Carneddau walk

Peaks: Pen yr Olau Wen, Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llywellyn
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
The classic circuit of the main Carneddau peaks in superb winter conditions. Nice to enjoy a relaxing winter hillwalk as a change from all the running. Unusual clarity of light as Rich and I approached Ogwen with the snowline at around 400m. A decent dump of snow had occurred a few hours after the walls race on Boxing Day, perfect timing, and had been followed by cold anticyclonic conditions. No ice build up yet though, and no freeze-thaw, so a ridge walk seemed better than winter climbing today. Completely windless as we negotiated the bad step to gain the east ridge of Pen, Rich clad in short-sleeved t-shirt. Truly alpine in tone: with a pleasant lunch on the summit enjoying the views over to Snowdon. Deep blue skies for the ridge traverse over Dafydd to distant Llywellyn: some mild sport on the ridge. Cold on the summit of Llywellyn as the sun began to drop: more mild winter mountaineering on the scrambly descent of the always excellent ridge to the bwlch near Craig yr Ysfa. Back to Ogwen via the Llugwy track. I've probably done this route 20 times over the years, often in fine conditions of sun and snow, but this matched the best of them.

Round the Walls

Race: Round the Walls, Chester (4.7m)
Time/Position: 25.15 (10th from 430)
With a sharp frost forecast it seemed very unlikely that the full route would be on this morning. I've done the race at least five times, and have only once done the walls - such is the sensitivity of the route to adverse weather. However, we woke to dull skies and no frost, so the race was on. Kate and I set off with enfants spectating (with a distinct lack of interest) from the Roodee grandstand. The Roodee section was limited this year, with a sprint out to the first furlong marker, then back via some loops near the grandstand to climb the steps to Nuns Road. Then came the walls - really exciting racing. There was a group of four or five some way in front of me, then myself and Gary Norgrove. Great racing round the walls and through the recently opened clock tower. I felt OK as we started along the long final straight, next to the Dee, round the Roodee, and a few extra loops on the very muddy racecourse.

Gamelin/Cyrn y Brain run

Our now traditional pre-Christmas mountain run coincided (as it did last year) with an appalling forecast. But whereas last year we carried on regardless, this time discretion got the better part of valour: Peter and I abandoned ambitious Carneddau plans for a circuit of the Moel y Gamelin race route (in reverse, so as to benefit from the tailwind over the ridge). The plan worked well, sheltered from the worst of the wind along the tracks north of the hills. Then we climbed up to the ridge at Bwlch y Groes after extending the race route slightly. Superb running with a strong tailwind, despite low cloud and poor viz, over all the tops: Moel Morfydd, Moel y Gaer, Gamelin and Moel y Faen. From a drizzly and rather grim Horseshoe Pass, we continued to the top of Cyrn y Brain (the meat of the Ponderosa race). No more than light rain throughout, surprisingly, and even some slight glimmers of sunshine as we descended for tea in the cafe. A nice relaxed festive outing combining two well-known race routes: 13 or so miles, 3000ft of ascent, following on nicely from yesterday's enjoyable Buckley Christmas outing in the Clwydians.

Leicestershire hill run

A very pleasant introduction to the small but neatly formed Charnwood hills near Loughborough with Steve. We left the Coombs' household in the middle of town and, surprisingly quickly, reached open fields and a bitter wind. From here, a gentle climb to woodland led to a good descent down to a hidden valley. Nice, almost Pennine, scenery. After running along this valley, a sharp 'fell-race like' climb led past some little crags up to Beacon Hill. Not quite Leicestershire's highest point, but a decent view over the flatlands to the east and south. From here, excellent running down tracks and bridleways led back to Loughborough.

