bloody irresponsible fellrunners

It doesn't happen too often, but I giggle when it does. You're running around some godforsaken fellside in the cold and the fog wearing a pair of shorts, a tshirt and a bumbag and out of the mist looms a single, or more likely a group of heavily clad walkers. You know the type. Goretex tops and bottoms, boots made of something dead, 40-60 litre packs, mapcases fluttering in the wind.
Instead of a cheery "hello" which most people tend to use for greeting, you'll get a "bloody irresponsible fell runner... out in these conditions wearing nothing at all. You're the reason Mountain Rescue Teams get called out.".

Typical irresponsible fellrunner

Which is the funny part.
Looking at Edale Mountain Rescues stats from this last year of 151 rescues, 1 of them was a runner. (51 were walkers...)  - and can you believe it, I can't find the webpage now.... Ah heck, lets just look at the stats for the whole of Britain actually. (this time I DO have the site!) in 2017 there were 1468 rescues across all areas. There were 34 Fellrunning incidents - with 27 subjects. So 2% of people picked up by MRT are runners. Right.
How about hillwalkers? Well there are probably a lot more hill walkers in the UK than there are fellrunners, so that's going to skew the statistics, right. True, but 1119 incidents were for the hillwalking fraternity - with 1061 subjects. And that doesn't include DofE - they're in a stats box of their own, so you can't blame them.

So, excitingly, as a fellrunner I'm somewhat less likely to need to callout MRT - or indeed have someone else call them out on my behalf. Which is partly what makes me giggle.

There was a bit of an argument on facebook a while back about wearing shorts in the hills, and about if you broke a leg, how hard it would be to put on waterproof trousers. The guy talking about this was essentially saying that if he was out walking, wearing trousers, it would be really easy for him to put on waterproof trousers in the event of him breaking a leg, whereas a runner in shorts would be in a totally different situation.

ah, the 2 litre bumbag. What could you possibly fit in there?

I had to beg to differ - if you're lying on the floor, screaming in agony because you've just broken a leg, I'd say that it doesn't matter WHAT you're wearing, it is going to be just as much fun putting on a a pair of waterproof trousers with a broken femur. But I kind of digress.

So what to actually carry?

If you're a walker, you'll have a hard time believing it, but in that tiny bumbag (or, more likely, a race
vest, these days), you can get a fair heap of stuff. There have been a number of reviews on this site over the past few years, but they have tailed off recently. The main reason for that is because I've got a load of kit that works, and hasn't broken yet. No-one gives me anything to review, so its all bought, and I like things to last.

So what's in there?
SOL bivvy bag. It's still going! (that's since 2013)
OMM aether Smock - It's still going! (blimey, I bought that in 2014)
Berghaus vapourlight Hypertherm - It's still going! (I got that before the Spine!)
Montane Prism Mitts - They're not exactly still going - Im on my second pair.
Extremeties Tuffbags- waterproof overmitts in case it gets really grim
A whistle
a headtorch (petzl reaktik+- make sure you know how to lock it)
Phone
compass
emergency gel

Ok- so in this picture there is no Aether - it's the Berghaus Hyperlight Smock. Still taped and waterproof though.

On warm days with no chance of rain I'll swap out the Aether for a Berghaus hyperlight smock (technically its waterproof, but I wouldnt like to be out in grim weather in it) which is lighter and more packable.
Very very very very occasionally I'll pack a pair of waterproof trousers- Berghaus Paclites, or, if I'm actually going to use them- Montane eVent trousers (yup... they're still going as well).

Which, all told, I'm not sure what else you'd have in a rucksack- maybe more extra layers? more food? a thermos flask? Who knows. Maybe they take it for when they inevitably have to sit down and wait for mountain rescue?
Ok, that's going a bit far, sorry about that.

A quick note on some of those items above- The Aether is still being made, as are the Sol bivvy bags and the Prism mitts. The Vapourlight Hypertherm appears to have been discontinued, which is a shame- but there are other products around like it (even if they aren't quite as light) such as the Montane Fireball, inov8 thermoshell etc. It appears to have been superceded by jackets with hydrodown, which Im sure are fine, but I haven't needed to buy to try out.
The Hyper light berghaus "waterproof" is now called the hyper 100 shell, and is now a 3layer waterproof!
Now I'm getting into other stuff which was not the point of this blog in the first place... looks like I might have to write something else with a bit more detail as to what might be good this year....

Anyhow. The point of this blog is simply to say, if you see a fellrunner out and about with just shorts and a tshirt on, carrying what appears to be a bumbag or rucksack too small to carry anything in, be nice, say hi. Don't moan about the fact they'll be the ones calling mountain rescue, chances are, they ARE mountain rescue. 

