I'm fine DT, but oscillating between road and fell. Midsummer Madness weekend was followed by the Esholt trail race, Eldwick Gala, Hyde Park 5k in Leeds, and (today) the Eccleshill 10k road race. I'm intending to run the Helen Windsor on Wednesday, Baildon Gala next Saturday, and then the LDWA 25 miler, the 'Moors the Merrier' on 18th July. Still not clear about early August; will probably give Borrowdale a miss this year, but am still tempted by the Lakeland 50. What are your plans? (Guess we should PM rather than hogging this thread...)
"Get yourself together, Jones" - Ray Davies
Thinking of popping over for this, better chance of a vets prize here than at Heptonstall. What's the route like? The map on the website is a bit sketchy.
Luke Appleyard (Wharfedale)- quick on the dissent
That was interesting. Exhaust fell off the car on the way over so I had to stop a go rooting in a stinking skip for some packing twine to tie it up with; job completed in the end. That was the hardest gala field I've ever had to find, I ended up asking three people for directions including someone who may have been the lord mayor of somewhere, judging by the size of the chain hung around his neck. No sign of registration, so I quit and went for a pint at the social club. The parade came past as I was refreshing myself, led by a guy in a beaver outfit. The gala queen was throwing free sweets at everyone and I bagged some parma violets. More kids and crazy costumes followed on after, the whole thing was starting to look like a day out on Summerisle, but I don't think anyone got burned to death. I briefly got lost in a park full of Victorian follies on the way back, the same park that would later swallow up a forumite trying to race for home. I locate registration where tindersticks tells me one year only 12 runners took part.
The race begins and I set off too fast, a legacy of 5k being the only race distance I've been familiar with of late. At the top of some slippy steps I'm blowing too hard, and I know I've overcooked it already. The race drops into two very pleasant adjacent gills with Becks in the bottom before a slog up to the turn, it feels a far cry from the suburban mayhem of Oakworth. We return over the same route and my legs are dying on me, people are just picking me off like a turkey shoot. I run back in via the slippy steps and correctly navigate the hole in the wall, which was missed by tindersticks who ended up going on a tour of the folly park and found a nice bandstand. Apparently the run back is not this way, you go somewhere else. I'm relieved to be first lady, but I miss the vets race by a long way.
I would recommend this race to anyone wanting a change, anyone sick of the same old pre entry bollocks and the same old bogs.
Hi Luke
Just like yourself - I would also recommend this race. Thankfully my tour of the park only cost me about 30 seconds and no places were lost. I managed to win first v50 and chose a box of Aero peppermint bliss; which I tucked into on the drive home and made myself feel sick...bliss?
Darren Fishwick, Chorley.