Winter Hill Fun - Saturday 19th January

Cracking morning of winter fun over Pike, Two Lads, Quarries, Burnt Edge, Winter Hill TP and Noon Hill.  Only eight miles, but fairly challenging in places!  Especially when KLM took us the alternative route from Georges Lane NOT via the diagonal

Few more here if you like the white stuff!

KLM sprints off

Chinese Gardens looking uber cool!

Well until this lot arrived

YJ reeling in some random dog walker

Digging in

Approaching Noon Hill

Performance of ritual bog dancing on Noon Hill

Great fun had by all, especially when KLM stood a post run treat at the Lower Barn – Cheers!

Laters at Il Toro

Nutnup

Evening all,

Can't make UTUP, the having a band thing is getting in the way again. Though I did go out tonight to make up for it; Pike, Two lads, mast, trig and then reversed it with the addition of Wilderswood after two lads.

If you get to the Pike steps and there's the image of somebody having stumbled into a two or so foot drift before falling into it, that's my handiwork, enjoy!

Saturday 19th January

I'm planning to report UTUP, weather permitting.

Perhaps punctual starters could head for the Pike and then Two Lads, so that any late arrivers would have a chance of making contact by going straight to Two Lads.

Glasgow Weekend

Our usual visit to celebrate Bill’s Birthday 87 years young – few more here

Powfoot on the Solway Firth

The Necropolis

 

 

The Pavilion morning sunshine

Poet or Runner?

After that neat piece of verse EtU, one wonders whether your future lies elsewhere other than running? What you were short of on Sunday was a silly old fool to give you some competition. Unfortunately I was still unavailable.

Ashurst Beacon (9.5K/290m) Sat 12th Jan

In an attempt to get a bit of speed back I decided to target a couple of shorter, flatter races.

The previous week I'd run at the Kendal Winter League on Scout Scar and this week it was Ashurst Beacon's turn. This was a race I'd never done before but I'd heard reports of a killer uphill finish. With my 'climbing' going well it could be a chance to regain all the places lost on the flat bits.

A lunch time start gave me a chance for  a 'early doors' warm up lap with EtU, JtE and TYC over Winter Hill. EtU kindly warned me about the 'hundreds' of stiles in the race and having only had to climb over one on the outward route I was beginning to think he'd been reminiscing about a different race. The return loop at the half-way point and the following farmers fields made up for that.

Extremely heavy going in parts, made even harder trying to keep in front of the usual adversaries. I felt proper 'cream-crackered' when I finished, just a minute over the hour. Lads, I told you I needed to take the direct route back to the car parked on Foxholes, not the meandering one via Gingham Brow, might have managed a sub 60mins!!!

Results here http://fellrunner.org.uk/results.php?id=1796

Not out next week as I'm off for a bit of warm-weather training. Think I've timed it well!

TF

Garstang 10k

Three little runner boys planned a race to do,

One went to the Lakes, then there were two.

Two little runner boys planned to do a run,

One caught man flu, then there was one.

One little runner boy, not expecting to be first,

Ran his little heart out, did a personal worst.

http://www.ukroadraces.info/results/2013/gars.htm

Note good results by Horwich Harriers, but 3rd place!

How was leg one TYC?

Fell Running Plans

High Cup Nick 23rd Feb - I've fancied this one since TF published some pics of the area a couple of years ago (see below); doing it this year, happy to give rides.



Black Combe 2nd March - We went up to this team handed last year. I'm doing it again, but will be travelling south from Santon, rather than north from Bolton.

Saturday's CD

After debating a trip to the Lakes on the principal of a 30@30 (after seeing it on gofar) for most of last year and failing to do so, I thought I'd do something for 31. I considered taking the 30@30 and adding Clough Head to make it 31 but didn't plan far enough ahead so I thought a good way to celebrate would be by doing a CD as it's local and I could get people involved who have supported, encouraged and spurred me on since my chance meeting with EtU and TF on the mast road back in October 2011.

My birthday is the 6th so a quick post on here and a group email from EtU later, the plan began to form of extending the UTUP on the 5th into a CD.

The weather was great on the day, the forecast looked like we might be surrounded by fog but we missed it and I can't recall anything closing in too much other than the stretch from Counting Hill to Winter Hill Trig.

