Mallerstang Horseshoe & Nine Standards Yomp 6th June 2004
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 June 2004 22:58:00
so last sunday was my main even for this month, the mallerstang horseshoe and nine-standards yomp in kirkby stephen.
basically a 23mile fell race (although you can walk or run it, and their's a half distance version and an even shorter version. in theory 23 miles isn't a big issue for me, but this of course is off road with 3000ft of ascent and 1500ft between the highest and lowest point and carrying a pack, another totally new challenge to me.
i was nervous to say the least as i came downstairs for breakfast, but looking forward to it. i managed a little cereal and sipped on my usual energy drink. as we prepared to leave the B&B a flurry of walkers started passing after the 8am start.
we set off ourselves for the start to register, get our numbers & timing cards. i should point out that lisa and her parents who used to live round here, and who's silly idea this whole thing was, were walking the 11.5miles of the half yomp.
at about 8:45 there was no excuse but to check out & start! so i said my farewells and jogged off through town and back past the B&B. i was cautious of going off too fast but also aware i should probably make progress while the going was easy.
my later start meant that initially at least i had a string of walkers to follow, although the course was well marked. leaving kirkby on farm trails and tiptoeing over cattle grids there was no doubt as to where i was heading. the land sloped upwards but i'd been warned that the crest i could see was the ironically named 'little fell' and not wild boar fell another 149m above.
at least after cresting little fell i could see the main climb and enjoy a fast burst down and across the saddle before the main climb. no chance of running up that gradient (well no chance for me!) but at least i was still passing the walkers.
the weather yesterday had been changeable but it had dawned with sun and high cloud. a reasonable breeze was keeping me cool despite the sun, but as i moved onto the climb of wild boar a cloud rolled up from my right and engulfed the top, so no nice views for now. at this stage i was pleased to have the markers every 100m or so and walkers more frequently, as visibility had dropped.
little fell & the climb to wild boar
across the unsually flat top to checkpoint2 still following the markers. this is where the theory i knew about contour lines became reality, what i interpreted on the map as a quick drop down to the lower summit of swarth fell pike was in fact a drop to a saddle with another 80m climbing to checkpoint3.
by now i'd passed most of the walkers and things became alot quieter, the marshalls at the checkpoint pointed me toward a steep descent that i approached slowly until i could see where it went! the first part i would have thought twice about walking down, but with my toes pushed against the front of my shoes and zigzagging to reduce the gradient and keep control of my speed i got to the bottom in one piece and was able to enjoy the rest of the descent to the road and checkpoint4.
the next few miles climbed gradually to run back along the valley opposite wild boar fell, with spectacular clear views of the route i'd just run. fortunately the gradient was much more gentle but my thighs were beginning to struggle and the gradient at which i had to change from running to walking was getting less and less.
hangingstone scar / mallerstang edge
somewhere around checkpoint6 on high seat, the highest point at 709m, i passed a couple of ladies (having not seen anyone else for about 20minutes) running. one expressed envy at my youth and after a brief exchange it turns out she was 31years my elder! so maybe they started at the earliest possible time of 8am but they were making reasonable progress and to be even attempting it is certainly something i'd hope to aspire to in 30years time.
after high pike hill it was a fast toe bruising downhill down to the road and checkpoint8. at this point the full and half routes join, and the short route begins. so having had a solitary ridge run suddenly i was surrounded by families and walkers again.
nine standards was the final summit of the run and i caughth and chatted to lisa's dad before chasing the girls down. i had convinced myself this climb would be much worse so i was almost disappointed when checkpoint10 came into view on the summit.
far from being home and dry with only a few miles to go, i found the descent tough. with tired legs i had the option of flying down at full pelt, putting the brakes on and maintaining a sensible speed, or walking. full pelt lifted my heart rate and took my breath away which wasn't sustainable but trying to slow down the whole time was worse. i found myself flying down the steep bits and jogging/walking the flatter sections to recover.
this was made even less comfortable as the popular route is rocky and hard, a big difference from the soft boggy fells i'd become used to. eventually of course came the road home which wasn't any better!
finally back into town however, over the fairly idyllic stone footbridge i was taken aback to be presented with steps! only a handful but not something i was going to attempt to take in my stride at this point!
back into the school to check back in, in 4hrs 43minutes. i really didn't know what to expect of myself on this race but i'm pleased with that and thoroughly enjoyed myself to boot.
water, juice, tea/coffee and rolls were provided at the finish which i really appreciated once i'd recovered a little.
i sat on the grass and awaited the arrival of lisa and co. about an hour afterwards, they did really well!
certainly an event i would love to do again, whether it makes it into the schedule for next year remains to be seen as i just have so many things i want to do!
oh and as the website says the course record is a barely credible 2:51 !!