Stolly's adventures 2009

[Stolly]

20. Settle Hills Fell Race route (backwards)

Date: 3rd April 2009
Distance: 7.5 miles
Ascent/descent: 1,750ft
Route
Time: 1 hour 19 mins

I was working and studying for an exam from home today and, having been at it from about 6 am this morning, I'd had enough by 2 pm and sodded off for a run in the hills. Its a route I've done several times now following the Settle Hills fell race route as organised by Settle Harriers. Its a lovely route which for added steep hillyness I chose to run in reverse. Whilst the race itself starts from Settle town centre and hacks off into the hills in a north easterly direction, I started from home and went south through the fields and climbing up to Lambert Lane (very much a carthorse of a track):



After that it was a case of clawing my way up the sheer grassy face of High Hill (cracking Whernside 3P training) before drifting over the top down towards Attermire Scar, with not another soul in sight:



A brief pose and breather in the sun:



Then I hacked back around the far end of Attermire by Jubilee Cave and back over a very tussocky field on the top of the ridge line before dropping down from Ben Scar to the main track back to Settle, which follows the wall heading off towards the top left of the horizon in this picture:



Running the route this way round finishes off with a super fast descent back into Settle with me then just having to trot home past the Rugby Club, adding maybe half a mile to the race route. A lovely run in beautiful spring sunshine with shed loads of bouncing lambs in all the fields.

[Chugger]

What a fantastic post, thank you.........pics and all.

What are you studying for, Stolly??

[Stolly]

21. Horton to Hill Inn..... via Pen y Ghent and Whernside

Date: 5th April 2009
Distance: 15 miles
Ascent/descent: 3,200ft
Route
Time: 2 hours 44 mins

This morning I ran the first two peaks of the 3 peaks race route (sort of) with two work buddies of mine and one of their friends - they are running the 3P for the first time at the end of the month but hadn't really run the route before. They were also stronger runners than me but fortunately one of them had 'impaired' himself running Pendle yesterday so I managed to tag along okay.

It was an absolutely glorious morning for it too and once we hit the trig on top of Pen y Ghent the views were marvellous:

Looking towards Settle still under early morning mist...



And our next destination, Whernside, poking its head through the clouds...



From the trig we didn't bother following the true race route but instead blitzed a more direct (but much boggier) route via Hull Pot, eventually picking up the race route at Long Mires. As the crow flies this line is probably 3/4 of a mile shorter but thats sort of balanced out by the ground being tougher going. We made good time (well for me we did) and hit Ribblehead after 1 hour and 40...



Then it was straight up the steep side of Whernside following the race route, with me hitting the trig in incredibly good shape (and not a twinge of cramp) another 37 minutes later. Looking towards Pen y Ghent in the now far distance from the Whernside trig point...



We then blitzed the descent to Chapel le Dale and arrived at Hill Inn with my watch saying 2 hours 44. Legs also in good shape............. which is probably a sign that I'll completely screw it up on race day!! Fabulous run all the same.

[Stolly]

22. Hill Inn to Horton..... via Ingleborough

Date: 10th April 2009
Distance: 7.5 miles
Ascent/descent: 1,600ft
Route
Time: 1 hour 14 mins

To finish off a 3 peaks recce from the week before, I trolled over Ingleborough from Hill Inn with a friend who is a 3P noobie this year. The weather was very cloudy with some drizzle so I didn't bother with any pictures - although I took this one of Ingleborough from our starting point on last week's run



And this one of Ingleborough in all its glory from the beginning of last week's climb up Whernside:



Anyway running this last third of the 3 peaks route with fresh legs is an absolute doddle and, unlike during the race itself, a really lovely and enjoyable run. We zoomed up the flagged path to the foot of the steep climb onto the shoulder Ingleborough, whizzed up that, smiled and laughed as we climbed to the top and then zipped across to the trig. We then glided all the way down the track to Horton and felt fresh enough to almost sprint over the last two hillocks near to Horton (that can feel like mini kilimanjaros in the race itself) and down to the car park at Horton.

And our time was 1 hour 14 so, taken with a huge pinch of salt, adding that onto my 2:44 last week will give me a sub 4 hour 3 peaks time.................. or not as the case may be

[Pilgrim]

And our time was 1 hour 14 so, taken with a huge pinch of salt, adding that onto my 2:44 last week will give me a sub 4 hour 3 peaks time.................. or not as the case may be

Ha Ha Do a sub 4 hour and I'll buy you a pint!

[Marvin]

We then blitzed the descent to Chapel le Dale and arrived at Hill Inn with my watch saying 2 hours 44. Legs also in good shape............. which is probably a sign that I'll completely screw it up on race day!! Fabulous run all the same.

