd have easily (ha) moved up 10 positions. I managed to keep some of these runners at bay but the long flattish run through the Ashridge Estate saw me gradually picked off by the stronger on the flat runners. Damn these ultra trained legs of mine, faster faster I thought but to little avail.
The thought and possibly the imagined grunting of the runner I was determined to keep at bay kept my speed up, up and over Pitstone Hill in glorious sunshine then down through the woods to the final 1.5 ish mile road section. My legs were heavy by this point and try as I might I couldn't sustain faster than 7:14 ish pace so lost a few places, but importantly kept the grunter at bay. Hooray! A thoroughly enjoyable run.
Father and daughter enjoy the post-race sun and wet grass
The OMM in Borrowdale is fast looming (25th of this month) and Marco M-C and I still haven't got our tent sorted. I am humming and hawing about buying a new one as Marco has an old Vango 100 that might do the job, but it looks pretty wee. The dimensions below are for the Laser Competition, but they are about the same as the Vango 100. Has anyone tried out one of these tents with 2 people? How comfy are they? Can 2 folk actually fit in? They are supposedly big enough for 2 under mountain marathon race conditions.
Laser Competition tent dimensions
Finally, I have received some gentle encouragement from Mr Cunningham to stop being a big woose. I was thinking of doing a 2 day Bobby Gee (Bob Graham Round) as training for the 09 UTMB. Mr C has probably correctly pointed out that I ought to just get on and do the actual thing as training. Well, I might well just. Cheers for the motivation Richie. :-)
Monday, 6 October 2008
Uphill training in the rain oh joy
The rain had been falling for quite a few hours on Sunday by the time I dug out my fell shoes and headed out for some off road hill repeats. I've not worn my fell shoes since February and have missed their grip and the usual running through mud in stoating rain that usually accompanies my wearing them.
On Saturday I ran a hilly 10 mile off road run route I do locally in a record 1:22 for me and felt really strong, keeping my form throughout. I think I get a little lazy form wise sometimes and it makes my running less efficient so I am focussing quite hard on this, particularly running uphill.
Mike Mason emailed me this video of Scott Jurek, complete with lovely hair-do, giving some uphill running technique tips. The video doesn't cover really steep or fell terrain but the advice given works a treat for shallow to moderate trail slopes.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid416421194/bctid1453536224
Other than thoroughly enjoying running in the increasingly heavy rain doing my hill repeats on Sunday, I consciously kept my hips neutral, following Scott's advice. I found that I had a tendency under strain towards the top of the later repeats to bend forward but that this actually made my running less comfortable so I stuck with the form. It made my quads and calves burn more but felt more efficient overall. I did 9 repeats of ~130' each vertical climb and will increase this by 1 repeat a week till the OMM.
Anyhoo, well done to all Family Inverness 10k and marathon runners at the weekend and best wishes to John K for a speedy recovery and return to racing.
On Saturday I ran a hilly 10 mile off road run route I do locally in a record 1:22 for me and felt really strong, keeping my form throughout. I think I get a little lazy form wise sometimes and it makes my running less efficient so I am focussing quite hard on this, particularly running uphill.
Mike Mason emailed me this video of Scott Jurek, complete with lovely hair-do, giving some uphill running technique tips. The video doesn't cover really steep or fell terrain but the advice given works a treat for shallow to moderate trail slopes.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid416421194/bctid1453536224
Other than thoroughly enjoying running in the increasingly heavy rain doing my hill repeats on Sunday, I consciously kept my hips neutral, following Scott's advice. I found that I had a tendency under strain towards the top of the later repeats to bend forward but that this actually made my running less comfortable so I stuck with the form. It made my quads and calves burn more but felt more efficient overall. I did 9 repeats of ~130' each vertical climb and will increase this by 1 repeat a week till the OMM.
Anyhoo, well done to all Family Inverness 10k and marathon runners at the weekend and best wishes to John K for a speedy recovery and return to racing.
Sunday, 28 September 2008
A different kind of endurance
My wife Kirstin has been back at work for about 2.5 months now and has recently been successful in gaining a promotion - she's now Operations Manager for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. This has meant that she has had to up her hours from 3 days per week which she felt comfortable with since having Eilidh, to 4 days 1 week then 3 days the next. As part of this, and to get me more time to spend with our daughter I will be taking 1 day off every 4 weeks to be the pcg as we call it tongue-in-cheek (primary care giver). I did my first pcg stint on Friday, and wheesht it's pretty intense, but great.
