I tried a new race today. I knew that I would be under pressure to complete the checkpoints within the time limits, and I did it, just. Here is the story and perhaps a lesson or two.
Today, I took part in an AL Fell Race in the hills of the Peak District, which was the first time I had tried an AL Fell Race.
If you are not into this running genre, here is some background. A fell race is a race in the hills or mountains. The easy fell races stick to well-used paths, but as the races get harder, the paths get small or disappear, and the steepness increases. In England, fell races are looked after by the FRA (the Fell Racing Association). Fell races are graded on steepness (A is the steepest and C is the least steep). The distances range from S for short, to M for medium, through to L for Long. Today I participated in the Holme Moss Fell Race, an FRA AL race. I have done many lower-category fell races, but today, I stepped up to try an AL race.
For an AL FRA race, we have to carry the mandatory kit: a waterproof jacket and trousers, map, compass, whistle, emergency food, gloves, and hat. It was a hot day today (23C, warmer than the last few weeks), so I was carrying about 1.5 litres of water.
Today’s race was just under 29 km (just under 18 miles), with 1285m of climbing. The distance is not an issue for me, and the amount of height gained is not an issue. The three challenges today were a) the steepness of the climbs and descents, b) the terrain, and c) the cut-offs.
Steepness: there were some very, very steep climbs and descents. Normally I run quite fast on the descents, but these descents were often too steep. At times, I was going downhill at 12 minutes per km (which is a walking/strolling place). Some of the uphills were brutal; for those of you familiar with the Pennine Way, we climbed up the rock face of Laddow Rocks. Indeed, on the way up these rocks we passed two rock climbers, with ropes and helmets ????. (To be fair, the climbers were looking for a hard route up the rocks, and we were looking for the easiest route we could find in a hurry.)
Because most of the race was not on regular paths, the ground tended to slope (sometimes down to the left, sometimes down to the right), meaning the runner needed to brace their foot and ankle on each step. This is not something I am used to and nearly caused cramping quite a few times.
This race has fairly strict time cutoffs. This is a senior race, not a race for occasional runners, so there are strict time constraints. We needed to hit the first checkpoint at 1hr 15 mins, followed by 2 hours for the second checkpoint. Whilst I can (and do) run for days, I struggle to run fast enough for this type of race. I made the second checkpoint with 2 minutes to spare – after running the last two kilometres as fast as I could. The fourth checkpoint was at the top of Laddow Rock and I made it bang on the cutoff and was delighted they let me continue. The time cut-offs meant I could not rest at any stage of the race. In a typical race in the hills, I tend to rest on the uphills, to help me run faster on the flat and downhill. But today, I had to press as hard as I could without crossing the line into an effort that would break me.
An additional challenge was finding the route. Most of the race today was flagged (flags in the ground to show the way). This was to avoid damage/erosion to the land we were running on. However, from the top of Bareholme Moss, down the steep drop, and up Laddow Rocks, there was no path, no flags, and we had to choose our own route and meet the time cut-off.
The result?
I made it!!! It took me 5 hours 43 minutes. Of the 111 people who finished the race I was 109th and I am really happy. It was a new, hard challenge. I was not sure I would be able to make it, I gave it my best shot, and by the skin of my teeth, I did it. In addition to the 111 finishers, there were at least 20 people who either timed out or suffered an injury. Because of the uneven ground, there were numerous falls and twists.
A few learnings?
Just because you are good at something does not mean you will find an adjacent discipline easy. I can run a road marathon faster than many of today’s runners. I have run 440km in a single race (something that few other people have done), but I struggled in this race. I had to work hard just to finish.
The gap between success and failure can be tiny. If I had been a few seconds slower at the checkpoint at the top of Laddow Rocks, I would have timed out (and had to walk for about one hour to get a lift back).
Life is more exciting if you give yourself a chance of failing, which means you will fail sometimes.
Failing does not have to be a problem. If I had timed out today, I would still have had a long run in beautiful, wild countryside – not too shabby.
No photos?
Because I knew I would have to work hard to make the time cut-offs, there was no time to take photos. Indeed, I did not carry my phone. So, the one photo today is of the Race HQ, a local cricket ground.
