I've been a bit quiet lately from a blog perspective, I ran a couple of local races but nothing that stood out enough to make me hit the
keyboard, all that changed at the weekend though with my second attempt at the
Montane Lakeland 50.
I ran last year, finishing in 12:10:40, just happy to finish
the event and still be upright, this year I was hoping for a half decent PB.
The initial plan was for me, Andy B and
Caroline to do a bit of pot hunting and race as a three person mixed team. This
blatant piece of carpet bagging fell apart when race entries opened and the
1000 available places sold out in 18 minutes. It had taken me over 20 minutes
to fill in all the entry details for 3 people so when I hit enter; it was “race
full”. Our cunning plan was foiled!
I managed to get a solo place on the waiting list, which was
quickly confirmed and Caroline bagged one of the very limited number of charity
places, Andy was tied up at work all day and by the time he hit the website,
the race was full with no waiting list.
So be warned if this little epic tempts you for next year,
you WILL need to be sitting on your keyboard when race entries go live at 9am
on September 1st.
The L50 is run concurrently with its big brother the L100
(which is actually 105 miles), with race HQ and the finish for both events at
the John Ruskin school in Coniston. The L100 starts there at 6pm on the Friday
evening with the L50 starting at the Dalemain estate, near Penrith at 11:30 on the Saturday
morning.
Camping for 2 nights is included in your race fee and there
is on-site catering to supplement the local pubs and restaurants.
We arrived on site around 4pm which gave ample time to pitch
our tent, settle in and wander up to the Black Bull Inn in time to see the 100
mile runners set off and grab a bite to eat with Andy Johns; Howard Seal and
Susan Gallagher.
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| Caroline - last minute race prep |
We then headed down to formally register. This was a very
thorough but efficient process of kit checking, where you were required to show
every item of compulsory kit, with quite a few people falling foul of this and
being sent off to purchase whatever didn't make the grade. Having passed
through this process you were handed your number, weighed and fitted with your
timing “dibber” collected your race map; route book and Montane branded buff.
We'd decided beforehand that a quiet evening was in order so
after packing my trusty but soon to be retired Salomon X-wings race vest it was
time for an early night. Sadly I’d failed to share my plan with my fellow
campers and a steady symphony of slamming portaloo doors, quiet chat’s which
were not so quiet and car doors and boots opening and closing kept me wide awake.
I also managed to hear the Coniston church clock chiming 1am; 2am 5am and 6am
by which time the field was waking up and further sleep was impossible.
If you're thinking of
doing it next year and a pre-race solid sleep is a prerequisite………you have been warned!
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| Sunset over Coniston |
With around 700 people all looking for breakfast, I'd opted to avoid the queue and plumped for my usual pot of porridge and a rice pudding, a quick shower, race kit on and then
headed to the 8:30am race briefing.
Joint RD’s Terry and Marc gave a concise race brief,
including the reminder that we were NOT “just running the 50” and that what we
were about to undertake was a pretty big thing!
From there it was straight onto the fleet of coaches to take
us to the race start at Dalemain estate, where we arrived with a good hour to
spare before race start at 11:30am.
Although I was completely confident that I'd finish and
pretty confident I'd beat last years’ time of 12:10:40 my lack of sleep the
night before was playing on my mind. I opted to find a patch of grass to lie on
and just shut my eyes and relax for 45 minutes, whilst Caroline headed off to
find a bacon roll.
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| Andy Johns - looking relaxed pre start |
I continue to be amazed at the number of runners who stand
around before the off, (wearing full race kit) when they should, in my view be
taking the weight off their feet. I was equally amazed at the size of the packs
some runners were proposing to carry; they looked big enough for a weekend
camp!
Dalemain to Howton Total distance covered 11.2
miles 1 hour 35 minutes 67th place
My rough race plan was to run the first two legs faster than
I did last year, on the basis that other than the hike up Fusedale this is the
flattest most runnable part of the route. I know there is no such thing as
“banking time” on an Ultra but I reckoned I'd be slowing down in the second
half anyway irrespective of how I'd ran the first half.
There is a 4 mile loop round the Dalemain estate before you
hit the route proper mostly on my least favourite running surface – grass.