Eilidh in 'give me my yoghurt' mode in July before teeth appeared
Now I don't want to paint a picture of me as an oafish, non contributing husband. On the contrary we have always adopted a 50/50 split to all forms of work domestic but Kirstin has definitely pulled more than her fair share of baby raising. I did midnight nappies and bottles and all that sort of thing but other than the paltry 2 weeks paternity leave I've not done much full time pcg'ing other than at weekends due to my being a full time work.
On Friday, it all went pear shaped from 8am, when Eilidh started moaning due being tired from getting up too early (a habit she has on occasion). I tried to put her to bed but the screaming began and wasn't stoppable even with a nice warm bottle of milk. I called K for advice and she suggested taking E out for a walk in her buggy. This worked a treat, got us both out of the house, soporifically sent her to sleep and reset her mood for the rest of the day, which we spent in the sun at a Milton Keynes lakeside, playing on swings and 'ooking' at ducks (E can say ook). I even managed a shopping trip (in which E sat laughing in the trolley chewing a cucumber half her height) and still managed to make dinner for us all as per usual. The whole experience is quite tiring physically (constant bending over to help her walk) and emotionally but great overall.
Outwith the baby front I nearly landed myself in deep doo with a comment on Debs blog about whether or not she should run and race whilst pregnant. Clearly a sensitive issue from her blog and the comments made by some of the other commenters. Anyway, I managed to extricate myself after realising I had waffled incorrectly about how Kirstin and I had approached the issue of pregnant exercising. Apparently the advice given by our Doctor was that keeping up existing forms of exercising is fine, it is the taking on of new forms of exercise which might be more risky - probably something to do with uncertainty as to how the body would adapt. Not sure how long Debs will manage to run as expansion continues - good luck to her though!
Last thing. I went a for a run on Saturday morning with a fellow called John Litten who had read my blog and has entered the Highland Fling. He lives in Luton so not so far away. I took him round the local hilly woodland and we waffled about ultras and running as the morning mist rose to reveal a glorious day. If you are reading this John - it was nice to meet you. Good luck in the Venice marathon!
Eilidh in 'give me my yoghurt' mode in July before teeth appeared
Now I don't want to paint a picture of me as an oafish, non contributing husband. On the contrary we have always adopted a 50/50 split to all forms of work domestic but Kirstin has definitely pulled more than her fair share of baby raising. I did midnight nappies and bottles and all that sort of thing but other than the paltry 2 weeks paternity leave I've not done much full time pcg'ing other than at weekends due to my being a full time work.
On Friday, it all went pear shaped from 8am, when Eilidh started moaning due being tired from getting up too early (a habit she has on occasion). I tried to put her to bed but the screaming began and wasn't stoppable even with a nice warm bottle of milk. I called K for advice and she suggested taking E out for a walk in her buggy. This worked a treat, got us both out of the house, soporifically sent her to sleep and reset her mood for the rest of the day, which we spent in the sun at a Milton Keynes lakeside, playing on swings and 'ooking' at ducks (E can say ook). I even managed a shopping trip (in which E sat laughing in the trolley chewing a cucumber half her height) and still managed to make dinner for us all as per usual. The whole experience is quite tiring physically (constant bending over to help her walk) and emotionally but great overall.
Outwith the baby front I nearly landed myself in deep doo with a comment on Debs blog about whether or not she should run and race whilst pregnant. Clearly a sensitive issue from her blog and the comments made by some of the other commenters. Anyway, I managed to extricate myself after realising I had waffled incorrectly about how Kirstin and I had approached the issue of pregnant exercising. Apparently the advice given by our Doctor was that keeping up existing forms of exercising is fine, it is the taking on of new forms of exercise which might be more risky - probably something to do with uncertainty as to how the body would adapt. Not sure how long Debs will manage to run as expansion continues - good luck to her though!
Last thing. I went a for a run on Saturday morning with a fellow called John Litten who had read my blog and has entered the Highland Fling. He lives in Luton so not so far away. I took him round the local hilly woodland and we waffled about ultras and running as the morning mist rose to reveal a glorious day. If you are reading this John - it was nice to meet you. Good luck in the Venice marathon!
