Long Mynd Valleys – English Champs Round 1

Sunday the 6th of March, could it really be Sunday the 6th of March?! Yep, it was and that meant only one thing it was D-day! After weeks of build up I was finally going to take on my first champs race and I was looking forward to it… I think!

After a quick brew and some toast with honey (my usual pre-race brekkie - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!) there was a toot of a car horn outside where I found my clubmates Claire and Howard waiting for me and at just gone 8am off we set. A couple of hours later we pulled up in the school playing field at Church Stretton and there was a very familiar feel to the place; excitement and nerves in the air, banter between clubmates a plenty and the intoxicating wiff of deep heat wafting accross the carpark!

We registered in the school hall and went for our final, final toilet stops before the race, where I must admit I found it quite surreal to be queuing alongside Ian Holmes! And then we set off for a warmup trot towards the start. The weather was fair but we were still stopped for the obligatory kit check (full wind/waterproof body cover, map, compass, whistle required) and after the pre race brief we were ready for the off. I was determined not to go off too fast bearing in mind the sting in the tail (or “kick in the groin” as Howard referred to it) at the finish so I lined up near the middle of the pack prior to the start.

Before I knew it there was a cry of “GO!”, no guns, no hooters, no bells and whistles here just a simple go and we were off. Within 200m we left the road and hit the first climb and the majority of the field were walking (it was a sign of things to come!) by the time we got to the top of the first climb and I could see the field starting to stretch out two things struck me a) just how many people there were (I’m used to anywhere between 50 and 200ish runners turning out for some of my usual races so with 400 odd runners, this felt like the stampede at the start of the London Marathon!) and b) quite how good some of these runners were… it seemed like a lot of people were passing me, still, no need to panic,  just run your own race I told myself.

After the first couples of miles, which included one of many steep, steep and very enjoyable descents and another stiff climb, we came out onto the open fell and then a good running track where I relaxed into my running and was starting to feel pretty good. A couple of people went past me but I let them go, get them later I told myself. Slowly but surely as we climbed and fell and made our way up and down what seemed like the never ending valleys of The Long Mynd the miles started to click by, after 6miles I told myself it was time to start to push a bit.  I picked up the odd place here and there and in turn lost the odd place but more than anything that extra effort seemed to equate to holding my own in a very tough field!

© Al Tye / fellrunningpictures.co.uk



Then came the hills and any choice I had with regards to how much effort I did or didn’t put in seemed to go out the window as we began the first of what were 3 three final killer climbs! I’ve never encountered climbs like this before in a race as we headed straight up the side of your classic “V” shaped valley, it took everything I had just to keep climbing! That said I seemed to have good strength in my legs as I picked up a few places climbing and then again on the suicidal descents that followed. I must admit though it was slightly heart breaking to look down one of the descents to see the field merely cross a stream at the bottom and head straight back up the side of what looked like Mont Blanc on the other side!

Onwards and upwards though and on the final climb my legs started to tighten up and I felt like cramp was just round the corner so I did my best to try to zig zag my way up the hill and take the strain off each of my legs for at least a brief respite. Tired as I was at this point I caught my first glimpse of a fellow Saddleworth runner since the start of the race. I could see that he was struggling by this stage and I was catching him so this spurred me on, get to him by the top and you can have him I told myself! Try as I might thought I just ran out of hill and he went over the top probably 5om ahead of me.

As we clipped our numbers at the final checkpoint I knew we had little more than a mile to the finish, time for a final push I thought, pity my legs didn’t agree! They were shot after the final climb and all I could do was keep going. With one runner in touch in front and another breathing down my neck I was determined not to lose my place and if possible to catch the guy in front. A cruel incline in the last couple hundred of metres gave me the opportunity to dig in one final time and pull alongside the guy I was chasing, I knew I had to get in front of him before the final drop off to the finish as if he got there before me it would be too late. Thankfully I did and after that I let gravity do its work and take me down the final descent where it dumped me in the stream at the bottom and I stumbled across the finish line in 2:13 and what I was later to find out was 185th place.

After cheering my clubmates home, getting a brew and a sandwich inside me and putting on some much needed layers we hit the road and the journey home gave me a chance to reflect on my 1st champs race… Should I have pushed it more early on? Perhaps but then it did mean that my legs were still strong when they needed to be on the final climbs and I didn’t have anything left at the end so I probably got it about right. Was I happy with my run? Yes I think so, I felt strong throughout and finished well. With only a couple weeks of consistent training in my legs it was probably a fair reflection of where I am at and I know there is more to come. More than anything though it just reinforced my love for this sport, I got spend another day in the hills, in glorious sunshine, in stunning scenery, pushing myself to the limit amongst the best fell runners in the country, that’s a good day in my book!

