Amazing Stolly :)
I AM going to do this one year. I am.
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Amazing Stolly :)
I AM going to do this one year. I am.
Stolly, If you can finish the race you are most certainly not crap. I think sometimes we let our expectations dominate our thoughts as well as in this sort of race you have the added pressure of not letting team mates down. In my eyes anyone who can finish is someone i look up to and aspire to be like them as you are living the dream that many others wangt but aren't there yet. Well done.
Absolutely. An amazing achievement by everyone who made it round.Quote:
Originally Posted by Herakles
Cracking effort Stolly. It was clear you were struggling, but you still hauled yourself round: no mean feat. Probably should have done more to run with you, but once I found my running legs, I just focused on keeping Andy or Kev's heels in view, then once my knee went, I just wanted it to all end as quickly as possible!:o
I think you need to remember it was a team event and as such you should run as a team and stick together. If they were going a tad too fast don't be proud (I wasn't):o tell them and steady the pace. it's along way to go. If you were struggleing to get food down get some one on your team to get your food out and feed you as on a BG. Pushing too hard slows the whole team down eventually
When we caught you the first time you all shot off and we all thought you'd pay for the spurt later.
Adam took my pack whilst I had a toilet stop so I could catch up without slowing the pace.
Either way it is a big event needing a big heart and yours was certainly up to it.
Well done.
No probs SS, I loved every minute don’t worry :DQuote:
Originally Posted by southernsoftie
I’m still not sure quite what went wrong to be honest. I’m still thinking it was the going too fast out of the traps coupled with me overheating by the time we hit Win Hill but who knows. I do think though that I had just taken an extra 5 minutes to eat and drink properly at Moscar I’d have felt better; as it was I got double stitch going down the A57 to Cutthroat and had to chuck away my malt loaf as I just couldn’t actually chew it enough to get it swallowed while running at the same time.
After Lost Lad especially it all became a self fulfilling prophecy in that the rest of the team had breathers waiting for me at dibber points whilst, as soon as I got there, we were off again. I just couldn’t get any recovery time to try and get back on track but it could've been worse; thank god I was the team dibber man :rolleyes:. All the same like Kevin said at the end, had I run faster, he’d have looked to set an even faster pace so I suspect that one way or the other it would have happened anyway…………..
I never at any stage felt like I wasn’t going to make it but I just tempered my effort to match my dwindling fuel reserves. I felt energy strained more than anything – my legs, although a bit stiff afterwards, are in pretty good nick again today. They had the miles easy but I couldn’t get the fuel in.
I had great fun at Edale Cross, above Jacobs Ladder, where Andy and Kevin had been waiting on me and SS’s slower crossing of Kinder, probably for a few minutes and in an exposed and cold spot too. As soon as we arrived, they wanted to go again and I had just enough time to get my ham and egg soft roll out of my bag before again we hacked off. Honestly the very first mouthful of that roll I must have chewed on for 15 minutes but I just couldn’t get it down! It was here that another team passed me and saw me staggering about and seemed quite concerned; in actual fact I’d just slipped on the snow and ice with both feet while wrestling with my roll and just appeared delirious; I was feeling okay honest :)
All part and parcel and a fabulous experience
Well saddo statto stolly has been doing a line by line breakdown of the HPM checkpoint times, this year's versus last, and has proven absolutely and categorically that we fudged up big time by going off so fast at the weekend. Well to be more exact fudged up big time my objectives for the race :rolleyes:, not necessarily anyone else's ;)
Overall this years time for me was 53 minutes faster than last year but still 15 minutes over the 12 hour finishing time I was aiming for. The fast pelt for Moscar meant that we did the first 11 mile stretch 19 minutes faster than last year.... which duly came back and bit my ass big time in the last haul in from Mill Hill which we did 17 minutes slower than my team last year!!! Just taking the first 11 miles I dunno 10 minutes more leisurely would have made a huge difference I'm sure :mad:
How bad is the knee injury, not a total relapse i hope? ITB again? :(Quote:
Originally Posted by southernsoftie
Stolly, I've been reading and re-reading your posts about the HPM. On the one hand, I am full of admiration for your endurance in such appalling circumstances (I'm not referring to the terrain or the weather). And for the impressive time you achieved nonetheless. On the other, I am full of indignation. I'm afraid I may be out of order in saying this, but I can't stop myself. WHAT kind of team were you in? Not a team at all as far as I can understand. I have just checked the HPM website and found:
rule 5: Teams must register at each checkpoint, in the correct order, together as a four, and stay in contact with each other and be able to assist each other throughout the event. Team members must look after each other!
