Hellrunner 11/2/2012

No, I didn't participate. I just spectated and cheered on some friends that were doing it. It's a circa ten mile run up and down hills and through muddy water.

That Saturday was a cold day, about -4°C in the morning and not due to get above freezing until sometime in the afternoon. No wind or rain, but a lovely clear sky.

I parked at Chase Road Corner at a little after 9:15 then set of for the Tackeroo caravan site where I'd been told the start was. Coming up to Rifle Range Corner I could see marshals in high-vis vests managing hordes of people crossing the road from the caravan site and heading towards the Rifle Range car park. Assuming that was for the Hellrunner, I turned left for the car park. Halfway along the road I bumped into Matt and somebody whose name I didn't catch (sorry) who were just nipping back to the Tackeroo to get their kit from the car. They'd spotted that there were facilities for dumping kit at the start/finish line.

The Rifle Range car park was full of marquees and stalls and lots of runners milling around with spectators, organisers and the like. After a bit of wandering around, we all met up, the five runners plus Wayne and me who had come to help and/or laugh at misfortune.

Matt, Emily, Raad, Andy and Swnidc(s) before the start

As the 1030 start approached, I made my way to the other side of the start line. The runners would head downhill from the car park towards the Sherbrook valley. After a bit of a delay (it does take time to get ~1500 people ready to go, especially when there is a long line to drop off your kit bag) they set off at about 1040. It took two and a half minutes for everyone to cross the start line.

There wasn't a route posted. The runners at the front followed a quad bike, the rest followed the front. We spectators had no idea, but according to the photographers the route came back past the start/finish line fairly quickly. We could see them heading south up a hill into Parr's Warren so I positioned myself on the track that came out of there and waited. Sure enough they came that way, running on the re-frozen snow.

Not shown for sanity's sake: either of the two blokes in nothing but a mankini

Once they had all passed by, heading north to the trig point and then into Haywood Slade, I went that way myself (off the route) wondering where would be the best place to catch them next. I followed a bunch of other spectators and found myself at the old rifle butts in the woods. The route ran past there and I had already missed most of them as there were only a few stragglers passing. What kept me there was that the route was going to pass there a second time, but now directly along the length of the pool at the foot of the butts. The one with a layer of ice about an inch thick. They had broken a path through for the runners some hours earlier but it had refrozen. I took up position on the top of the butts and waited


The first few through were skidding on the ice before breaking through the thin layer and into cold water up to their stomachs. It was noted that they were far from the shortest competitors. They were "encouraged" by a man on the PA dressed as Satan. Soon he was acting as DJ, playing things like Deep Purple's Burn and Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire plus many more, highly appropriate tracks. By the time I saw Emily and Andy go through there was a wide-ish channel clear of ice but obviously still ice-cold. It was also clear there was an underwater obstacle tripping many of them up. Including Matt:

Taken as Matt surfaced

Once Matt was through I started back to the finish line by the direct route. I saw Matt again as we both passed the trig point, then just as I reached the finish line I saw him cross it. Alas I didn't have time to get the camera out.

I met up with everyone behind the finish line, everyone except Raad who was still out running somewhere on the course and Wayne who was looking for him. After a while we started wondering whereabouts Raad actually was. He hadn't finished and wasn't in the First Aid tent. Andy and Emily had to go off to relieve a babysitter, the rest of us waited.

We started to get concerned when nearly everyone else had gone and the various stalls started packing up, but then about an hour after Matt finished:

What's more, there were more in after him.

Ice on the Canals

Friday 3rd February
Distance: 20.9 km (13 mi)
Time: 3 hours 54
Average speed: 5.36 km/h (3.33 mph)

The first Rugeley-to-Stafford walk of the year, alongside the Trent & Mersey and Staffs & Worcester canals. I did the same walk on almost the same day last year, for the same reasons. Then it was windy, this year cold. This time I had checked the weather forecast properly and was well wrapped up.

The forecast said it would reach 1°C, given that it was -7°C driving into work I wasn't convinced it got that high. Both canals were iced over, but only thick enough to support the ducks (and one swan). Only one thin ice warning message though, apparently the council was only worried about that part of Rugeley where the railway crosses over. The parts clear of ice were at the locks where the flow had prevented the icing. Between Tixall lock and Baswich Bridge there was a very light dusting of snow on the ice.

Compared with last year I'd taken 6 minutes more, but felt just as stiff so more training to do. Shame I ducked out of walking this morning, due to the snow.

Training starts again

We have a team in the Keswick to Barrow again. The difference this year is that I am now team coordinator!

Late December

It has been a long time since I updated, but then there's not been much to report. It's been almost entirely Cannock Chase or The Wrekin. I was back in my homeland around Christmas, so...

Boxing Day - The Coast

Seaton Sluice to Cullercoats Bay
Distance: 8.55 km (5.31 mi)
Time: 1 hour 49
Average Speed: 4.71 km/h (2.92 mph)

A chance to clear the head and work of some of the previous day's food. I was dropped off by Dad at Seaton Sluice. Not long after the car had disappeared out of sight I wondered where my warm hat was, still in the car was the answer.

