Tigger Tor Fell Race, 23/350

First race of the year and first fell race since The Roaches. Training's been going well recently and it's purely down to one thing - more protein in my daily diet. There's been a two fold benefit since I started upping protein levels ; 

1) Less niggles and aches - muscles are recovering quick from hard training and I get less aches from about 12+miles when previously I was getting niggles. Rest days are now comfortable with stretching being aimed at increasing mobility and not to remove pains.

2) Ability to train harder - less niggles = the ability to push harder. It's been my limiting factor over the last 2-5 years really - in fact since before my Bob Graham and it's refreshing to remember what hard training is like.

Needless to say - with this recent change in my training and diet before this race I was keen to see how this translated into a race.

The section from Oxstones over to Burbage North

I've run this race twice before - 2006 and 2010 (wow 10 years ago !) and have enjoyed it both times - it reminds me of a Winter Burbage Skyline.  So, I knew the route and where to push and how hard the various sections were. I distinctly remember one thing from both of my previous races - the final climb right near the end from Burbage North to Houndkirk Moor is the killer - uphill very slightly for several miles - all on very boggy, narrow heathery sheep trods. Lovely !!

9.8miles 1470ft

And that's how you get 1,470ft of climbing !

Thankfully - the race went as well as I'd hoped - set off fast but comfortable (I never like to red line it early season without a few hard races behind me) getting to Higgar with plenty in reserve. A decent middle section down to Toads Mouth up to Carl Wark and back down followed by a solid final pull over Houndkirk - again feeling comfortable with my pace at all points. Refreshingly, I felt no niggles and felt like the legs always had plenty in reserve and that pushing off at any point was simple. It's been too often over the last few years that every effort in a race is just hard. Thankfully, it looks like I've turned that corner.

Also - very refreshingly - I don't think I lost any places at any point in the race (apart from 2-3 actually places off Higgar). One guy came storming past me on the final run in, but I took another runner. 23rd place out of 350 starters (440 entered) so very very pleased with a top 6.5% finish which is probably my best performance in the field for many years. Always a good quality field too at Totley.

Loved it. Can't wait for the rest of the season now !

Smiles all round from the Harriers (minus Saul) Matt, Su, Ruth, Claire and Me!

Results here 23rd out of 350ish so 6.5% of the way down the field - a record I think for me!!!
Results 2010 here 21/307
Results 2006 download here

Boundary Woods Orienteering (Blue Course), 10th

Really enjoyed this event yesterday despite the dreadful conditions - rain and about 6degrees.

Lots of great running, not always in the right direction ! As you can see from the splits underneath there were quite a few that were terrible - the first control being the worst where I was 43rd and lost about 4 mins! Really enjoyed it though! Legs felt good too.

Control, Time, (Position)
1 7:20(43)
2 3:19(4)
3 2:39(2)
4 1:24(4)
5 2:24(2)
6 4:06(22)
7 2:25(5=)
8 3:45(2)
9 4:15(16=)
10 3:30(47)
11 1:38(40)
12 2:38(16=)
13 5:55(33)
14 2:04(12)
15 4:32(4=)
16 2:16(4=)
17 4:10(44)
18 3:05(6)
19 2:04(4)
20 1:57(51)
F 0:18(16=)

Full splits here, 10th out of 53
Routegadget here

Dave Denton Queens Head 5k, 9th

Needed to get a race under my belt as haven't done one since September or earlier. Full of cold but not sure how much that effected my performance. Nice to see many Harriers out and a pleasant cool down with Karl too who we were all very surprised to see !

Link to results here
9th out of 129

Longstone Moor Orienteering, Blue 15th/40

Great event yesterday above Monsal Head - with Lewis doing the Yellow course (29mins) and me the blue - along with Dan taking his son Will on the Green and seemingly getting very lost!

New area for me - some very tricky micronavigation as most of the controls were in depressions that were so deep you could not see the control if you were more than 5m away from it - this was certainly the case for Control 12 - I was stood right next to it it seems but failed to spot it. Lost 5 mins

Results here
15th out of 40ish.
Oh - we love Orienteering!

Roaches Fell Race

Roaches race map (from MowCopRunners website)

I've done this race twice before (2008, 2012)and it's always a hard early winter fell race with 5 big climbs throughout the first and second halves of a race. This and it being 'out n back' (Tittesworth to Shutlingsloe n back) make it an unusual format.

Weather threatened to go bad all day, but never quite managed it.

I've not done much running apart from Peak Raid last weekend with Nathan, so was unsure as to fitness. Not cycled that much either !

First half was a struggle, jelly babies soon sorted that and I had a better second half - I think I overtook about 4 on the second half, but still felt like I wasn't running that well and should have been 5-7 places higher.

Nevertheless, a great local race and certainly still one of my faves.

