High Peak Marathon →

Is it better to write about an event whilst the legs and body are still in pain and things are fresh or wait a bit and reflect? Not sure but I do know the legs and body are still suffering a bit from Friday night / Saturday morning running the High Peak Marathon along with Dave Rogers, John Donnelly and Gordon Pryde. For those not familiar with the event, the term "marathon" is a bit vague. It is actually a 42 miles night time race for teams of four. The route traverses the Derwent Watershed, starting and finishing at Edale Village Hall.

I got an email last November from Dave asking if I wanted to take the place of Manny who had run in previous years - jumped at the chance since it was an event I had wanted to do for a number of years but had been unable to recruit like minded folks (Manny later sent a message of "support" during the extreme weather ...or was a message of amusement ...not sure). A couple more team changes and a last minute panic over Dave's well being finally saw us heading south on the Friday afternoon.

Jennie Triger kindly came across from Sheffield to lend some support and it was fantastic to get some time to chat before the start.

We started some time just after 23:30 from Edale and had a prompt blast down the road and up towards the first control at Hollins Cross. Wee clusters of four headtorch beams highlighted the teams above and below which was an usual sight for sure. As I waited for the SI card to register the first control, Dave informed us that this was also the last control before the finish ...I wondered how long it would be until we got back to it again.

The ridge towards the second control at Lose Hill made for great running. Control visited we dropped quickly down onto the road and into the small village ironically called Hope. With Dave at the front of the team, we didn't need to check the map since he appeared to be on first name terms with every path and turning. Short but steep climb up Win Hill and the third control was rewarded by an equally steep (but slippy) descent onto another road section. We took the opportunity to eat and drink at bit mixing in an effective run / walk / run thing. Back off the road and it was up to High Neb where the going was fairly level and all above the 400m contour. Dropping down towards the Moscar control was very exciting since we knew there was tea, coffee and food !

Refuelled, we wobbled down the road for a couple of km before breaking off and up onto the Derwent Moor. I found myself at the front and managed to pick a rather horrible line through the heather. Noticed one of the all girl teams making good progress and figured they either had a better line or were simply just faster.

The big loop from Lost Lad over Margery Hill, Outer Edge and Swain Hill is really the crux of the race. Thankfully, the snow was pretty firm ...especially where folks had compressed an icy furrow and we made reasonable time. Dave appeared happy and assured us it is normally far worse underfoot. The ascent of Bleaklow had been in my mind ever since Dave put out an email asking if anyone had a 1:25,000km map (a sure sign tight navigation is a requirement) but as daylight allowed the headtorch to be put away, it was fine (even if the control was not exactly where it should have been). For some reason, I got it in my head that from the control at Bleaklow, all we had to do was drop down to Snake Pass (a wonderful name eh ?) but failed to take in account we actually had a 2km trog to another control at Wain Stones to visit first !?!?! In theory, you follow the Pennine Way down to the road but it was buried deep in snow. A few teams headed in one direction and we followed Dave in a slightly different direction. Not sure which was quicker but we were soon at Snakes enjoying more hot drinks and food. JD had been dropping off the pace a bit and took full advantage of the facilities on offer - so much so that within about 5 minutes of leaving the control, he took off at an incredible pace towards Mill Hill. It never fails to impress me how quickly the body can recover given a bit of a chance.

By this time it really felt like we were on the home straight and with the climb up onto Kinder the sun came out. Without a doubt my favourite memory of the race will be the kms that we ran along the edge of Kinder - we were all feeling pretty good, the weather / views were spectacular and we only had three controls to go ! Dave highlighted exactly where the last two controls were and it was time for one last effort. Over Lord's Seat ...down onto the road ...back up to Hollins Cross where we had started the whole thing the night before ...and down towards Edale as fast as we could. Briefly stopped to regroup at the gate to ensure we finished as a complete group of four ...into the hall and we were done.

Lovely thing about finishing "in" the hall was that previous finishers were there to applaud - it felt good to have the effort of the last 11 hours and 43 minutes recognised.