It isn't the runners you want to be worried about, anyway... its the walkers wandering around with guidebooks following terrible route descriptions and hand-drawn paper maps that are getting shredded in the rain - but that's another post away.

Old County Tops 2019

What a day out. 35 or 38 miles (or whatever your gamin tell you it is) and 3000 odd metres of ascent is generally going to be seen as a bit of a tough day out no matter how many times you've done it. I had been asked if I was ready for it, the answer was "yes, I can do the distance, it is the pace that might be the trouble".
Chris and I got around in 7:29 a couple of years ago, and ideally we'd have liked to have done it faster this year. I'd been concentrating a fair amount on the bike for the Dirty Reiver, so my running mileage has been a bit low in these past few months, which might turn out to be a bit of an issue. Having said that, we did a 21 mile recce a couple of weeks ago which was fine... but was then followed by being laid up in bed with cold/flu for a day and generally feeling pretty rubbish for the proceeding 2 weeks.
The 2 weeks leading up to the race.

Up at 4 for the drive to Chris's house and then onward to Langdale. Weather fairly decent. Good cloud coverage, no rain, not too much in the way of sun - it looked like being a decent day for a run.
We started at a ridiculous pace. I mean, ridiculous. Up over Silver Howe at a rate of knots- this is the bit that we always forget is there- the leg softener before the real hills begin.
The first thing I noticed was that I couldn't breathe through my nose as my sinuses were still blocked. Not so good. Then my hamstrings felt as tight and painful as ... well, I've never known them to be like that at all, ever. In the first, what, not even 4 miles in the race and my legs feel deathly and I can't breathe properly.
And we're going at what feels like a heck of a pace. (it might not have been, but having to breathe through my mouth, with a constant stream of snot coming out of my nose, it really felt like it).

Down into Grasmere we're playing around in 2nd/3rd place (definitely too fast), and then the climb up to Dollywagon where we dropped a couple of places. Up to Hellveyln, still not feeling amazing into the mist, Chris *says* that he feels like he is suffering and really doesn't look like it.... this might be a long day.

Down off Hellvelyn and my legs don't feel like theyre on all cylinders, but we still get down in good time, along and across the road and up to Wythburne- a long drag which might end up being a real hard point of the race. I decided that I might not be taking in enough food, so started to take in a bit more food (at this point, I'd drunk through more water than I would normally take on in a whole race- partially because my mouth was so dry from not being able to nose breath, and partially because of the rising humidity).
I felt awful.

Nothing to do but plough on and up. Around the bog and upward to the contour around and down to Stakes pass... the descent was hard. The legs felt empty, and as if to prove it, Chris was faster than me down the hill. That NEVER happens. I was aghast! Bad stomach issues, legs not working, and even the thing that doesn't desert me - the ability to go down hill- was gone.
Shocker.
Up and over to Angle tarn and my hip flexors are coming close to cramping, so much so that my abs are now working to flex my hips, meaning that I'm coming dangerously close to cramping abs (which is hilarious, if you don't know, so long as you aren't the one experiencing it).
Angle Tarn. The place to pull out if you're going to do it anywhere as it is a simple jog down the hill to Langdale.
It didn't even cross my mind.

Tangfastics and ANOTHER waterbottle refill (?!) off up to Esk Hause and Scafell Pike- which was crazy crazy busy. This took quite a while, but we were still moving forward. Chris was being a real gent and not bashing off up ahead leaving me trailing behind. The teams around us were moving well and even sneaky navigational lines weren't gaining us any time. (to be fair, they might have stopped us losing time though).

Top of scafell pike and a fairly decent line off - (though there appears to be a better one... needs reccying again), and then the descent where Chris was quite happily bimbling along next to me. (the indignity!) Legs really not happy, abs holding so hard that breathing - hard at the best of times through the nose was now being restricted at the lung level as well (nice). Add to that feeling sick from the taking on of so much water and food... this is not turning out to be an easy day.

Fill up the bottles (AGAIN) and out across Mosedale, a nice easy jog (for Chris) - feels hard to me, and down to Cockley Beck where Phil, Caitlin and Josie Swan are cheering us on from the side of the road (What a lovely support team). Cockley beck food stop- egg sarnie and a glass of squash, and off up Grey Friars.
I'm hanging now.
Chris later said this is the place where he really felt he could forge on. Unfortunately for Chris, this was where all I could think about was not making my steps so small and slow that I didn't stop altogether. The team we were with at this point, went on to claim 4th. I ended up going slower and slower, but the agony ended as we topped out and headed across to the Old Man of Coniston. Well, I say that the agony ended, but really, it just continued in a different format.

