The sun is shining, it's a glorious still spring day. This can only mean one thing...it's the day BEFORE the Trog. Lots of wind, a bit of sleet and a helping of cloud and rain on its way tomorrow. Trogtastic.
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The sun is shining, it's a glorious still spring day. This can only mean one thing...it's the day BEFORE the Trog. Lots of wind, a bit of sleet and a helping of cloud and rain on its way tomorrow. Trogtastic.
Well that's the pubs of Hebden Bridge laid to waste. Special mention for The Old Gate and its 8 cask ales. Sadly I wasn't able to do them all justice but it has certainly calmed the pre race nerves. Full breakfast in the morning and I'll be ready to do battle with the beast come wind, rain or shine.Quote:
Originally Posted by jellybabyfairy
That was a real battle, the toughest 20 miles I've ever ran. A great race, thanks to the organiser and marshals, although the run around the field at the end was pretty cruel!
It was a bit blowy today, elemental in fact.
I cannot thank the marshalls enough. A massive thank you.
Also to the ladies and maybe men in the kitchen at the end the soup was fantastic.
Good day. Some spring like moments when the sun was shining, it was bright and warm at times. Before it turned...
Thank you
Massive thanks to Hannah and her army of hardy helpers. The marshals on the course got a proper battering from the wind but one and all offered encouragement to the shattered runners, thank you.
As for the race, what a beast. I cloaked it 21.5miles, of which more than half this distance is ran across energy sapping bog, most of it into a very strong headwind. The Trog nibbles away at you and spits you out on the final climb, well it did me. It could of been for worse, yes we had the strong wind and sodden moors but at least the rain held of for most and it wasn't too cold. I did notice most runners ran in full gear, myself included.
I agree with wjb! The marshals were just amazing, particularly the ones on checkpoint 12 and 13 waiting in the gale and rain for back markers like me to stagger through. I may be old and slow but I absolutely love fell running. I really appreciate the hard work and commitment of Hannah and her team that allowed me to indulge my passion today - well done all, an outstanding job!
Hear, hear to all of that. So much effort by so many so the rest of us can experience sinking into bogs with sinking spirits. However, the new route near the finish which took us past The Hare & Hounds did make me wonder if I should pop in for a cheeky half.
Thanks again to Hannah, all the Marshall's and all the other helpers for another memorable day.
Well done to everyone today, grand job Hannah, proper organisation! But an extra special shout for the marshals. Now you all know why it's nicknamed 'The Beast' ! First set of photos up on http://www.woodentops.org.uk/ another one coming.
Thanks everyone, I enjoyed that today. Thanks to all the notes of appreciation from the runners, and thanks for the marshals for making it happen (even if they had to hold on to the Trig point to stay standing in some of those gusts!). Thanks also to RAYNET - if you organise a long race, I cannot recommend them highly enough. The Trog would not happen without them - they don't just do the radios, they bring a wealth of experience to the race too. In fact, they told me 4 years ago to do many of the things which are now mandatory or best practice under the new guidance, so I reckon they're on the ball.
One sour note, there were some reports of runners vaulting gates and leaving gates open - made worse by reports of runners being abusive to the landowners when challenged. This kind of behaviour puts not just this race at risk, but a number of other local races. It's been pointed out you can't always open a gate with cold hands, so I'll bring this up with the farmer and try and resolve it for next year, but there's never an excuse to not be polite (in my humble opinion).
Finally, apologies for the diversion at the end. The finish only gets flagged after the race has started (or there'd be a lot of confusion at the start). When we went to flag it, it turned out there were 3 rather crazy acting horses in the first fields after the moor. Rather than add a new take on Man vs Horse into the Trog, we sent you round the road. If it's any consolation, the field the horses were in was one of the boggiest rutted-est fields you've ever seen, so you were spared that.
Thanks all. And thanks to Helen Fines for unwittingly donating her (rather tasty) team prize of beer and pretzels to me - I know she wouldn't want them anyway - and for taking on the organisation next year.
Probably the most tired I have felt (and the most hungry :D ) at the end of a Trog today. Trying to run into that strong cold wind on the return from Cock Hill while negotiating bogs sapped a lot of strength out of me.
My thanks to Hannah for her excellent organisation again and I hope she enjoys her retirement.
Thanks also to all the marshalls out there in those conditions and I hope they have all "thawed out" now. :cool:
Well i think it's a disgrace that Hannah is so drunk on my beer that she hasn't got the results on the internet by 5pm.
Thank you Hannah and thank you all marshalls :) Great race, looking forward to next time.
As one of the marshals at CP12, thanks for all the kind words but although we might have been frozen, at least we didn't look as knackered as you lot.
Sorry I couldn't hand out sweets, but the wind blew them in the direction of Oxenhope, closely followed (in a moment of comedy gold) by my hat.
The praise for Raynet is really deserved. Their guy up on HBK was there for the best part of 5 hours and did a brilliant job. I was well impressed.
