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.

10.54 miles, 3,170 feet, 3 hours 31 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including Todd and Ivy Crags, Lily Tarn, and down the race route to the road at High Close and back up again. Overcast, with quite dense fog to the valley floor. No actual rain, but mizzly. No wind. Most of the ground is now soft at this level; it is mainly damp rather than wet or saturated; grip very variable and rather unpredictable. Not many walkers about; 2 other runners seen.

I forgot to mention that I saw a couple of red squirrels yesterday when descending Wansfell.

9.37 miles, 3,167 feet, 3 hours 9 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Initially misty/foggy to the valley floor - later this melted away and the cloud base was above most of the high tops, and there were some patches of blue sky. A moderate breeze from the west. Almost constant mizzle/drizzle. Terrain damp/wet and slippery in places. Very few walkers about; no other runners seen.

10.49 miles, 3,452 feet, 3 hours 29 minutes: Ambleside - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low Pike - High Pike - High Bakestones - Scandale - Red Screes - Golden Rule - Ambleside. Sunshine and clouds; most of the tops were cloud free. A few minutes of drizzle. A strong cold wind from the north east. Terrain mostly crunchy/hard above 1,200 feet; soft and mainly damp below that. Traction pretty good. Very little snow on the ground that I covered. Not many walkers about; no other runners seen.

10.07 miles, 3,332 feet, 3 hours 25 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including along the ridge to the true top, and up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Sunshine and clouds, the cloud base was at about 2,500 feet. No precipitation; no significant wind. Lots of crunchy/hard ground - the actual surface is mainly dry/damp. Grip quite good. Lots of walkers on the fell; I came across 1 other runner, a fellow AAC member, on the ridge.

11.11 miles, 3,297 feet, 3 hours 37 minutes: Loughrigg Silver How Chase race route, with some variations, and not necessarily in the right order - the main variations were ascending via Clappersgate and Todd Crag, and taking in Lily Tarn on the way out rather than on the way back. Sunshine and clouds - no distinct cloud base, but banks of cloud at multiple levels. A few minutes of drizzle. No significant wind. Terrain mainly dry/damp with excellent grip. Lots of walkers about; 7 other runners seen.

10.48 miles, 3,193 feet, 3 hours 25 minutes: for the second day in a row I did most of the Loughrigg Silver How Chase race route, again going up from Clappersgate - though this time I took in Lily Tarn on the way back. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. Intermittent drizzle. A moderately strong cold wind from the west. Terrain damp with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fells; 15 other runners seen.

10.57 miles, 3,282 feet, 3 hours 15 minutes: Loughrigg Silver How Chase race route - third day in a row - a few minor variations on the way I went yesterday. Sunshine and clouds, the latter above the high tops. A few minutes of drizzle. A cold moderately strong wind from the north west. Terrain mainly dry with good grip. Not many walkers about; 6 other runners seen - I suspect they were all reccying the race route.

Some idiots have toppled the trig post on Loughrigg - it looks like fireworks were involved as there is charring/blackening of the remaining structure.

10.36 miles, 3,350 feet, 2 hours 59 minutes: the full Loughrigg Silver How Chase race route, plus from Rothay Bridge to Miller Bridge and back again. Sunshine and clouds, I did not notice a distinct cloud base. Intermittent drizzle/light rain/light graupel. A strong blustery cold wind from the north west. Terrain damp/wet; grip quite good. Not many walkers about; I saw about 15 other runners, most were in the AAC Tuesday/Friday group; they were doing the same route - I set off an hour before them - we crossed at the steep rocky climb next to the wall.

The race route took me about 2.43 - to think 12 years ago I did it in 1.45.

..... and - rest.

Not injury related!

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Originally Posted by Mike T

..... and - rest.

Not injury related!

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Brilliant achievement Mike. Thanks for all of your posts and inspiration.

7.04 miles, 439 feet, 79 minutes: all on tarmac, to Rydal and back. Overcast, cloud base at about 1,000 feet, no wind at this level, constant drizzle /light rain. Tarmac wet/streaming - lots of puddles. Not many walkers about; no other runners seen.

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Originally Posted by Mossdog

Brilliant achievement Mike. Thanks for all of your posts and inspiration.

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Thanks Mossdog!

8.34 miles, 2,584 feet, 2 hours 39 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Overcast, with multiple cloud banks at different levels. There was some sunshine at times over towards Grasmere. Intermittent light drizzle. A moderate wind from the west. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery. Not many walkers about; 1 fellow runner seen.

10.52 miles, 3,155 feet, 3 hours 13 minutes: Loughrigg Silver How Chase race route, plus from Rothay Bridge to Miller Bridge and back again. I took a couple of minor detours from the racing line, making it a bit gentler/longer, and took in Lily tarn on the way out rather than on the way back. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet. No rain. A moderate wind from the south west. Terrain damp, but not as slippery as I thought it would be. Lots of walkers on the fells; 6 other runners seen, 1 of them a Helm Hill star - it will be interesting to see how they get on in the race, assuming they take part.

The Ambleside parkrun was taking place as I went past - I understand Tim Farron was going to run. He ran every day in January - good man!

9.68 miles, 2,920 feet, 2 hours 49 minutes: Loughrigg Silver How Chase race route, plus Rothay Bridge to Miller Bridge; again I took in Lilly Tarn on the way out rather than on the way back. Sunshine, with a few thin high clouds. No significant wind; no precipitation. Terrain frosty/crunchy with mainly good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell. I started about 2 hours before the race - the leaders were just coming over the top of Loughrigg for the first time as I was on my way back. I saw Mr Brightside a couple of times - I tried to find him at the finish but he had vanished! It was good to say hello to Darren Fishwick.

I understand the race leaders - from AAC - went too far to the right after the top gate on the way out - oops!

