Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Good tip thanks, had a flick through some past routes and gave me a bit more idea of what to expect.
Printable View
Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
Good tip thanks, had a flick through some past routes and gave me a bit more idea of what to expect.
Looking forward to my 3rd LDMT. Not too familiar with the Langdales in comparison to some other spots in the Lakes but that should make the challenge more interesting, along with doing Scafell Pike race the day before, ha!
First of all a massive hello to the forumites in attendance..... GeoffB and Mrs GeoffB, and Calvin, good to see you all... and DanGilbert good to see you before the start.... also Baba came steaming past me shortly after cp5 looking focused... hope you got the win...
Unfortunately didn’t work out so well for me.... was going adequately for 5hrs or so, but the wheels were starting to fall off after the huge descent from Mickledore down to Great Moss... and I was unable to locate cp7... after searching for quite a while i realised it was a lost cause, and when I relocated myself, I’d overshot by at least a km. so dropped down to Lingcove Bridge and back to Langdale via Three Tarns for a dnf...
A very tough course, loads of tough running, the fatigue and then a lapse in concentration cost me on the shorter legs, but in a confusing area...
First checkpoint at Swinsty Gill I went via the Band and contoured round the back of Crinkle Crags... didn’t see anyone else and suspect this was an error.... fought back on the next leg to Esk Pike with a good line. The next one was fairly straightforward in the col between Allen Crags and Glaramara. Then another long leg to the broken wall above Piers Gill.... went back over Allen Crags and onto the Esk Hause-Sprinkling Tarn path, and then shortcut above Skew Gill to gain the Corridor Route.
The next leg was a beast... contour over the flanks of Scafell Pike and onto Mickledore, then all the way down to Great Moss and a soul-destroying climb onto the flanks between Burnmoor Tarn and the Esk. A couple of shorter legs, the 2nd of which was my downfall.... I’m almost thankful, as the legs I then missed out back up the Great Lakes route towards Cold Pike and onto Pike O Blisco looked pretty savage...
Still a good day out. One of the hardest days out I’ve had.
Pete
Pete was it you i spoke to looking for checkpoint 7 and then back at the end?
It was a big day out wasn’t it! Really enjoyed it, glad weather was helpful as i would have been in trouble in clag. I followed a bit of a chain the direct route up to 1. Was going okay but made the wrong call in taking a direct line from 7 to 8, and soon realised why no one else was going that way...just managed to get in before 5pm. Fell over coming down that final grassy slope to the bridge and realised it was easier to just keep sliding on my backside.
Commiserations Pete. It's my second crack at the classic and it definitely gets harder to concentrate on the nav and make good decisions later in the day. I suppose that's one of the things that makes it such a challenging event. CP's 6 & 7 were the ones I struggled the most to find. 7 to 8 was a bit of a slog but I think the combination of knowing I was heading back towards the finish and the familiar ground of the Great Lakes route towards the end perked me up.
I have to say I usually like the added dimension of some challenging weather but I'm glad the forecast clag and rain didn't materialise today. CP's 5,6 & 7 might have been the undoing of me if it had.
TimG I don’t think that was me... I don’t recall speaking to anyone at the end, and a look at the results show a number of people either couldn’t locate cp7 or gave up there... so I expect it was one of them...
Cheers Dan, it was my second go, I thought it was markedly harder than last year (not that last year was easy by any stretch!)..... I guess it was the location, the terrain, and crossing of big fells which did it... well done on your result...
Hard luck, Pete. Commiserations and sorry I missed you.
My daughter could not believe how tough the classic route was and I think it looked like the toughest there has been for a long while.
I enjoyed the short again though made a small error on CP1 which cost me a few minutes and then had a complete walkabout on the penultimate CP as I'd originally missed the ghyll I was aiming for by about 100m. Glad the weather was not as bad as predicted and good to see so many youngsters out today.
Top notch chilli too! 😁
This sounds like a thousand times harder than what we did today, congratulations for even being able to attempt it, sorry it didn't quite work out as you hoped, but please take consolation in that this is clearly waaaaaaaay beyond what I am capable of and that you still did something very impressive!!
Any chance of seeing the maps? The classic sounds so hard.