Keeping warm was an art that Dan and I took beyond the bounds of what was reasonable at the point when we launched into a spirited rendition of the can-can.
AnnaS, welcome to the forum. I still haven't quite worked out what you were trying to shout at me above the wind; your mouth was frozen, as were my ears and brain.
Thanks to all involved - a fantastic boggy odyssey. Thank you to all who manned the checkpoints in the wild weather and to Hannah and co at HQ. A great day out.
Link to Trog results here http://www.cvfr.co.uk/wp-content/upl...14-results.pdf
Thanks to all who organised this race, especially to Hannah for quickly letting me in at the last minute when someone dropped out. Everyone involved clearly did a splendid job but I retain particular appreciation for the marshals for remaining so unfailingly cheerful and encouraging despite the weather. Some of you must have been blocks of ice by the end. Oh, and to the ladies that gave me that desperately-needed tea and cake in the cricket club at the end; quite simply, I bow at your feet. All-in-all, the masochist in me is satisfied beyond words.
I've seen wooden tops pictures but there seemed to be loads taking pictures out there ?
Entries for 2015 Wadsworth trog are now open
entry form can be found on cvfr website
New route New records
Entries filling up nicely,should be full before pre entry closes.
full list of entries on cvfr website
Haven't got my FRA calendar yet, either through admin errors or because I'm stupid so didn't hear about this one until I was asked to marshal it this week. Proper want to run it myself now as it'd be a first time on a local race, and a winter fell race believe it or not.
A few novice questions though as I tend only to do short races for some reason. If I do two practice longs in the next two weeks, what sort of mileage/ascent should I be looking at? 19mi/1100m is hardly Jura/Borrowdale but last one I did was a shorter 14mi/600m-ish affair, before I heard about this. And what are clipper checkpoints? Seriously, never heard of them!
My advice would be DON'T do it this year. Marshall this time and build up properly for next year.
Its not just about the miles in your legs, its about your safety and well being out on the fells in poor conditions, alone, possibly needing to map read and staying safe (alive) in very poor and extremely tough conditions.
Start looking at the longer AM's then the shorter AL's most (almost all) races are displayed on this website at the front page under races.
Clippers are like a stapler only with 9 pins that are set in different patterns. You simply clip in a box at one side of your number and it leave a pattern of holes to indicate you have visited that checkpoint.
Trog's a tough outing, especially in February. Hard and if you can't navigate best avoidedQuote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Agreed.
It isn't just the miles but the ground is very energy sapping and nav. is a real issue, particularly if you are struggling at the back.
Back in the day when it was called "The Beast" the RO wasn't just being whimsical.
Icy conditions at the Trog. Pic from three (?) years ago courtesy of Ady in Accy
Attachment 7956
Upto 130 entries so far with a strong men's and ladies field.
Thanks for update G b. Proper early season classic is the Trog
Is there a list somewhere to check if an entry has been received (or should I assume it's okay if I posted my check last week?)
Is there a list somewhere to check if an entry has been received (or should I assume it's okay if I posted my cheque last week?)
*cheque*
Email the organisor
[email protected]
Thanks
Come on ladies there's 40 places left on the trog,there's a strong ladies field just need a few more to enter.
How straightforward are the new sections of the course, particularly the bit from Top of Stairs to Withins Ruins?
Is there a .gpx trace of the new route available anywhere?
I took this advice seriously but wanted to keep on what I was doing just to make sure. Last Sunday I did about 17 miles in the snow which felt casual as they come, so I went on to push myself today to see what might be more challenging. So over breakfast I quickly found a longer, hillier route and came back this evening pleasantly exhausted. By my workings it was a 21-miler with over 1100m ascent, so I should be well for Wadsworth. Six miles on it were new to me too so it involved a bit of navigating in low visibility which went fine. So boggy with all the snow melting this weekend though! Didn't have to break into walking and have felt class all night, the joys of challenging yourself and I've gotten to an area I've wanted to visit for a while.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stagger
Anyway, as far as I see it no need to pull out of my entry and I must consider humility if it is a bit long, tell a marshal if it's going horrendously. Those I run with think I'll be reyt. Roll on 7th Feb?
Now thats a more positive approach Rob.
All the best in the race.
Just make sure, (for safety) you carry some additional warm gear and extra food.
Enjoy
The new route looks quite a lot different to the old one, here they are on the same map: http://www.racemaps.org.uk/trog/wadsworthtrog.htm
Thanks very useful that John. I think I will check out that top section before the race. I must admit the scramble through the woods and the queuing at the stiles at the start of the Trog was my least favourite bit and I am glad it now resembles the old Half Trog start in that respect. I wonder though why the last bit was changed as that chug up the final climb became one of the iconic bits of the race (plus of course I am not looking forward to trying to get my knackered legs over a couple of ladder stiles on the new finish :D )Quote:
Originally Posted by Brummy John
We've got to avoid cock hill,natural england are doing some re seeding and want us to avoid.
id recce from cp5 to cp7,then cp10 to cp12.
the start is near the cricket club now.