19th out of 148, so top 13%
Results are here
Strava flyby here
Strava here
Roaches 2012 write up here (10th out of 134)
Roaches 2008 results here (2:26:57)

Roaches Fell Race route profile.

Peak Raid 3h. Round 2, Glossop & Bleaklow, Joint 2nd

It's been a while since I've done a Mini MM Nav event, so a gap in the diary was very quickly filled with this great looking event. It looked perfect for me as it ;

* Was in Winter, so conditions could be bad (ie great running!)

* Had a top quality map (as it's organised by the guys behind Peel Land Surveys) and

* The course goes over high level open access land, so running would be hard.

Nathan and Chris from the club had expressed an interest in getting into Nav style events, so Nathan and me decided to head up for this and enter as a pair so that he could get an insight into tactics and nav practice.

Peak Raid 3h, Round 2 Map - All controls shown with our choice highlighted

As it happened, the day turned out to be the warmest ever recorded in November and so navigation was never really a problem, although bearings were taken on several controls (especially 14 to the all important 15 which was 70 pts).

After we got the map, we headed straight off - making route choice whilst running up the road. We wanted to have lots of route choice at the end (to fine tune the time at the end as every minute back loses 50pts!) so we decided to leave the top left of the map to the end where we could add on or remove controls as time permitted.

Small Nav errors at 11 (wrong stream!) and 8 (overshot the stream junction) and 3 (the quarry was a nightmare!) lost us about 10 minutes all in which with hindsight would have been enough for us to add on control 5 which was 20 points.

All in all - a great day out - challenging course, hard running, great views, a great results, good nav practice and a great intro for Nathan. Great fun!

Joint 2nd overall (behind Duncan Harris of UK Ultra fame)

Results here

Explorer Events website here

Bikepacking MicroAdventure - Lake District 2 dayer, 13,000ft 95 miles

Inspired by our Summer Bikepack Microadventure through mid Wales, Dave and me vowed to fit another in before the end of the year. There were 3 destinations I had in mind ;

* Mid Wales again - lots still to explore, riding was good but not techy and not much singletrack

* Yorkshire Dales - Loads of multi valley bridleways & tracks giving endless options

* Lakes - Our favourite riding trails. Plus lots of pubs and tea shops!

The 95 mile 2 day Lake District Bikepack Route

Day  1: Staveley, Jenkins Crag, Arnside, Claife Heights, Grizedale, Blawith Fells, Duddon Bridge, Dunnerdale

Day 2: Stephenson Ground, Walna Scar, Tilberthwaite, Blea Tarn, Gt Langdale, Loughrigg, Jenkins Crag, Garburn Pass

I think the pubs and tea shops sealed the deal plus its our favourite Mountain Biking area - trails are anything from ribbons of singletrack going for miles through remote scenery, to techy 4x4 tracks to trailcentre-esque forest routes.

So, armed with trepidation, 2 bikes, 2 seatpacks, 2 handlebar bags and a route which looked guaranteed to offer a challenge and great riding in equal measure - we headed to the start of our ride - Staveley and therefore the Eagle & Child Inn. I've given a bit more detail on how we managed to pack so light down the bottom of this post but in a word - Alpkit. Awesome UK products which perform well and don't break the bank.

The weather as we set off was settled and cool but not cold on the way to our Camp1 overnight spot just above Staveley. We just needed to get into the open fells tonight as the next two days was when the riding started properly.

This is the view we had on Saturday morning - what a great start to the weekend ! 

The only thing with packing so light is that getting all the stuff you need back into two small bike bags is quite an intimidating task - let alone battling with the bike to get them attached ! After a good gear faff and a healthy helping of porridge, honey and fixing Dave's slow puncture we set headed off to our target destination : Dunnerdale, near Caw.

Throughout Day1 we would pass through Troutbeck, Ambleside, Outgate and Grizedale for lunch then Blawith, Broughton Mills, Duddon Bridge, Ulpha and then to camp high on the fells. The riding was fantastic throughout - it was mostly offroad but had a great mix of rubbly paths, rocky singletrack ribbons and easy riding tracks. We hardly saw anyone until our first stop in Grizedale cafe.

It was wonderful riding, with the only issue being a lack of water. In all the years I've been going to the Lake District, I'd never seen the streams like this - they were non existent apart from the major ones (which were often lower down and therefore not ideal for topping up water bottles from). We had to pay a visit to some National Trust accommodation to get topped up as I was starting to get headaches.

Day1 : CW from Top Left : Black Fell, Claife Heights, Parkamoor1, Parkamoor2, Woodland Fell, Thwaites Fell

One of my favourite trails of the day was the Three Witches in Grizedale - normally done in descent, but we did it as a pretty hard climb - still very good fun and basically all rideable. Progress was good until we stumbled upon some rarely used Bridleways near Boad Hole, Duddon Bridge - in fact, the OS map showed a BW which no longer exists on the ground. A quick diversion soon found us pushing the bikes towards Thwaites fell for the final leg over to our camp whilst the sun was giving a lovely glow whilst starting to set.

