Not seen him round these parts (real and virtual) for too long
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Not seen him round these parts (real and virtual) for too long
Live from Pendle Hill! Long sleeve tops could be the order of the day......and don't forget your compass!!
Attachment 8583
Please would runners pin their number as expected, clearly visible on the front. Lifting up a protective top works fine. Last year there were runners with their number on the back of a rucsac, or on trouser legs, and this makes safe, accurate recording so very difficult for marshals.
DT - CP9.
Might wear some woolly socks too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hobbsy
Wrap up warm LL....you've not got much in the way of natural padding so keep your self warm...Quote:
Originally Posted by Lost Lad
Waterproof socks ��Quote:
Originally Posted by Fnstein
Best bet is to get in your tent just like AlsoRan does at his CP10 ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak
Big cheer for all the marshalls tomorrow - they'll feel the cold more than us runners. Brrrr.
Today's heroes were the marshals
https://c1.staticflickr.com/6/5538/3...6d16670c_c.jpg
Awaiting by Andy Holden, on Flickr
The legendary Dave Tait awaits the fell runners at cp9
Indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by wharfeego
The first time I did Edale Skyline, as a mere youth, I was talking to DT before hand about it being my first Skyline and he said "the only thing that matters is that you enjoy yourself".
When I turned up for the Skyline in 2007, the infamous year of the horrific winds and hail (captured on the Hypothermia leaflet), at registration he said that it was going to be grim and that whatever I was thinking of wearing I "should double". So I ran in two Hellys and was snug and as warm as toast.
DT: one of the great men of fell running.
As we were warming up, I exchanged with Dave - it'll be chilly on checkpoint 9. The guy next to me said " he's on checkpoint 9?, he's wearing slacks and trainers". I relpied " no worries, that's Dave Tait".
A role model when I started out 25 years ago and now a legend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
Indeed indeed. Here's Dave's feed station all laid out for the tired & hungry fell runners
Tait's Bait
https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5575/3...b4dcef5e_c.jpg
The Bait is Laid by Andy Holden, on Flickr
Not forgetting Dave's Swiss cow bells to lure the fell runners to the bait
https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5662/3...b04b1da4_c.jpg
The Bells by Andy Holden, on Flickr
And he keeps a tidy allotment! Top man
DT, what a bloke! As Wharfee said, marshals were definitely the heroes of the day, if I could afford to buy each one a drink, I would do!
Belting race in those conditions, I've never done anything like it in my short 2 years of fell racing/running and I imagine it will take quite a bit to top it. Here's to 2017.
You can always tell when you are near Dave by the Jaffa cakes...Quote:
Originally Posted by wharfeego
Ask him about the errant Jaffas at the Calderdale relays a few years back... :D :D
Loved it and hated it in equal measure whilst out there. Loving it right now though. Marshal's were amazing. Thanks to all.
Mr 'Fish'wick leads a shoal towards Mr Tait's bait
https://c6.staticflickr.com/6/5612/3...3550235c_c.jpg
by Andy Holden, on Flickr
Big Ending - THE end for some
https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5696/3...b2c6b20a_c.jpg
Big Ending by Andy Holden, on Flickr
Superb photos by Wharfee and here's another big thanks you to the heroic Marshals
Any results please?
They will be along shortly, I'm sure
Chill!!
Many thanks ��
Thank you RO, marshals and all who made today's race possible. Thoroughly enjoyed despite a full-length sprawl in the mud.
Agreed and I took a sprawling tumble too!Quote:
Originally Posted by Latege
My first Tour. Great race, and a T shirt all for £9, blimey. Thanks to all who helped make it a grand day.
Saturday saw possibly the greatest individual performance in Fell Running since, well, the 3 peaks earlier this year!
Vic was absolutely unbelievable. Chris H and Jack W went off at the start but Vic sat in the second group containing Sam Watson, Kim Collinson, Goldie, Owen Bielby and myself with a few others not far off. It felt comfortable and, personally, I was ready to get moving up the last 3 climbs, but Vic just blew the doors off, dropped all of us and caught Jack going up Big End, he only regained and held 2nd looking over his shoulder all the way to the line!