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
High Peak and Vasque Ultra Champs position
The results are out for the HP40 run held at the weekend: http://www.highpeak40.co.uk/results.asp
I came in 16th out of 154 finishers with a time of 7:06:28, so very pleased position wise even though I was outside my target time of 7 hours. The heat probably put paid to that ambition for me for this year. I bettered my time from last year by about 9 mins so happy anyway.
Well done to other Family members Lucy Colquhoun (6:13:06), George Cairns (6:23:20) and Ritchie Cunningham (6:58:12)! The race was won by Brian Coles of Stoke AC with a stonking 5:44:42. Well played that man.
I have now completed all my Vasque Ultra Championships races and am currently placed 7th out of 203! Whoopeee! There'll probably be a bit of movement as there are some races to go and few folk should definitely overtake me like Mark Hartell, currently ranked 14th but with 1 race in hand. Full results here:
http://www.runfurther.com/media/results2/Overall_Results_10_races_2008.pdf
I came in 16th out of 154 finishers with a time of 7:06:28, so very pleased position wise even though I was outside my target time of 7 hours. The heat probably put paid to that ambition for me for this year. I bettered my time from last year by about 9 mins so happy anyway.
Well done to other Family members Lucy Colquhoun (6:13:06), George Cairns (6:23:20) and Ritchie Cunningham (6:58:12)! The race was won by Brian Coles of Stoke AC with a stonking 5:44:42. Well played that man.
I have now completed all my Vasque Ultra Championships races and am currently placed 7th out of 203! Whoopeee! There'll probably be a bit of movement as there are some races to go and few folk should definitely overtake me like Mark Hartell, currently ranked 14th but with 1 race in hand. Full results here:
http://www.runfurther.com/media/results2/Overall_Results_10_races_2008.pdf
Monday, 22 September 2008
High Peak 40 race report
Distance: 40.97 miles (advertised 40 miles)
Ascent / descent: +4858' / -4766'
Terrain: varied (wet grass / fields, hard trail, rocky trail, road)
Time: 07:06:32
Splits: 10:25 (avg), 7:40 (fastest), 15:58 (slowest)
Position: tbc
NOTE: all photos have been taken from http://www.geograph.org.uk/
Elevation profile of HP40
Splits for my HP40 race 2008
The High Peak 40 or HP40. My 4th and final race in the UK Vasque Ultra Championships and a race I've run for the past 3 years, this one included. It contains a fair amount of road running but the road is well broken up by such a variety of other terrain types from lovely lake side paths to fields, to muddy dale tracks and rocky hill top trails, that this race is one of my favourites. It is exceptionally well organised with drinks and food provided at every 1 of 12 checkpoints so you don't need support or to carry much except for a drinks bottle and some weatherproof gear. Although the latter wasn't needed at all on Saturday. Sheesht it was hot.
I didn't get home from work till 7pm on the Friday so it was a quick in, eat, get stuff ready, have beer on couch then off to bed. The alarm went off at 4am and I awoke a bit disoriented with the sound. Porridge quickly eaten, coffee cup and water bottles filled I was out the door in 30 mins for the 2.5 hour drive to Buxton in the Peak District. The M1 was pretty dead but music from Radio 2 kept me going till dawn arose.
The Peak District is not strictly a particularly mountainous terrain but it is lovely, and great running country with lots of ups and downs and a real mixture underfoot. The HP40 starts and ends in Buxton, taking in a 40 mile loop of the Goyt Valley, Rushup Edge, Mam Tor, Cave Dale, Tideswell Dale, Cressbrook and the River Wye and the Deep Dales.
I arrived, found the registration and headed back to my car to get ready. Richie C passed me on his way to registration and said 'hello Brian'. I caught up with him when he returned, wearing his new Skinz (yes very slick), in an attempt to stave off the excesses and damage of the UTMB. Brave fella I thought, this is likely to hurt so soon after. He was well aware of this likelihood. The UTMB sounds like such a race, I can't wait to enter next year. It'll be a challenge like no other.
A chap called Ally (Ali?) came up to me asking if I was Brian McIntosh, to which I responded affirmatively. He had apparently read my Highland Fling race report and been inspired to enter it next year. He was entering the HP40 as his first ultra at a distance slightly below the Fling for preparation. If you are reading this Ally, I hope it all went well - the heat was brutal! It's great that someone has been motivated to run an ultra partially as a consequence of blogging. Spread the ultra love as Dr Marc and Tanya (a pair of american ultra bloggers) would say. Cheesey but true!
