From Petra Bijsterveld…
Photo credit Kim Roden
The Six Dales Trail, an established and signposted 38 mile walking route from Otley to Middleham, was devised in 2010 by the Otley ‘Walkers are Welcome’ group. It takes its name from the six dales that are traversed as it makes its way across the length of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Along the way the trail crosses five watersheds, separating in turn Wharfedale, Washburndale, Nidderdale, Colsterdale, Coverdale, and Wensleydale.
Our local ultra event organiser Punk Panther has run races along the route since 2017. This year there was the choice between a half marathon, 20, 32 or 50 miles. I chose the 32 mile race which is an out-and back from Otley to Heyshaw with 3800 ft of elevation, taking in Clifton, Dob Park, Swinsty, Fewston and Thrushcross reservoirs. I planned this to be a training run rather than a race, but of course once I pinned that race number on I always find there are some goals I want to achieve beyond merely getting to the finish. Usually I move at an average pace of 4.5 mph on this type of terrain, including checkpoint stops, so my aim for the day was to go below 7 hours.
Conditions were not half as bad as we expected, there were a few showers but no consistent rain and the temperature was perfect for running. Of course conditions underfoot were very wet, at times the ground was completely waterlogged, after the rain of the previous week, but strangely enough the fields remained quite runnable and I did not really struggle with mud. There are some road sections, including a diversion around Thrushcross due to logging, and the hard trails along Swinsty and Fewston also allow for good progress.
After just a few hundred meters from the start line I found myself running on my own out of Otley, with just a few steadier runners behind me, the vast majority having set off at a pace well beyond my comfort zone, either because they genuinely are faster runners, or because they misjudge the pace in the early miles. If the latter: ‘see you later!’ I know that I don’t come into my own until much later in the race. I overtook a few men before the first checkpoint at Blubberhouses, despite having made an ‘emergency stop’ at the toilets at Fewston car park. I reached the half-way point at Heyshaw in 3:28, so I knew I had to keep moving to get my sub 7 finish. No chatting at the checkpoint! There is more ascent in the outward leg so this certainly helped me to get a negative split on the return. Still, it required pushing on. I was buoyed by seeing my friend Gill who had cycled out to Dob Park to see me, though I promptly dropped half of the banana she gave me in the mud, doh! I had managed to overtake 3 male runners on the return which gave me a big psychological boost, and caught a 4th just near the finish, it was someone I know well so we ran the last yards side by side and finished together. My time was 6:45 which I was delighted with, 2nd woman and 1st F50 in admittedly a very small field (27 runners). The finish venue in the Methodist Church in Otley was lovely and I wolfed down two bowls of delicious pasta whilst I chatted with other runners.
No other Harriers in this event, which is surprising really. I can really recommend Punk Panther to all. It’s local, super friendly, very well organised, caters for all paces and abilities, and there is always a choice of distances, so no need to go all-out ultra if you don’t want to!