Todays permitted exercise!

8.69 miles, 3,005 feet, 3 hours 3 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including the race route descent to the road at High Close and back up again. Sunshine and clouds, most of the tops were cloud free. There is visible snow on the very highest fells - the snow line must be at about 3,000 feet. Intermittent drizzle/light rain/graupel. A strong wind from the west. Terrain saturated/streaming and very slippery. Lots of walkers about, both on the fell and in the valley. I saw 4 other runners, though only 1 of these was on the fell.

Some bikers have been down the race route and have made a real mess of it. Of course, a bit like wild camping, if they don't make a mess, we don't notice, unless we catch them in the act.

8.42 miles, 3,213 feet, 3 hours 12 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 3 sides, including the loop that starts along the ridge to the true top. Blue sky and high clouds; most of the summits were cloud free. No precipitation. Patchy snow above 1,500 feet. A moderate cold wind from the north west. Terrain mainly saturated/streaming and very places, though in places it has dried out a bit due to the overnight wind and the sun. Lots of walkers on the fell; no other runners seen.

9.01 miles, 2,829 feet, 3 hours 24 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to High Close and back up the same way, and the race descent via Lily Tarn to Miller Bridge that goes next to the wall above the top gate. Very sunny, a few thin high clouds. A moderate cold wind from the north west. No precipitation. Snow +/- heavy frost on the ground down to the valley - on top of the fell there was an inch or two. Terrain widely frozen/crunchy, but still very wet in places. Not as slippery on the snow as I expected. Lots of walkers about, and 6 other runners seen, 5 of them in a group - AAC members.

7.33 miles, 2,480 feet, 2 hours 54 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including along the ridge to the true top. Sunshine and high clouds, a cold moderate breeze from the north west, no precipitation. Patchy snow on the ground, mainly above 1,500 feet - in many places on the ridge there was 2 - 3 inches. Lots of stretches of sheet ice where puddles and rivulets have frozen. Terrain hard/crunchy - grip good as long as ice was avoided. Lots of walkers about; no other runners seen.

12.51 miles, 3,647 feet, 4 hours 22 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Loughrigg top - Silver How and back, taking in Fishgarths Wood, Lily Tarn, and the race descent to the road on the way out, and returning via the Loughrigg Tarn steps. Blue sky and high clouds; no precipitation; a moderate wind from the north; very patchy snow on the ground at all levels, more confluent above 2,000 feet. Widespread icy patches - grip good as long as these were avoided. Lots of walkers about; 1 fellow runner seen in the valley.

9.6 miles, 2,693 feet, 3 hours 17 minutes: Ambleside - Nook End Farm - rock step - Low Pike - High Pike - High Bakestones, then back the same way, staying mainly on the west of the wall above the rock step. Sunshine and high clouds , a strong cold wind from the north west. No precipitation. Terrain largely frozen, with patchy snow above 1,500 feet, becoming confluent and 6 - 9 inches deep above 2,000 feet. Widespread ice, though it was almost always obvious and easy to avoid; traction good as long as not on ice. I saw about 20 walkers on the fell, and 4 other runners, in pairs.

The rock step was dry and safe both ways. There were some icy patches on the descent route, but they were easy to see and not in crucial places.

9.45 miles, 3,130 feet, 3 hours 39 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including the Roman Ruins, Borrans Park, Blue Hill Woods, Blue Hill Road, along the ridge to the true top, across to Dod Hill and back, and up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. A lovely blue sky, with a few high clouds on the horizon. No precipitation; a moderate breeze from the north west. Terrain almost all frozen hard. Grip good apart from on the widespread but usually easily avoidable icy patches. Still plenty of snow where the sun has not got to it. Quite a few walkers about; no other runners seen.

I had not been to Dod Hill before - it gives great views of Troutbeck Tongue. It is a pity there is no good path to it.

In Borrans Park I was asked if it was easy to get to Scafell Pike from there - er - no! I did point out Wansfell Pike in case they had confused the two - but no.

9.17 miles, 2,954 feet, 3 hours 2 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including along the ridge to the true top, and up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Mainly overcast, with some brief periods of sunshine; the cloud base was at about 2,500 feet. No precipitation; a moderate breeze from the south. The snow line is now up to about 2,000 feet, though where the slopes do not get any sun it is at about 800 feet. The ground is still mainly frozen; traction good, apart from on the diminishing icy stretches. Lots of walkers on the fell and in the valley; no other runners seen.

11.14 miles, 3,335 feet, 3 hours 39 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Clappersgate - Todd Crag - Lily Tarn - Loughrigg top - to Silver How and back, mainly via the race route - down past the old golf club to Miller Bridge - Rothay Bridge. Overcast, no distinct cloud base, multiple cloud banks at many levels. Intermittent mizzle. A moderate breeze from the south west. Most of the snow and ice has now gone at this level; it much more slippery than it has been recently, even when not on ice. Lots of walkers and bikers about; 8 other runners seen, 4 in the valley, 4 near High Close.

9.01 miles, 2,670 feet, 3 hours: Wansfell Pike, including along the ridge to the true top, and down the race route to the kissing gate. Overcast, with cloud/mist down to the valley floor. Constant drizzle. No significant wind. Terrain still frozen hard above about 800 feet, below that there is a soft layer on top but it is still hard underneath - like a thick carpet on concrete. Very variable and unpredictable traction. Not many walkers about; 3 other runners seen.