I’d
positioned myself at what I estimated was about 100 places from the front and
pretty much as soon as we were under the start gantry I found myself running
just behind Debbie Martin-Consani, last year’s L100 ladies winner; a consummate master of steady race pacing and
a far faster runner than me. I decided there and then that there was no way I
should be running ahead of Debs, not apparently a view shared by dozens of
other blokes who stormed this first loop like they were running a 10K and passed her. I
decided to stick just behind Debbie as long as I didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard. I stopped at the river just before Pooley Bridge to dip one of my
buffs in the river and drape it Foreign Legion style over my head, whilst
nothing like as hot as 2014, it was still promising to be a warm days work.
On the climb out of Pooley Bridge, I ran most of the tarmac
section and used my run 50 walk 50 tactic on the rougher trail, I could still see
Debbie up ahead (running all the way) as my pace target. Just before the right
turn onto the track to Howton I passed a family group being led by a young guy
carrying an artificial leg over his shoulder, followed shortly after by a one
legged gentleman in an off road wheelchair, definitely my most bizarre sight of
the day!
The trail towards Howton CP is mostly downhill,
non-technical and very runnable so I pushed hard on this section to keep Debbie
in view, albeit she was steadily drawing away from me. As I ran into the Wild
West themed CP she was already running out.
The CP staff quickly refilled my water bottles and I grabbed
a Chia Charge flapjack downed a cup of coke and I was off, using the short
uphill section to wolf down the flapjack, my second objective of the day being
to try and actually eat some proper food during the race.
Howton to Mardale Head Total distance covered 20.6 miles 3 hours 44 minutes 79th Place
Almost immediately after Howton you are faced with the
biggest climb of the L50, the dreaded Fusedale where you climb around 1700 feet
in around 2.5 miles. Last year I'd have sold a testicle for a pair of walking
poles at this point. This year I kept the testicle and used the lightweight Mountain King Trail Blaze poles I’d bought a couple of weeks earlier, knocking
3 minutes of my time for the climb. After the climb there is a sloping descent
over Weather Hill towards Low Kop, this area was pretty wet underfoot and my
main priority was to avoid soaking my feet this early on in the day, some
people passed me ploughing through puddles and bog, I wonder how they fared
later with soaked shoes and socks?
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| Haweswater |
There is a sharp drop through waist deep bracken down to the
northern shore of Haweswater and a pleasant and runnable stretch towards the
next CP at Mardale Head, I ran into the CP doing my feeble attempt at the
Morecombe and Wise “bring me sunshine” dance.
I could feel the insoles on my Salomon Speedcross 3’s had
slipped and were creasing up, so I decided a spot of shoe maintenance was in
order. I opted for some hot soup and a jam sandwich, whilst I carefully sorted
my shoes for the next section.
Mardale Head to Kentmere Total distance covered 27.1 miles 5 hours 18 minutes 77th place
Once you leave the Mardale head CP there is no gentle build
up, you are straight onto the steep climb up and over Gatescarth pass, which although
at 1100 feet is less than Fusedale, is covered in around 1.2 miles and is comic
book steep. Once again I was very glad I was using poles.
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| Gatescarth Pass Photo from www.cloudyskiesandraining.com |
The race organisers use a simple but clever way of
differentiating 100 and 50 milers. Everyone wears your race number on your back
pack, 100 milers are in yellow with your name printed below the number. I made
a point of giving a shout out to each and every 100 mile runner I passed, I can
only marvel at the fitness; stamina and determination needed to complete that distance.
I'm not huge fan of the descent towards Sadgill, with the
“road” surface on the descent being a horrid mix (to my mind) of loose scree
alternating with longitudinal sharp blocks of stone at right angles to your
line of descent and larger erratic blocks of stone with significant ankle
turning potential.
At 6.5 miles this is one of the shortest legs between
checkpoints it’s also the one I'm least familiar with so was happy to arrive at
Kentmere without mishap.
Two more cups of Coke, a water bottle refill and a small
bowl of pasta and some further shoe maintenance and I was off towards Ambleside.
Kentmere to Ambleside Total distance covered 34.4 miles 7 hours 2 minutes 74th place
The weather had been incredibly kind to us so far, it was
sunny and warm but not the brain boiling heat of 2014. Kentmere sits in a
valley surrounded by hills and as I jogged out of the CP I distinctly remember
thinking “I wonder which of these big f**k-off hills we'll be climbing up
next”. I needn't have worried myself as it was, of course the biggest of the
hills in view and the climb over the Garburn Pass!