Tattenhall border league

Race: Tattenhall '10k' (Border League race 2)
Time/Position: 35.18 (17th from 314 [2nd V40])
After turning my ankle badly at the Dash in the Dark on Friday, the frozen peas had worked their magic and I felt OK to start one of my favourite Border League courses, a nice lumpy 10k into the Peckforton Hills. Clearly, there's a weakness in the left ankle after I went over on it at Rhobell Fawr last month: but keeping it nice and straight on a road race is comfortable (slippery tree stumps and bare rock, not so much). A stiff wind seemed likely to offer some resistance for the long and very familiar 'false flat' that leads back to the finish in Tattenhall. So I tried to save something. This worked initially, after going reasonably steadily up the steep hill I passed three or four runners: but, as usual, I was caught out at the end by my lack of finishing kick. Two of those I'd passed surged to the finish before me. Slightly down on last year's time, but not a bad performance in the circumstances. Buckley doing well this year: first veteran team and second in the first division at present.

Wrexham Cross Country

Race: Wrexham XC (North Wales Cross Country League race 3)
Time/Position: 32.40 (20th from 138)
A token appearance in the cross-country league, but the team were missing several runners and its only a short drive for me. I only realised the race was on this morning after running up Moel Famau in the mist last night. Felt reasonably fresh though, and was around the same time as previous races on this flat course (apart from last year, when I blew completely on the last lap!).

Clwydian run

Just the normal friday night run up Moel Famau from Cadole, but notable for appalling visibility: probably the worst I've experienced in many years and hundreds of night-time ascents. I was on my own for most of the climb from the leat, and reckon visibility was between 1 and 2 metres - with an unusually low cloud base, thick mist, and steady drizzle. In the dark, with condensing breath mingling with the rain, obscuring the funnel of light from the headtorch, this made for difficult progress: good job we know every inch of the route!

Wrekin Wrecker fell race

Race: Wrekin Wrecker fell race (8m/2400ft)
Time/Position: 1.08.14 (23rd from 189)
An object lesson in making the most of a small Shropshire hill: three different ascents of this famous miniature mountain near Telford make this a tough and memorable race. An unusually strong field today, and a fast pace from the start through autumnal woods, very wet underfoot, before gaining a series of long zig-zags  through the conifers to gain a steepish ridge and the crest of the Wrekin. Some mist playing around, and urban views over Telford below as we embarked on a superb descent. This went down tracks initially before plunging down very steep and narrow paths on soft leaf litter. This suited me perfectly for some reason, and I picked up 10 places. A long false flat section led to a brutally steep climb back to the little rock pinnacle near the summit. Quite cold and still, so the condensing runners' breath created a weird low mist through the trees. From the pinnacle over the main summit ridge before plunging back down yet again. Another climb back to the top was inevitable, and it came soon after: three times up the Wrekin is enough for anyone. After the final descent, however, came an excellent long run-in, fast and enjoyable.

Clwydian run

Crisp and sunny autumnal weather, so Vic and I took the opportunity for a longer morning run from Cadole. After the usual route up Moel Famau we descended the ridge towards Penbarras, then embarked on a long additional route through the woods from the bwlch to rejoin the usual Friday night descent. Beautiful morning of falling leaves and unbroken sunshine.

Christleton border league

Race: Christleton 5.8m (Border League race 1)
Time/Position: 33.41 (22nd from 352 [3rd V40])
This was supposed to be a mild jog with sore legs after yesterday's Welsh Championship finale. But in the event I had such a bad race at Rhobell Fawr that I didn't feel particularly tired as soon as I'd adapted to the usual flat out road pace after a fast first mile. It always takes a while to adapt to the ever-competitive Border League after a summer in the hills, but I've done a few hard intervals sessions over the last few weeks so felt fairly well prepared. Yesterday's race was obviously a factor, so I kept a conservative pace ticking over throughout, not wanting to blow up on the final mile which I knew from several previous attempts at this course is gently uphill all the way. Two years ago I was tripped up after half a mile on this course, landing on my head, staring at the clouds, and had no wish to repeat the experience. I slowed a bit over the slippery sequence of ancient cobbled bridges, unable to keep with the pace of Eric and Jez, but I did manage to pick up a few places on the final uphill mile.

