Anyone know of the exact route details of this race?
http://www.northumberlandfellrunners.co.uk/?page_id=309
I looked at the route today and couldn't find a place to cross the river that was less than chest deep. But some photos I found on the NFR website suggest it is ankle deep!
Are there checkpoints so I have to stay on the path through the forest and ignore cheeky short cuts?
Andy
"Training is like fighting a gorilla - you don’t stop when you’re tired; you stop when the gorilla’s tired."
I don't remember any checkpoints, but the route was flagged and marshalled when I did it. Some good running, good fun dropping off the top of Simonside and down through the heather; all round a cracking race and a good village show.
Basically, the river is optional. Usually you'd cross the road bridge at Thropton, take a sharp left, follow the stream and plough straight on into the river when you reach it after a 100 metres or so. There is a bridge about 50 metres upstream (maybe more or less) for the faint-hearted or for times when the river is high. I'd advise not getting to the river bank 1st as the nettles can be waist high - there's an advantage in being a middle-of-the-pack runner!
What better way to finish a holiday than to partake in a fell race?
All week I've been the unoffical tour guide for my in-laws as my wife and I have shown them the sights along the Northumberland coastline. Considering they're both octogenarions they do really well getting about but it's fair to say my father-in-laws hearing is his 'achilles heel'.
A typical day out would go along the lines of..."where are we now Darren?".... Bamburgh...."where are we?"....Bamburgh..."where?"...B A M B U R G H......"there's need to shout I'm not completely deaf".
My guided commentry had left me hoarse by the end of the week.
On arrival at Thropton Show, from where Simonside fell race starts and finishes, we're surprised to see that the carpark attendant is a guy dressed up like a cowboy with bullwhip in hand, from which he takes great pleasure in giving it a good 'crack'....I say to Alison I'm going to ask him if his name is Tex Piss...the look on her face tells me I'm not....I don't.
We'd been lucky with the weather all week with just the occasional shower during the day but it had rained heavy during the nights. So much so that Phil the race organiser informed us pre-race that the river crossing encountered during the race had to be avoided in favour of the bridge further upstream.
It really is a race of two halves which is ran in an anti-clockwise direction. The first half is pretty tame, especially without the wading of the river. It's gentle running through fields and forest paths. The fell credentials of the race start to kick in once Simonside comes into view with its rock and heather slopes offering route choices. Some runners take a direct route up through the rocks, some opt for the well defined path...I mix and match wherever I see fit.
A short run along the top and we're directed down a gully for the descent off the summit. It's pretty rough and feels similiar to the descent off the classic Burnsall race in Yorkshire....plenty of hidden rocks in the undergrowth with the occasional drop to jump down. After a short section of tussocks it's back into the forest on a different path to the outward route.
No easy runnable forest tracks this time around, we're 'treated' to bogs and tree roots as we weave this way and that all the time looking for little strips of red tape that guide our way. Another rocky section, like the earlier descent but far shorter leads us out of the forest bogs back onto proper paths.
Once back onto more defined paths I must've let my concentration wander causing me to miss a left turn out of the forest. I'd been hurtling down a track and realised something didn't feel right when a fallen tree was blocking the path. I scrambled under the tree then climbed over the next to finally turnaround and eventually find the correct exit from the forest.... this little detour cost me 6 places.
I didn't tell my in-laws about the detour...I'll leave them thinking I actually know what I'm doing.
Many thanks to Phil and all concerned.
Last edited by Tindersticks; 18-09-2017 at 02:26 AM.
Darren Fishwick, Chorley.
Great to see you, Darren. A grand race. Hope to see you at Alwinton for the short, sharp shock to the system!
John.
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