Where do I start with this one? Without a doubt the toughest race I have ever run. It was always going to be a tough race, but a sudden transition from the cold spring weather through to a blisteringly hot summer day, more-or-less overnight, left me struggling on several fronts.
Fran and I started somewhere near the back of the pack in Langdale, and followed the crowd along the old road, then up round Silver How and down into Grasmere without difficulty. Mindful of the long day ahead, I persistently lagged behind Fran and stuck to what I hoped would be a sustainable pace as we jogged up the main road. Once on the climb up Tongue Gill I settled into a comfortable pace, and arrived at Grisedale Tarn in good form – concentrating on drinking very regularly (I think I’d already downed 2 litres of water by this point).
A stiff but comfortable climb up past Dollywaggon Pike led us onto a lovely runnable section leading up to Helvellyn – definitely my most enjoyable part of the race. We seemed to have moved up the field a wee bit, but not at all sure how much, and not really bothered – my only concern was to try to avoid the dreaded cut-off times later in the day. Up to the cairn (2:15), then off down into Whelpside Gill, which was good fun at first, but rather knackering by the time I’d cleared the steep stuff near the bottom.
A short stop at Wythburn to fill bottles and grab some fruit loaf, then we were off jogging up the road whilst munching steadily. Wythburn valley seemed to take a long time, and I was definitely starting to feel the effects of the heat. But I kept reminding myself that we were well up on time, and this leg was supposed to be the longest anyway. Drink, eat, re-apply sun-block. Repeat this at regular intervals. Jog on occasion.
Glad to reach Greenup Edge, and after a slow start we had a nice run down to Stake Beck, followed by a steady climb up to Angle Tarn. Really pleased to arrive in 4:41 – well inside target despite the conditions. More water, then off up to Esk Hause. This section I can also just about claim to have enjoyed, moving relatively quickly over rough ground (reminded me a bit of Ben Nevis with the crowds). Couldn’t resist visiting the raised platform at the summit (5:36) before heading back off to the col. At this stage we were surprised to learn that we were in 30th place – how on earth did we manage that?
Little Narrowcove started ok – scree and boulder mix, not very runnable, but then grass to compensate. But lower down the path appeared to go over a bluff. We hesitated briefly, but luckily another team who had been close behind us took over and they knew a way down through the rock bands. Quite a tricky scramble for me, but Fran came to the rescue and gave instruction on foot placement a couple of times. Glad to get free of that section, and finish the descent to Great Moss. More water, etc etc – I don’t know how I managed to get that much liquid and gels down me without throwing it back up again.
A long plod over Great Moss, and a long traverse round below Long Crag to reach Lingcove Beck and the short climb to the top of Mosedale. But once we got into Mosedale I managed to keep up a jog for most of the path down to Cockley Beck Bridge – which we reached in 7:00. I felt really tired at this point, and was afraid to sit down, in case I couldn’t get up again. Someone kindly refilled my water bottles for me, and I ate a banana and grabbed an egg sandwich before walking off towards Grey Friar.
The climb up Grey Friar was a truly awful experience. I have never felt so tired – I could hardly put one foot in front of the other at this point, and several teams passed us in quick succession. The heat was oppressive and my legs felt like jelly. I kept plodding slowly on, wondering if I could just call a halt and return to Cockley Beck Bridge. Fran took pity on me and offered to carry my pack for the upper section of the climb, which I gratefully accepted. And that did make a difference – although even with two packs Fran was still quicker than me.
Things started to improve slowly once we gained the col and, now reunited with my pack, I plodded after Fran as we traversed below Swirl How, even managing a slow jog on some sections. We missed out the summit of Brim Fell, and that was nearly our undoing as Fran started dropping towards Dow Crag – an easy mistake to make in our condition. I spotted the true summit and shouted to him to come up the slope, so we avoided some extra pain. The last section to the summit of The Old Man (8:31) was great – the psychological boost of being able to turn for home made us feel much better.
Some pleasant jogging back along the ridge where, much to our surprise, we passed lots of other teams still running out towards The Old Man. Then the traverse below Swirl How led us to the jog down Wet Side Edge and then the steep drop to Three Shire Stone, in the company of two ladies from Calder Valley who had gradually overhauled us. 28th place? Surely not – I thought loads of teams had passed us during my earlier struggles on Grey Friar.
The final section seemed to take forever, although in reality we covered the distance quite quickly. We managed the run down the road well enough, but the traverse past Blea Tarn was mostly walked. We did manage to jog most of the last descent into Langdale, but I was very slow and the Calder Valley ladies pulled comfortably ahead over the last mile. A respectable run into the finish, at which point I had to be steered to a shady piece of grass where I could sit down and drink yet more water.
10:16:36 by my watch, and I think we must have finished in 29th place which is quite remarkable given my performance. It just underlines how big an effect the weather was, and I am expecting to see lots of dnfs when the results come out.
Lessons learned: Well, although I found it very difficult to drink vast quantities of water and eat gels etc, it did mean that I avoided heatstroke and excessive dehydration, which on this day could have been a killer. I also have discovered that even when you think you are utterly spent and with nothing left to give, you do actually have more miles left in you if you can just keep going.
Two days on, and I have two dodgy toenails, and some aching muscles – but not as much post-race suffering as I expected.