Rhobell Fawr fell race

Race: Rhobell Fawr fell race (10.5k/2000ft)
Time/Position: 59.49 (20th from 88)
A badly twisted ankle ruined my chances of first place in the Welsh fell running championships on the final descent of this - the final race in the series. After my mistake at the Black Mountains in September which cost me lots of time, I only had a slender 3 point lead over Darren Fishwick coming into the last race of the championships. As a result, I had to put in a decent performance, but completely failed to do so (although he was much quicker on the climb and would still have beaten me today even if I had run the perfect race!). I felt slow on the climb, even though I'd intended to really batter myself! But I got up reasonably quickly and was still in touch as I started the descent - then it all went wrong. I started to lose ground on those in front, shoes slipping all over the place with worn down studs: intermittent rain and light mist. Then I took the wrong line half way down the descent, up a little draining climb near the sheepfold. To my left, a group of pursuers followed the wall and immediately gained 100m on me. Ruing my mistake, I then turned my left ankle in a sickening wrench. After hobbling for a minute or two, I managed to break into a jog (having damaged that ankle many times it does tend to right itself after a while!) but then slipped and fell on the steep grassy slopes above the descent track. Once off the open hill, I sprang back into life and enjoyed a quickish final section through the muddy woods and tracks that lead back to the village. Missed first place in the V40 category by the annoyingly narrow margin of 2.5 points, finishing in 2nd place with 363 - the last two disastrous races having blotted the rest of a great series for me. I can't think of many nicer autumnal venues than Llanfachreth - beautiful colours, and amidst the sharp downpours we had a burst of sunshine over Mawddach and Cader as Jez and I warmed down with a jog round the Precipice Walk.

Clwydian Hills fell race

Race: Clwydian Hills (15k/3000ft)
Time/Position: 1.21.32 (8th from 148)
I've been lured away to the Abergele 5 road race on this weekend for the past three years, so thought it was about time I returned to this local classic. I still remember the trauma of my first time at this race a decade ago: when I found the gully climax a brutal struggle and returned home with the classic thousand yard stare. I think this was my 6th time at the event. Beautiful autumn weather this morning, perfect conditions, as we set off for the long climb up to the ridge from Cilcain. I struggled terribly at first, not sure why (perhaps because I've upped the training in the past two weeks) and was close to packing it in as we neared Drws y Coed. The descent down to the Vale of Clwyd was an opportunity to regain some strength, although I missed the checkpoint initially and wasted some time. Contouring the Vale, I started to feel a bit better and began to gain places on the very long grassy ascent back up to the ridge. This race does have an 'arbitrary punishment' feel to it, but takes in some great terrain and really makes the most of our local hills. A steep descent leads down to Nant y Ne, and the usual horrendously steep climb out via the gully. I made up some ground and picked up the pace for the descent, the best I'd felt all day! A good battle with a runner from Todmorden, although I couldn't quite match his speed on the flatter tracks towards the finish.

Conwy 'three peaks' run

An early morning run made possible by the clock change. Left Hodeston in the half light before 7am, warmed up with a circuit of the town and food festival stalls, then up to the top of the Sychnant Pass. Windy with drizzle on the summit of Allt Wen, but an orange sun lit the horizon further west. Alpenglow (almost!) as I ran back down to pick up the paths over Penmaenhead and Mynydd y Dref.