3rd overall (5mins behind Chris) and 13mins inside Angela Mudge's 20-year-old record. Stunning.
hear, hear. Vic deserves recognition for another truly amazing performance. Jack also said it was probably the best run he had witnessed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ba-ba
Race 39 of 50@50 - MrRTS had a bit of a mare with this one. After a week of 3 18hr days and 2 16hr days with work pressures, straight to bed when getting home and rubbish nutrition he ran this on empty. I have no idea how he finished it but he did. Now Tuesday morning and he is only just getting right. A brilliant run by everyone where many had to dig deep. Super performances by Chris, Victoria and so many more. I'm in awe of you all. Here are some photos for anyone that would like one. No obligation but if you wish to make a small donation to the Thomas Theyer Foundation from as little as £2 please follow the link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Nigel-Jeff . To see the reason Nigel is raising money for this amazing charity please watch the video https://vimeo.com/234855480 If you would like the high quality original with none of the writing on please message me your e-mail quoting the file number bottom left, Well done everyone. Thank you to the organisers, helpers & super marshals. Beau Dog got an hello off many of you as his reputation spreads, some asking if his paw is better. Still light duties but much better thank you.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KwEHSCycVRrUODns2 set 1
https://photos.app.goo.gl/i90Iqom7lTd8G7mw2 set 2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2PsXOxRRHvNBHnu13 set 3
https://photos.app.goo.gl/HQb4ZNQHtc6nLiLu2 set 4
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fn9DFUYO6TIzGxyA2 set 5
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xx3phoLboYonpgJU2 set 6
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RjUUjojZa7ol9EqB3 set 7
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P5zXddj8XRWV50Jj2 set 8
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xiVGnUHlnE5hpEjZ2 set 9
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lyg9u0D1LYmjCK3F3 set 10 of 10
I sense a BBC Panorama investigation coming on:Quote:
Originally Posted by RaceTheSweeper
"The grim face of modern slavery. In a remote Peak District village lives a man whose ruthless employer forces him to work 86 hours over five days, with barely enough food to keep him alive. Then at the weekend he runs 17 miles over hills, moors and bogs in a desperate attempt to raise funds to support disadvantaged youngsters in the poverty-stricken region . . ."
Haha, If it gets more money for the TTF then that would be great. Monday, Wednesday and Friday in Leeds and Tuesday and Thursday in London! Think he is thinking of changing jobs, anyone know a large private house or college that needs an Electrical Engineer specialising in Building Management Systems? Qualified Electrician, Plummer, Heating Servicing? Super cook, handyman, and has a foundation degree in Art haha. Seriously! They have to allow him time to run and eat though ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
Results are up:
http://tourofpendle.co.uk/results-2017/
Looking forward to my first crack at this race next week. I've not done many races, the only one I know well is Cader Idris, which I've done every year for 6 or 7 years now. I usually manage about 2 hrs 10 for Cader. Could anyone compare the two races for me in terms of difficulty, terrain etc. Is it realistic to aim for a 3hrs30 -ish FTOP based on my Cader times? Thanks!
I've done both races and was 1 hr longer at ToP 1:51 to 2:47 so I think your timings are maybe a bit pessimistic. I would say the terrain is tougher at pendle. The going is generally boggier and one or two very steep grassy descents that can catch you out
Thanks - that's good to know. I'll take boggy and grassy over Cader's boulder-strewn slopes any day of the week!
There's been quite a lot of landscaping works in the the past 6-9 months so the going in parts may be a lot more solid than previous years. It'll make for some interesting times this year I reckon.
(example on photo from https://www.forestofbowland.com/Pendle-Hill-LP)
# trail race
Unfortunatly injured so spared running this. However I'll be marshalling with the venerable Dave Tait at the bottom of the big end climb. Looking forward to seeing lots of happy energetic folk enjoying themselves. Be good to see the front end of this race, when I run it I only see them disappearing into the distance on the initial tarmac. Good luck all
Tour of Pendle Fell Race
I’m quite sentimental where Tour of Pendle is concerned as it was my first AL category fell race. Over the years I think it’s fair to say it’s become my favourite race, which is surprising given its close proximity to Burnley.
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: is the bestseller by American author John Gray. The book sets out to give practical guidance aimed at improving relationships. No doubt Mr Gray toiled away incessantly whilst researching material for his book...but I bet he never visited Burnley. For no amount of research in human behaviour can prepare you for an encounter with the inhabitants of this market town in Lancashire. They really are a breed of their own...god knows what planet they’re from?
My earliest memories of Burnley aren’t pleasant: Burnley folk please lay down your pitchforks and torches there’s no need to lay siege on Chorley...I’ll explain my Burnley disdain.
Pendle Hill was somewhere I’d always wanted to visit as a child. I was fascinated with the mystical nature of the area and even now to this day on Halloween large numbers of visitors will trudge up Pendle due to its links with the Pendle witch trials.
I’d have been about 11 when I had my first visit to Pendle. There was a lad on our street called Tim, but his mum insisted you called him Timothy...”is Tim playing out?”...”there’s no one goes by that name here, do you not mean Timothy?”. I always felt sorry for Tim because his parents would, figuratively speaking, wrap him up in cotton wool. My first experience of Pendle Hill was an ill-fated Halloween night with Tim and his parents.