Incredibly, it seems your team behaved in a way that was unkind to you, violated the safety rules of the event, AND was self defeating. There was nothing to be gained from 2 runners showing off how much faster than the rest of the team they could go, and everything to lose. If they had put their surplus energy and strength into encouraging the slower runners along, a faster team time could surely have been achieved - and a more enjoyable experience as well. Could no-one see that the person struggling most was also getting least rest and no time to eat?
If you had indeed collapsed at the back, would your team have noticed? Or would it have been up to other teams, or even walkers uninvolved in the event, to help you? What was the point of the team's carrying tent, poles and sleeping bag for emergency shelter if all these elements were to be scattered over the moor.
Your team was very fortunate in you. Someone less sturdy, less patient, (more like me!) would have retired. They would then have had to retire too, a richly deserved fate.
When I did the HPM I was far and away the weakest runner in the Clayton Ladies' team. The others chose to carry all the group equipment, to spare me. There was never the remotest idea of the team's not remaining close together the whole way. Indeed, had I been left behind I would probably be there still, as except at checkpoints I had not the remotest idea where I was. I'm sure my slow pace and general inexperience was a grievous trial to the others, but nothing they said or did ever made that apparent. Until I read your posts, I thought that was the way teams always behaved in the HPM.
Maybe, alongside those courses on navigation, someone should organise training sessions on how to work together and succeed as a team
Chill Alexandra I'm fine :D
OK, will do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Stolly, I am interested in your weekly training regime as much is mad by others not necessarily yourself of how you just run for the personal enjoyment of it and have fun. Are you organised ?. Does your job include physical stuff so that's part of training or do you just run nothing more. What sort of thing did you do when you first started running the fells and how long have you being doing it.
Matt.
Herakles I don't really 'train' at all but just run in the hills. I do enjoy running too so it never feels much at all like a chore. But there again I never ever do self torture running like hill reps and fartlek and all that gubbins so I'll never be a 'proper' runner. I'm well past my prime as far as being able to run fast goes anyway. I've lived up north since 1997 and have gradually evolved into a fell runner; I used to run around the woods and hills of the Chilterns when I lived down south. More than anything I'm really lucky in that I'm smack in the middle of the hills straight out the back door.
The view from my back door just before Christmas :)
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/3196/pc230035.jpg
And looking back down at my house on the way up High Hill last summer
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/1156/p6280013d.jpg
Oh and nowadays I don't race much either - I always seem to get injured in races and in any event it often seems daft to spend an hour or two getting to a 90 minute race and an hour or two getting back when I could go for a 3 hour run locally instead :rolleyes:
So run and enjoy is your motto. At 40 this year i to think speed for me is out of the question all i want to do is finish nothing more. I envy the position of your property it looks beautiful.
Plover Hill and Pen y Ghent from Horton
10 miles ~ 2,000 feet
Horton --> Horton Scar --> Foxup Moor --> Plover Hill --> Pen y Ghent --> Hull Pot --> Whitber Hill --> Horton
After feeling really washed out and knackered all week I managed to garner enough get up and go to er... get up and go for a run this morning. And I'm glad I did as, once I had actually got going, I really enjoyed it. Mind you, although it was spring time down in the valley it sure as hell was still winter up top!
The Pennine Way cart track as it winds its way past Horton Scar
http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/7981/p3140003.jpg
By the time I'd run round to Foxup Moor, as I kind of expected, the climb up Plover Hill still included a totally lethal, icy snow bank. Following my doomed attempt at a similar climb a couple of weeks ago, yet again I got most of the way up this....