Huge thanks to Dave, JD and Gordon for the company and support - it was one of the best Friday nights out I've had for years :-)

 

JDs photos from the event

Posted by Graham Kelly on Sun 7 Mar 2010 | 5 comments

Category Hill Race

In the Dark Handicap →

3rd March 2010

Results | Route

18 runners braved the baltic conditions at Clachan of Campsie for the Westies In the Dark Handicap. Heavy snow cover above Crow Road made of full winter conditions on the hill. Ellie was first runner back to win the handicap, followed by Don Reid who ran the fastest time of the night. Many thanks to Drew and Margaret for organising the handicaps and time-keeping.

Posted by Chris Upson on Thu 4 Mar 2010 | 4 comments

Category handicap races

Kaweka Challenge →

Billed as the highest mountain run in New Zealand, the Kaweka Challenge was an obvious choice to be my last run in the country for a while. The race covers 41km with 3200m of incline, and scales some spectacular scenery in the Kaweka range in the middle of the North Island.
Despite being a long standing fixture, the event attracts only a small field each year. In 2009, weather conditions were such that only half the competitors finished, but this year the sun turned out in a perfect display of late summer weather.
The morning mist cleared as soon as the race started, and I soon fell to the back of the steadily thinning platoon in the first 750m slog up Kuripapango. The ridge offered the first chance to run a little along an undulating forested track before another climb to the first checkpoint at Kiwi Saddle. I arrived in 1h47, just seven minutes behind my planned time and feeling good. The next section was a rough, rocky ridge that wound up and down for an hour and a half, but gave stunning views toward Tongararo and Ngauruhoe, and even Taranaki in the far distance. I reached the second control site after 3h14 of mostly uphill climbing. The course then turned toward Kaweka J, the highest point in the range. This started with an easy descent to Studholme Saddle, then a grinding climb up to Mad Dog Hill. From here, the path leveled out and I managed a jog along the final slope to the summit. The marshals had come out in fancy dress for the occasion, so the figure standing motionless and beckoning on the summit turned out to indeed be a Grim Reaper and not some delirious apparition. I was 4h14 out, fifteen minutes behind a fading schedule, and the race was not yet half over for me. The next section was a chance (at last!) to run downhill through loose scree. I was making up time, and overtook two competitors shortly before Makahu Saddle. With the 1000m descent over, I kept up a steady pace along the clay path on the Matauria Ridge. However, the Kawekas still had plenty of challenges left. A slippery 300m descent took me down to the Donald River, and while I was able to briefly enjoy a refreshing cool dip, the 300m climb back out was brutally tough. This formed the pattern of the remaining course, with runnable sections punctuated by steep gullies. However, everyone was feeling the stress. I picked of another couple of runners, and then met up with Rod-the-Yorkshire-man, who ended up running with me for the final three hours to the finish. We clocked in simultaneously, but I took place honors by virtue of having clocking in after him at the start! Total time: 9h08m, my longest run to date and certainly one of the most enjoyable.

Posted by John Hamer on Sun 28 Feb 2010 | 2 comments

Category Mountain Marathons

National Cross Country Championships →

20th February 2010

Results | Photos (women's race) | Photos (men's race)

Glorious sunshine and great running conditions greeted the participants at Falkirk's Callendar Park, for what turned out to be another enjoyable mudfest.

The women's race was won decisively by Freya Murray. Ellie had a very strong run to lead our women's team home, gaining places throughout her run and beating some notable opposition (see results), and was followed by Helen (having a storming day), Pauline, Elizabeth and Pat, who later added their support at various stages during the men's race.

The men's race was a much tighter affair at the front, with Central AC's Alastair Hay battling successfully to lead Shettleston Eritrean Tsegezab Woldemichael home. For the Westies, 666 was the number of the Snake (not the beast), and David Riach slithered through the mud to be first male Westie to finish. Due to Owen's retiral from the race, John Denovan was next home, nursing his dodgy calf muscles over the line. I followed, after making steady progress through the field, having started right at the back with GrimOrr. Dave Calder was next, on a similarly steady strategy, then Ken MacMahon, John Quinn, Hamilton, and the yellow teacosy of the Grim One.

Captain Chris was on photo duty again so I'm sure there will be plenty to follow. Thanks also to Don and Elma for support, as well as to all Westies cheering around the course.

