Fair Snape Fell – 08 March

With an armful of plans and a weather forecast that promised sunshine after midday we headed up over Parlick Fell for Fair Snape Fell and the first of the day’s Trig Point. Regrettably, the low clouds hung around to make navigation more of a challenge, too much of a challenge in fact. I tried to cut a corner going north and we soon found ourselves on very rough ground and, to all intents and purposes, lost. In zero visibility and a bitterly cold wind we decided to work our way back to Fair Snape Fell and come back on a clear day.

By the time we were about half way between Fair Snape Fell and Parlick Fell the sun put in an appearance and the clouds started to lift which tempted us to turn round and have another go. In the event, beyond Fair Snape the going gets rougher and slower. With some reluctance we were forced to conclude that more time than we had would be needed to get to Hazelhurst Fell and back. So we ended up with Parlick x 2, Fair Snape x 4 and a highly enjoyable outing.

 

Fair Snape Fell in the morning’s low cloud

Fair Snape Fell later in the day

Coffee in the summit shelter

Fair Snape Fell

Fair Snape Fell from Parlick Fell

High Peak Marathon – 28 February

Not your ordinary Marathon but an overnight race for teams of four and owing to an injury to another Bowland runner I was a late replacement in Yiannis’s “Bowland Vets” team.

This is how the organisers describe it -

The High Peak Marathon is an over-night mountain marathon for teams of four, following a route based on the Derwent Watershed, starting and finishing at Edale Village Hall, Derbyshire. The classic 40 mile bog-trot around the wildest part of the Peak District was first completed in 1918 by Eustace Thomas of Manchester's Rucksack Club. The event is independently organised and run by Members of the University of Sheffield High Peak Club, past and present, and is fully insured and affiliated through the Fell Runners Association.

The basis of the annual event as it exists today was conceived in 1972 by members of Sheffield University's Youth Hostel Society whose definition of a good night out was sometimes quite different from most of their fellow students. The High Peak Marathon is their idea of a challenge. Take the Peak's longest, toughest route and see who can complete it at night in winter. It is still organised by past and present members of what is now called The High Peak Club. A unique feature of the event is being greeted by a couple of cheerful students at every checkpoint.

The atmosphere before all races can be a little tense but before the HPM it is quite extraordinary. The staggered start means the first team starting at 23:00 and the others following at one minute intervals so that the tension is stretched to the maximum. Last year’s near perfect conditions are unlikely to be repeated for some years but this a cold clear night with sub-zero temperatures ensured conditions that only the top navigators (who wanted low, thick cloud cover) could complain about.

Trying to relax before the final preparations

Private preparations

Ready to go

Almost ready to go

This is a difficult enough race but a slight misunderstanding on Win Hill meant we lost almost an hour between there and High Neb so that we were last there and at the Moscar checkpoint by a very considerable margin, perhaps 30 minutes. Yannis’s flawless navigation and indefatigable efforts be Leigh and Neil meant about a third of the field were behind us by the breakfast stop at Snake Road Top. By the finish we were 22nd of 36 finishers and 41 starters. Complete results are here.

The Vet Teams are placed according to an Age Handicap system which meant we were the “Oldest Team” in the race and although one Vet team had faster handicap time they also were outright winners which meant we were awarded the First Vet Team and with it The Rucksack Club Trophy. I have to say a huge personal thanks to Yiannis for the opportunity as well as his navigation and to Leigh and Neil for the way they looked after me throughout.

 

Meangirls (1)

Meangirls (2)

Recovery

Bowland Vets – self, Leigh, Neil, Yiannis

The Rucksack Club Trophy

High Peak Marathon engraved tankard

Enormous thanks are due to Richard Bradbury and his team of helpers for the 2014 High Peak Marathon

Thanks to you all!

The New Chew fell race – 23 February

I should have read my blog from last year where I observed that this type of event is a bit more than my navigation skills are up to but I didn’t and unlike last year my route planning wasn’t too bad, I avoided any serious overshoots (something I rarely avoid in the early stages) and found all the controls I went looking for. I am sure you have sensed the “but” already and, sure enough, there is one. A “hang head in shame” school boy error of not reading the rules – I don’t have an excuse but I didn’t look at the top half of the map because I went south rather than north. Neither did I look anywhere else where I would have learned or been reminded that the “Long Score” is a four and a half event rather than the four hour one I thought it was. There is always next year when I might remember to read the rules.

Tony and Josie testing the breeze

Morning brew

Kit Check

Reading the rules (note to self [do this next time])

More rule reading

Bright and breezy outside

Post-mortem

Thanks to Saddleworth Runners for another brilliant New Chew. Great organisation, support, food and marshals – this really is a superb low key and testing event. Thanks also to Manhar for coming over and saying “hello” – hope you had a good one and don’t mind the photo.

Bleasdale Circle fell race – 22 February

Marshaling at Higher Fairsnape Farm meant a chance to see the runners while they were still fresh and the light was still bright.

 

Warming Up

 

Racing

Shap Limestone Works - 16 February

Cloud cover built over the high fells quite quickly so we headed away from them in the hope of staying in the bright, if not warm, sunshine. The Limestone works is a well known landmark and it enjoyed the sunshine for most of the morning.