From Michael Odell…
Everyone’s favourite Lakeland Long – maybe it’s the holiday season, maybe a visit to England’s highest fell, maybe it’s the sandwiches in the institute – it’s hard not to have a good day out on the Borrowdale!
Pete Bland, Race information
Borrowdale had been the focus of my attention ever since signing up for the race on the evening of 4th August. The race started at 11 AM the following morning. For those who didn’t notice, July has been wet and so the dry Lakeland tops of May and June have become saturated once more. The forecast for Saturday looked wet but slightly less wet than Ilkley which is what steered my last-minute decision. It’s fair to say that I was ill prepared for this race and with hindsight this is a race that would benefit greatly from proper training!
I was somewhat daunted heading up to the Lakes not knowing the route. What if I got lost? What if I was wearing the wrong shoes? I shared a lift with two Harrier fell veterans Bob Hamilton and Alison Weston who have both completed the race so many times before in the past that they’ve lost count on exactly how many times. Watching them study the race map and trying to recall lines taken in previous years as well as comparing various weather apps to the actual rain lashing down on the car windscreen and debating on the optimal footwear made it clear that my feelings, whether self-doubt, nervousness or sheer excitement, never go away and it’s all part of the game!
Six Harriers took to the start line. As well as myself, Bob and Alison were Gavin Lamb, Simon Bell and Forrest Hamilton – thanks Forrest for the lift! The demanding Borrowdale route is 17 miles with 6,500 feet of ascent taking runners from Rossthwaite on to Bessy Boots, skirting Glaramara and Allen Crags to reach Scafell Pike via Esk Hause. The return route is along the corridor to Sty Head Tarn, Great Gable and across to Honister, Dale Head and back into Rosthwaite.
The first 3km is dangerously flat. Mostly because of the temptation of going off too fast, but especially for Gavin who took a fall on the tarmac within the first km – fortunately, only his pride was dented.
The climb up Bessy Boots was apparently sanitized several years ago to take a safer route with less risk of rock fall. The old route must have been awful for there are still a lot of loose rocks and potential for accidents. Shortly after the first checkpoint Simon overtook me and looked strong heading off towards Scafell Pike. Gavin and I yoyoed together until the summit of Scafell Pike before he too showed a higher level of class descending the scree from Scafell Pike and on through the Corridor route. I had hopes of sticking with Gavin for the remainder and nipping past him on the finishing straight but before long the bright parrots on his running shorts were too far ahead to be reeled back in and soon lost forever.
Approaching the summit of Great Gable, the clouds came in for the first and only time during the race. I saw a couple of silhouettes reach the summit and turn right so I knew which way to go and I did the same but within a minute I was standing on a cliff edge with no other runners in sight and not feeling particularly comforted by my compass telling me that over the cliff was indeed the right direction. I ignored it, skirted to the right and met a helpful walker who pointed me in the right direction.
By now I was flagging and the descent to Honister was slow and hard. Tom Dobbing, who I’d met supporting Peter Shelley’s recent Bob Graham round caught me up, asked if I was just trying to hold on to the end – I confirmed yes, and then he disappeared so quickly that I wondered if he’d been a figment of my struggling mind. I just checked the race results and was relieved that he was really there!
Referring to Dale Head, the race information states: Only one hill left now! And it’s a killer if you’ve overcooked it … I pushed to the summit slowly enough that other runners walked passed me. I was overcooked and ready for it all to be over! Eventually it was but not without a final and longer than hoped for decsent back to Rosthwaite where cheese, jam and even cheese & jam sandwiches were waiting. There were 50 finishers awards presented – a testament to how industry sponsors want to be a part of this historic race.
This was a hard race but it was fantastic and well supported and overall a grand day out in the hills … I vowed to be back and better prepared in another year.
(1st Brennan Townshend – Keswick AC – 2:53:16)
25th Simon Bell – 3:33:10
41st Gavin Lamb – 3:52:15
59th Michael Odell – 4:05:40
69th Forrest Hamilton – 4:09:09
146th Alison Weston – 5:07:48
172nd Robert Hamilton – 5:39:04