I met a girl who had travelled down with Richie called Lucy as well. I think she was Lucy Colquhoun but can't be certain. She shot off like a bolt so I suspect she was. No other family members were about that I saw although Ritchie said George Cairns was there.
Anyway I stretched (something I forgot to do last year - doh) and headed down to the start. Not much hanging about and we were off, Lucy leading the field. 7:15 pace, crikey better slow down I thought as we headed out of the centre of Buxton towards the climb over the moors to the Goyt Valley. I slowed to a more sustainable 8:00 - 8:30 pace until we hit the hill up to the moor when power hiking was the order of the day.
After the moor I slotted in beside a long haired runner from Essex whose name I can't remember, and a chap called Andy from near Whitby who I met both last year and in 2006. We ran together down the steep sloping road to Fernilee reservoir and along its banks, chatting as we went, keeping the pace between 8:30 and 9:00. The sky was clear blue gorgeous and I was already sweating lots. I kept having to eject bogies from my nose, a behaviour which I know winds Miek Mason up, but there's not a lot else to do mid race when there's stuff to come out. I wondered whether I still had some cold virus inside me.
Fernilee Reservoir in the Goyt Valley
I felt strong as we left the Goyt Valley and headed east for Rushup Edge and Mam Tor. I kept up the pace at sub - 9 levels but walked up the steeper or more sustained hills so as not to knacker myself. I was drinking well and despite the bogies and sweat was feeling great. Sub 7 hours looked on - my goal for the race. Upon reaching the Rushup Edge checkpoint I kept up the pace and deliberately grinded out the slow mile or two uphill to Mam Tor, peeling away from Long Haired Essex Man and Andy. The air was beginning to get warm now.
Mam Tor from the air
Hollins Cross from near Mam Tor
The descent from Mam Tor to Hollins Cross then off the south side of the ridge to Castleton is great fun - very fast with lots of rocks to scrabble and jump down in the latter stages. My legs felt fine despite the pummelling and I got into the Castleton checkpoint on my own. Another runner approached as I finished filling up my water bottle and headed off, jaffa cakes stuffed in mouth. The runner kept with me into Cave Dale but I kept up a good power hike pace in the early stages and upped it to a light jog in the latter, less steep sections and lost him as a consequence.
Cave Dale viewed from above
I was alone in the hard limestone fields above Cave Dale when I saw a runner in the distance and thought I'd keep them in sight, or maybe even catch them. Little did I know it would be a suffering Ritchie C. Well, I guess it was only 4 weeks ago that he ran 103 miles with 33,000' ascent in the UTMB so he probably has a good excuse for being caught by me! :-)
We ran together for bit, chatting (good to have met you Ritchie, if you are reading this) but I kept the next checkpoint brief so peeled away. I overtook another runner on the long gradual road descent to Tideswell village and dale the Ritchie overtook me, his second wind emerging. Good stuff. My legs were beginning to feel the pain though as marathon distance approached - I can never be entirely sure if this is psychological or whether there is some damage threshold at ~26 miles that kicks in.
I passed through the Tideswell checkpoint amidst the stink of a small sewage treatment plant with odour issues to be shortly overtaken by the 2nd lady. I kept up with her for the next 5 miles or so at around 9:05 - 9:20 pace, grinding out the miles, ignoring the growing pain and enjoying the scenery in the dales. Lovely, picturesque stuff.
Near Cressbrook
Ritchie C passed me again, he had gotten lost for the 2nd time so wasn't having his ideal race, but looked cheery nonetheless. No swearing. Maybe he was just being polite.
I had been sweating for hours now and the heat must have been above 20C by now. My t-shirt was covered in salty stains.
I think dehydration was now taking its toll. The climb up the first Deep Dale to the long road section took forever and I just couldn't get more than a plod out of my legs. My stomach felt heavy but I was hot and dripping with sweat. After what seemed like an eternity I reached runnable ground and made myself run up the last half mile to the checkpoint next to the 3 mile long road section from hell. The 3rd lady caught me and another fella up here. Both left before me.