British Fell Relays

Race: British fell relay championships, Middleton, Cumbria (Leg 2, 15k, 1000m)
Peaks: Castle Knott, Calf Top
Time/Position: 1.39.02 (79th from 220)
The Middleton Fells are a small range of quiet hills south of the Howgills proper, and made an interesting and attractive venue for this year's British fell race relays. This was Buckley's fourth time at the event, and I like it more every time - just a great day out. An early start saw us arrive at the race HQ in a field above Middleton by 9am. Paul D set off on the first leg under threatening skies, and handed over to Steve and I an hour or so later. This is the third time I've done the long pairs leg, and we set to work making up a few places (although we took a bad line initially, having to cross a deep rocky gorge to regain the wall!).  From here, the route steepened up to a checkpoint on Eskdale Pike, after which we passed dozens of teams up Thorn Moor to the summit of Castle Knott. A tailwind was very pleasant up this steepish but nicely runnable ridge. Then an uneccessary descent took us right down to near the road at Barton Beck, then very steeply back out - a real slog - right up to the highpoint at Calf Top. Steve had done the XC race yesterday so unsurprisingly this was a lot more comfortable for me. The weather was rather grim by now: misty, some rain and driving wind. I thought it prudent to get the map out, and took a rough bearing down to Wrestle Gill. We opted to contour high up with the valley as a 'handrail'. Glad we did, as a good number of teams must have gone too far left down the broad ridge - missing out checkpoint 6 hidden near a stream junction at the bottom of Wrestle Gill, numerous DNFs as a result. I scoped out several sheep trods and used them to good effect. Later, a long haul round Cartsaddle Hill gave way to a very fast finish. Steve suddenly found an extra gear, and his track pedigree started to show as we finished quickly. I've placed around 40th in all three previous relays, so this was obviously quite a bit slower, but we still gained around 100 places over the leg. We handed over to Huw and Andy, then retired to the marquee for sausages and local Kirby Lonsdale ale.

Flintshire 10k

Race: Flintshire 10k
Time/Position: 37.25 (3rd from 354)
Although my time was a little slower than last year, this was my first road race since April and as such quite an enjoyable outing. It's an ideal transition from a summer racing in the hills, as it feels more like a fell race than a road race, with one giant hill taking up much of the first 5k, but I still suffered from lack of leg speed as soon as it flattened out (having only resumed interval training last week). This is inevitable at this time of the year: there's a big difference between a long fell race and a road 10k! A small group of us set off at the front of the race in beautiful autumn sunshine, quite hot. Not too many club runners, possibly because it is a tough course (with 800ft of climbing) that guarantees a very slow time! As we approached the hill, I started to get a bit closer to Darren Blazier in second place - and we had a good battle all the way up, me going ahead on the steep sections, him pulling past as it levelled out. At the top of the hill near Maeshafn, he pulled past decisively and I had no answer to his pace as the road started to descend to Nercwys. Went through 5k in 20.40 or so - this race ensures a major negative split. We were well ahead of the rest of the field, over a minute separated me and the runner in 4th, so I just concentrated on getting close to last year's time on the very fast final 5k (16.45?).

Black Mountains fell race

Race: Black Mountains fell race (17.5m/5200ft/AL)
Peaks: Crug Hywel/Table Mountain (451m), Pen Cerrig Calch (701m), Pen Allt Mawr (719m), Pen Twyn Glas (645m), Pen y Gadair Fawr (800m), Chwarel y Fan (679m), Bal Mawr (607m), Crug Mawr (550m)
Time/Position: 3.01.03 (19th from 93)
Not one, not two, but three unfortunate route finding errors rather spoiled this Welsh Championships counter for me. The last detour was by far the worst, just a few hundred metres from the end of the race (after putting a lot of effort in and heading for a reasonable time by my limited standards) I pelted straight down the road and missed a vital (unmarked) stile indicating the descent to the finish. I ended up on the road to Crickhowell, 1k from the village, and had to navigate back along the river losing a huge amount of time. If you discount the last 10 minutes, though, it was a great race! Steeply up from Llanbedr (a nice village last visited for the classic Llanbedr-Blaenafon), and up towards Crug Hywel and the main Black Mountains ridge. Superbly runnable over the limestone summit of Pen Cerrig Calch and Pen Allt Mawr, looking down to the final ridge of the Waun Fach race that I'd so enjoyed in July. High cloud, and quite warm, and we headed down steeply to Grwyne Fechan from Pen Twyn Glas. From the airless bottom of the valley, a steep haul led round to the east of Pen y Gadair Fawr. Locals took a better contouring line lower down, but I didn't lose too much ground and was comfortably in the top 10 at this stage. Superb twisting and exciting descent through a bracken path to the steep-sided valley of Grwyne Fawr, then a river crossing before a very steep climb up to Chwarel y Fan above the Vale of Ewyas and the English border. Then came a fantastic and surprisingly narrow ridge, brilliant running although I was starting to tire a bit. Over the summit of Bal Mawr before a draining and complex descent down to the road in the Mynydd Du forest. Then came more complex route finding through the maze of forest tracks leading to the open hillside below the final peak of Crug Mawr. I had my only gel, and kept a reasonable pace going - all the time unsure about the route through the thick woodland. Eventually, I emerged and tried to catch a biggish group in front on Crug Mawr. I reached the summit in 2.35, to be told by the marshall that it was '10 minutes to the finish'. Stomach cramps marred a superb descent, but it got worse as I arrived at a crossroads. No idea where to go, so waited for the next runner to join me. Straight down it was, to some tape marking the final descent. This was a relief, so I switched off and concentrated on a flat-out descent to the village. Bad decision, as I flew past the crucial stile, lost 8-10 minutes, and ruined the race. Rather gutting, as I was leading my category in the Champs before the race. The South Wales curse continues: the third time I have made a serious route-finding error in a race down here - that said, I'm told the descent from Crug Mawr is the exact reverse of the climb on Llanbedr-Blaenafon, so perhaps I have few excuses.