Posted by Johnston Orr on Sat 20 Feb 2010 | 6 comments

Category cross country

Carnethy 2010 →

Results | Photos

Fantastic running weather, the 40th Carnethy and with two Westies, Pat and JD, due to complete their 21st race, what could be better? Well, a means of getting there would have been a help. But thanks to all the Westies for their offers of lifts, spoilt for choice I enjoyed the comfort of Matthews driving. Arriving at the race there were Westies in evidence everywhere, including a large contingent of cheerful non-running Westies.

The start was the usual mud-splattered dash across the field before the queue at the style (not helped by the runner in front of me pausing for what seemed like an inordinate amount of time before hopping over). The variation in the route this year for the new fence meant a quite a few runners enjoyed an early slide on the slope down to the gate in the new fence line. On the way up Scald Law I decided to slow down to see if I could avoid what seems to be turning into a habit of getting cramp on the last climb up Carnethy. Way ahead Manny was leading the Westies charge with Murdo and John Denovan slowly disappearing ahead of me, shortly followed by Ellie powering up the hill. That would be the last I saw of Ellie with a fantastic run finishing as 5th female (Ellie that is and not me).

The peace and quiet my Saturday afternoon jog was suddenly shattered by some sort of wailing banshee descending uncontrollably down South Black Kip Hill – oh hello Johnston. It could only be a Westie scaring the natives like that. After a short chat with said Westie, JD soon came past as well, looking non-plussed and relaxed and that finally spurred me into action so I popped past Johnston again and then past JD on the way up East Kip. By this time Murdo and John Denovan were miles ahead out of sight, but I gradually picked off runners until I finally caught Murdo just before the summit of Carnethy. From there is was down, down, down to the finish hoping that Murdo, Johnston or JD would not storm past me before the finish.

Well done to all the Westies and especially to Pat and JD for finishing their 21st Carnethy. And thanks for all those shouts of encouragement from all the supporting Westies, especially Drew and Chris, and to Matthew for getting me to and from the race.

Selected (Westies) results:
50, 1:00:42 Manny Gorman
69, 1:02:56 David Rogers
75, 1:03:25 Jon Slowe
147, 1:08:16 Ellen Homewood
155, 1:08:33 John Denovan
170, 1:09:32 Jacques Penderis
175, 1:10:05 Murdo MacLeod
183, 1:10:38 John Donnelly
225, 1:13:45 Johnston Orr
250, 1:15:57 Matthew Bull
252, 1:15:58 Keith Adams
298, 1:19:14 Brian Brennan
386, 1:28:18 Jennifer Edwards
411, 1:31:31 Elizabeth Adams
426, 1:33:13 Amy Pitch
440, 1:35:46 Patricia McLaughlin
478, 1:52:27 Brenda Paul
481, 1:53:55 Graham Benny

Posted by Jacques Penderis on Sun 14 Feb 2010 | 11 comments

Category Hill Race

Garstang 10k road race →

"What does the W stand for?"

Mile 3, just getting into my stride when the conversation struck up. Hastily (yet politely) exited the breathy conflab by pushing forward.

Legs still feeling comfortable. Passing runners by fairly effortlessly. Beginning to wonder whether I can't feel the pain because my legs have been numbed by the cold, or maybe they just run slowly down south.
Mile 4. Beginning to draw on rudimentary mathematical skills to work out how many kilometers left to the end. Calculations not helped by route apparently following figures of 8, 3 and 2 along country lanes, occasionally made interesting by twists, turns and little Postman Pat style bridges.

Sometime later, wee lad all elbows and over-sized feet and weaving about 3 inches in front, spurts forward. Beginning to prepare fast-twitchers for final push- but only hedgerows in sight, no Garstang village, waiting mother, Sunday crossword or car ride home.

End of hedgerow. Slapping feet. Gasping. Rasping. All getting a bit exciting. Turning corner- finish funnel ribboned in orange, gurning appropriately for expectant crowds. Finished. 41.28. Pants. Not again. Must buy a watch.