Looking up Deep Dale number 1
Ascent / descent: +4858' / -4766'
Terrain: varied (wet grass / fields, hard trail, rocky trail, road)
Time: 07:06:32
Splits: 10:25 (avg), 7:40 (fastest), 15:58 (slowest)
Position: tbc
NOTE: all photos have been taken from http://www.geograph.org.uk/
Elevation profile of HP40
Splits for my HP40 race 2008
The High Peak 40 or HP40. My 4th and final race in the UK Vasque Ultra Championships and a race I've run for the past 3 years, this one included. It contains a fair amount of road running but the road is well broken up by such a variety of other terrain types from lovely lake side paths to fields, to muddy dale tracks and rocky hill top trails, that this race is one of my favourites. It is exceptionally well organised with drinks and food provided at every 1 of 12 checkpoints so you don't need support or to carry much except for a drinks bottle and some weatherproof gear. Although the latter wasn't needed at all on Saturday. Sheesht it was hot.
I didn't get home from work till 7pm on the Friday so it was a quick in, eat, get stuff ready, have beer on couch then off to bed. The alarm went off at 4am and I awoke a bit disoriented with the sound. Porridge quickly eaten, coffee cup and water bottles filled I was out the door in 30 mins for the 2.5 hour drive to Buxton in the Peak District. The M1 was pretty dead but music from Radio 2 kept me going till dawn arose.
The Peak District is not strictly a particularly mountainous terrain but it is lovely, and great running country with lots of ups and downs and a real mixture underfoot. The HP40 starts and ends in Buxton, taking in a 40 mile loop of the Goyt Valley, Rushup Edge, Mam Tor, Cave Dale, Tideswell Dale, Cressbrook and the River Wye and the Deep Dales.
I arrived, found the registration and headed back to my car to get ready. Richie C passed me on his way to registration and said 'hello Brian'. I caught up with him when he returned, wearing his new Skinz (yes very slick), in an attempt to stave off the excesses and damage of the UTMB. Brave fella I thought, this is likely to hurt so soon after. He was well aware of this likelihood. The UTMB sounds like such a race, I can't wait to enter next year. It'll be a challenge like no other.
A chap called Ally (Ali?) came up to me asking if I was Brian McIntosh, to which I responded affirmatively. He had apparently read my Highland Fling race report and been inspired to enter it next year. He was entering the HP40 as his first ultra at a distance slightly below the Fling for preparation. If you are reading this Ally, I hope it all went well - the heat was brutal! It's great that someone has been motivated to run an ultra partially as a consequence of blogging. Spread the ultra love as Dr Marc and Tanya (a pair of american ultra bloggers) would say. Cheesey but true!
I met a girl who had travelled down with Richie called Lucy as well. I think she was Lucy Colquhoun but can't be certain. She shot off like a bolt so I suspect she was. No other family members were about that I saw although Ritchie said George Cairns was there.
Anyway I stretched (something I forgot to do last year - doh) and headed down to the start. Not much hanging about and we were off, Lucy leading the field. 7:15 pace, crikey better slow down I thought as we headed out of the centre of Buxton towards the climb over the moors to the Goyt Valley. I slowed to a more sustainable 8:00 - 8:30 pace until we hit the hill up to the moor when power hiking was the order of the day.
After the moor I slotted in beside a long haired runner from Essex whose name I can't remember, and a chap called Andy from near Whitby who I met both last year and in 2006. We ran together down the steep sloping road to Fernilee reservoir and along its banks, chatting as we went, keeping the pace between 8:30 and 9:00. The sky was clear blue gorgeous and I was already sweating lots. I kept having to eject bogies from my nose, a behaviour which I know winds Miek Mason up, but there's not a lot else to do mid race when there's stuff to come out. I wondered whether I still had some cold virus inside me.
Fernilee Reservoir in the Goyt Valley
I felt strong as we left the Goyt Valley and headed east for Rushup Edge and Mam Tor. I kept up the pace at sub - 9 levels but walked up the steeper or more sustained hills so as not to knacker myself. I was drinking well and despite the bogies and sweat was feeling great. Sub 7 hours looked on - my goal for the race. Upon reaching the Rushup Edge checkpoint I kept up the pace and deliberately grinded out the slow mile or two uphill to Mam Tor, peeling away from Long Haired Essex Man and Andy. The air was beginning to get warm now.