10.06 miles, 3,494 feet, 3 hours 20 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including along the ridge to the true top, and up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Overcast, with cloud banks at multiple levels; a few patches of blue sky. No precipitation. A moderate wind from the south west. Terrain anything from frosty/crunchy/icy to dry/damp/wet; traction variable but usually predictable. Not many people about; no other runners seen.

11.38 mies, 3,399 feet, 3 hours 40 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Clappersgate - Todd Crag - down to the little wooden bridge - kissing gate - Lily Tarn - Loughrigg top - Silver How - Loughrigg top - Miller Bridge - Rothay Bridge. Overcast, with mist all the way down to the valley floor in most places. No wind; constant drizzle/mizzle. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery. Very few walkers about; no other runners seen.

I see the racers took some new lines - nothing radical, but they just cut corners or avoided rough terrain here and there. Anything radical and I would not see it. From the lack of wear on the route it looks like very few went via the ruined stone hut.

8.58 miles, 3,016 feet, 2 hours 44 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, and down the other side to the top of Nanny Lane and back up again. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 800 feet. The occasional brief patch of blue sky. No rain. A moderate wind from the south east. Terrain very firm in places - mainly damp/dry with reasonable grip. Quite a few walkers on the fell; 1 other runner seen.

9 miles, 3,012 feet, 3 hours 2 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close and back up again. Sunshine and high clouds, no rain, a moderate wind from the west. Terrain mainly dry/damp with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell; no other runners seen.

7.49 miles, 2,590 feet, 2 hours 25 minutes: Wansfell Pike, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Overcast, with mist/cloud almost to the valley floor. Constant drizzle. A moderate wind from the south. Terrain wet/saturated/streaming and slippery. Not many walkers on the fell; 2 other runners seen.

8.68 miles, 2,937 feet, 2 hours 55 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close and back up again. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. Occasional spells of sunshine. A few minutes of drizzle. A moderate wind from the west. Terrain dry/damp with good grip apart from the rocks. Lots of walkers on the fell, even on the minor paths. 2 other runners seen.

10.74 miles, 3,506 feet, 3 hours 33 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, and an anti-clockwise loop taking in the true top. Overcast, no sunshine, most of the high tops were cloud free. No significant wind; no rain. Terrain mainly dry/damp with good grip. Lots of walkers on the fell - I overtook 8 groups ascending the steps to the Pike. No other runners seen.

8.74 miles, 2,908 feet, 3 hours 4 minutes: Loughrigg trails, including down the race route to the road at High Close and back up again. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet. No sun, rain, nor wind. Terrain dry/damp with good grip. For a monday there were quite a few walkers about. No other runners seen.

10.84 miles, 3,375 feet, 3 hours 30 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Low Sweden Bridge - rock step - Low/High Pikes - High Bakestones - Scandale - Red Screes - Golden Rule - Ambleside. Overcast, with clouds above the high tops and mist in the valleys. Some sunlit areas in the distance. No rain. A moderate wind from the south. Terrain dry/damp with good grip. Not many walkers about; 2 other runners seen.

Several times now walkers have overtaken me as I go up the rock step and they go around it - there is no doubt the rock step is slower in ascent, albeit much more interesting.

6.31 miles, 2,237 feet, 2 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. Overcast - the cloud base was initially at about 2,500 feet, but it gradually came down to about 500 feet. More or less continuous drizzle. A moderately breeze from the south. Terrain damp with good grip. Very few walkers about; 1 other runner seen.

9.01 miles, 2,414 feet, 2 hours 40 minutes: Loughrigg trails, ascending via Fox Ghyll, going down the race route to the road at High close and back up again, before finally descending past the old golf club. Overcast, with cloud/fog to the valley floor in most places. Virtually constant mizzle. No wind. Terrain saturated and slippery. Not many walkers on the fell; no other runners seen.

I had been avoiding the Fox Ghyll ascent as the last time I did it it was like walking up a stream bed - it was more like a path today - it is a nice way on to the fell when it's not too wet.

9.37 miles, 3,276 feet, 3 hours 13 minutes: Wansfell Pike from 2 sides, including up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate, and down to the top of Hundreds Road and back up again. Sunshine and high clouds, no rain, a moderate wind from the west. Terrain saturated and slippery. Lost of walkers about - I overtook 6 groups ascending the Wansfell steps. 2 other runners seen.

Given Storm Otto and the yellow warnings for wind elsewhere, I was surprised how "tame" the wind was.

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Originally Posted by Mike T

Given Storm Otto and the yellow warnings for wind elsewhere, I was surprised how "tame" the wind was.

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The wind here was probably no more than Force 6, but it made the difference between running all the way up Beacon Hill and having to walk the steepish bit near the top (I had managed to run all the way up the steeper section lower down, where it is more sheltered).

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Originally Posted by anthonykay

The wind here was probably no more than Force 6, but it made the difference between running all the way up Beacon Hill and having to walk the steepish bit near the top (I had managed to run all the way up the steeper section lower down, where it is more sheltered).

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Similar here. We had an email from Northern PowerGrid yesterday effectively warning us to batten down the hatches, but by this morning the barometer had only dropped an inch to 'changeable'. Later, the run onto the fells was blustery, but nothing untoward, even compared to the stormy weather before Xmas.

I had to smile at the storm being named "Otto', as is my friend's Norfolk Terrier, whose (the dog's) character is equally one of inflated grandeur, self-importance and who adores a hyped drama :D

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Originally Posted by Mossdog

I had to smile at the storm being named "Otto', as is my friend's Norfolk Terrier, whose (the dog's) character is equally one of inflated grandeur, self-importance and who adores a hyped drama :D

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I was wondering why our first named storm of 2023 was named by the Danish Meteorological Office, especially as it travelled from West to East!