Route gadget including the maps are here:
https://www.sportident.routegadget.co.uk/rg2/#12
Anyone got any stats for the classic and medium?
I clocked 16km/1350m on the short.
Good day out!
Nice to see Geoff B at the campsite.
Had the voices of Agnew, Boycott and Vaughan giving me commentary all the way round, showing I’ve been listening to too much cricket recently. ‘You’ve got to settle down into a rhythm to be there all day. That was a school boy error that he needs to forget and move on from it’ after I started up the Band and then followed to wall to the climb to C1.
Thankfully found the rhythm and nav ok from then. Went up Scafell Pike rather than the gaps and it seemed like the thing to do.
Happy with 6.08 in my first trial, worked out at 33km and 2300m for me.
Next year - bring it on!
Sorry things didn't work out for you, Pete. Quite a few people came back from the Classic saying how hard it was. Of course my wife is a proper tough little cookie and she thought it was quite a reasonable day out!
I was very happy with my efforts on the Medium course. I've just put it roughly into Tracklogs and it comes out at about 22km with 1600m ascent. I think Sue's piece of string on the Classic measured about 34km. Don't know about climb yet.
We were pleasantly surprised that MWIS got the weather forecast wrong - it turned out to be a pretty nice day.
Thanks to the organisers, all the volunteers etc. for another excellent day out.
Very impressive result from Sue!Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffB
A top day out as always. Great course planning with interesting route choices on the classic.
Cracking day out as per.
At CP8 I was within a minute or so of Neil Talbot, but then shanked it good and proper and lost 35mins on CP9, dropping too low on the contour around Blisco. Admittedly I eventually lost impetus somewhat.
With the predominance of 're-entrants' it was definitely a navigation trial, with plenty of route choice joined by tricky, technical terrain in the area surrounding the control. Had there been clag I dare say some would still out there.
Hats off to Scoffer for 2nd place, he was climbing with me near the end but managed to not stuff it up!
Absolutely - some of those controls would've been seriously tricky in the clag. I quite liked the way most of the controls were 'hidden' - such as re-entrants on the south side of a hill that you approached from the north, meaning you couldn't see the control until the last minute.Quote:
Originally Posted by ba-ba
Also agree about Scoffer - he is quite amazing!
Please forgive my ignorance, would someone kindly explain a control and a re-entrant please?
This all sounds super impressive!!
A control is a checkpoint, like what you get on a normal Fell Race.
A re-entrant is the opposite of a spur on a hillside, so it’s like a little valley in the hillside. The area around checkpoints 5, 6 and 7 were absolutely full of re-entrants, in fact I’d prefer never to see that word on a map again!!
A look at the split times shows that I did indeed take a poor route to the 1st checkpoint, but was then slowly clawing my way back through the field (despite my legs feeling otherwise). Unfortunately not to be. General consensus seemed to be that it was a toughie this year... and so it should be...
Thanks Travs - got it - much appreciated!!
I still think it sounds like you and everyone did extremely well :D
In my experience, a re-entrant is also so named as you can re-enter it several times when trying to locate the control especially when the clag is down. Thankfully MWIS got that wrong or there would have been a lot of potential for walkabout this year.
The one I struggled to find was the stream junction on Blisco. Looking at route gadget, I was not alone! Probably cost me 10 minutes.
Yes that's the one that did for me...
I made a right pigs ear of CP2 - I wasn't high enough and ended up back-and-forthing in the reentrants below it (love your description PeteS!) and my route to CP4 past Broad Crag was in hindsight not a good one.
Contrary to most, I traversed to the west of Scafell & Slight Side to get to CP5, which looking at split times works out as much the same time as the eastern route.
Fortunately got the Blisco one OK, contouring high to the left of Blisco and counting streams on the far side, but could easily have made a mess of that one too!
My initial thought was to contour round to the west of Scafell to cp5... but after consulting the map in more detail I went for the Mickledore route... perhaps I should have stuck to my guns, because that huge descent from Mickledore to Great Moss is where it started to get painful...!Quote:
Originally Posted by BillJ
I noticed your meandering at cp2 in the playback Bill J, I’m Matthew Heywood
I chose over the top of Scafell Pike and love that it was just a lump to get over in a hardcore event.
