Red Rose 50 2018

After much effort, East Lancs LDWA have fine-tuned the updated route for this year's Red Rose 50. We listened to the feedback from 2017 entrants and have made significant route adjustments which reduces the distance from 54+ miles to a few hundred yards above 50 miles. We have taken out the hard nighttime slog across Wet Moss and around Bull Hill. The route has now been tested and gpx file available for those who would like to recce.
As always you get typical East Lancs value for money, 50 miles in the beautiful countryside of the West Pennine Moors, our renowned feeding stations at the checkpoints (typically in Village Halls) and a meal at the end for £33 (£28 for LDWA members + SI booking fee). You also have a choice of running or walking.
More info at https://www.ldwa.org.uk/challenge_ev...event_id=20123 (including gpx) or enter through SI Entries at https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.ph...&event_id=4374
Now that the route is final (subject to any last minute changes such as footpath closures), I will also be looking into getting the event ratified as a UTMB counter.
I plan to get out on some recce runs in the next couple of weeks. If you wish to join me, please contact me.
Gordon

Sat 15th - Sun 16th Sep 2018 limit 250

Looks good. Thanks for heads-up Gordon

No problem. I will be recovering from the GRP 82k hence offering to help co-ordinate the event.

Good luck at the 82k

We’re doing Afoot in two Dales 50 in July but could consider RR

Entered now (me and Stef). Looking forward to it

I had customers in the past over that way but have never set foot on the West Pennine Moors

When’s the GRP 82 K Gordon?

The GRP is the 24/25/26th August weekend, Andy. Carol and I are going out too to try the Ultra Trail.

Looks like there will be a few us there from our area - Albert, Michelle & Abigail Sunter, Tony Marlow and Tony Varley (but not racing). Karen Nash also entered.

As I am sure you all will know, as it was the lead national news item, Winter Hill has suffered great devastation from fire which still burns, with fire engines from all over the North of England passing my front door throughout the day and night, nearly three weeks after the fire started.
Hopefully the moors will be fully accessible again by the weekend of September 15th & 16th for the Red Rose 50.
East Lancs LDWA already has a track record of making frequent donations to both Fire Service charities and Bolton Mountain Rescue. We are also looking at ways to contribute to the rebuilding of stiles, footbridges and fences and restoration of wildlife habitation across the damaged moorland. We are not a commercial organisation and endeavour to provide both maximum value and high quality to all our entrants. We are all volunteers.
The more entries we have, the more we can do.
Fifty miles is a physical and mental challenge but it is very rewarding both physically and with the wonderful scenery in which you are walking or running.

The event offers magnificent value for £33 (£28 for LDWA members) + SI booking fee.
More info at https://www.ldwa.org.uk/challenge_ev...event_id=20123 (including gpx) or enter through SI Entries at https://www.sientries.co.uk/event.ph...&event_id=4374


Gordon

Will you be doing this Derby Tub? I will more than likely be entering. My brother is coming over from Ireland for it as well.

He is recovering from a bad dog bite to his calf muscle, so will be taking it easy.

EDIT!

Just seen above, you have entered.

Look out for me, I know we met at Daz's funeral, but I would not recognise you again.

I used to live in Radcliff, North Manchester, so I have done loads of walks and bike rides in that area. You will enjoy it.

Hi Pat, I don't want to go off topic but what happened to your brother and the dog bite? Sounds awful.

Pat I remember meeting you too but again doubt I’d recognise you. I do seem to remember you having a penchant for Marston’s Pedigree mind, which is good

Unfortunately I’ve been quite ill recently (inc four days in hospital) and tbh it’s highly unlikely we’ll be at the RR50

Weather looking very promising for this tomorrow, really looking forward to it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrPatrickBarry

Weather looking very promising for this tomorrow, really looking forward to it.

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How did it go Doctor?

Red Rose 50 was really good. Nice route, superb food. Rained a bit at first but cleared up nicely. Didn't knowing see DrPat.

I was there with my twin brother who flew in from Dublin for it. He is coming back from the above mentioned dog bite so he went off at 8am with the walkers. I enjoyed it, just done the one other LDWA 50, the Bullock Smithy. It may not be any more difficult overall, but it has a much tougher end, with some stiff climbs and difficult ground/navigation in the last 25 Km. I teamed up with three others who, I joined, got dropped by, caught again, due to varying high/lows/nav errors. The section after Darwin Tower is by far the nicest part of the route. Very happy with the 12:44:00, I was 13:00:30 for the Smithy a couple of years ago. Not sure but I think there was ten or 12 names on the finish list when I had a quick look at it, need to wait for the official results.