It was at the eleventh hour when I’d got my invite to accompany Tim for the Halloween experience up Pendle. With no Jack-o-lantern already carved out I had to get a move on...typically the only root vegetables we had at home were potatoes. With time against me my lantern was destined to be poor and it was. To accommodate my puny spud I’d cut down a candle with a bread knife. The adhesive qualities of ‘shit to a blanket’ are substandard compared to the adherence of wax to the serrated edge of a bread knife. My mum had a dicky-fit when she witnessed my cutlery wax clogging handy work.
Shortly after arriving in Barley, Tim’s parents nipped of to get a brew from a catering van. Before we know it, me and Tim had been surrounded by four older lads who had taken an exception to my lantern. So much so, one of them kicked it out of my hand. Tim ran off as there was no way his exquisitely carved turnip was receiving the same treatment as my crudely carved spud. Just to make sure my spud wasn’t going to lower the tone (who’d have thought there’d be root vegetable snobbery?) another lad crushed it under his wellington boot. The spud crusher was wearing a bob hat with the words Burnley F.C embroidered across the front. That was my first Burnley based encounter...I did retrieve my candle from the crushed wreckage, there’s always next year.
Years later I went to Burnley as an away football fan following Man City. It was a hostile environment in and around Burnley’s Turf Moor ground. We ran the gauntlet outside and thankfully the segregation inside was good but it didn’t prevent coins and pies having to be dodged. After the game with got back to the car in one piece, unfortunately my mates pride and joy, his VW Scirocco, wasn’t so lucky...it had been relieved of a drivers side front wheel. I was starting to take a disliking to Burnley...my mate kept muttering something about Dingles.
For the next visit to Turf Moor we’d opted to go on a football coach. All the coaches were assembled by a motorway bridge then escorted to the ground by the police...blimey! Welcome to Burnley. Outside the ground whilst queuing up I was punched in the face by a lad who’d ran from between the parked up coaches and was gone as quick as you like. I informed a policeman who said “wait until after the game, that’s when it gets proper lively”. I decided this was my last trip to Burnley.
Time is a great healer...along with tinned soup and George Michael.
There was an apprentice at work who completely won me over on his first day. He’d brought into work 5 tins of soup, all of a different variety. He then peeled off the labels from all the tins, placed the labels in the bin and the tins in his locker. I was intrigued and asked the reason behind the label removal. He said “it’s called soup surprise and until I open the tin I don’t know what I’m having for lunch”...I thought his food anticipation was genius. Then I found out he was from Burnley but I couldn’t hold it against him because my first impression of him was good.
I’d love to try soup surprise at home but take it to another level and remove the labels off every tin in the kitchen cupboards...tin surprise. I can see Alison’s face now when tin surprise doesn’t go to plan as I serve up rice pudding on toast followed by chopped tomatoes for desert. I’ve never had the bottle to give it a try.
Another Burnley good un was encountered in the form of an Elvis wannabe. Dave was a cleaner at work who had the slicked back hair and big sideburns. He’d try and talk like ‘the king’ with the lip-curl followed by the “thank you very much” catchphrase. I’d call him Elvis but most of the lads called him “a f**king idiot”. One day Elvis said to me “I know you like that head banging shit but have you heard the new George Michael LP?”.
Elvis wasn’t surprised when I’d said that I hadn’t heard it and I’d no intention of hearing it. He told me I don’t know what I’m missing, it’s silky-smooth and the ladies love it...”whatever Elvis, you’re over 50 and still live with your parents, the ladies can’t love it that much...silky-smooth or not”. Whenever I hear George Michael I think of Elvis being told by his elders to turn down the silky-smooth tones he’s playing in a bid to wow a lady...Elvis, was from Burnley and I thought he was brilliant.
When Fellrunning entered my life it made me realise that not everyone from Burnley were spud crushing, wheel stealing, face punching Knobheads...admittedly soup surprise apprentice and Elvis the cleaner had helped pave the way towards Burnley acceptance.
Tour of Pendle is near Burnley and it’s brilliant...what more can I say?
Many thanks to Kieran and all his helpers. Dave Tait marshalling below Big End is THE iconic marshalling point in Fellrunning: sweets, biscuits and bells. Every year I look forward to giving Dave’s bell a gentle shake...and long may it continue.
In the pub after the race presentation I’m enjoying the company of Emma and Sam Watson. Emma was out supporting Sam during the race and she said when Sam was climbing up Big End a random bloke announced “that the ginger lad would be faster if he lost some weight”. Sam is sat between myself and Emma, I asked Emma if Sam needs to lose some weight? She said he’s big boned and all muscle...we then look at Sam and give him a big hug, it felt good...Sam’s a Burnley season ticket holder and I think he’s beltin...Burnley folk, my kinda people.