Across to the Old Man and back was fairly ok, punctuated by me having to remove a stone from my shoe. (I did think I was being a bit of a wuss having to do that, until I saw the offending stone was actually the size of the end of my little finger). Not the greatest line off and down to 3 shires stone (but we did get a flypast from an Apache), more water for a parched throat, and off down the road.

Blea tarn came and went, with support from a hugely enthusiastic Alice Willson (who, by rights probably should have been a little nearer to a hospital, having been due to give birth the day before), and then the final trundle down the Langdale valley to the end.

7th overall and 7:41(ish).
Missed out on a mug by a place, but to be honest, I was going as fast as I could given the circumstances. A few lessons learned - when you haven't quite got over a cold and still have sinus issues, breathing becomes a lot harder (and thus if you're mouth breathing, thirst becomes a real problem... even if you don't actually need to drink).
I can ALWAYS eat tangfastics, and I wonder if the sour taste helps stave off cramp (as I was on the edge for quite a lot of today).
Nothing trains you for running, like running.
What was up with my hamstrings? I have no idea.
Even going off too fast, I was still able to keep moving... stopping was not an option. .
Despite all these things, feeling shocking for a good portion of the race etc, we were still only 12 mins off out previous best time, when I was feeling good. Interesting food for thought in terms of the ability to keep going at an even pace when in a dark place. 

Still, the nice thing about the OCT is that is it ALWAYS a stonking day out in the hills, covering a lot of ground and a lot of terrain. The challenge is part of the reason we do these things. 
Thanks to Achilli Ratti for organising such a stand up event. An old school fell race, and long may it stay that way.

Dirty Reiver 2019

The Dirty Reiver. 200km of gravel roads around Kielder water and the forest. The reason I signed up for it was because it intimidated me. Well, that and Andy Turner was heading up as well, and told me I'd be a wuss if I didn't at least try. It's a challenge. Can I get around? Can my bike get around? No idea. Let's have a go.

Basic Prep

Although my training has been building to this since I got my Fairlight Secan in February - through snow, wind, hail, sun, gravel, mud and a whole lot of other stuff, by the time we arrived in Kielder Castle it became clear that I was woefully underprepared as a Gravel rider. I lacked any of the basic accoutrements of a basic Gravel rider.

1- a Beard - or some from of facial hair (preferably waxed if not a beard)
2 - Tattoos. Preferably sleeve, or on a calf. Well on display.
3- Piercings.
4- a hip flask.

However, I do have a gravel bike - and there were quite a few roadies around as well... racing snake types. Maybe I fit into that mold slightly better? Ah well. Putting away my gravel insecurities we wandered around the expo, picked up a hat that was too big, a t-shirt and some tyre levers. And a free beer. We signed on and headed back to the accommodation where we tinkered with bikes for the rest of the evening.

It Dawned Cold.

Saturday dawned bright and cold. Frost on windscreen cold. Up at 5:45 and over to the start by 7 ready for the start at 8, by which time it had warmed up to a balmy 0 degrees. I was wearing a warm jacket over the top of my cycling gear- which I decided that I was just going to stash in my bike bag for the duration. The people around me had a massive variety of bag storage sizes and devices from rucksacks to saddlebags to very tiny saddlebags which- (I suppose) probably didn't have the entire amount of "required" kit for the event... but with 1200 riders, there was no one checking and no-one getting checked. Ah well, I'd much rather have enough kit to be prepped for anything that came my way.

Anyway, its a ride, not a race, right?

There was a pre-ride briefing for the people within 5 metres of the speaker at the front - I was about 20 metres down the way with a mass of people behind me, ah well, it would all become clear as we headed around. We set off in a mass at 8am and headed up the hill behind the castle into a 3km untimed/neutralised section - so that we didn't head off like hoons at the beginning. Seemed like a good idea.
Despite being only about 20 metres from the front at the start I there were a huge amount of riders in front of me. Was pretty determined not to go out too fast so took it easy for a while.

The start is up there somewhere

The first loop was pretty decent, though my saddle was just a touch too high - causing slightly too much pressure on my bum as we battered through the gravel. Everything else was fine, but I didn't really want to stop to change the height of my saddle... there were loads and loads of other riders stopping with punctures and mechanicals etc. The first station was at 45km where there would be a shimano service station.

Gravel

The feed station was at the bottom of a bit of a hill so a few people just went straight past it. I saw the service tent and ducked in, got the saddle adjusted (after being quizzed about what torque I needed it done up to... I dunno... just kind of so that it doesn't slip?!). Then off and out up the next hill.

