From John Hayes...
24 mile loop with 2,900 feet of climbing, starting / finishing at Bland Hill and taking in Swinsty, Fewston, & Thruscross reservoirs, Rocking Hall, Bolton Abbey, Beamsley Beacon, Round Hill, lots of man-eating bogs, Ellarcarr Pike and Timble (and random other locations if you go the wrong way – see below).
Three times in this event I wrestled with the same dilemma. More of this in a moment. Before then, I want to pay tribute to the volunteers who help to make it such a success. They cheerfully take your number at various checkpoints, dish out drinks, cakes and pork pies from little tents and, at the finish, they present you with a certificate, a woven badge and they serve up a hot meal. All for the bargain price of £8. Yes, you’ve read that right! Only £8!
Perhaps I need to learn something from these wonderful volunteers when I return to my “dilemma”. I suspect that, for most of you, this isn’t a dilemma at all. But here it is anyway: What do you do when the fitter, faster runners in front of you take a turn in the wrong direction? On the one hand is the response of the orienteer, or anyone who is a fan of the tortoise and hare story. That person says to themself something on these lines: “It’s not just about who can run the fastest. It’s a navigation event too. Stay quiet and you go the right way… Perhaps you’ll even beat them…” But there is an alternative school of thought which goes like this: “One of the great things about fell running is the friendly camaraderie amongst the runners. Give them a shout and get them back on track!” I confess I tend to be in the first camp. But not today. Each time (once near Thruscross Reservoir, twice about a mile from the finish) I called out “Not that way, follow me!” And they did. And then they overtook me and they beat me. So I suppose I can feel good about this…. But what about them? Do they have any qualms about ruthlessly beating me? Probably not.
I came 7th in a time of 3hrs 54. I was chuffed about this. It’s possible I could have come higher but …. NO! STOP! Keep to the moral high ground John!
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