Posted by Ellie Homewood on Wed 3 Feb 2010 | 1 comment

Category road race

NZ Masters →

Most Kiwi's feel it has been a terrible summer so far but it seems quite good to me. Monday however was a lovely day for the masters hill race with a refreshing wind. A good trail up through the bush to 1800ft and then up in the tussocks to the top at 2188ft and a 1k (400ft) descent to the finish. Managed to win the M60 and M65 categories although there were only two of us in the M65 race. Rod is doing the Buller half Marathon in two weeks.
See you soon
Gibson

Posted by Gibson Fleming on Tue 2 Feb 2010 | 4 comments

Category Hill Race

Age before Beauty at the Burdens →

The Westies older Women (WoWs) recorded a satisfying victory over their younger adversaries at the Devil's Burdens Relays. Both teams lined up for the early 9.30 start with Elsie and Christine setting the tone for the day by arriving at Holl Resevoir well ahead of Paula and Debbie. Mind you Captain Ellie had the excuse ready - apparently a jean-clad Debbie was only told at 9.20 that she was running leg 1 as Elizabeth wasn't well. Still she rose to the challenge and armed with Cat's bum bag and kit made the slightly delayed start.

Having seen our runners off, Pat, Ellie and I jumped back into Helen's WoWmobile (we let Ellie in even though she's not a WoW) and headed for Holl Resevoir. We got there in time to get into the car park area and had a bit of an exciting and muddy time trying to rescue the Wowmobile which got stuck on/in the grass which was deceptively muddy. Lots of gallant men came to our rescue and so we were able to make a prompt getaway before the runners in the main race arrived.

Ellie and Pat were the 2nd leg runners for the two teams so we now had Cat onboard as she was running leg 3 with Ellie. We started to get worried that Cat wouldn't make it to Scotlandwell in time as it took us ages to get down the road from the reservoir. Cars were arriving to drop runners off and making it difficult for those of us in the early start to get away. We had thought that for once we'd get a good parking spot at Scotlandwell but we were wrong and ended up down by the well yet again. We'd dropped Cat off up the hill and so Helen and I had a desperate scramble to get ready. Time was passing and now we were worried that Pat would arrive and we wouldn't be there for the handover.

We made it but only with minutes to spare. Ellie appeared from behind the waiting runners just as we got there (interesting route choice) and Helen had only just gone to stretch her calf muscle by a tree at the side when Pat appeared. There a bit of yelling as Helen and I located each other and then we were off. We chose to go round the corner rather than set off up the hill in full view - it's hard going up that hill whichever way you go. We didn't climb too high but took a path of to the left below the crags and stayed on this until we met a big stretch of snow that didn't look easy to cross where we were as it was pretty steep, so we climbed up and crossed it where it was a bit more level and that brought us to the first wall and onto a path to the checkpoint at the gate. After Bishop's Hill we headed for the path that kind of follows the fence and found ourselves finally able to run. What was also good was that there were other runners about and so we felt as though we were part of a race.

The climb up West Lomond was the same as it always is. We tried to avoid the snow in the gully for a bit then gave up and slid down it. Then we were down the hill and heading across the fields for the woods. It's hard to come off of the hills and onto the path through the woods and even harder when the path turns to tarmac and the radio mast is in view but doesn't seem to be getting any closer. It was on this stretch that we were passed by at least two, possibly three of the Westies men's teams. We were surprised that they had taken so long to catch up with us!

We also passed Brenda heading out on the final leg for the young team and so knew that we weren't too far behind. Helen and I were actually on course for a PB on this leg and hoped that Jane would be expecting us. Surely the guys would tell her we were on our ways, they had after all been suitably supportive as they'd passed us. We charged down the hill to the changeover point enjoying the unusual experience of racing against the Bellahouston team and - no Jane!! However she was there and came charging out of the crowd at the side and set off. She made up for this by running a stormer of a leg and over-taking Brenda to secure a victory for the vets team.

So we made it back to Falkland while there was still plenty of soup and were heading home before it got dark. Apart from the problem getting away from Holl we really appreciated the early start and felt as though we were more part of the main race action rather than somewhere at the tail end. Thanks to Helen for all the driving and to Karen for coming along and being a calming and supportive minder for the team. This was my experience of the day, no doubt others can add in the bits I missed.

