From Rachel Carter…
I’ve never walked or run more than 26 miles, but this race caught my eye because seeing High Cup Nick, a U-shaped glacial valley in the North Pennines, has been on my to-see list for a few years. With the race blurb describing it as the most stunning section of the Pennine Way, taking in the infamous Cross Fell and Greg’s Hut, I thought I’d enter for a nice run-walk day out.
I was quite a late entry, so expected the distance to be a challenge. I hadn’t done a long run since training for the Three Peaks and Leeds Marathon and, beyond taking a few gels for those races, I had no experience of fuelling for longer distances. With an expected completion time of less than 11 hours, I was allocated the later 9am start from Bowlees and my game plan was simply to eat every 30-40 minutes and just keep going.
Needless to say, I succeeded. However the most memorable challenges of the day were not achieving the distance or fuelling my body, but scrambling up wet rocks beside Cauldron Snout (just don’t look down, I kept telling myself) and spending seven or so miles alone high on the Cross Fell ridge in the rain and gusty 30mph winds. Definitely type 2 fun in my book.
I was very grateful for the GPS line on my watch, as getting my map and compass out would have been a challenge. It guided me over a number of smaller peaks, marked by tall stone-built cairns that appeared out of the mist with little warning. After tagging the cairn at Cross Fell, the infamous Greg’s Hut appeared, then quickly disappeared again into the cloud before a very long, undulating descent to Garrigill in the valley.
The final few miles along a riverside path were very pleasant and I even took my jacket off and began to dry out. The finish is at Alston Youth Hostel, where I was warmly welcomed by the Nav 4 Adventure team with homemade soup, traybakes and shared tales of the day. I don’t think the event is really viewed as a race, and that’s certainly how I approached it, but the results sheet showed I was 10th out of 44 finishers and, just, first lady!
So would I do it again – not sure! I would certainly like to return to see High Cup Nick and Cross Fell (and the views it affords) in better weather, but maybe if I’m tempted to complete a longer distance again it might not involve the highest peak in England outside the Lake District.