I was trying to be conservative, realising that although the riding might feel easy now, by the time we got to 5,6 and 7 hours in, things would be very different. There was an extraordinary amount of food in my pockets and toptube bag- having run out of food on a previous ride, this was not an experience to be repeated today... but I was just cruising along eating Tangfastics and feeling pretty good. The Handwarmers in my gloves were keeping my fingers just about warm, it was sunny and all was good.

Off up and over Forest Drive with a couple of decent gravelly descents, and pretty soon we had completed the first decent loop. Cross the road and then more rolling hills, with a taste of the headwind to come. It was blowing Easterly all day, but for the time being we were pretty sheltered in the Forest. More haribo saw me through into the second feed station, sponsored by Alpkit at about 95km, just before the split- the 130ers heading back over the dam, and the 200 people going back out on another loop.

Feed station 2

By this time, my chain was squeaking quite spectacularly, what with all the dry dust, so I grabbed some chainlube along with some Cheese and Onion crisps and a sarnie. Being oh-so-very aware that you can loose a lot of time just kind of standing around at a feed station- it wasn't exactly like I was waiting for anyone, and I didn't want to seize up, it was time to re-mount and get on out there.

Fairly soon, back on the gravel, the theme of the next couple of hours to the 145km checkpoint became clear. Block headwind.
The conscious thought was pretty much - keep eating. Don't try and just ride and ride - keep eating. I
managed a steady stream of Tangfastics and a couple of flapjack bites through the next few hours as I teamed up with a couple of other guys, taking turns on the front, smashing into a headwind across the gravel. Despite the fact it was one of the hardest sections, it was actually the most enjoyable for me, simply as we were keeping up a pretty decent pace through dint of teamwork, despite being complete strangers.

Into the headwind

Approaching the final feed station we split as a group, and I wheeled into 145 solo, stopping for some delicious boiled new potatoes (with cheese!) and a coffee. The best thing to know was that from this point, we were heading west, which meant a tailwind pretty much all the way home... however, there was still 40km to go, a fair few hills and the legs were beginning to tire... as well as having a pretty sore bum.
My hands were fine, though - no fatigue from gravel buzz, the brakes were good, tyres behaving - the chain was still pretty squeaky, but beyond that, the bike was soaking the whole thing up without a problem.

Back to it then. A group had just gone out before me and were about 200m away... I tried to catch them, without luck for pretty much the whole way home. From here to the dam was pretty challenging, if only because it was the section that was mentally challenging... just past a feedzone, and before the final section. Thankfully the tailwind was going well, so time quickly passed.
Over the Dam and we were on the final section. 17km to go - we rejoined the course with the 130 riders. By the time I was there, there was a bit of a moving maze of people to weave through, up and down the hills. By this time I was so comfortable on the gravel that the bike handling was not an issue at all... the worst bit was anticipating quite where they were going to be riding!

Feedstation 3. Thanks to Pannier.cc for the coffee

By the time I finally hit the Lake shore for the last few km back to the castle the chain was singing like a canary - home as fast as possible in order to be less embarrassed by the noise coming from the bike!
Round the shore and up the final hill to the castle, and a finish in 8:12. Very happy with that, considering I was expecting to be finishing in about 10-11 hours.

A tandori wrap, an alcohol free beer (marketed as a recovery drink?!) and a finishers patch concluded the day.

As a bit of a wrap up, I have to say that it was a thoroughly well organised day. Good food stops and endless gravel roads, just as promised. Having spoken to a few people during and after, some people mentioned that it was "a bit monotonous" - which makes me wonder what exactly they were expecting. 200km of gravel is going to be just that - 200km of gravel roads. I loved it as a challenge. It got me out on my bike in the cold and dark winter months, made me more adept at bike handling and made me more self-reliant - not through the event itself, but in the run up to it.

Now to stick some slicks on the bike and enjoy some spring and summer road riding (though I have my eye on the Peak 200 as a bit of a summer amusement if there is anyone up for that)?... maybe it might be time to look at some 650bs for a bit of a wheel change for offroading - but we'll see.

For those who want to know/care - the gear I used was this:

Please make these gloves! (not necessarily in this colour)

Fairlight Secan with Hope 20Five wheels, running WTB resolute 700x42s. Tubed. - No punctures. (luck? tyres? not weighing 100kg?, I dont know).
GPS- wahoo element bolt
bags - apidura MASSIVE seat bag. Rolled down as far as it would go, and a podsacs top tube bag.
Shimano XC5 shoes with Endura MT500 overshoes.
Normal road cycling stuff.
Gloves that no-one makes anymore... Dynafit bikegloves with inbuilt raincovers. They are AMAZING. Someone please make them again.

and just for good measure, here is the strava file.