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Thread: Hardest UK fell race....?

  1. #11
    Senior Member dantodman's Avatar
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    Hi all,

    I've done Jura, Arrochar Alps, Wasdale, most of Great Lakes, Peris and Buttermere.

    I reckon Jura is toughest because of the terrain and I found Buttermere harder than Wasdale, not much between the rest.

    Dan

  2. #12
    Master mapper's Avatar
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    All races are as hard as the next. If you find that a race is easy then you're not trying hard enough :-)
    - Grasmere Sports at 1.5 miles is fast, tough and a real lung burster but recovery happens very quickly.
    - Great Lakes is slower but still tough, but it's much further and recovery takes much longer.
    So I guess it depends how you determine 'hard'.
    See the light in the night

  3. #13
    Moderator noel's Avatar
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    Cressbrook Crawl as it's a long runable uphill road finish with positions to gain or lose.

  4. #14
    Master Stolly's Avatar
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    I'd put forward Borrowdale for sure and echo the 3 Peaks where, if you are up to it, you can (unfortunately) probably run all but half a mile of it. Great Lakes in a monsoon is top notch too

  5. #15
    Member offcumdun's Avatar
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    Alva's hard and it's tomorrow. Not much running involved, though.

  6. #16
    Senior Member superflyguy's Avatar
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    I think the short sharp ones are the hardest. There is nowhere to hide!
    The long ones allow a little respite every now and again. a dip in a tarn maybe!
    I always feel far more drained after 15/25 minutes of all out effort than 5/6 hours of AL effort.

    NB. they're all good!
    Adam Speed
    P&B

  7. #17
    Master Wheeze's Avatar
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    OK Travs, perhaps you could give us your own definition of 'hardest'? I suspect, like me, you think in terms of combination of big miles, roughest terrain and hardest nav? There have been excellent suggestions so far. We can't really offer anything like that up in South Wales (although Llanbedr Blaenavon has caught many an unwary out with its biggest punch saved for the last round!). I also maintain that Long Mynd offers a very surprising challenge from what looks on paper like a very benign proposition.

    Back in my day I think the race that tested me the hardest was the Peris Horseshoe. But I never got to do the Arrochar Alps which looks awesome.
    Simon Blease
    Monmouth

  8. #18
    Master DrPatrickBarry's Avatar
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    Tour of Pendle is another hard one. The climbs are not particularly long but there are a lot of them. The time of year also increases the chances of bad weather. Done it for the first time before Christmas loved it.

  9. #19
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wheeze View Post
    OK Travs, perhaps you could give us your own definition of 'hardest'? I suspect, like me, you think in terms of combination of big miles, roughest terrain and hardest nav? There have been excellent suggestions so far. We can't really offer anything like that up in South Wales (although Llanbedr Blaenavon has caught many an unwary out with its biggest punch saved for the last round!). I also maintain that Long Mynd offers a very surprising challenge from what looks on paper like a very benign proposition.

    Back in my day I think the race that tested me the hardest was the Peris Horseshoe. But I never got to do the Arrochar Alps which looks awesome.

    Hi Wheeze... yes I think along the same lines as yourself in terms of 'hardness'... i.e distance, terrain, route finding...

    I didn't want to pigeon-hole the definition of 'toughness' too much, as interested to see where people's opinions lie with regard to races... though personally one of the main attractions of fell-running to myself is the 'classic' races, as they fit my own personal definition of hard, and I aspire to have the ability to compete respectably in as many of them as possible...

  10. #20
    Master DazTheSlug's Avatar
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    I've done all the ones spoken about except DazH and Jura
    and I'd say the one hardest to get right in terms of pacing, nav & route-choice and which repeatedly chucks the kitchen sink at you in terms of rough/changing terrain is Great Lakes
    the hardest for me though have been Wasdale and OCT, because I tend to bring up the rear and have struggled to make cut-offs
    and some races you love so much that it's difficult to be objective about how hard they are! (Duddon, Peris and Welsh 1000m in my case)
    also, surprised nobody's mentioned TWA yet...
    Scramble the rock face through the glare of morning sun — to run

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