Hodgson Mountain Relays

CRUNCH!!Aaaargh! Leap,Hop,F***,F***,S***,B******,F***, Ouch,F***,Ooohya,Scream,Hop,S***,S***Hobble,Hobble,sprint in Hobble position,S***,Grimace,F***,Stagger,Collapse at line,darkness closing in....

about sums up the end of leg 1 for me really.

I didn't like much about the completely manic all-out sprint start leaping cattle grids Mexican wave style, elbows out, studs ripping at calf muscles, shoving, pushing etc. nonesense that probably only gained about 7 very compact extra places, then we settled down to recover from the massive oxygen debt on the gentle 1:2 ratio gulley up the first hill!

Climbing on the path was ok but there was a horrible section of rock hopping that would have assured a broken leg with one slip.

The first checkpoint ticked, Chris and I managed to get some proper running done and were moving quite well tagging along with a large group of pairs but fell off the back when we took a slightly different line over a small top.

I took things a bit easy along the ridgey bits with any rocks being either very jaggy,sticky-up things or as slippy as wet glass. Chris was working like a dog on the climbs but more at ease on the descents so we worked quite well as a pair.

However it all went jugs up on the very last steep descent with only a few hundred metres to go, with me taking things too easy and losing concentration, doing my ankle and possibly ending my season in the process (physio tomorrow morning!)

Chris did well not to slap me for being so stupid but I don't think we could have lost more than a minute.

Leg 2,Dave and and on-form Steffan legged off and somehow managed to get lost on what is billed as the "easiest leg" but I think for anyone other than the local runners (of which there are a lot!) the route can be difficult if no-one else is in sight/and or a bit of mist!

Still they anly dropped a couple of places so not a bad result really.

Leg 3 saw Trevor & Stevie putting in a great shift on the very runable High Street footpaths, even finding the 1st checkpoint without a hitch, only to chuck it all away by not finding the last check in a hellish little dip next to a tarn, all in thick wet mist and rain of course.

Trevor has booked in for therapy after the trauma of this incident, while Stevie, who had done the same leg last year and did't recognise a thing, has been sent to memory improvement classes. (Trevor,if you had told him there was a BMW with keys in the ignition next to the check point, his Greenock upbringing would have homed him in on it - with a screwdriver!)

Anyway they arrived at the freezing and very wild Kirkstone Pass to hand over to the Godfather "Don" and hero Chris who was forced into taking the place of no-show JD (something to do with a sick pu...? eh, no I'd better leave that one!)

We waved this pair off into ever deteriorating weather and visibilty starting with a monster climb up the fist hill were they bagged a remarkable 7 places before the top. Chris showing no signs of tiredness from his 1st leg with me(I knew the bugger could have run harder!) navigated on instinct and they put in a good run in crap conditions bringing us home in 21st position.

It was a good day out and even thought the weather was foul, we were really quite lucky as it could have been so much worse for us non-locals in these rough hills.

Well done to Chris again for getting us organised and a reminder that next year may well be the last running of this superb event,which in my opinion is far better fun than the FRA's, so maybe we can get 2 teams for next year??

ps - that's a cracking photo of Stevie with his vest over the top of the waterproof!! If only he had done the same with his shorts.....Greenockman!!!!!!

Posted by Manny Gorman on Mon 4 Oct 2004 | 3 comments

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