Our Overnight Camp

Part of the reason for choosing this area as an overnight camp is the proximity of The Blacksmiths Arms - another fantastic Lakes pub which just oozes atmosphere whilst offering great beer (and food, although we managed on Noodles!).

Bikepack Day 2 : Lovely riding towards White Pike - just before Walna Scar, Coniston

Day 2 was looking slightly shorter on the map than day 1 - about 40 miles today. We started off with the path round Stephenson Ground and Jackson Ground - another of my favourites - before starting the climb up to Walna Scar and popping out on the high fells as you can see above.

We'd not ridden the Walna Scar descent for many years and it's now a ride of two halves - top half - nice n rubbly and techy - bottom half - sanitised. Disappointing really but I'm sure over time it will develop some character. A quick food stop in Coniston Lake side cafe before heading out through Tilberthwaite, Little Langdale, Blea Tarn and another sanitised track through Great Langdale - again this used to be a lovely bridleway to ride but is now almost wheelchair friendly.

Bikepack Day 2 : Blea Tarn

Although Day 2 was slightly shorter, the full packs and rubbly trails were starting to take the freshness out of both of our legs - that and the 13,000ft of climbing ! The last 2 trails were Jenkins Crag (push) and Garburn - the latter being more technical riding than either of us had found before on this trail.

To top the weekend off, we got back to Staveley around 515, just in time to find the local Artisan Bakery wanting to get rid of out of date sausage rolls and posh cobs - they didn't last long!

A great weekend of hard riding on perfect trails, with great pub and cafe stops. Just what a biking weekend should be.

KIT LIST
As I mentioned above the lightweight equipment Alpkit offers has opened up new avenues of lightness and comfort for backpacking and bikepacking. None of the equpment is expensive either, plus they are based near Eastwood, 8 miles away.

Tent : Alpkit Ordos 2. Just over 1kg, spacious 2 man. Best backpacking tent I've ever used Sleeping Bag : PHD Minimus, 500g Thermarest : Alpkit Numo 450g - Again, the best packpacking option I've ever used. Folds flat Down Jacket : PHD Minimus Pullover, 300g Waterproof Jacket : Haglofs LIM Ultimate 240g Lighting : Exposure Joystick, just awesome! Seat Pack : Alpkit Airlok 13l Tapered

Handlebar Pack : Airlok Extra 13l Velcro straps : Pair, long Camp Stuff : Packpillow, Foil Groundsheet (reflects more heat than the footprint), Earplugs (tent can get flappy), cheapy 500ml Pan with lid which fits the smallest gas cylinder and stove inside it, Pan stability feet, wet wipes, contact lenses, spork, stove foil windshield Overnight Clothes : LS Merino Top, Leggings, Socks, Tights, Buff, Gloves Evening Meal : Posh cupasoup / Posh Packet Cous Cous / Custard & Mars Bars Breakfast : Porridge with added sugar / honey pre bagged Bike Stuff : Multitool, Tubes, Pump, Oil, Chain links, cable ties

Other : Camera, Tripod, Spare Battery, Phone in Ortlieb Case with Battery power pack

Notts Derby Cyclocross, Shipley Park

No photo's from this one sadly so we've got the course map (from Strava)


Great race - very very fast and dry - 29th out of 120ish I think. Suited me really. Mum and Apps came down to watch Lewis in the under 12s race - I think he was 23rd out of 77 not bad as he's 8.

Cyclomonster from Spondon were down the weekend - sadly they had some lovely, lovely shiny cross bikes with them - and there was me - I didn't even need a new bike! Always the way tho...

Results here
Strava link here

Orienteering, Shirebrook Wood

Really enjoyed my first orienteering of the season - cycled there on the MTB too as it was such nice weather. Went for blue course and thankfully I didn't get lost otherwise I'd have got home too late!

Really enjoyed the mix of thick woodland, some wilder grassy sections and then the fast tracks too. Reminded me of some KIMM navigation from the Scottish Borders, which is high praise indeed !

3rd on the blue course, pleased !

Results here

Wingerworth Wobble Fell Race, 5th/80

Always try and get along to this low key local fell race - a really enjoyable shortish hilly course which goes round some lovely woodland and paths around Wingerworth, nr Chesterfield.

Wingerworth Wobble Route : Clockwise

I'd not really run much but had been biking quite a bit, so my running is normally ok when I do that. Luckily, this was the case - I knocked about 2 mins off last year's time despite feeling sluggish in the legs.

Pity this viewpoint doesn't quite capture how steep this final hill feels !

Strava link here
Results here