1st LONG 'A' RACE

[Chris K]

Obviously I would have pulled out the map if I got lost.

I'm going to do the 3 peaks next year and have no plans to recce, just gonna turn up and run, is that daft?

Pedantic may be, but for your own and everyone elses sake, have your map out, set and thumb the route as you go (ie before you get lost), especially if you are 'just following' in an area you don't know. If you are unsure about any of that, come and join us on one of the FRA Safety and Navigation weekends. GPS on a race? Gadget Prat Syndrome IMHO!

[Roger+Out]

This banter is of no help to Woodzy so I suugest we exit this thread and leave things there!

But something tells me you will have to have the last word1

[Woodzy]

prob reece landale at some point either all of it or just 2nd harf usually dont bother mainly cause i dont have time to fit one in but as its 8th oct i should have an odd w end im free may even get a look at three shires also before 17 sept it il be a change from training run
just think theres prob a higher chance of clag sept-oct

really just wanted to now whitch race people prefered from the two?

[djglover]

Pedantic may be, but for your own and everyone elses sake, have your map out, set and thumb the route as you go (ie before you get lost), especially if you are 'just following' in an area you don't know. If you are unsure about any of that, come and join us on one of the FRA Safety and Navigation weekends. GPS on a race? Gadget Prat Syndrome IMHO!

Mmm, not sure where I said I'd be using a GPS? There is a wierd attitude on here among some people. New to fell running = No ability to navigate.

[Keswick_Krumble]

hi djglover

think the gps comment was aimed at me. i genuinely didnt mean to offend anyone. i just assumed that long race organisers would appreciate runners looking after themselves as best as they can hence me suggesting using a gps- must make the risk assessments a lot easier surely

KK

[No map, no compass]

hi djglover

think the gps comment was aimed at me. i genuinely didnt mean to offend anyone. i just assumed that long race organisers would appreciate runners looking after themselves as best as they can hence me suggesting using a gps- must make the risk assessments a lot easier surely

KK

KK

I think you will find that organisers of fell races of any length expect you to be able to look after themselves on the hill. However if the only way someone is able to get back to the start if there is no one to follow is by resorting to an electronic gadget then I think you can safely assume that they would rather that person did not enter their race, as they are will be a liability they could do without.

You seem to be labouring under a major misapprehension that long races are harder to navigate around than short or mediums. It is just as easy to get lost on a short or medium as a long. There is not necessarily any greater distance between checkpoint on a long than on a medium or short. Longs are just longer!

Fell racing does its best to be an inclusive sport, but thee are a few prerequisites: the ability get round the course in a reasonable time (so that marshals don't have to camp out over night), a moderate amount of self-reliance, and the ability to use a map to get back to the finish on your own if you go seriously off course. Most running GPSs are not very good at the latter, as they don't have maps in them and only tell you which way to go if you are moving. The one thing they very definitely will not do is tell you whether is a large cliff between where you are and where you want to go when the mist is down.

[No map, no compass]

So much more succinct!

[Atomiclama]

Not wishing to stir things up, but what have you got against Sedburgh Hills?
Never done it myself but thinking about it.

[No map, no compass]

Not wishing to stir things up, but what have you got against Sedburgh Hills?
Never done it myself but thinking about it.

Too much running involved. No rocks or other rough terrain. Its in August, so its too hot to run. Generally not a pleasant experience compared to races such as Borrowdale, Grizedale Horseshoe, 3 Shires, Langdale, Kentmere etc, where even if you have a bad run due to lack of fitness or getting lost or whatever, you do feel you have been out on the hills and had some fun. Lots of people like Sedbergh Hills and it is definitely hard due to the combination of distance, climb involved and general run-ability of the route. If I was travelling from Stoke to Cumbria to do a fell race it wouldn't be at the top of my list. It all depends what you want out of a race.

Oh, and also it is a championship race this year, so well worth avoiding, unless you like crowds and finishing 200 places further down the field than normal.

There is a map of the race route here (at the bottom of the page).

[Keswick_Krumble]

hi,

I understand your point though in my experience Harveys maps are hopeless and any of the pete bland race maps ive ever seen are about as detailed as my drawing of a mouse. As someone who is not comfortable being out in the hills alone even in a race i find the notion of a gps comforting and as a back up i thought race organisers would appreciate it but fair enough if you say otherwise

I personally wish the gps software would abe s detailed as an OS map or car sat nav to get me safely where i want to go.

KK