The first order of business was crossing the Seaton Burn. I ignored the footbridge that was there in favour of a more interesting bridge over the harbour. Which wasn't there, so back to the footbridge. Then it was just a stroll along the cliff edge down to St. Mary's Lighthouse. The tide was out so I joined all the other folks walking over to the island and staring out to sea.

St. Mary's Lighthouse

South of the lighthouse I crossed from Northumberland to Tyne and Wear, and from cliffs to beaches and city streets. I favoured the beaches over the streets, except for one that was almost entirely flat wet rock and thus gave no grip.

In previous years I've continued on into Tynemouth, but this time I stopped at Cullercoats Bay. After a little looking around I found the club my Dad's jazz band was playing in and listened to him blowing on a couple of numbers.

27th December - Simonside

Distance: 8.52 km (5.29 mi)
Time: 1 hour 51
Average Speed: 4.61 km/h (2.96mph)

This was a walk our village scouts used to do often. Dad warned me I was leaving it late setting off, seeing as the would be setting very early. I didn't think it was going to take that long, but I brought along a torch anyway.

I started at the car park in the wood at the base. I did think I wasn't going to find a space as everyone else seemed to have had the same idea, but there was one. I set off following the Red route, which isn't all that arduous unless you've turned up in t-shirt and trainers. It climbs steadily through the wood before emerging below the cairn on Simonside.

The last little bit is steep, up steps cut into rock. I went past a family also going for the top. I assured one of them that it was easier going down.

"Then why couldn't we have gone up that way?"

Standing at the top you get a good view of Cheviot. Some days. But not that day, it was deep in cloud. It was still a good view of the Coquet valley and Rothbury.

The Coquet, but not the top of Cheviot

To avoid retracing steps there is a route across the saddle to Dove Crag. The footpath on the map is closed for erosion control, but there is a decent alternative path. Dropping down from Dove Crag the map shows you re-enter the wood, but a few chainsaws have changed that. I did note that the cairn on top of Simonside was now in cloud, so my timing was good.

It was then a pleasant little stroll through the wood and back to the car. I'd finished by quarter past three, so no need for the torch.

Great and Little Langdale

Distance: 13.9 km (8.45 mi)
Time: 3 hours 46
Average speed: 3.7 km/h (2.3 mph)

The last weather forecast that I'd seen hadn't been too promising, but not all that bad. Light rain in the morning, heavier in the afternoon. Only that was several hours old and the B&B's WiFi was playing hard to get.

The drive up to Great Langdale was, as might be expected, lovely. I am worried about what constitutes an A road in these parts. I parked up near the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel and paid for the day, then set off west. A short and gentle walk over fields, then up over the shoulder of Side Pike. The light rain at the foot of the climb had become heavy by the time it levelled out.

I continued on past Blea Tarn which would be a nice place to stop should the weather be more co-operative. I started down beside a stream, then as the rain got heavier I retreated to the shelter of some trees and started stuffing things into waterproof bags. Phone, camera, wallet, car keys (remote central locking) were all bagged up and stuffed into the backpack, not to reappear until after the walk. The guide book went into once of the pockets of the waterproof jacket, I would have to rely on the supposedly waterproof GPS.

I started down beside the stream for a second time, in wind and rain. Lots of rain. There was a path to follow, involving streams and boggy ground to cross and I nearly had a boot sucked off. Luckily the boots were new, just bought last Friday, and kept most of the water out. The path led me to a road in Little Langdale, which I decided to follow down to get some solid ground under my feet whatever the route might say. The route said follow the road.

With the rain easing off I consulted the guide book and backed by the GPS followed a path on the South side of Little Langdale. This path went through a herd of Highland Cattle one of which was standing in the middle of the path staring at me. I lost the staring competition and decided it had right of way, so bypassed it on some soggy ground.

Passing the old slate quarries (and a very well appointed climbing hut) the rain had all but stopped and I considered getting the camera out. Every time I got close to a decision the rain came back. The river was re-crossed at Slater Bridge. This was half a pack-horse bridge made from slate and half a couple of rock outcroppings crossed with slabs of, well, you can guess. All with a rusty railing that changed sides half-way across and some very wet stones.

Crossing back over to Great Langdale I caught a glimpse of Helvellyn, or at least the clouds where the peak of Helvellyn should have been. Not the best day to have been up there.

Checking the GPS saved me a wrong turning which would have led half a mile out of my way. I followed the bridleway along the south side of Great Langdale with the wind and rain firmly in charge. Some of those raindrops were being driven into my face with some force, leading me to keep my head down.

Another close encounter of the bovine kind, this time two non-highland cattle refused to back down, leading to another squelchy excursion.