As I descended into Ambleside I chatted briefly to John Kynaston who was running the L100 and was looking genuinely fresh, he was well
on target for a sub 30 hour finish. Through the centre of Ambleside milking the
crowds and charging across the two road crossings without breaking stride and
it was into the circus themed checkpoint at Ambleside. In fact I was so
focussed on pratting about that I almost forgot to dib in my timing chip.
Into my checkpoint routine, soup, sandwich and shoe
maintenance until a gentle reminder from Noanie to stop fannying about and get
running again.
Ambleside to Langdale Total distance covered 40 miles 8 hours 11 minutes 66th place
The next most runnable section of the race, with a couple of
pan flat riverside tracks and the section where I think you can gain or lose
the most time. My mantra here was “any run is faster than a walk”, I was
becoming more focussed on maximising the daylight time, because any running in
the dark would be slower than in the daylight.
Just out of Ambleside I shouted a warning to a group of 4
guys who had shot off in the wrong direction, I got a heartfelt “thank-you”
when one of them subsequently passed me. A pretty uneventful section for me, I
know I've broken the back of the race, I’m confident that barring disaster I'll get a PB and I'm running stretches that I was walking last year.
Langdale to Tilberthwaite Total Distance covered 46.5 miles 9 hours 43 minutes 66th place
More coke; a bowl of vegetable soup this time, re-sort my
shoes (they are definitely going in the bin when this is over!) and I'm on my
way towards the unmanned checkpoint beyond Blea Tarn. After the short sharp
climb over Side Pike pass I stop and take brief moment to “toast” the view. I'm feeling pretty good here and manage to run all the way to the dibber and keep
up a decent run all the way past the NT house. I'm aware now of the fading
light and I make a conscious decision to keep my time at Tilberthwaite to a
minimum, as I’m running along the road section to the CP I feel a sharp pain on
the sole of my right foot. I reckon I've just popped a blister so I decide in
advance I'm not risking taking that shoe off, I'll just tough it out with so little distance left to run.
Tilberthwaite to Coniston Total distance 50 miles 10 hours 43 minutes 23 seconds 72nd place
A quick cup of coke, I’m OK for water and I sit down to sort
my left shoe, as I’m trying to put it back on I get my first proper twinge of
cramp all day, it takes a minute or so to get the shoe on without cramping and I'm off up the “stairway to heaven”. It's only 3.5 miles and 750 feet of climb
to the finish, but the light is fading fast now as the sky clouds over.
I keep
a good yomp up on the steep climb, but on the potentially runnable bits I’m
unable to muster a run, it’s getting too dark and my legs are too tired to risk
a fall, so I'm passed by a strong looking group of guys (including two 100
milers) and lose 6 places. I manage to reach the top of the descent and can see
the lights of Coniston below before I admit defeat and don my head torch.
Bizarrely it’s here that I have my longest stop of the day as I decide to strap
my poles to my pack and discover that my head torch has got itself in a Gordian
knot of a tangle, I try running few steps with it in my hand, before stopping
to sort it properly. I use a Petzl Nao but the combination of a brilliant white
beam, light coloured stones underfoot which meant I had no depth perception and a rocky steep and technical path underfoot brings me
back to a slow steady walk. It’s only when I hit the more graded road above the
Miners Bridge that I can break into a proper run for the last downhill mile.
As I turn onto the main street in Coniston to welcome cheers from
the pub goers, I see Andy Beattie taking my photo. Glad as I was to see him I
wasn’t slowing for anything now, mustering my first sub 8 minute mile for some
time, I pushed onto the finish.
10:43:23 PB by 1 hour 27 minutes
Each and every finisher is greeted by a marshal whose task
is to guide you into the hall and to asses if you are mentally and physically
OK. By good fortune I was greeted by WHW race veteran Andy Cole. As each and every finisher is walked through the School Hall, they are heralded by a marshall shouting "50 Finisher" and a great cheer, a really nice touch.
Then you pick up your medal, part company with your timing dibber are handed a printout with your splits and your race t-shirt, this year it's a pucka Montane Branded one.
Andy was right there asking me if I needed anything? I've started to crave cold milk after my Ultra run's now and much to my amazement Andy produced 2 cups of Ice cold white stuff, just magic.
By her own admission she'd not got her nutrition right and had ground out a tough race, visiting some pretty dark places en route, she keeps threatening to write her own blog so I'll leave the telling of her tale to herself.
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| Two Happy Lakeland 50 finishers |