Posted by Pauline McAdam on Sun 24 Jan 2010 | 12 comments

Category races

Sunday run on the Kilpatrick Hills →

17th January 2010

Thanks to Christine for organising a Sunday morning jog on the Kilpatrick Hills. Conditions were good underfoot despite some ice on the initial ascent. Graham, Ellie, Catherine, Steffen, Christine and I used an extended variant of the race route to take in Duncolm, Cochno Hill and The Slacks in a 2-hour tour, taken at a moderate pace but fast enough to warm the feet after a few dips in freezing water! Hopefully it'll serve as good training for the Burdens. Kudos to Graham for opting to run home from my house once we returned to Glasgow, adding 6 road miles to the hill outing.

Posted by Johnston Orr on Sun 17 Jan 2010 | 3 comments

Category Social Run

Hillary Trail →

So, after umpteen decades and no end of planning, the Auckland Regional Council has managed to establish a four day 70km "long trail" in the Waitakere ranges, an iconic forest in west Auckland. It's named after and dedicated to Ed Hillary, New Zealand's most famous mountaineer. Ed had close connections to the Waitakeres, and much of his adventuring spirit was developed at a family home at Anawhata. Part of this land was gifted to the city, and now forms part of the trail. Needless to say, the prospect of being one of the first to run the trail on it's official opening day was too hard to resist. Now, 70km over rugged hilly trails is a bit more than I can manage in just one day. So I did it in two. The first 32km section on Sunday started at the top of the Te Henga trail in Muriwai, at the far end of the Hillary trail. This is a 10km, 1.5 hour section along the coast, with stunning views out over the cliffs. I met up with a friend, Jo, at the end of this section, and we continued up a stream that flows near a large sand dune. After a short detour to see a waterfall at the stream head, it was into the first serious uphill section. The bush offered a pleasant respite from the heat, but the trail was slow going. At the top of the ridge we made a wrong turn, and ended up adding a 4km loop onto the day. Oh well. We eventually got back to the forks, where the trail led down and up a series of steep gullies. It then emerged at Anawhata, where we had to endure a short road section before heading along White's trail to Piha, our destination for the day. Monday was the official opening day of the trail, and one of the groups I have done some runs with (known as "Girls on Top" -- don't ask...) has Sarah Hillary as a member. She decided to organise a relay covering the whole trail as part of the opening ceremony, and by some good fortune I managed to get invited to take part. Eight of us were given the 42km leg from the beginning of the trail at Arataki to finish in Piha. The start was scheduled for 8:30am, but by the time the various speeches and photographs were taken it was 9am before we got underway. The first 1.5 hour section is mostly down hill, ending at a campsite at Karamatura. Then it's a 40 minute slog uphill on a rough trail to the Karamatura forks, followed by a another fast down hill section to where the trail crosses the Whatipu road. The next section is the Omanawainui track, a steep series of hills overlooking the head of the Manukau harbour. By the time we reached the top of the track, it was clear that we were falling behind the required pace, and drink breaks were kept to a minimum. It was also becoming clear to me that running for over 5 hours the previous day had taken it's toll, and I was going to struggle to keep up with the group for the three remaining hill sections. I dug deep to get up the Gibbons track, and was able to keep in touch with the group on the down hill Muir track to Pararaha. No way this was going to last, so I departed from main group and took the stunningly beautiful route along the Whatipu marshes rather than ascending Zion hill. The idea was to regroup at the top of the Coman's track, which I expected to manage with the 10-15 minutes I would have gained by avoiding Zion. What I didn't know is that the rest of the group decided to skip Coman's and take the shorter AhuAhu trail, and they overtook me well before the summit without my seeing them. In the end, they arrived at the rendezvous with the group running in from Muriwai without me, and I missed being greeted by assorted dignitaries and children waiving flags and fern fronds (I kid you not!). Still, it was a stunning (if long -- 7hour) day out, and I'm pretty stoked at having run the whole trail. I've got one or two more runs planned before I return to Glasgow at the start of March. Hoping to catch up with you all again soon!

Posted by John Hamer on Mon 11 Jan 2010 | 3 comments

Category long distance