20th February 2008 - Half Tour of Pendle Bat Run - 9.25 miles and 2250 ft of Climb
OS Explore Route
So tonight 5 of us, including myself, Trundler, Hopey and Wheezing Donkey from the forum and another bod (whoops I've had a temporary memory failure and forgotten his name), set off on a headtorch recce of the Half Tour of Pendle race route. To be honest to call it a recce is misleading in that I won't remember it for the race itself at all...... unless of course its very, very dark on race day. It was a really enjoyable run all the same.
As is usual for me, all of the others were miles more familiar with Pendle than I was, with Trundler and Wheezing Donkey pretty much knowing every rock, bog and tussock.
We set off taking it nice and steady for the first two miles, climbing up the side of Pendle to the trig point above Big End and then on a further 300 yards to our turning point at the wall. We then took a slight detour from the usual race route and followed the wall south westerly rather the boggier and harder to find racing line - our trod was icey in places and, although it wasn't that muddy, Wheezing Donkey kindly located a deepish bog for the team to avoid....by running head long into it.
All in all this next four miles were really comfortable going, particularly in a recce 'troupe', with an easyish path to follow and it all being gradually down hill. Trundler as pathfinder here also set a cracking pace for us all to keep up with. We eventually hit the Nick of Pendle and turned easterly down to Churn Clough Resevoir before climbing again up to Spence Moor. Then along the top before reaching the super 400 feet, steep (well almost vertical) descent that we all took nice and sensible in the dark. Three of us got to the bottom well before the other two and it was really weird to look back up the hill and see their headtorch lights gradually coming down the slope towards us.
After that the final mile and a half zoomed by, with a small climb followed by a fast run in through several grassy and/or muddy fields to our finish in Barley. No records set with a total run time of around 2 hours 20 but a really good chilled out run in the dark.
The route profile
I had to dash off at the end, while the others made for the pub, largely because I hadn't accurately communicated with my wife that a) I was going for a run b) that it would be up Pendle and c) that it would take so long. Needless to say I met a Nora Batty version of the Missus when I got home.
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