Hi never done this race before and it will be the longest fell race I will have done to date any advice (apart from don't do it :) ) or comments on the route etc.
Cheers
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Hi never done this race before and it will be the longest fell race I will have done to date any advice (apart from don't do it :) ) or comments on the route etc.
Cheers
Try this link:
http://www.holmfirthharriers.com/INFHolmeMoss.htm
Pretty good map and instructions. Drinks at Holme Moss, Crowden, Laddow Rocks and maybe Black Hill. Good friendly race, food at end and good prizes but don't underestimate it.
Any more info pm me, I will hopefully run it and know course as well as anyone.
If anybody out there is heading up to this one from the Derby/Belper/Matlock area and would appreciate a contribution to fuel costs, I would certainly be very grateful for a lift...
(Apologies in advance if this is the wrong place on the forum to ask.)
I've read the Holmfirth harriers website and i'm trying to decide whether to do this or kentmere. I've got a 21mile/8000' race coming up in mid august and could do with the distance training. Any info on the route conditions for holme moss, ie. trail or fell shoes?
Fell shoes defo. You'll appreciate it if it's wet, especially the part across Tooleyshaw Moss (I've lost a shoe on here in the bogs before!) and at Black Hill. No road sections but it does follow the partly paved route up the PW from Crowden to Black Hill so there's a wee bit on flags.
Cracking route, sorry to be missing it this year, just not fit enough at the mo'....:(
Lots of DNF's in the past few years - is there a cut off time in this race?
Looks way beyond my level this, but I'm tempted as I love the Crowden Horseshoe and its about time I extended beyond 10 miles.
Mmm....
No cut off times. Just very hot last year, I'm glad I was only marshalling not running.
I did it last year,it is a cracking route,finishing in a very picturesque spot. Boy,was it hot last year though !:cool:
is a recce required, or can you get away with looking at the map the day before? is it PM?
It's marked up to Holme Moss then from Black hill to the end. The middle section is up to you, as long as you visit the checkpoints. In good weather not too difficult, cloud it could be fun here and there.
Good luck to all on Sunday! I'm doing a recce on the middle part tomorrow am so will sample the bogs.
Lots of rain here today that promise a wet course but warm - perfect conditions for running in the Peak district then! :p
More rain predicted for Sunday! Don't mind the rain, let just hope the wind doesn't accompany it.
Not sure if I am gonna have a go at this? Very very tempted. Be first AL race I do. Will be going for a recce myself to suss it all out.
Jodg, may see you out there?
Alas, no. Getting back in to it after injury....:(
Had a recce over the middle part of the race route this morning. From Holme Moss (god it was windy!) down to Crowden and back up along PW but missing out Bareholme. Not as wet as I expected and good underfoot.
Good luck AJF! :p
Birchall in lead just after Crowden Campsite, closely followed by Holmfirth lad. Name at the moment I have forgotten! Bloody wet out there. I did the Crowden Horseshoe course in reverse and it was dry to start with and then in came the rain. When was St Swithens Day? It looks like it will rain forever out there.
And what about the £150 for breaking 2hours? Man I was speaking today as he marked the course out felt it was a safe bet the £150 would not be going unless they change they date of the race back
Chris Birchall did win in 2-26 ish. Dave Watson was the Holmfirth lad - he blew up and finished in 2-47 I think. Holmesy's record is bloody amazing - even if conditions were better than today that record will take some beating.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roadrunner
It wasn't easy out there today, so well done to everyone who completed the course.
I wasn't really in the mood for racing after the first checkpoint, and just concentrated on getting round. Even that was hard and I'm glad I wasn't on my own in the mist between Black Hill and Holme Moss.
Not surprised Dave Watson blew up, having seen the speed he set off at! Well done to Chris Birchall. Leeds City runners seem to be a much more common sight now at the front of fell races.
I agree that Ian Holmes's record for this is one of the best, but I think Mark Kinch was pretty close behind him when it was set.
As I said at the top of the thread this was my first long fell race. Despite the weather really enjoyed it (well you can say that sat in the living room with a cuppa). Loads of thanks to the marshalls and the people serving tea sandwiches at the end. Could the course have been any wetter!
Ian Holmes record is 2.00.05 which is very impressive. According to website there is £150 for first runner to break 2 hours.
I watched the start and at the top of Holme Moss and there was a rumour that it might be an English Championship race in the next couple of years.
But I agree it would have to be a lad in top form who knows the route to beat that time.
PS the conditions are also a factor. Last year baking hot this year wet through. Who knows??
Just down loaded Mrs Stagger's Garmin and it reads 16.3 miles with 5032 ft of ascent.
Well done to all of you today. (Organisers and Marshalls included):)
Since the record was set the course is a little longer, several hundred meters at least. The record was also set when the race was run in June so the climb out of the valley up to Laddow rocks was a bit easier. Still a hell of a good record and Russ Banghams money is pretty safe and he knows it!
We are trying to get it as a championship race for next year, our centenary (look out for the book Rob Grillo).
1st Chris Birchill 2:26
2nd Dave Taylor 2:30 V40
3rd Andy Shaw 2:38 V45
1st lady was from Stainland, forgot her name, sorry!