Well, last year I reached Hill Inn in 2:44:18 and finished in 3:58:25, so that sounds a pretty good schedule for a sub 4 hour finish.

[Stolly]

23. Anniversary Waltz Fell Race

Date: 11th April 2009
Distance: 11.5 miles
Ascent/descent: 3,600ft
Route
Time: 2 hours 18 mins

Well it was a glorious day for a fell race on Saturday in Stair and, having got there early, I wandered up to the track below Catbells to take some of the scenery in....

Catbells and the final descent to my left:



And far right the small matter of Robinson ahead:



Having well and truly blown up at the Edale Skyline by starting off way too fast, I was determined to take things a little more sensibly for the Anniversary Waltz and actually look to enjoy the race. So, at the off, I set off at what I'd call my steady pace. Its quite a nice start anyway in that trying to fit a wedge of getting on for 500 runners down a lane and then a track nicely keeps the lid on over cooking things straight away.

By the time I'd reached the bridge just as the road starts to climb and meander towards Robinson, I hadn't particullarly been overtaken by that many runners but there again I'd purposely put myself in the middle of the pack at the start. Fleeter zoomed past me here though, looking (at that stage) in fine fettle. It was surprising that some of the runners actually chose to walk up bits of the slight incline here, given that what was to come, but good also in that I managed to over take a fair few runners on the approach to Robinson.

At the base of the climb I chose to fork right in line with most of the pack but, half way up to the first ridge, I followed a few who took a leftwards diagonal looking to cut out some rocks and a small bump on top. I've no idea whether this was a good route up or not but it seemed pretty good. All in all my climb up to the top didn't feel too bad and I was able to run okay too on the descent in the direction of Hindsgarth. I was now running with a bunch of runners that give or take I was with all the rest of the way round - they'd generally descend faster than me whilst I'd generally catch them all up on the climbs.

Again with my Edale 'bonking' still fresh in my mind I made sure I carried a drink and some jelly babies with me for this and I was mighty glad of the odd drink and JB on one or two of the climbs.

I'm not sure we (ie inferring someone else was at fault here) took the best line around Maiden Moor so I may have lost a bit of time there but, as we neared Catbells, I still felt in pretty good nick and managed to nail one or two of my troupe now as they began to flag. Smiling for GeoffB at Catbells:



Then I threw myself off the edge......



......going hell for leather to the finish, picking off maybe 5 runners on the way down, and only then getting the odd twinges of complaint from my legs as I tried to maintain the pace down the lane at the end. I overtook Fleeter on the way down Catbells who'd well and truly bonked and who, probably understandably, didn't much appreciate my tongue in cheek shout of 'tosser' as I greeted him entering the finishing field.

Fabulous, fabulous race.

[Al Fowler]

Not a bad time that Stolly, you looked fresh as a daisy when you passed me on CP1.

[Stolly]

24. Pen y Ghent following the 3P race route

Date: 13th April 2009
Distance: 6.5 miles
Ascent/descent: 1,650 ft
Route
Time: 1 hour 14 mins

Almost every time I run up Pen y Ghent, I never follow the Pennine Way either going up or down. I think that comes from my preferred Brackenbottom route up being quicker (but tougher) and the off path route heading down to Hull Pot being muddier and more fun. And that the carthorse track up the Pennine Way used to feel psychologically draining when I was a crappier runner than now.

Anyway, with the 3 peaks race looming, I decided to run both up the race route and back down to Sell Gill Pot but, once there, instead of hacking north as the 3P does on what by then is easy running on the Pennine Way, just trot back down to Horton. Going up was a nice and relatively easy run all the way to the trig, hitting it after 40 minutes, and then it was a rip roaring descent pretty much all the way to Whitber Hill. A quickish climb up that, turning left at the corner of the wall and then down through the gully leading to Sell Gill Pot, hitting the turn there just over the hour mark. Then all that was left was a shortish trot down the Pennine Way back to Horton and job done.

As is usual in the Yorkshire Dales at this time of year <cough> the weather was wall to wall sunshine and I ran in my orange High Peak Marathon T shirt. As I chuffed into Horton, a walker asked me how I'd done in the High Peak Marathon and, as has happened a couple of times before, was duly underwhelmed with my 13 hour response!!! Why the hell do they call that a marathon?

The carthorse track going up:



Not far from the top, looking back at the Pennine Way trailing below:



Coming off the trig looking left towards Ingleborough:



Looking ahead with my trod in view:

[So Wood]

Good account with very good photos.
Thank you for sharing them with us.