Speaking of the country’s top runners, boy are the good! It was a tough fought battle at the front of the field with nine runners in contention as they made their way up the final hill it was only here that Lloyd Taggert from Dark Peak Fell Runners was able to pull out the slightest of advantages and hold on for victory by only a couple of seconds in a remarkable 1:34:25! Full results can be here.

Roll on round 2, I don’t think I’ll be troubling Lloyd et Al but if I can move my way slightly up the field, I will once again come home a happy mud clad runner!

English Champs Round 1 – 2 days and counting!

So as you will have gathered I’ve been involved in this game for a couple of years now and after “blooding” myself in the local scene I am now ready to spread my wings and test myself against the big boys! Ok maybe I’m not ready but I’m going to do it anyway!

So this is it, the 1st round of the English Championships takes place at Long Mynd Valleys this Sunday and I’ll be toeing the line and at the minute I must admit I keep flipping from the giddy excitement of a kid on Christmas Eve to stomach churning nerves! As this preview on Mud, Sweat & Tears shows, the field will be loaded with the fell running world’s top dogs; Ian Holmes, Lloyd Taggert, Rob Hope and Rob Jebb to name just a few. Oh and me! Irrespective of the field, at 11.5miles and 4,500ft it is going to be quite a test!

As for my own expectations, really I’d just like to do myself justice and put a good showing in for my new club Saddleworth Runners. If I’m honest I think that the race may have come a bit too soon for me having not managed much consistent training in January, however I have managed some good mileage and quality sessions the last few weeks and I am starting to feel some strength and sharpness coming back which is encouraging, either way though I am going to give it everything! Word has it that there is a sting in the tail at Long Mynd, or in reality I think there may be several stings! So I’m going to try my best and not go off too fast at the start (easier said then done when the adrenaline is pumping!), work myself into the race and finish strong if possible. I’ve no idea what sort of position I should be aiming for as the field will be much stronger than I am used to but it will at least give me a good indication of where I am at and hopefully give me something to improve on throughout the season.

Watch this space, as soon as my body has recovered enough for me to lift my hands to the keyboard and compose my thoughts, you will find the full write up here!

Whatever your own plans are this weekend, enjoy your running, I’m going to try my best to enjoy mine!

Why Fell Running?

So how did I get involved in fell running?? Well you might say it was chance or fate but whatever it was I just count myself lucky that I found fell running, or should that be that it found me?…

Almost 8 years ago now work brought me to Sheffield and at the time aside from the slightly grim picture that The Full Monty painted of the city I knew little or nothing about the place. However I have never been afraid of a change of scene so after a few weeks of house hunting I found myself in Hillsborough in the North West of the city and more importantly for me (although I didn’t know it at the time), at the head of the Rivelin and Loxley valleys.

At the time I had an off and on approach to running and was mainly a road runner, however after training for a couple of races on my own I decided that if I really wanted to improve my running I should bite the bullet and join my local club Hallamshire Harriers. So I did and I’ve never looked back!

The club not ony introduced me to speed work and threshold runs which had an immediate impact on my running but more significantly they introduced me to the local trails around Hillsborough. The club has a number of long standing members who knew the trails along Rivelin / Loxley valleys (not to mention Loxley Common, Don Valley and Wharncliffe Woods) like the back of their hands and this opened a whole new world to me. Suddenly training became not simply a means to an end but a pleasure. Getting off road provided such variety in terrain and I really enjoyed the new challenges that this brought, the effort of climbing and the exhilaration of descending! And then there’s the views!

As the weeks and months passed I found that I was doing more and of my training off road, however this was still primarily in preparation for road races and something just didn’t add up. I knew that I was underperforming on the road yet I could not bring myself to do the road specific training that I would need to do to significantly improve my times. I just wanted to go out and get into those hills!

Then I discovered something amazing… Fell Running and what a revelation it was! My first experience of fell running was a local series of races called The Trunce, which is a series of 9 races run throughout the summer over the same course, with points being awarded for PB’s and position. By the time I hit the fist river crossing (of which there are 3) I knew this type of running was right up my street! It was the sort of running I was enjoying in training but with the added buzz of a race!

Thankfully the river isn’t normally as high as this example…

From then on I started to hunt out local races and with Sheffield being on the edge of the Peak District I soon discovered I was spoilt for choice! I got myself out to as many races as I could, becoming a regular at the Hathersage, Edale, Hope, Castleton , Grindleford races amongst many others!

Not only does fell running give you the opportunity to test yourself physically in some of the most beautiful scenery the UK has to offer but it is also the most friendly and welcoming sport I have ever come across. From the elites to the also rans, everyone’s efforts are appreciated just the same and I’d much sooner get greeted with tea and cake at the end of a race than a cheap medal that will be buried in a sock drawer never to see the light of day again! For those fell runners out there, I am sure you will know where I am coming from and for those of you who haven’t tried it already, what are you waiting for?!.. there’s tea and cake waiting for you!