The Bog-fest and the Birdie

The time for worrying was over as it was almost time to start the bog-fest that is the Allendale Challenge. The walkers start from Allendale village square at 8am followed by the runners at 10am. A bit of pre-race chat with some familiar faces, the standard panic about what to wear and how cold it would be on the tops, a last minute decision to put an extra t-shirt on and it was time to head down the hill towards the river and then up, up, up to the fells. I had felt quite sick before the race, as I know that it isn't really the best route for me (too boggy!) and I hadn't done enough long runs. I'm also mindful of the inherent fatigue that I have from a few busy years of running ultras which hit me hard after the Lakes Sky Uktra and has taken most of the winter to fade. 

I felt surprisingly good running along the road and found myself alongside Geoff, Bernard, Gary, Nat and Dave (Coxon). Although the pace was decent, it felt fine. My thoughts turned to just getting it over with. I noticed Geoff running the up hills to which I commented that he wasn't following BG procedure. He informed me that BG rules did not apply ! It's probably only funny if you are there at the time but it got me round and made me push on. 

                                     Thanks to Gary Mason for the photo

As we headed off onto the fell, Geoff pulled away with his flexible ankles but he wouldn't be surprised to find me back on his heels at the Ninebanks road crossing. As we hit the rougher up hill track, I saw Geoff reach for his food and knew that it was a wise move. I slowed down and made sure that I ate and drank - there was a long way to go. Geoff and Bernard moved away from me along this track and onto the fell. I knew there was little chance of seeing them again as they are both much better than me on the rough ground. I pushed on to the summit at the Chimneys where some of the walkers were sitting enjoying their picnic in the sunshine. No time for stopping, I just tried to enjoy the down hill, passing a few walkers along the way. The pleasure is short-lived as this is the start of the really rough stuff, crossing the moor with only a very faint path, and either heather or bog underfoot! I was trying my best to keep running but it is tricky with a dense population of walkers and bogs to try to dodge! I kept close to the wire fence at times, hoping that at least I could hold onto it if I was going in - you know it's going to happen at some point, it's just when.... I had a moment of deja vu at the wall corner where a lady was temporarily stuck fast in the same location as I had been 4 years previously! If Geoff hadn't pulled me out, I would still have been there! I managed to cut across quite well but it wasn't long before a wide stretch of bog slurped me up! Alerted to the extra wet section by a group of walkers, I chose a dodgy squidgy section and hoped it held - it didn't! I went in chest-deep! A nano second of panic and the realisation that I had chosen a clumpy bit of bog so that I could pull myself out ( as opposed to the black peat bog which sucks you in!) and it was actually 'fine'. I slithered out covered in yucky stuff, tried to wipe my hands clean on my trousers, realised they were too dirty to accomplish any kind of wiping, considered rolling in a dry section to get clean, settled for wiping my hands in some dry grass and carried on smelling delightful, I'm sure! As the Black Hill check point was approaching, I walked up the short grassy hill and round the corner eating, hoping that there would be a drink available to wash it down with. I trotted into the checkpoint, grabbed a cup of water and straight out again and onwards to Killhope. If the bogs are tiring, the peat hags along this section are possibly more energy sapping! The up-ing and down-ing as you try to find a route through the deep hags makes progress slow. I'm not sure what the optimum line is, and with the mast blown down in the storms, there was nothing obvious to aim for. I tried to make my way alongside the walkers but skirting round the hags as much as possible to minimise the undulations. I soon got to Killhope and was delighted to be greeted by Neil and Bob the dog. They offered to trot down to the next checkpoint with me which was lovely and raised my spirits as I was feeling a bit cold after my bog dipping! Neil is always very encouraging and has lots of experience. He checked with me that I was eating enough, pointed me towards the drinks and said he would try to meet me later after Bob had eaten his lunch!!