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/1482/p3140008.jpg
... before bottling it big style; it was stupidly sheer as I got nearer the top and the snow was solid ice really, without any give in it for making foot or hand holes. This time though I was damned if I was going to give in and I managed to climb up a (marginally) easier bit - see the right hand side of the same picture. Not the most sensible thing I've ever done in my life but luckily I made it!
The view towards Foxup having scaled the side of Plover
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/6649/p3140009w.jpg
Oh and the stile at the top of Plover Hill was a tad snowy too
http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7875/p3140010.jpg
Continued...
Panorama piccy of the week – the view of most of my route back from the top of PyG
On the way off of the side of PyG there was another fairly hairy snow bank, made all the more impassable by a lady, who was scared witless, slowly clawing her way across the small groove of a path. I caught up with her (her name was Trish :)) and helped talk her down – to be fair the slide off to our left didn’t look particularly survivable without multiple broken bones had either of us slipped.
http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/2508/p3140020.jpg
After that though I was back in spring time (it was 11 degrees when I got back to my car) and the descent pretty much all the way back, apart from the hump of Whitber Hill, was fabulous :D.
Spring time in Ribblesdale
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/4980/p3140001.jpg
Looks very dramatic that Stolly ! How did the Walshes handle it ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
I wouldn't mind another run up there if you don't mind dragging me round again on one of your routes sometime? :) Not this weekend though as I am going up the lakes.
Settle to Malham Tarn, over Fountains Fell, up Pen y Ghent and back to Settle
24 miles ~ 3,800+ feet
Home --> Settle Market Square --> up the main drag past Attermire Scar --> Stockdale --> Nappa Cross --> Langscar Gate --> Malham Tarn Field Centre --> Tennant Gill Farm --> Fountains Fell Cairns --> Dale Head --> Pen y Ghent Trig --> back down the way I went up and then across the top of the Overdale and Great Moorhead ridge all the way to Stainforth --> Stainforth Foss --> follow the Ribble all the way to Settle --> Home
An absolute humdinger!!! And tough too with lots of going uphill but not much (not enough) downhill... or so it seemed. The weather forecast was better for today than yesterday so I purposely just did an hour's run in the hills yesterday, saving the big 'un for today. And to start with the weather was lovely, frosty with hazy early morning sunshine (I set off at 7am). As I dropped down to Malham Tarn though low cloud was obscuring Fountains Fell and I actually went over Fountains in absolutely freezing misty fog, with a fairly cutting head on wind as icing on the cake.... not helped by me just running in shorts and the one top with no extra body cover and no gloves!
The low cloud continued all the way up Pen y Ghent but, as you might expect, it immediately started to clear just as I commenced the long ridge run in the direction of Stainforth. I kidded myself that once I'd hit the trig on Pen y Ghent, I'd broken the back of the run and it was doddlesville from there back to Settle but, to be honest, there was a very soggy and muddy 4 miles to Stainforth and then still another 3 from there, running alongside the Ribble all the way home.
Confused sheep just before I hit the lane in Stockdale
http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/126/p3210031v.jpg
More confused sheep - this lot mistook me for the farmer and charged after me
http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/1056/p3210042.jpg
Malham Tarn
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/2628/p3210046a.jpg
Cairns at the top of Fountains Fell
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/384/p3210049.jpg
Continued….
Fountains Fell emerges from the mist as I come off Pen y Ghent
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/9074/p3210055.jpg
The (never ending) ridgeline back to Stainforth
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/8421/p3210059.jpg
Ribblesdale with Stainforth and, in the distance, Settle coming into view
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/6471/p3210060t.jpg
The bridge at Stainforth Foss
http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/1408/p3210062.jpg
A fabulous run, albeit one that took me 4 hours and 49 minutes all in!!
Panorama picture of the week - looking back on the way up to Nappa Cross
Fantastic Stolly ! Cheers.
I've plotted the route on OS Explore, running anti-clockwise. And OS explore says 22 miles..... which is complete bollocks :D
Sorry Alf, just noticed this. Let me know when you're around, although this coming weekend and the next look tricky for me as far as making hard and fast plans are concerned; I'll probably have to sneak out if an opportunity arises :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Alf
That Plover Hill and Pen y Ghent run from Horton has got to be one of my absolute favourites so if 10 miles isn't too short for you lets do that.
