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Thread: Windmill Fell Race

  1. #1
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    Windmill Fell Race

    Isn't it annoying when you find out that there is a race less than three miles from home, which has been going for the last two years but you never even knew it existed?

    By a random click on Facebook I discovered the Windmill Fell Race, organised by West End Runners (based in Leicester) on a Wednesday evening in July since 2016. It's 5 miles with 950ft of climbing, on two laps of a route over Windmill Hill and Broombriggs Hill near Woodhouse Eaves, on paths which I sometimes use on my training runs. The two-lap route is presumably to get a reasonable distance without any road crossings.

    They claim that it is the only Category B fell race in Leicestershire, but it doesn't appear to be registered with the FRA. However, there is good reason for all this secrecy: they impose an entry limit of 110, presumably because the paths through the woodland on Windmill Hill are so narrow. Anyway, I am going to keep an eye on their Facebook page for when entries for this year's race open.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

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    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Hi Anthony.

    As a relatively local guy (I live in Bedworth, just north of Coventry), I'd potentially be interested in this and would appreciate any further details as they arise.

    With a busy May/June/July already planned, along with weeknight training, there's all likelihood it might be too much to fit in, but you never know...

  3. #3
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    You will find all the information about the race on the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/windmillfel...6Daxuc&fref=nf , Travs. I think you need to be alert to when the entries open, the places fill up rather quickly.

    A nice warm-up for Wasdale three days later, assuming it's in the same week as last year.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

  4. #4
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    Confined to spectating this race last night, due to calf injury. But it was a lovely evening, and much more fun than sitting in front of a screen watching 22 blokes kicking a ball around a field. They used the horse track around Broombriggs Hill rather than the footpath; rougher underfoot, but avoids the race becoming a test of kissing-gate swerve skill.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

  5. #5
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    Having wimped out of Warslow at the weekend due to my appalling current level of fitness, I will be going to this somewhat less demanding race tomorrow evening; the venue is less than 3 miles from home. I'm hoping for some really heavy rain over the next 24 hours, to soften the ground and slow down all those road runners.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

  6. #6
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    This went better than expected: I didn't have any real speed in my legs, but I kept running up all the hills and never felt like I was going to die. And the other three M60s on the entry list were even slower than me, so I went home with a bottle of Prosecco.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

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    Nice one AK
    Visibility good except in Hill Fog

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Llani Boy View Post
    Nice one AK
    24 hours later and I've stiffened up. Like you, I am coming back after a calf injury, and it's not feeling good.
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

  9. #9
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    Only 53 turned up for this race yesterday evening; less than half the numbers when I did it two years ago, even though it is now billed as the Leicestershire & Rutland Fell Running Championships (yes, they have registered it as such with the Leics & Rutland AA, even though it isn't registered with the FRA). I have been enjoying the rain over the last few days; it is so much nicer to run over soft ground than the dry conditions of two years ago.

    The winner was Tim Hartley: yet another win in a local race for this M50. His time was actually about half a minute faster than the winner's time in 2019, although the course was slightly shorter, with the start in a wider part of the road to allow easier social distancing. I was about two and a half minutes slower, not too bad given the general deterioration in my fitness over the last two years. The fastest M60 (7 seconds slower than my 2019 time) was someone I knew from my days running cross-country with Charnwood AC, and he pointed out that this was the first time he had ever beaten me in a race.

    It was interesting to see on the long drag up Broombriggs Hill on the first lap, that I was able to pass several people who were walking, but I was being passed by faster runners (which would never have happened uphill in my younger days!). On the second lap I actually walked some of it; there were big gaps in front of and behind me, so I didn't feel much race pressure.

    I got a surprise on my way home: a tree had fallen across the track between Woodhouse and Loughborough. I was able to lift my bike over it; but this track is the only vehicular access to a rather upmarket residence https://www.onthemarket.com/details/6794438/ , and it might be more difficult for the residents to lift their SUV (or whatever they drive) over it!
    In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
    Jorge Luis Borges

  10. #10
    Master Travs's Avatar
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    Well done Anthony.... surely a nice warm-up for saturday's Four Fans!!

    I assume Charnwood are in the Leics or East Mids cross-country league? As i don't think i've come across them outside of Midlands Road Relays... I seem to recall they do pretty well at the junior age groups.

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