Fellsman

[Pilgrim]

Those marshalls in their little tents on top of those hills for hours and hours, in the dark and howling wind - what commitment!
And at the roadside checkpoints, cooking and organising and grouping and dealing with withdrawals.
And all those people at the event centre dealing with the logistics and admin.

What a monumental effort! And people have been doing it for fifty years.

And all those people who can get round that monster of a course and retain their sense of humour and can actually enjoy it - such as Karen - the ankle didn't seem to be hampering her too much.

And those people who had the guts or good sense to retire - I was sorely, sorely tempted...

And how can you fit a thousand miles of tussocks into a 60 mile course?

Simple - Poor Navigation?

[Tussockface]

Report here:http://www.grough.co.uk/magazine/201...m-three-starts

[DinoF]

Could be right there TF...I've just seen DinoF's update on Facebook & he was withdrawn after 17 hours with 9 miles to go - Park Rash?

Think Nick Ham finished in over 19 hours; he must have gone through Park Rash just before the cancellation, but sure we will have a full report from him soon

[Mark L]

Simple - Poor Navigation?

No, just a lot of tussocks.

[Fairweather Johnson]

Well I completed my first Fellsman and manged a time of 13h 35m - only thanks to some great support from Simon Bourne to Blea Moor and then on the second half from Robin (No.118). The pair of us then got grouped with Nicky Spinks and Tim at Park Rash leading to a quick last 10 miles just when I had my eyes set on 14hrs. It was an excellent group and Robin and I had to dig deep to stick with the pace - I'm so glad I did when I got to the finish in that time.

I suffered for a lot of the day in the wind, being 6ft 4in doesn't help and had blurred/clouded vision for the last 20 odd miles but well worth the effort.

Feet up today, eating and icing down a broken toe - why do you never feel these till the day after!

Congrats to all those that got round either to Threshfield or to the enforced finishes elsewhere on the course.

Finally huge thanks to the organising team, marshalls and volunteers - everything done with a huge smile and the greatest support.

[Hes]

That was the single toughest thing that I have ever done! The wind was biting and as soon as the sun went down it was absolutely freezing. There was snow coming down at Fleet Moss and Great Whernside nearly did for me. My huge thanks to all the organisers for their amazing work and cheerfulness and also to the three people that I teamed up with. Andy led us through the night section like a pro and I probably wouldn't have finished if it wasn't for his navigation skills. So sorry for all those that had to retire due to the conditions and those that didn't make it past Park Rash before the event was cancelled. We heard just as we arrived at Capplestone gate and the marshalls radioed ahead to makes sure we could finish. I'm chuffed to bits to have made it round. Stolly will no doubt post later but he pulled out at Cray due to the onset of hypothermia. Fortunately he was examined by the doctor, warmed up by the staff and fed saucepans of lifesaving rice pudding so that he was fit and well again when he met me at the finish. A huge well done to everyone that took part!

Oh yes...I am having trouble walking, bending, sitting, getting up/down the stairs...my quads are shot!!!

[Tussockface]

Well done Hes. Tremendous effort.

[Dog Breath]

Of the 18 Fellsmans I've now completed, that has to be by far the coldest. I've had some pretty rough ones over the years, but I don't think I have ever been so cold. I couldn't warm up at all. Even a determined walk up Great Whernside did not generate any heat. I can understand why people got hypothermia, and was probably not far off myself. I know grouping is for safety reasons, but everyone still has to take personal responsibilty and in conditions such as those experienced you get into survival mode. One guy with us had a Petzl Tikka for his torch, which may be OK round the camp site, but up there when you NEED to see where you were going, it was useless. Consequently, we had a lot of standing around in the freezing conditions waiting for him. There weren't too many groups behind as we got through Park Rash before it was abondonned. But the worst point was that 900 metres before Capplestone CP, we waited for him at the stile, and then continued to the CP. We were only walking and he should have been with us but wasn't, and we had to wait 30+ minutes in the freezing conditions before he materialised. We were all getting varying degrees of shudders while we were waiting. The CP staff just told him to get in their tent and sent us on our way. I eventually finished in 19:43 and was my slowest time for many years. I've just about thawed out, but blimey that was a cold one.

[Dixie]

Tough conditions the last 20 miles was cold and windy. Not sure of time or place maybe around 15hrs 30ish. Bit slower than last year.

[Twinkletoes]

Well, what can I say to the Fellsman?!! What an adventure...the wind really took it out of me all day. I wanted to give up at Fleetmoss when I couldn't stop shivering, but got with Andy Crag Rat and Hester and so off we set across 'The Somme' not at all that bad really. It was from Cray onwards that it became a case of survival. Couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be with - Andy you were an absolute star, and what a small world it is! I could start analysing my time etc, but this was an exception yesterday, just very very glad to have got round and been allowed to finish. Couldn't believe it when the marshalls told us at Capplestone that the race had been stopped, so thank you for letting us continue to race to the bitter end.

A huge thank you to all the organisers and marshalls and refreshment people along the route, brilliant food!

I hope all the casualties are starting recover and not too traumatised after their ordeals.