Pages

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Another trip up Ingleborough and, cor blimey, the Commondale Beacon Fell Race!!!

For the second weekend on the trot another gorgeous run up Ingleborough from Austwick on Saturday morning, this time with Hester as well as Harry, and catching a small splash of snow (the first of the season) while we were up there. To be honest this week's run was completely different to last week's.... because we ran it clockwise rather than anti-clockwise.

Totally, totally different then....

Hazzer in 'alert mode' on Little Ingleborough

Harry on the side of Ingleborough with Simon Fell beyond

The boy and, behind him, 'the girl'

Harry barking at the para-gliders - summit of Ingleborough

H and H playing in a snow "drift"

Limestone grikes with Pen y Ghent on the far horizon

Pen y Ghent again

Mine and Harry's land as far as the eye can see

Rock rooted tree!!!

And what do you know, me and Harry and Hester actually ran a fell race on Sunday, the 8 mile Commondale Beacon race in the North York Moors. It turned out to be a right good blow out too, with it really being not nearly hilly enough to suit my 'skill set' (cough). Jesus it felt like we sprinted all the way round! Anyway I came 45th with a time of 63 minutes, Harry was first dog and Hester zoomed home to finish 71st, 4 minutes later. Fantastically muddy as you'd expect and jolly good fun..

Results here

Ze fell race route
The Stolly and Harry fell racing team

Uh oh.... stream crossing alert

Face plant!
Hester demonstrating how it's done


Monday 18 November 2013

Nidderdale 'Frostbite 30' recce

A fabulous run with Hester, Gavin and Harry yesterday sussing out the route of the Frostbite 30, an ultra race that we're doing on 7th December. Cutting a long story short the route does Nidderdale bottom to top, front and sideways, starting from Pateley Bridge. We got sidetracked watching a red kite that was dive bombing a grouse (that's our excuse anyway) and took a wrong turning on the moors, leading to us adding 3.5 miles to the 30. But that was just 10% more fun for free (yeah, right!). All the same a lovely route following trails and cart tracks all the way round and, worryingly for race day, pretty much all runnable, dagnabit! 

A fine ending to a solid week's running for me and Harry too. After 22 ish miles Monday to Friday, Saturday's 10 miler up Ingleborough and 33.5 yesterday, we near as damn it clocked up 66 miles with 9,500 feet of ascent thrown in.


Gouthwaite Reservoir, the first of three reservoirs we have to pass

Hester and Gavin on t'moors

Hester chugging on with Harry watching

Nidderdale looking good

More Nidderdale

Harry playing stick.... all the flipping way round

Well thats 20 miles done and dusted..... just 13.5 to go


Ze route


Saturday 16 November 2013

Ingleborough from Austwick

After last weekend, which was spent mainly eating cake, with no runs long or epic enough to mention, me and Harry started this weekend off nicely with a lovely 10 miler up Ingleborough from Austwick. Harry somehow managed to find a tennis ball just below the summit so we were even able to play fetch all the way back from there.

Harry in gallop mode

Galloping towards Ingleborough

Ingleborough ahoy!

Waiting for a stone chuck

Looking towards Pen y Ghent over the limestone pavement

Limestone with knobs on!

Where's Wally?

More galloping - this time on the summit plateau

Looking towards Austwick and Clapham from Little Ingleborough

Ze route


Tuesday 5 November 2013

The Dales......

Even better, the Dales without Adrian fricking Edmondson!!!

Two grand runs Gromit. On Saturday from Kettlewell (in Upper Wharfedale) running a 16 mile loop over Great Whernside, Buckden Pike and Firth Fell with Hazzer and, on Sunday, a 11 mile there-and-backer up the Pennine Way out of Hawes (in Wendsleydale) to the top of Great Shunner Fell with Hezzer and Hazzer. A grand range of weather too - cold cold wind, hill fog, driving rain, sunshine and, best of all, plenty of mud and and sloshy water to slog through.

Cairns half way up Great Whernside

Great Whernside trig (oh and Harry of course)

The ground 'took a stud'

The 'mooooouuurs' as Hester's Scottish friend Ann on Lewis would say in a very sing song Scottish brogue

Buckden Pike and its absolutely hammering down

And now the sun's out. Huh!

Kettlewell with now a completely clear Great Whernside beyond

Upper Wharfedale 

Saturday's route (done anti-clockwise)

Sunday and we're running (and wading) through the water meadows out of Hawes 

Standard Yorkshire Dales sheep shot

The H Team

There's lovely...

Cloudy with the chance of meatballs

Me un t'lad Gromit

Dales skyline

Sunday's route (done neither clockwise nor anti-clockwise)