Vitosha

Peaks: Maluk Rezen (2191m)
Area: Vitosha, Bulgaria
Vitosha may well be unique. Although there are other big cities dominated by a single large mountain (Yerevan springs to mind, perhaps Tokyo) I can't think of any like Sofia where the mountain is accessible direct from the suburbs. After a big day yesterday and a lot of travel, I wasn't sure I could be bothered working out the route to the peak, so initially tried to jog there from my hotel. This didn't work, and I gave up in the outer suburbs of Sofia, opting instead for a 6k jog back to the hotel. After a trip into the city centre, however, I walked down Vitosha Boulevard which, as its name suggests, is dominated by a view of the mountain (specifically, a view of Maluk Rezen). I couldn't resist, and had plenty of time before my flight, so got a taxi to the base of the Simenovo cable car and brought a ticket. This whisks you above the forests up to 1800m, way above the city, and was very relaxing after yesterday's exertions. I didn't have time for a long outing, so decided to make my way up to the two vague peaks that I could see from Sofia. The peak on the left had a huge tower on top, with hundreds of weekend walkers making their way along a broad track, so I went for the boulder-strewn summit on the right via a steep grassy slope to gain the very broad main ridge. From here, all of Vitosha appears as a vast plateau with various humps rising from it. Distant views were very hazy, with Sofia so far below as to be practically invisible - an incredible contrast. It would have been nice to see across to Musala and Rila from my highpoint at Maluk Rezen but it was too dank and hazy, so I went down to the Aleko hut for a slap-up lunch of Tarator, Mishmash and Bulgarian sausage.

