Anyone doing this one on Saturday ? Hes, Stolly you 2 on the start line ? Will be good to see you both, although you can leave your weather at home Brian....
Anyone doing this one on Saturday ? Hes, Stolly you 2 on the start line ? Will be good to see you both, although you can leave your weather at home Brian....
This BG round & the training therein is dedicated to the fond memory of Daz H - there is no such word as can't.
Yep see you there Manhar. It looks a jolly cracking route.... and, having done a shed load of BG leg 2 outings, it will be a real pleasure to do the Helvellyn ridge line without having to prat about finding the exact tops of the flipping Dodds, Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon
Saw a couple of people on the way up Clough Head reccieing this on Saturday as I descended it in the 3x3000 race. looks like a good day out.
The land at the end of our toes goes on and on and on.
How did you get on Stolly, Hes ?
I started feeling sorry for myself slogging up Cloughead. Did think about turning back as there didn't seem to be anything in my legs (not sure if the pre race nerves / anxieties had started to kick in ) but pressed on. Fairfield nearly broke me and I was passed by virtually everyone behind me. When I stated to one of my co-racers that I was going to retire at Ambleside she told me in no uncertain terms that I was NOT as I was not injured and to stop being a wimp - moral of that exchange, next time you're throwing in the towel don't mention it to someone who has just completed the UTMB . Anyway did press on and buddied up with a couple of guys at Ambleside all the way to the finish.
This BG round & the training therein is dedicated to the fond memory of Daz H - there is no such word as can't.
Well done manhar. It was a bit of a beast wasn't it. And all the forest trails after dark were tough too, let alone blencathra, helvellyn and Fairfield. We "stormed home" in 15 hrs 50
Glad you all had a good day :-)
Hi Manhar, it was good to see you and I'm glad that you finished ok. I loathe Clough Head. I don't know why but I hate it far more than Yewbarrow or Dunmail Raise or any of those beasts I enjoyed the day but it was so much tougher than the Lakeland 50! Gavin and Stolly kept me going on the first half and then I seemed to pick up on the second half and was feeling quite perky but that last bit on the road was purgatory. The photographer on Fairfield asked me how I was doing and I said 'its a case of one foot in front of the other and I'll get there eventually' and that's pretty much how I tackled it. What a great event though eh? Am so tired today though and a bit achey but not as broken as I thought I'd be
'The birds are the keepers of our secrets'
Forgot to mention that I had a bit of a wobble on Halls Fell and would like to thank the guy that held my rucksack as I slithered round the rocks...I had visions of falling and him being left with my pack in his hand but it really helped to have so many nice people offering support
'The birds are the keepers of our secrets'
What's the quality of the route like south of Ambleside? I was tempted to enter but this section looked long and a little dull, if enough people tell me otherwise then I may have to give it a go next year!
The route after Ambleside was absolutely fantastic, largely along narrow forest trails. It was really tough going too, given that it was dark, really muddy with lots of slick rocks and tree roots to slip and slide over. The whole thing was brilliant in fact, marrying a really tough 30 mile fell race to a really tough 20 mile woodland trail race.... with a moonlit, misty Lake Windermere thrown in for good measure
Putting the whole thing in perspective the winning time was something like 10 hours 35 minutes, not a million miles from a good winning time of the Fellsman which is 62 miles. By way of contrast the winning time of the Lakeland 50 in July was 7 hours 48 minutes!!!
Last edited by Stolly; 13-10-2014 at 01:48 PM.