I'd put that down as one of the best fell races I've done. Cracking route with 4 really steep climbs - didn't realise that there was that kind of race so close to home!
Special thanks to the marshalls for putting up with some dreadful weather - its okay running in that rain, but a different story standing in it. They were supportive and good humoured all the way round. And what about the free sandwiches and tea at the end? - brilliant. As for the cakes - 8 different types! I had to leave early and missed the prizes; one of my club colleagues picked up 3 litres of wine for me - cheers Clare.
Quality club Holmfirth - they know how to put a race on. :)
Naomi Sharratt.Quote:
Originally Posted by T'owd lad
Naomi Sharratt :)Quote:
Originally Posted by T'owd lad
Just over 3 hours
Thanks to the marshalls and other helpers, it must have been pretty miserable standing out there in the rain (apart from the lot who were holed up in the Laddow Rocks cave!)
Food at the end was great!
I started off near the back hoping to make up some places and pace it sensibly, but my right calf stiffened up dropping down into Crowden and that restricted my running a bit from there on. I was glad the section from Black Hill through to the wood was well flagged as I would not have fancied navigating it in that rain/mist!
Got some cramp going up onto Black Hill, then disoriented between Black Hill and HM (navigating by the sound of the road!).
The only thing keeping me going to the finish was the thought of tea and butties. Do they take orders? - the food was fantastic!
Well done to all the marshalls, especially to the bearer of water, chocolate and jelly babies at Laddow.
That was a stern one. Wind, Rain, low Cloud.....etc oh and nice sloppy peat bogs, just when you dont want them :eek:
Super race, but not as great as the marshals for standing in the rain and offering lots of encouragement and banter. also BIG thanks for the nice ladies at the finish for placing a hot drink and sandwich in my hands after staggering over the line in 2:48. boy did i run out of gas in the last half mile (im blaming the section from black hill to holme moss)
well done holmfirth harriers highly recommended :D:D
Results now available
http://www.holmfirthharriers.com/RHolmeMoss2007.htm
Those cakes weren't free man. I've never worked so hard in my life for a cake. All the same they were delicious and I was served (!) by a lovely lady as I slumped on a stool in the finishing tent! She seemed to know what I'd been through.
It was like a black Antarctica out there. God knows what I looked like after I'd crawled out of my second waist deep peat bath, but suffice to say I was almost worried at one point.
Seriously I woke up shouting "help!" in the middle of the night imagining I was sinking in quicksand.
Did anybody else notice we were rock climbing up to Laddow!
Oh and thanks to the ramblers who slipped me some jaffacakes on the way up to Black Hill.
A mad race...I was there. Who cares where I came. Well done Holmfirth.
That should read Holmes Moss, sorry.
Considering doing this in a few weeks. I've read the description on the Holmfirth website and was wondering how much of it is flagged? And what's the stretch from crowden to Black Hill like?
Also would I be able to get away with just recceing the loop from the transmitter down to crowden and back?
I think that's everything for now. More questions after a recce.
The first part of the race from the reservoir crosses private land (I think) so it's a no-no really. I often park at the top near the transmitter and run the middle part of the race as described, it's a really good run out, allow about 2- 2 1/2 hours ish for it. The only paved bit is the bit of the PW that you pick up from the end of Laddow rocks and then up to the trig point at Black Hill. The route from here back to the transmitter is only a wee trod but it's there - hope you find it! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Graeme
Cheers, for that.
"The route from here back to the transmitter is only a wee trod but it's there - hope you find it!"
I can find it going from the transmitter to Black Hill, but have never, ever found it in the other direction.
And I got lost in the fog between the two during last year's race. Ended up navigating by a cunning mix of compass and the sound of the road!
Must recce more (when my ankle is fixed!)
Aye, it's a cunning wee beast that one. Out of every 5 times we go up there we probably only find it spot on once. The other times we bu**er about until we join it further on near the wire fence.Quote:
Originally Posted by marty mcfly
Give us a shout when you're better and we'll go take a look! :D
If anyone fancies a look, I was thinking of going from Crowden a week on Saturday, providing I can get my permission slip signed.
I well remember doing much the same last year after floundering around in knee deep oozing black peat for what seemed like hours! Cracking cakes at the end though, especially the coffee & tangarine if I remember correctlyQuote:
Originally Posted by marty mcfly
The start and finish for this race have been moved because of the major engineering works going on at the resevoirs. It will now start and fniish at Cartworth Moor Cricket Club, which makes the race a little longer (17.5 miles I think) and will mean that the finish is uphill.
I think this change will be permanent.
Thay also claim slightly more climbing (4500ft compared to 4000ft). The uphill finish on the old course was enough to finish many off, love to see what happens with a proper climb!Quote:
Originally Posted by compo
The change may well be permanent, parking, toilets, bar, i may not even start the race (finishing is another matter but I hope to manage that soon)
Mmmm.
I might make this my first AL race. About time I got off my backside and did one.
Hope the marshalls don't mind waiting a week for me to finish.
Anyone heading for this race - looks a cracker from the route details on the site
http://www.holmfirthharriers.com/INFHolmeMoss.htm
A good mix underfoot from track to heather climbing on Laddow...
I am certain to do this, as is Fleeter, looks a good un;)Quote:
Originally Posted by grimmer