Musala Horseshoe

Peaks: Musala (2925m), Malka Musala (2902m), Irechek (2852m)
Area: Rila, Bulgaria
The highest peak between the Alps and the Caucasus, Musala made an obvious target for a mountain interlude following a short research trip to Macedonia and Kosovo. I travelled up in one long day from Skopje via Sofia and Samokov and stayed the night in Borovets, a rather depressing out-of-season ski resort. I may well have been the only guest in the entire resort, so got up early with no breakfast options and no cable car running. This added a very significant extra 1000m climb to the day! Some cursory research revealed that Musala could be combined with two more peaks to create a rather attractive horseshoe along narrow ridges with an Alpine flavour. So the extra 1000m vertical interval was doubly unfortunate (Borovets is at 1300m, Musala almost 3000m). Still, I got to work in the cold crisp air of early morning and adopted a sustainable jog through the thick forest of Bulgarian fir and Macedonian pine. The trees were statuesque and attractive but the slog was inevitably rather boring as it essentially followed a ski route up a narrow valley (it may have been the route taken by the World Mountain Running championships last year - let's hope they choose something more interesting when the worlds come to Betws next year!). I finally emerged below the top ski lift after an hour of running: then a tortuous twisting mile of small paths through dwarf pine forest before finally gaining a beautiful Alpine meadow with the peaks rising into the blue sky above. A memorable moment, with frost crystals on the grass and the sun just peaking over the shoulder of the impressive Irechek and Musala beyond. My weather luck was in, and a tricky river crossing led to the Musala hut complex (80 mins from Borovets) and fabulous views over the lake to the peaks beyond. I had the place to myself, a real privilege on such a popular peak, and was thoroughly enjoying myself after missing out on an Alpine trip this year. After walking round the lake by the hut, a broad gully then gains height quickly to gain a series of little cwms decorated by beautiful lakes reminiscent of the Pyrenees or Maritime Alps (the Musalenska Ezera lakes). The path weaves through a series of little ridges and moraines to gain a steeper scree slope and more desolate terrain as it makes its way up to Ledeneto Ezero ('Ice Lake'), a dramatic feature in a hollowed out cwm. It was very icy on this section, as the sun still hadn't got up, with the rocks rather treacherous (and the hideous 'Everest hut' near the lake completely deserted). The ridge leading to Musala was in the sunshine, though, and gave a great ascent. I saw three people, the first I'd seen all day, to my mild annoyance, near the hut - but soon gained the broad ridge leading up more icy rocks to the summit (50m from the Musala Hut). Again, it felt like a privilege to be on my own up here (the highest person in Europe between the Alps and Caucasus!) as it is such a popular mountain. It was cold but superbly clear, with views over Rila and more hazily across to Vitosha in the north and Pirin in the south. After a quick snack I continued along the obvious ridge (the Trionite ridge) leading to Malka Musala. This becomes much narrower almost immediately, and the path remarkably narrow and ill-defined. I was amazed, given the popularity of the main peak. A superb scrambly ridge, with some ancient rusting cables, led just right of the crest via a weaving little path - mildly exposed in places - down to a pronounced narrow col. From here, a short chimney gave access to more scrambling up the crest - all really enjoyable - to easier terrain leading to the top of Malka Musala. Great views back to the main peak. Next up was the fine peak of Irechek, which dominates the view from the Musala Hut. This was again surprisingly sporting in tone, with a steep descent and quite intricate route-finding down to another deep col. Then a rocky ridge which led to an impressive final summit tower. Felt a bit like Beinn Eighe. From Irechek, the terrain flattens out and becomes very reminiscent of the Carneddau: big ridges connecting big green hills. I ran down to a broader ridge below a subsidiary peak and then traversed icy north-facing rocks below the Sfinska (the Sphinx) to pick up a small path dropping off Deno. This became hard to follow by the lake, and some marshy bog-trotting continued the Carneddau theme! After a bite to eat outside the deserted hut, I ran flat out back down to Borovets to check out of my hotel before midday.

Pedol Peris

Race: Peris Horseshoe fell race (18m/8500ft/AL)
Peaks: Elidir Fawr, Y Garn, Glyder Fawr, Lliwedd, Snowdon, Moel Cynghorion
Time/Position: 4.17.02 (9th from 50)
As my third attempt at a sub-4 Pedol evaporated into an undignified dehydrated plod on Lliwedd, I was forced to reflect that I am currently good for three hours sustained effort: but not a minute more! This was all a bit disappointing, though, as I'd hoped my endurance would be a bit better after concentrating on slightly longer races than usual this summer. Peter and I cut it very fine indeed to register for the race in the morning: less than 20 minutes to go when I paid my entry fee at the Heights (this would have been a stressful rush for a 5k, let alone the hardest mountain race in Wales). A sprint through Llanberis to the field near Vivian Quarry and we were off up the inclines by a different route than usual. This took us further right towards the crags before heading up the tracks to gain the open hill on Elidir Fach. A welcome breeze took the edge of what was shaping up to be a hot day. I went direct for Elidir Fawr and gained the summit bang on 48 minutes, exactly the same as last year. I was determined to stick to sub-4 schedule, but made sure I enjoyed every step of the next section - for me the highlight of the race, contouring round Foel Goch to the slog up Y Garn. Great views over the Carneddau, perfect conditions, all looking good. Still felt pretty fresh for the next climb up Glyder Fawr, but then took a less than ideal line too far left down to Pen y Pass. It is notoriously hard to find the best line down here, but it wasn't a disaster as I reached the Pass in 1.55. I have a vivid memory of chronic dehydration on my first Pedol Peris some years ago, so took a litre on board as I jogged up the Miners Track towards Lliwedd. It didn't work, however, and I started to suffer quite early in the climb. My only gel didn't help and I began to slip away from the group in front. I perked up very briefly on the Lliwedd ridge, great views over the crags to Snowdon, and momentarily thought I might be able to catch the group in front. This was an illusion, however, and I really suffered over Lliwedd and hobbled down to Bwlch y Saethau, falling further behind. I took the scrambling line direct up the ridge to Snowdon, the opportunity to use the arms always welcome, before enjoying the usual surreal experience of emerging into the crowds on a chilly and misty Snowdon. Difficult to dodge the people, so I jumped onto the railway track and pelted down, relieved to turn off on the Snowdon Ranger path. Any revival proved short-lived, however, and I soon recommenced hobbling down to the col below Cynghorion. The sting in the tail up Cynghorion doesn't last too long, but it was long enough today - and my snail's pace continued, losing another place and loads of time, on the punishing descent down to Maesgwm and long run back to the finish at the Victoria hotel. Shame I felt so rough, but more positively the Pedol always provides a memorably hard race. We recovered with a pint and soup at the Heights.