Setting off from Upper Barn just after 8am, Tim Roe (do we have a monicker for him?) and I went off for the first few peaks, EtU heading to Two Lads and YJ setting off for Great Hill with the plan being to meet us later on. Despite my woeful nav and route choosing abilities and Tim not knowing the route we soon covered Noon Hill, the Pike and Two Lads, Tim discovering along the way where the overlap with the Winter Hill race was, so a handy bit of recce for as I've not done the race yet but intend to correct that this year. We caught up with EtU between Two Lads and Smithill's res, then carried on for Whimberry Hill and Egg Hillock and caught a view of an inversion before linking back up at Counting Hill and heading on to the Trig and dropping to Horden Stoops.

Tim was heading back at Horden this and so handed over to TLoB (nice to meet you) while NLN and JtE set off for Great Hill and FSS headed off in the so we could join up later at white Coppice. Old Adam was soon done while TLoB recounted a story I'd hadn't heard before to do with foaming and soon we met up EtU on Stipplers as he'd carried on into the Northern section. After actually finding the small cairn we carried on for Great Hill and met up with NLN and JtE before heading over to Round Loaf, I decided on the direct route in honour of IK as he wasn't out on the day and we've headed that way before. It's an enjoyable route in the summer months when it warmer and drier as it's like running on a mattress, easy to spring along. January however, proved quite different. TLoB arrived just after having gone back down the path on Great Hill first and in retrospect, his may well have been the wiser route!

Back in to the bog we trotted and carried on for White Coppice where I was handed over to FSS for Healy Nab and the the final run in. I must admit I was a little more tired than I'd have liked to have been at this point and struggled with maintaining pace and it was enough to be annoyed with myself for not being a better runner, though that just means I need to train more, surely? One great thing I did learn was a new (if counter-intuitive) route off Healy Nab that shall be put to good use on future runs.

All told, I got back to Upper Barn 4 hours 22 mins after I'd started and it was a great day out. Thanks again to everyone who came out at such short notice to be involved and for keeping me company on the way round. Also thanks to those who took pictures to catalogue the events of the day and an extra thanks for EtU for picking up an idea of mine and giving it that extra bit of organisation and getting people involved. Now, these Bob Graham plans.....

Andy’s Coopes Dozen

Thanks to TYC (Andy) for a great day out on the hills.  I’ll Leave it to you to give us an account of the day – suffice to say have a lovely birthday tomorrow and well done for today!  A few more here!

Rivington Res on the way to Hordern’s Stoop

Winter Hill from Hordern’s Stoop

Winter Hill from the stile below Great Hill

JtE approaching Great Hill Summit

 

 

Looking back to Spitler’s from below Great Hill

JtE at Great Hill Summit

Looking back to Winter Hill from Great Hill summit

TYC approaching Great Hill Summit

 

TYC, TLoB and JtE at Great Hill summit

TLoB headed back to the stile at the end of the slabbed path from spitlers and TYC took the direct line over the stile – both heading to Round Loaf.   JtE and I watched their progress from the main path down to Drinkwaters. On the face of it TLoB took the long road, but TYC had a big climb back up to RL.  In the event and given TYC’s greater speed there was surprisingly little in it on getting to the summit.  You’ll have to take my word for it, but JtE will back me up on this – see below.

TYC just arrived on summit and TLoB approaching – very little in it (bear in mind the differential pace)

FSS and TYC at the Top Barn

Thanks Andy – grand day out

Look forward to reading other accounts of the day!

Thanks everyone!

Just a quick post to say thankyou all for coming out this morning's CD, made for a thoroughly enjoyable day.

I'll put a full post up once I've deciphered my splits (seems I've gone a little crazy with lap button on the Garmin) between each of the 12.

Thanks again!

Saturday 5th Jan

A sort of Coope's Dozen Relay is planned.

Leaving Top Barn at 8:00 and heading for Noon Hill, then Pike, Two Lads etc.

Expecting to be at Hordern Stoops at about 10:00 and thence to Old Arthur, Spitlers etc.

Everyone welcome, but don't expect to be fed, this has all been thrown together a bit last minutish.