I came to a T junction. One was in the right direction and signposted to Dungeon Ghyll, the other was in the opposite direction and indicated the road. It was so obviously the former it was 10 minutes before the GPS showed it should have been the latter. In fact the route I took was a little shorter than the one the guide said I should have taken, unfortunately it was far more exposed and the weather wanted to make sure I knew it.

By the time I reached my start point I firmly ignored the car and went straight for the pub opposite, hoping for a warm fire to dry out and a hot meal. Yes and yes, a nice Cumberland sausage.

Place Fell and Ullswater

Distance: 13.6 km (8.45 mi)
Time: 4 hours 38
Average speed: 2.9 km/h (1.8 mph)

To get from Windermere to Patterdale were today's walk started I drove over Kirkstone Pass. You can get some pretty spectacular views there, but I had to stop looking and concentrate on driving. Luckily the rest of the day was not going t be short on views.

I managed to park over a large puddle, evidence of overnight rain, so I got my feet wet before I'd even changed into my boots. Still I had them dry as I set out.

It was a short and flat walk to the foot of Place Fell, then a long slog diagonally up the western side before looping back to the summit (path, then a bit of a scramble). I was rewarded with some stunning views of the surrounding fells, including Striding Edge up to Helvellyn, and down to Ullswater. It had been pretty tiring (and I was still 300m below the top of Helvellyn), but the hard part was over.

I came down from the top and followed the path all the other folks were taking. It was then that I realized I'd broken the rule about leaving nothing but footprints: the foot thingy on my walking pole was missing, probably sucked off by one of the boggy patches I'd negotiated. Not long after noticing that I spotted somebody else's foot thingy ahead of me and thanks to mass production it now sits on my walking pole.

It was as I was congratulating myself on that luck that I realized I was on the wrong path. The guide recommended a curving path that gave better views over Ullswater whereas I'd followed the direct path because everyone else was following it. That only works if everyone else is on the same route as you. And GPS units only work if you remember to look at them occasionally. No matter, the two paths soon joined up before splitting again and this time I took the right one and let everyone else go their own way.

Navigation error number 2 was ten or fifteen minutes later. The guide said that there was a path on the right down off he fell. I saw a grass track that looked a little steep to be usable with the damp grass. The route on the GPS said to go ahead, so I pushed on. The next time I checked the GPS I was well to the left of where I should have been, and was still up on the plateau instead of halfway down. When I'd entered the route last week I hadn't been able to see where the track split (the route was on 1:25000, my software only had the 1:50000) and the path I'd wanted only went steeply to the right for a short distance before being parallel with the upper route, although descending. Since I was still on a path and in roughly the right direction I pushed on. I ended up descending a steeper path than the once I rejected and although it was shorter I had to spend more time to go down whilst vertical.

Back on the route, the return part is alongside Ullswater. The guidebook promised "one of the most beautiful paths in the Lake District". Fair enough. I did stop plenty of times to take photos.

There was one obstacle on the final stretch, a tree that had fallen down over the path. There are more graceful ways to overcome that obstacle, but they all involve chainsaws.

Grasmere and Rydal Water

Distance: 10.3 km (6.4 mi)
Time: 2 hours 31
Average Speed: 4.1 km/h (2.5 mph)

This walk started with much hassle trying to find a place to park. I eventualy ended up parking for 5 minutes in a short stay slot while buying a newspaper to get enough change for the longer stay. It's all very well saying that you can use your phone to pay for the ticket instead of hunting for change, but I have never managed to get a signal in Grasmere.

With the car safely parked I headed off to Rydal over the scenic route. I was a little concerned that the signs said I was following the "Coffin Trail", but it turns out that this was the route they used to bring people to be buried before they built a church a Rydal. Seems that in those days, death was also hard. Those carrying the deceased would have got nice views mind.

At Rydal I decided that, despite the total cloud cover, the warm jacket wasn't needed and stuffed it into the backpack with the waterproof. I did think I'd be getting the waterproof out later. Across the main road, then over a bridge and onto a side road to walk the other side of Rydal Water. With fewer trees in the way there were better views on that side.

I followed the path past a couple of caves until I was overlooking Grasmere. By now there were plenty of people sharing the path and I was starting to see the merits of Wainwright's opinion on acknowledging other walkers.

Getting close to Red Bank I checked the route I was following in the book to find I must have passed a downward path to the lakeshore. Looking back I couldn't see a real path and nothing like a path I'd want to follow, it being too steep and too wet. I ended up following a path just below Red Bank, which wasn't looking as steep as it seems going up it in May. It had started drizzling.

Eventually I found a path down the shore and rejoined the route. Just before leaving the shore I admitted that drizzle had become rain and put on the waterproof.

The final stretch was the K2B route in reverse to the car park where checkpoint 1 is. That was supposed to be the end of the route, but I'd parked in another (cheaper) car park. There was also a sausage sandwich and a cup of coffee to be considered.

It's now later in the afternoon and still raining, so now to see what there is to do indoors in Bowness.