I used my GPX device a lot over the last 1.5 hours after sunset and I am not apologising for it. I shouted out to a couple of lads who missed a junction and then had a right train of people following me across some fields in the dark on the leg betwen Entwistle and Hawkshaw

https://www.strava.com/activities/1844626713/overview

Red Rose 50 was great. results are up 9n their website now. Nice to see you Dr P Barry

Quote:

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Originally Posted by karen nash

Red Rose 50 was great. results are up 9n their website now. Nice to see you Dr P Barry

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Likewise Karen, I know it was not a race, but still second is a stunning effort really well done. I was 9th in the end, but I suppose it was 10th as one of the 8am "walkers" was 20 minutes in front of me. It must have been very late in the event when you finally passed him.

first man started steady then passed us and ran off more and more. Think he passed at Brinscall area. First walker I caught around Brinscall but he was still close by at Houghton (running a fair bit).Albert and Toney were ahead til Mellor but Toney pulled something or trapped a nerve so I overtook them. I ran totally alone from Billing Hill/ Wilton Park.

I enjoyed most of this and found I only needed to supplement the route description with Memory Map on the phone a few times. That is, until the tail end of the Entwistle to Hawkshaw section. Somehow we muddled up Hawkshaw Hall and Hawkshaw itself, so at the main road we unknowingly turned away from the checkpoint and all its creature comforts in search of a footpath in 0.3 of a mile. Eventually after 3/4 of a mile we backtracked and partly realised our error, but still assumed we were one stage of the description from the checkpoint, and still couldn't make the description match the ground. We were relieved when we were overtaken, as this confirmed we were on the right route once again. It went against the grain not to have a handle on where we were, but when I tried to read the description on the move I stumbled and if I stopped to do it our overtakers/saviours nearly vanished into the night, so I went into idiot follower mode. Sometime in the next few miles we realised what had happened, but felt no urge to retrace our steps to collect our punch marks.
Thank you East Lancashire LDWA for a well-run event through interesting scenery (though I wish it didn't have all that invasive Himalayan Balsam). And thank you to the people I ran/shambled/walked with!

Ah that’s a shame. Were you in the dark by then? I got thru in daylight and only made one small error there shortly after the ruin and gulley with the stream/ path. Fortunately I knew the area enough to head due south and was back on route in under a km. I had receded bits too as like you I find reading the description on the go hard work, so ok for short sections but not for 50 miles.

In the dark? Yes, in more ways than one! It was close to midnight by then. Earlier we were very glad of the lights on the canes across the moorland path above Darwen.

I uploaded the GPX for the route onto this site http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php Then using Microsoft Paint I created the maxiumum size canvas it would allow, and took a load of screen dumps (using SnippingTool.exe that is part of windows) to paste onto the canvas. I printed that off at 75% of orginal size that came to about 8 A4 size pages. Put those into plastic sleeves and used them all day.

I fell happier using a map rather than those LDWA route descriptions, which I had as well, just in case!

WE subscribe to OS maps on line. It’s only £20 a year, for as many devices as you like. We have the facility to print on waterproof paper at A4 . Both Bob and I had maps, as we had receded most of it I only had 1:50,000
He had maps, description but also on his smart phone he could call,up the map, with the box and zoom in to an exaggerated 1:25,000 which is brilliant if you don’t know the area.

Did anyone come a cropper on the dangerous stiles that were mentioned beforehand? I'd completely forgotten about that when I tackled a sloping one, slipped, and cracked my shin on it. Hurt a bit but didn't notice again much until the next day, when any touch was excruciating. Ice and rest brought the swelling down but I couldn't feel my hand on half of my shin and half of foot. Doc said I'd bruised the bone, with the swelling pinching the nerve resulting in the loss of feeling, and that continuing with the icing should cure it.

Nope, but even stiles that are in good condition are treacherous when wet and greasy, so I treat all stiles with care. Having said that I ignored my own rule a few weeks ago when going around the HPM route, and tried to take a stile at a run. I was soo lucky when the foot "went" and I somehow landed on my back on the peat rather than half landing on the style.

Dr Patrick Barry, snap, just what I was going to say.

It sounds as though DrPB slipped off the stile in style and Karen would have done the same. As long as the peat's soft, that's all that matters. :-)

Nothing exciting I'm afraid. I went down to Brother-in-law with my dog not realising guard dog was out. Guard dog stuck into my dog and I got bite a couple of times in the successful rescue. Wounds got badly infected which resulted in a two month lay off and doing the RR50 with no training :-). Brother Pat was well impressed with my battle scars :-)