Legs are a bit achey today; glad the bike to work is downhill.
I think I was with you Travs over Allen Crags.
Loving the buzz of having completed my first Trial and looking forward to next year.
Possibly... there was someone with me as I went over top of Allen Crags... we took differing routes to cp4 though...Quote:
Originally Posted by felltrumpet
I did the same on the penultimate CP on the short too. Looked back on my Strava and was less than 100m from it but too far to the right. I dropped down quite a bit then after 15 minutes finally decided it couldn't be right ha ha.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
Another fantastic day out, well done to all involved.
You were in good company going to the west of Scafell, looks like Neil Talbott took a similar line. On the other hand your route to CP4 was the same as mine, not such good company! I should have stuck to my original plan of going round Great End to the north and picking up the corridor route.Quote:
Originally Posted by BillJ
Ha, almost exactly the same as me then. I realised my mistake when I saw Redacre Gill below. Doh!Quote:
Originally Posted by CalFerguson
Anyone going to hazard a guess as to were it might be next year...?
I'm saying east of Kirkstone… Mardale head...?
Sue also went west of Scafell and Slight Side - that was one of her best splits (47:56).Quote:
Originally Posted by BillJ
People have talked about it being a tough course. Who remembers 2009? I clocked 42km and 2500m ascent on that one. I was completely broken long before the end!
Yes I do Geoff. The middle part was similar-ish sections to this year's classic course, but in reverse.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffB
Looking at the Routegadget reminded me of that huge long leg from Allen Crags to Great Carrs. For most of us it meant a contour round Bowfell and over Crinkle Crags, but Steve Birkenshaw, who won, dropped all the way down to Mosedale because he knew it was good running.
I had younger legs then (didn't we all) and it was the only time I've managed to be in the top 20% (more-or-less!) in the LDMT.
6:20 that year, 6:28 this.
This sounds like great fun!! I can imagine the frustration of losing ground and having to recover all too well :)
I have another couple of questions if you don't mind, are you guys running around with maps and navigating while you are running these races? Do you plan beforehand or are the controls only revealed on the day?
Yes, running around with map and compass.Quote:
Originally Posted by DangerMouse
Its a different route each year, from a different starting place. You only get to see the map after you start, and everyone starts at minute intervals - so no opportunity to plan beforehand!!
Thanks Billj!
Wow, okay, so I have to admit that my race time on Sunday was definitely assisted by the runners in front of me, it was a marked course and I did spot some of the flags, but mainly I just followed them (I know, I know - but it was my first time and I was just having fun!) but it has made me realise just how much extra effort this is going to take to perform at this level.
I have much to learn and even more respect for you all now - most impressive :D
Having fun, enjoying what you're doing, is purely what its about DM. Well done on your first fell race! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by DangerMouse
Far Eastern fells would be good. I could get tick off that big chunk of Wainwrights I've not done!Quote:
Originally Posted by Travs
I'm going for Northern fells - Mosedale or Mungrisdale - or perhaps NW - Wasdale/Ennerdale.
I can't imagine how difficult this route would have been in clag. I think I'd still be lost in Eskdale.Quote:
Originally Posted by ba-ba
Bad luck on control #9. Would have been great to see the Mountain Trial decided by a matter of seconds!
Looking again at the map, the eastern route around Blisco to #9 looks tempting (swapping a tricky contour for about 100m climb). Jack Wright (3rd) went that way and nailed it, but how would you know when/where to descend to be sure of being between the correct streams to hit the control?
Go East then look for the path junction at 278043 the a rough bearing and count streams.That's what i did when control checking on a day of low cloud and driving drizzle and only a mini cairn to mark the spot and it worked fine. I, of course, was not in a hurry and i hadn't already run 30K.Quote:
Originally Posted by FaTboy
Yep I recall the control on Allen Crags being on a knoll rather than at the tarn where it should have been and Mike Robinson looking at that leg and saying "bl**dy H*ll mike we're going to Coniston"
Sun 13th Sept 2020.... Loweswater Village Hall (start of Buttermere Horseshoe race).