Nice set o'pics Stolly:)
I've been looking at PYG from Horton in Ribblesdale along the PW, just over 5m but it's all i'm good for at the moment, good ascent though :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
The Nappa panorama looks just so inviting.
Stolly you're rapidly filling up my weekends and tempting me away from OTH recce's:)
Mr B if you are just looking for a quick scoot up and down Pen y Ghent, I'd recommend going up via Brackenbottom and coming down on the off piste, boggier track* that sort of runs parallel to the PW to Hull Pot; the Pennine way going up and down from PyG is a bit boring :rolleyes:. From Hull Pot, if you know where you're going, there is a fantastic line over Whitber Hill and down to the (other) PW into Horton too.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
* Descend following the Pennine Way as normal until you get to the bottom of the main side of the hill, then hook back with the main path before quickly branching off, following the rough track through the cotton grass. Supremely fast running and no boulders :)
No problems Stolly, doing the 10 miler sometime is fine by me. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
However your latest long route looping round Malham Tarn has got me very agitated :cool: so much so I might try that one on my own at the weekend if weather forecast ok :D
Next time I run it, I'm going to add Rye Loaf Hill and the ridge there, rather than just follow the Pennine Bridleway through Stockdale, and in the final 3 miles I'll probably go over the top of Stainforth Scar and Langcliffe rather than follow the Ribble like a lightweight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alf
Another 1,000 feet, a good chunk of tussock grass and almost certainly another 30 minutes added in.... all without changing the actual distance of the run at all :confused:
Wicked cheers Stolly, i'll get it plotted on MM when i get in, looks like perfect mileage to me. Do you know any good routes up Whernside with low mileage?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
OS Explore maps for...
Pen y Ghent 6 miler
Whernside 6 miler
The Whernside route takes the 3 peaks 'line' up to the trig; you may prefer to take the runnable 3 peaks walkers path instead.
Your line looks fine to me :cool:. Regarding the PYG route from the summit of Whitber Hill back down: there seems to be a number of walls en route, i'd be inclined not to climb them to be honest or is the OS mapping outdated?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
There are gates, although one is a rickety bugger of a thing that you have to climb over. Failing that just follow the PW way back from Hull Pot.Quote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
Gates, cool. I notice the area is full of caver's trods, given that it is not access land according the the OL2 i've got does this mean the landowner is ok with people mooching around?Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
Busted :DQuote:
Originally Posted by mr brightside
I've absolutely no idea, but the only person that ever seems to mooch around there is me :rolleyes:. Its like anything really, if everybody and their goat crossed this area (its cotton grass covered moorland in the main with a scattering of sheep grazing) the farmer would I'm sure get a bit peed off but the odd runner I doubt is a problem. I've bumped into a farmer there before and he didn't seem to mind.... and if he had a pot shot at me, he missed
Soz mate, i know it wasn't potentially a polite thing to ask but it's always best to know where you stand in my opinion. On the odd occasion i've been approached by farmers and keepers before when i've been looking for mines and subject to what you're up to at the time and your being honest of course i've had no trouble. If i plan to run that route i might just enquire for the sake of doing the right thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
And was using a silencer. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Stolly
stolly
have you got a dales snow report? have you had any today? was fancying doing ribblehead to horton on the 3 peaks route some time this weekend (or maybe on walkers path up whernside) - hows it looking?
ta!
Some recent-ish reports here on the Ilkley Harriers Forum
http://ilkleyharriers.org.uk/forum/v...7&p=1953#p1953
Not sure how things are now, but Beamsley Beacon was plastered in snow when I drove round to the A59 on my way to Harrogate this morning.
ooh thanks
Was up there today Jo with Linda, chuffing freezing, blowing a force 9 gale the whole time and sleeting :eek: Horrible weather :( We did the full PPP route.Quote:
Originally Posted by ratfink
Don't go in trail shoe either, it's very wet and slippy and although a lot of rocks/trail like paths they are trecherous at the mo and I've the mulitple bruises and gashes to prove it!!
Snow on all the summits, not too deep though...yet.