Grisedale Horseshoe fell race

Race: Grisedale Horseshoe fell race (16.5k/5000ft/AM)
Peaks: Catstycam, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, St Sunday Crag
Time/Position: 2.20.08 (30th from 120)
It looks likely that I will miss this year's batch of mountain marathons, but I always like at least one trip to the Lakes each year: so this was a good opportunity for a late summer 'away day' with Huw and Steve. A classic race and classic hard route, despite the relative shortness of the course. It reminded me of the sadly defunct Carneddau race - only a 'medium' but tougher than many 'longs' due to the amount of climbing. It had taken me a while to recover from Maesgwm and I had no wish to damage myself (with one eye to a possible Pedol Peris next week) so took it easy throughout. As such, we all had a very enjoyable and quite relaxed day. Stuck with Steve for the path from Glenridding, which goes gently up towards the steep climb round the side of Birkhouse Moor taking the most direct line to Red Tarn. After a long, hard climb with the sun peeping through high clouds and the temperatures climbing, the ground flattens out towards the lake but then kicks up dramatically for the full frontal ascent of Catstycam. Superb running along Swirral Edge followed, with some mild scrambling up to the top of Helvellyn with the mist clearing from Striding Edge below. This was my first time up Helvellyn for 26 years: last went up in leisurely fashion via Striding Edge with the University Hiking Club in October 1988! Tremendous stuff with far reaching views over the western Lakes, and it was followed by brilliant easy running south along the ridge line, across the summit plateau of Nethermost Pike skirting Dollywagon Pike to a steep and punishing descent down to a CP at Grisedale Tarn. I took this very easy, not wanting to risk quad damage. After missing a few racing lines earlier on, I got in with a small group of local runners for the route up the fine peak of St Sunday Crag - new territory for me. They knew all the best lines, and we cut one giant corner via a tiny contouring sheep trod. On the main ridge, I felt quite good, benefiting from a relaxed start, so pushed on a bit and gained a few places as the mist skirted the summit, keeping the temperatures down. I then found the crucial scree gully which helps quickly gain the steep grass slopes down to the barn and CP at Elmhow. From here a river crossing leads to a slog through bracken up to a level path with great views across to Place Fell, before the savage sting in the tail up to the Hole in t'Wall. This is desperately steep, rather like the Blorenge at the end of Llanbedr-Blaenafon: hands and knees at times. Because I'd taken it easy it wasn't too bad, but I can imagine blowing completely here. After the stile on the ridge, a diagonal contouring line gained the outward path at Birkhouse Moor followed by an excellent fast and smoothish descent back to the finish in Glenridding. Tea, cakes and sandwiches at the village hall followed by a fine recovery pint at the Water Mill in Ings.