Yesterday was meant to see me and a friend have a go at the Cumbrian Traverse but the prospect of clag on the tops and wet conditions underfoot meant that the chances of a decent time were shot and Kent is a long way for him to come for a damp day out on the fells - we postponed. Giving Duddon a go for the first time instead was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. I knew the ground from the 3 Shires checkpoint onwards, in theory at least - the first half, really not so much.
In good weather I guess it'd be a hard but mostly runnable long race but yesterday felt like much more of an adventure, one of those ones where I had my map and compass in hand for almost all of it and runners would appear and disappear in different directions in the mist. Highlights - finding the lovely trod from Little Stand down to the top of Wrynose, running in the same small group as Nicky Spinks for a bit between Dow Crag & White Pike, before she skipped effortlessly off into the gloom ahead of me, the kind marshals on top of White Pike who fed me Jelly Babies.......the lowlights - having a bit of a bonk and getting quite cold on the stretch down from Swirl How, disappearing up to mid-thigh in some nameless bog somewhere, picking a rubbish line off White Pike then triumphantly summitting Caw only to realise I'd actually just needlessly climbed Pikes instead. All in all a fab day out and massive thanks to the RO and his team and especially all the marshals up on the tops for giving up their day to make it happen.