The riverside path was narrow but soon weaved its way out to the road crossing at the bottom of the Drag. I had hoped that there were 4 miles left but the marshal said 6 and a half! Disappointing! The Drag lived up to its billing, and although I was running up, overtaking walkers and runners, I still was conscious that the other ladies could be close behind. I allowed myself a little walk around the bend, got myself together again and pushed on. No matter how tired I felt, I wasn't going to slow down and let people catch me up and then regret walking! I also knew that my friends ahead would be feeling the pain too and wanted to catch them if I could. At the final checkpoint ( Ladywell), I grabbed an orange juice & some jelly sweets and swigged it down as I walked up the path and onto part of the Hobble route towards Stobbs Cross. It's an annoying bit of moor at this stage in the race but soft underfoot. I just needed to stay on my feet ( not always that easy) and get to the road first and then I hoped that I could win. Since I saw Neil, I had been desperately hoping to win the lovely trophy as I knew that my kids would like it! 

As I came through the fell gate, Neil and Bob came into view again. I was hoping that they would make it - it's always nice to see a friendly face ( or 2!). Next I saw Fiona, waiting for Marcus and Jules and further down the road were Nat's family. I was overtaking walkers and runners going down the hill and I was pretty sure that I was the first lady runner back to the village, but also slightly worried that I wasn't. I pulled my route card out for the final time and sprinted across the grass and back to the village hall. 

Thankfully I was back first, after 5 hours 10 minutes of challenging running. I was tired but delighted to be presented with the lovely golden birdie trophy. Many thanks to the North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team for a great event, certificate, badge, tshirt and not forgetting the pie and peas in the pub afterwards - yum, yum!! 

The golden birdie (aka red grouse) trophy much stroked by my little people who love it! 

Winning Weekend

I really enjoyed the first of the Dales Trail Series races on Sat - the DT20. I had reccied part of the route in Feb but some of the route was a rather muddy surprise!! Setting off from Fremington and heading up hill for almost 20 minutes certainly ensured you were warm ! It was much calmer than I had expected running along the 'Edge' to the Pile of Stones. 

A sneaky and slightly technical descent brought us to the road crossing at approx 5 miles. A long and greasy slope took us up to the water station at halfway, reached in a steady 1hr 15 ish for me. They must have picked the windiest place for the poor marshals to stand! The remainder of the climb was wet and breezy up to the summit, through the heather. I recognised the path off, heading down to the main track and knew that there were about 3 miles still to go. As I had paced it conservatively, I was able to move quickly on the better ground and back onto the moor before we crossed the road and found ourselves on a sneaky up hill drag through a farm then back across the mud to the finish. I kicked up enough mud to ensure that I ended up with a couple of clarts in the hood of my jacket which was round my waist !! 

Crossing the line in about 2 hrs 9, I was delighted to find myself awarded a £30 voucher for Swaledale Outdoors at the presentation, for 1st v45 lady - an added bonus, along with the fab goody bag and hot drinks and cake! 

For this race, I tried out a new pair of Scott Kinabalu trail shoes which proved to have an amazingly good grip, not slipping once on the very greasy muddy surface or the tricky stony descents. I wore them with Injinji socks which were very comfortable even in these testing conditions. Thanks to Tony at The Ultra-runner Store for his continued support. 

On Sun, I took 2 little orienteers to the Morpeth Gathering at Carlisle Park. Keen to perform well in the Family competition, the pressure was on to find all of the controls and to get my tired legs moving quickly around the paths, over bridges and around the play area. Carefully checking off the controls and dibbing, we arrived at the finish in 13 mins 50. It felt quick ! The girls were delighted to find that we had won the Family Trophy - and so was I ( phew !!).

I managed to get time to do the v40+ ladies event, but managed to annoy myself by picking the wrong street and making a mess of control 3. I managed to make slightly less of a mess of the other street control on the way back ! It was enough to place me 2nd but very frustrating nevertheless! Running quickly in the wrong direction definitely doesn't work !