The Lakeland trail races have a bit of a place in my heart. They are defnitely not fell running, but they are really lovely trail races and include enough underfoot to keep it interesting. I have done a few from the series now, and really enjoyed them all. Prior to Covid, I had booked a few entries for 2020 but they all got rescheduled and due to work I ended up rescheduling them further which they very kindly did for me.
So this year I am signed up for Cartmel, Coniston and the dirty double weekend. Cartmel is usually March but this year its September (Covid) an so up first. And the last time I did Cartmel the weather was appocalytically bad. The racecourse flooded, the course was waterlogged, the course was cut short, cars were stuck in the parking field; it was bedlam. I remember being blue with cold. But this year, I promised myself, it would be different.
And so it was. For a start, it was dry, and actually quite hard underfoot at the race course which convinced me to put my terra ultras back on for a bit more padding. Martin had driven me and my friend Hannah up and we had brought the dog for good measure. It was waved start times so we had arrived eaarly enough for Hannah to register and get settled before her start time, which was an hour before mine. I wasn't convinced by the waves and had opted for the 'mass start' which was actually pretty small itself from the start list.
But despite the waves the venue had a nice buzz to it. The steel band were there, and the usual selection of food stalls with Pete Bland's van. The annoucer was doing a sterling job on the mic and whilst people were keeping their distance, we had a certain amount of dog chat and the dog got to play in the stream whilst we waited. Martin and I also nipped in to Cartmel between start times for a mooch. I was quite nervy as usual, and had at least three nervous wees in the less than delightful portaloos.
The start line was a bit of a non-event. There was no march out to the band, and only a handful (maybe 20, less than 30) going off together for the 'mass start'. And I hadn't clocked it until the day, but the first wave of the faster 'race' was only going to be five minutes behind us which meant being overtaken from a few minutes in (not a problem on the wide open starter sections but later, a bit of a pain).
But soon we were away and as I touched my headphones to get my podcast to start, it made a phone call instead, which was a bit annoying as I had to get in my bumbag to stop it and this slowed me down so I was at the back of the pack. Never mind. We soon trotted out of the back of the race course and across the village car park on to a firm track that went on for a good way, starting mostly flat, including past a group of segway adventurers, who I was pleased I was running faster than. I ran most of this section as we climbed the hill. The 5k route turn off came very quickly and we kept on climbing gradually until we reached High Barrow. The next section was a bit more bumpy under foot and i was being overtaken regularly by runners from the faster 'race' groups, and we undulated up and down with amazing views over towards Ulverston across the estuary. There was a cool breeze but it was very faint and I had stupidly worn long trousers as it had been cool in the morning. Shorts would have been a better option! I had a bit of a stomp up a few steeper sections but mostly I was running.
The course eventually dips in to some woods and then the climb to the first of two tarns begins. This section was lovely. We passed along the still tarn which anywhere else in the lakes would have been mobbed with people, not just runners. By now I also had formed a bit of a group of sumular speed runners to keep up with and we would gentle jostle for position depending on the terrain and what we were good at: I'm not bad at up but the others were faster on down and flat.
The next section was probably the least favourite of mine. After a short section of road, we started bumping and climbing through some heather on a single track path. Lots of people were trying to over take at this point which lead to some grumpiness but I just let them pass. The long trousers were a bit useful here and I was keeping up with a pack of stronger runners (partly as they were held up passing some of the prior waves' runners). Most of us were glad to get back to the road section which went on a bit and undulated. Overall, it was allegedly down hill. One poor man looked like he was really struggling as I passed him on this section but eventually it was back to farmyard track. By now I should have recognised we had rejoined the course form 2019 but I didn't remember.
I was starting to struggle a bit here and dropped back, walking a few sections I really ought to have run. I was warm and reckoned on it being 5k+ to the finish so when I got my bottle refilled at the aid station (memo- take more water), I was suprised to be told it was just over 3km. Time to pick it up and I head across the fields and eventually in to the woods which I knew were towards the finish. I had underestimated how uphill the woods section was however... and how long.
We twisted and turned through the woods. The odd supporter had walked up the course which helped but generally it was a bit of a slog and not fast. There wasn't room to overtake either. Eventually I saw the drop towards the hole in the wall that took us out to the race course and made for a last dash down to the finish line....
...except a chap who had kept ahead of me was struggling to keep ahead of me and I couldn't sand bag him at this stage....
So I trotted in behind him and met Hannah, Martin and the dog. 2:08 and some change; not bad really, given I had said under 2:15 would be good, and anything up to 2:30 acceptable. But also I had really enjoyed it and wanted to come back and show Martin some of the amazing views I hadn't had time to enjoy. Hannah and I swapped stories about the course all the way home, after I had downed a fair bit more water. I had definitely dressed wrong!
So now its two weeks until Coniston which is a shorter course but with more elvation. Aside from making sure I don't over dress and that I do take a bit more water, it is a case of enjoying myself from here to there!
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