8.5 miles. 3000+ft ascent. Starting point: Braithwaite Lodge
So this was the second race of the fell race series and it was the complete opposite of the first in many ways. The most obvious being the weather. It was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, definitely too hot for running over the fells! Again i travelled down with the lads who were faster than me, after a few attempts at avoiding it. I arrived at the race knowing i’d fuelled and hydrated well which is half the battle for me.
The race started in a field just next to Braithwaite Lodge and we could get a clear view of where the race was going to take us. Navigation wasn’t anything to worry about personally, I’d came prepared with a waterproof map this time! From the start line, the race took us down into the village and up a bank to wooden steeps which lead onto the long climb up Grizedale Pike. I was forewarned that there is a bottleneck at the bottom of the steps. Some runners choosing to blast it to get up them first and runners like me that got stuck in the thick of it for a few minutes. The field began to open up when crossing a stile to begin the climb.
The climb up to Grizedale Pike felt like a never ending slog. It was a hands on knees and push through situation for me. A slight level out in the middle provided a little relief on my heavy legs and sore knees. This climb covered over 2000ft itself within about 2.5 miles (guesstimate) Up Grizedale Pike
A welcome descent down to Coledale Hause from Grizedale Pike left us with a cracking view of the next climb up Eel Crag.
This is where the race came to life for me. It was hands and knees, pulling yourself up through the rocky screes. My legs lost their heavy feeling and i got up the crag in no time, overtaking a fair few people in the process. Arriving on the featureless summit i felt that my legs had finally turned up to the race and the race was on.
There is a bit of a scrambly section from Crag Hill to Sail which then leads us on a grassy ridge to skim around the side of Outerside. This left us with the final climb of the race, Barrow. A rocky and rather painful path lead us to the summit, careful foot placement was difficult when the exhaustion and heat were starting to become more of an issue. A welcome view of the finish line from the top gave me the last push i needed. A nice, dryish, grassy descent finished off a cracking race.
Catherine- 2
Coledale Horseshoe – 0
Fell race series points – 2
Catherine Vicarage