Saturday morning

I am very happy to do the northern 5 so I will get to Hordern Stoops for 10am. One problem; I don't have any maps up here and so if anyone has the 1:25,000 map which has Great Hill et al on it, please may I borrow it for tomorrow morning?

Andy’s CD

I intend to UTUP on Saturday and see what happens.

Last Midweek Run in Daylight!

Back to work tomorrow so enjoyed a run out this morning – a few pics of the day if it’s of interest.

Hope to see some of you at UTUP this Saturday

Results Update

The long course results are now on the web page (click on the link in the previous posting)

Did comparatively better on that time-wise than on the Nine Standards race (results now here http://fellrunner.org.uk/results.php?id=1793 ) . Mind you it does help to employ a certain amount of cunning strategy which you don't get in a normal fell race. Set off first, let the fast ones come sailing past and let them spend ++mins looking for the 2ft wide concrete inspection cover that was cp5. Not easy with it only being about 6 inches proud of the surrounding moor. Homing in on the group of runners I was able to come strolling up and find it without any bother.

Experience from a previous event (paired with KLM) looking for a similar but larger man-made feature, meant I knew that trying to find it coming from cp6 would have been like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. As it turned out, the clockwise route didn't make it much easier.

Need to be doing some reps tonight to start the improvement for fell races. It's the only cunning strategy I can think to help with those!

TF

Happy New Year

Just wishing everyone a happy new year.

Postings have been sparse as I've been waiting for results to come in.

Whinberry Naze on the 26th Dec proved too short a race to catch T'Y, who finished a minute ahead. Results are now on the Rossendale Harriers Website.

Dec 30th saw me out doing the 'Festive Disorientation' . An 'enjoyable' 2:40hrs searching for labeled sticks of wood on the boggy heather strewn moors above Tintwistle. The 2012 checkpoints are listed on the following web page https://sites.google.com/a/sheffield.ac.uk/peakotrial/2012 . My route was 2,3,5,6,7&4, some went anti-c, some even went to cp1 just for good measure (still back before me!). No long course results yet though although winner (Tom Brunt) managed it in 1:29hrs.

Finally a little (8m) blast up to Nine Standards and back yesterday to blow away 2012 cobwebs and welcome in the new year. I can report that I ran all of the Tarmac bits and some of the track. Decidedly wet underfoot further up and snowing by the time I got to the top so didn't hang about for the views. Some record beating times for the front end of the race, room for improvement for the tailenders. Hopefully wont have to wait a week for these results to appear.

Checking my calendar it appears I can now do utup tomorrow but not Saturday.

TF

Sent from my iPhone

New Year at the Old Hill Inn, near Ingleton

An unexpected phone call gave us a surprise opportunity to spend the New Year at the Old Hill Inn in Chapel-le-Dale.    Great call – details here

Dramatic sunset on New Year’s eve

On the way – a flooded River Lune with the old railway embankment well and truly breached

More of the floods at sunset

World famous sugar sculptures

Whernside catching the rays from outside the Old Hill Inn

Lime kiln

Whernside in the sun from the path up to Ingleborough

Far end of Whernside

Outflow from Old Douk cave

and one of the entrances into the system below Ingleborough – black and white versions on my blog

Looks horrific, but then I’m no good with enclosed spaces 

TYC's CD

Not sure I'm fit enough for the full dozen, but I'd be happy to support Andy around a few of them, BG support style.  If I keep him company for the southern seven, can anyone look after him on the northern five?

A form of celebration!

Happy New Year everyone!

Would anyone be interested a Coope's this Saturday? I failed to do anything significant to mark my 30th last year so I thought I should do something this year and a Coope's was the obvious choice at short notice.

Any takers?

Just When You Thought...

...it was safe to go back into the water:-

An open water swim was one of the 62 different activities Margaret and I planned to do between our 61st and 62nd birthday. We started with the OMM in October 2011 and (despite my knee op and broken hand) had a whole host of fun throughout the year. The hidden reservoir swim was last September, just after my plastercast came off. We walked up from Coalpit Lane and just as we reached the perimeter path by the reservoir we met 3 lads out mountain biking. Poor things nearly fell off their bikes at the sight of us! They hung around to watch, but were not tempted to join in!

Mary