Mam Tor from the air
Hollins Cross from near Mam Tor
The descent from Mam Tor to Hollins Cross then off the south side of the ridge to Castleton is great fun - very fast with lots of rocks to scrabble and jump down in the latter stages. My legs felt fine despite the pummelling and I got into the Castleton checkpoint on my own. Another runner approached as I finished filling up my water bottle and headed off, jaffa cakes stuffed in mouth. The runner kept with me into Cave Dale but I kept up a good power hike pace in the early stages and upped it to a light jog in the latter, less steep sections and lost him as a consequence.
Cave Dale viewed from above
I was alone in the hard limestone fields above Cave Dale when I saw a runner in the distance and thought I'd keep them in sight, or maybe even catch them. Little did I know it would be a suffering Ritchie C. Well, I guess it was only 4 weeks ago that he ran 103 miles with 33,000' ascent in the UTMB so he probably has a good excuse for being caught by me! :-)
We ran together for bit, chatting (good to have met you Ritchie, if you are reading this) but I kept the next checkpoint brief so peeled away. I overtook another runner on the long gradual road descent to Tideswell village and dale the Ritchie overtook me, his second wind emerging. Good stuff. My legs were beginning to feel the pain though as marathon distance approached - I can never be entirely sure if this is psychological or whether there is some damage threshold at ~26 miles that kicks in.
I passed through the Tideswell checkpoint amidst the stink of a small sewage treatment plant with odour issues to be shortly overtaken by the 2nd lady. I kept up with her for the next 5 miles or so at around 9:05 - 9:20 pace, grinding out the miles, ignoring the growing pain and enjoying the scenery in the dales. Lovely, picturesque stuff.
Near Cressbrook
Ritchie C passed me again, he had gotten lost for the 2nd time so wasn't having his ideal race, but looked cheery nonetheless. No swearing. Maybe he was just being polite.
I had been sweating for hours now and the heat must have been above 20C by now. My t-shirt was covered in salty stains.
I think dehydration was now taking its toll. The climb up the first Deep Dale to the long road section took forever and I just couldn't get more than a plod out of my legs. My stomach felt heavy but I was hot and dripping with sweat. After what seemed like an eternity I reached runnable ground and made myself run up the last half mile to the checkpoint next to the 3 mile long road section from hell. The 3rd lady caught me and another fella up here. Both left before me.
Looking up Deep Dale number 1
The road section from hell at mile 33
I drank as much as I could and left stuffing jaffa cakes into my mouth, settling into a plod behind the runners in front. I could feel despondency and an I can't be arsed mood take hold as I looked ahead along the seemingly endless 3 mile road section from hell. Sheesht it was sunny, but at least there was a breeze. After about 1 mile I began to think making sub 7 hours will be tight I'd better get a shift on and so upped the pace from 10:00-10:30 to 9:10 - 9:30 per mile. I overtook the 2 runners plus another but it didn't feel pleasant. Nausea was beginning to make its presence felt.
I kept up the pace and staggered towards the 2nd Deep Dale, a hilariously hidden, 200' odd deep ravine in otherwise flattish limestone farmland. I staggered down one side and up the other but had to let the 2nd lady over take me. Nausea was rising and my head was feeling hot and a bit wobbly. Sweating, sweating.
The chasm of Deep Dale number 2
I topped out of Deep Dale 2 and managed to stagger into a trot across the field to the last checkpoint, sweating. Quickly downing some water I tried rather feebly to run on. After 20m I managed to get into some sort of rhythm and forced myself to keep up a pace. Making sub 7 hours was going to be tight. I forced on, nausea rising and head feeling hot, sweaty and wobbly. Come on Brian, push it, push it, I ran up the last grassy field and had to stop at the top for a second or two, holding on to a fence. Push it, I ran on. Well, tried to run on.
I kept up some sort of run as I entered Buxton but I knew sub 7 was out of my grasp. Well, keep your position then I told myself, glancing back to see another runner a few hundred metres behind. I pushed on, sweating and feeling really not very right at all, holding the other runner at bay until I could stop when I reached the line and fall onto the crash mats provided. My legs ached, my shirt was caked in salt, my legs in mud and my head a bright sunny red. My thoughts swam and it took me good 5 minutes before I could sit back up again. That was a tough race. Superbly organised, extremely hot and wonderfully varied. I'll be back in 2009, potentially with UTMB legs like Ritchie C. :-)
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