Todays permitted exercise!

[Mike T]

12.2 miles, 2,896 feet, 3 hours 38 minutes: around the Roman Ruins, then Loughrigg trails, ascending via Fox Ghyll, descending via Fishgarths Wood, and taking in Ivy Crag, the race route descent/ascent to/from the road at High Close, and Todd Crag. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,000 feet, and rather misty below that. A cool breeze from the south. No rain. Terrain dry with good grip in many if not the majority of places, damp/wet elsewhere. I saw four other runners, and there were lots of walkers both on the fell and on the Under Loughrigg Road.

[Mossdog]

After this morning's Winter Solstice run, my old Garmin watch, unusually, pinged '3 New Records'! 'Fastest 10K' "Fastest 5K', "Fastest Mile". No way! I thought. Not even close. Ahh...then I realised what was happening. So now, even my watch is patronising me... tsk!

[Mike T]

7.32 miles, 3,388 feet, 2 hours 37 minutes: Traveller's Rest - Steel Fell - Steel End - Dunmail Raise - Seat Sandal - Traveller's Rest. Overcast, with the cloud base above the high tops - rather misty below that. A heavy frost overnight, with a frost line at about 2,000 feet. Terrain firm/hard and dry - grip surprisingly good, as long as the obvious patches of ice and areas of worn/flattened grass were avoided. A cold wind from the south, strong on the tops. I was triple layered, but my feet took a while to warm up, and my face got very cold in the wind. It started to rain seconds after I got back to the car. I saw two walkers and two runners whilst I was out.

[Mike T]

11.11 miles, 2,720 feet, 3 hours 12 minutes: around the Roman Ruins, then Loughrigg trails. Overcast, with none of the tops visible because of fog and cloud banks. Virtually constant drizzle/light rain, a gentle breeze at times, terrain saturated and slippery. Not many walkers about; I saw three runners in the valley.

[Mike T]

12.22 miles, 3,587 feet, 3 hours 48 minutes: Rothay Bridge - Miller Bridge - Low Sweden Bridge - around the Rock Step - Low Pike with the wall on my left, swapping to the other side of the wall at High Pike - Dove Crag - Scandale - Red Screes - Roundhill Farm - Ambleside. Initially overcast/misty/drizzly, with none of the high tops visible - later it cleared to an extent, with the cloud base settling at about 2,500 feet, and the precipitation ceasing. A cold wind from the north. Only three people seen on the fells.

The snow drifts either side of some of the walls are still there, albeit smaller - they no longer cover long stretches of path.

After setting off I realised I had forgotten to wear a mid layer on my legs, but it proved not to be necessary.

[Mike T]

9.03 miles, 3,448 feet, 3 hours 6 minutes: around the Roman Ruins, then Wansfell Pike, including twice up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 2,500 feet, a few snow flurries, with some settlement above 1,500 feet; a cold wind from the north. Terrain wet/saturated and slippery. Lots of dog walkers around the ruins, and twenty or so walkers on the Wansfell steps - far more than I expected.

[Travs]

Nice one Mike... i managed a rushed 3.5 miles this morning prior to going off and doing family stuff... will hopefully get another 4 or 5 in later tonight.

[Mike T]

11.45 miles, 2,910 feet, 3 hours 41 minutes: around the Roman Ruins, then Loughrigg trails. Overcast, with the cloud base at about 1,500 feet. Snow fell overnight, with two to three inches on the top of Loughrigg, and a snow line at about 500 feet. A cold breeze from the south. No precipitation whilst I was out. The terrain under the snow is mostly unfrozen, so saturated, and with or without snow, it is very slippery. I had my microspikes with me, but did not use them - I doubt they would have helped. Lots of walkers and one other runner on the fell.

[Mike T]

8.4 miles, 3,324 feet, 2 hours 56 minutes: around the Roman Ruins, up past the Champion Trees, then Wansfell Pike, including twice up/down the race route from/to the kissing gate. Overcast, with cloud/fog banks at multiple levels - none of the high tops were visible. No wind, not even a breeze; no precipitation whilst I was out. Almost all of yesterday's snow has gone - ground hard above about 1,200 feet. Very slippery in places. I saw two other runners low down; quite a few walkers on the steps.

[Mike T]

8.49 miles, 3,409 feet, 2 hours 57 minutes: virtually the same route as yesterday, with some minor differences at the start and finish. Mainly overcast, with some patches of blue sky. The cloud base was at about 2,000 feet - very clear air below that. An intermittent breeze from the south west. No rain. Terrain damp/wet and slippery. Quite a few walkers on the Wansfell steps.

It was interesting to see, from the wear and tear on the fell, where the majority of racers descended. At the very top there are 3-4 different places to tackle the initial steep descent - they are all pretty close to each other, but vary in gradient. It would seem most took the steepest way down. About a third of the way to the kissing gate, where the race route bends to the left and becomes almost horizontal on grass covered rocks, there are multiple ways of getting to the smoother but steeper grass below. And finally, just above the kissing gate, there are 2 main ways of crossing the stream and the steps - most, in my opinion, crossed here too soon. The lower stream crossing is far more straightforward.