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8.57 miles, 2,689 feet, 2 hours 51 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides (west, then east), along the ridge to the true top, and up and down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Blue sky and high clouds; almost all the tops were cloud free. No rain, though I saw a rainbow; a moderate cold wind from the north east. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places. Lots of walkers on the Wansfell steps; 2 other runners seen.
Another favourite loop: Wansfell Pike - along the ridge to the true top - down to the top of Nanny Lane - right through 2 gates - back up to the Pike. It is 2.35 miles, and 750 feet of up/down.
There was a group of about a dozen walkers on the Wansfell steps who had chicken hats on their heads. I guess it must have seemed a good idea at some stage.
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12.45 miles, 3,156 feet, 3 hours 42 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, and the loop down the race route to the road at High Close and back up the Loughrigg Tarn steps. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet; some patches of blue sky. A cold wind from the east, a few minutes of drizzle. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places. Lots of walkers about, and several groups on mountain bikes on the fell paths. 1 other runner seen.
No ice at this level - were there some white streaks on the distant high tops? Hard to tell.
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7.74 miles, 2,596 feet, 2 hours 32 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including up and down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Overcast, with a few patches of blue sky; the clouds just caught some of the highest tops. A cold wind from the north east, drizzle/light rain for the last couple of miles. Terrain anything from dry to wet and slippery. Not many walkers about, no other runners seen.
There was a sprinkling of snow visible on the very tops of Bowfell and Esk Pike, and rather more on Great End and the Scafells.
I had planned to go along the ridge to the true top, but the weather being blown towards me looked pretty grim.
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9.47 miles, 1,875 feet, 2 hours 42 minutes: Low Pike and back via Rothay/Miller/Low Sweden Bridges, and adding in 2.25 miles through the Roman Ruins and Borrans Park at the end. Blue sky and high clouds, the cloud base being at about 2,500 feet. A strong very cold wind from the north. Terrain dry/damp low down, icy higher up, slippery in places. 2 other runners seen - in the valley. Not many walkers about.
I had hoped to go higher, but that cold north wind was not something I wanted to head into for long.
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8.42 miles, 1,477 feet, 1 hour 39 minutes: 8 road hills in Ambleside, 5 of them being AAC winter training hills. Blue sky with a few small high clouds. No rain/sleet. A moderate cold breeze from the north. This was all on tarmac - grip was fine apart from the very occasional obvious icy patch. Not many walkers about; no other runners seen.
There is a rim of white stuff on the very top of Fairfield - none visible elsewhere.
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7.07 miles, 211 feet, 78 minutes: loops around the Roman Ruins and Borrans Park. Blue sky, with some thin high clouds. A cold breeze from the north. Terrain frosty and frozen; very little ice so grip surprisingly good. Lots of walkers at this level; no other runners seen.
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8.98 miles, 3,386 feet, 3 hours 20 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including the true top, and up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Blue sky, with a few high clouds in the distance. A moderate cold breeze from the north. No precipitation. Terrain frozen, with the occasional sheet of ice. Traction surprisingly good, apart from the ice of course. Microspikes carried but not needed. I saw a couple of dozen walkers, and 2 fell runners who were hauling their children up to the Pike from the east in a running buggy and a pram!
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10.12 miles, 2,384 feet, 3 hours 5 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including the race route/High Close/Loughrigg Tarn steps loop, and Todd/Ivy crags and Lily Tarn. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 800 feet. No wind nor precipitation. There was about half an inch of snow on the ground when I left home, but it had largely gone by the time I got on the fell. Terrain frozen, with some stretches of ice; slippery in places, but not as slippery as I expected. Lots of walkers about; 2 other runners seen. Microspikes carried but not used - I might have gone a bit faster with them on.
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7.68 miles, 2,862 feet, 2 hours 38 minutes: Wansfell Pike 3 times, once from the west, twice from the east, including along the ridge to the true top, and up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Wall to wall sunshine, with some thin high clouds. A gentle breeze from the north. No precipitation. A heavy overnight frost on slopes protected from the sun. Extensive ice sheets, but these were easily seen and avoided. Apart from on the ice, grip was good. Lots of walkers on the fell; no other runners seen.
Again, microspikes not used.
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8.8 miles, 2,516 feet, 2 hours 59 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Todd and Ivy crags, Lily Tarn, and the loop down to High close and back up again. Blue sky, a few high clouds, no wind nor precipitation. A heavy overnight frost - persistent except where in the sun. Terrain frozen hard, with some easily seen ice sheets. Grip mainly good. Lots of walkers about.
I saw Wendy Dodds near the top - looking very fit and agile as usual.
The loop down the race route to the road at High Close, left, then left again up the steps opposite Loughrigg Tarn needs to be done this way - anti-clockwise - as the steps in descent are grim. The Wansfell Pike loop I do is good both ways.
