Elvet Striders

30th Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon, Helvellyn, 5th July

Nigel Heppell

Tom Reeves and myself both ran the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon for the first time in 2007. For those who don't know about it, this is a 2-day event in the Lake District where pairs of runners compete as a team to navigate round a series of checkpoints as fast as possible. The checkpoints must be approached in the specified order and each team carries food and accommodation (a tent) for an overnight stop in a remote location. Day 1 has more controls and greater distance than day 2. There are 6 categories of varying difficulty for teams of two, and 1 class for the elite 'billy no-mates'. Each category has a different set of checkpoints, some of which can be close together so you have to be sure you stick your electronic dibber in the right one. If you don't, or if you miss a control or get them in the wrong order, you're disqualified.

Last year Graham Daglish and myself ran in the basic entry level coming 25th out of 104, having been out on the fells for 4 hours on day 1, and 3 hours on day 2. The terrain was mainly rounded hillsides in the eastern lakes, nothing too serious, and the weather turned out warm and sunny. Graham and I were a bit concerned when Tom turned up at the overnight camp 4 hours after us looking like he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He had stood in, at only 2 days notice, for Stewart Gardener's partner who was unable to make it. All I know is that Stewart G is a strong hill runner and he and Tom were running in a class 4 levels up from Graham and me. At the end of day 2, despite hanging around, we'd gone home before Tom and Stewart finished.

So what happened in 2008?

Tom wanted to have a go in a lower class with a friend of more equal abilities, and Graham and I thought we could manage the next class up. But, ultimately, Graham couldn't make it, and neither could Tom's friend, so Tom suggested I join him. Now I don't know if you've noticed, but Tom's been having a really good season; he's been winning races; he's done well in the Harrier League; he's supported people on the Bob Graham Round; and he's even learnt how to run fast downhill - and that was the only chance I ever had of keeping up with him!

Reluctantly I agreed.

We cobbled together the necessary lightweight equipment and supplies, begged, stolen, and borrowed, and set off for the Lakes on Friday night. Saturday morning came and we lined up at our start time of 8.17am on the lower slopes east of St John's in the Vale. And then we were off - to sit down amongst the bracken and plan our route between control points. Control 1 was easy, couldn't miss it - but we did, well it wasn't where it should have been. The trouble is that the grid ref relates to a square of 100m side on plan view. In real life, on a 45degree slope, the knoll we should have been looking for was 50m above the one we were standing on! And lets face it, who wants to climb up 50m of hillside if you might not have to?

Never mind, we got it eventually, probably lost 10 mins on that one, but next one was easy, couldn't miss it - we didn't, but have you ever heard of contouring? This is where you walk/run around a hillside at constant elevation so you don't use up energy climbing unnecessarily, but after an hour+ it becomes a form of exquisite torture, as if someone is trying to wrench your feet off your legs by twisting them sideways. Bits of shoe you didn't know existed make rubbing contact with bits of foot you didn't know you had, and the pain begins to build. One of my inner soles ended up on top of my foot. Life got better when it was pulled out and stuffed in a pocket.

3rd checkpoint was another hour away, contouring all the time, except we weren't, we unwittingly dropped elevation and undershot the marker, spent another 10 mins hunting it down. For the sake of everyone's sanity I'm not going to describe each control point. Some we got OK, some we had to hunt for.

I might not have mentioned that it was raining, hose-piping, horizontally; and every now and then the wind hit us with a gust strong enough to send us 5 paces off to one side and down the hill. Believe me, map reading under these conditions isn't easy.

Route choice between controls is another area benefiting from experience and local knowledge that we didn't possess, and to our detriment, we took the scenic route through a boulder field on one occasion, and probably tackled some steeper climbs that strictly necessary - we're talking about being on all-fours here, map between clenched teeth, clinging on to tufts of grass, and trying not to look too much like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Much relief was had when we actually ran down off the tops to the final checkpoint for Day 1. We were so wet with fresh rainfall that all our kit was clean and shiny, so what were the last 500m like? Thigh-deep peat bog, farm mud and sheep shit! Just to make us feel at home, eh? Saturday night greeted us with at least 3 thunderstorms but we were, eventually, quite comfortable in a decent tent (thanks Geoff), and with some interesting food cooked up on a stove that is also capable of welding mild steel (thanks Graham).

Halfway results showed us in 68th position with a time of 8hrs 24min for 18.8km (straight line on-plan measure), and 9 control points. Tom and I reckon we only managed a total of 2km running all day, the rest of the time conditions were only suitable for yomping, crawling, or scrambling. Out of 144 starters only 88 managed to complete day 1 intact.

Day 2 dawned wet but not so windy. And after Tom's hyperglycaemic breakfast porridge concoction we were raring to go. The controls for day 2 looked a bit easier than they might have been and we suspect there may have been some adjustment overnight on account of the numbers dropping out. Still, off we went into the clouds again, but at least there were quite a few tracks to follow which certainly speeded things up. We were running a lot more now. Quite a bit of contouring followed but at least it was 'opposite-slope', giving the previous day's foot damage some relief. The controls were easier to identify too, being placed in sheepfolds or cairns on high spots, etc. The final descent was tough for a lot of folk. This was on a track, but it dropped 330m in about 0.7km. Most of the various classes were directed to this track and loads of competitors fell on the loose, wet, slippery surface. I went down once but Tom descended in style.

At the end we ate our free meal of veggie Bolognese + coleslaw + pitta bread, cake and tea, and gratefully drove off in a dry vehicle.

Our day 2 result was 37th with a time of 4.08 hrs. So our overall position is 53rd out of 122 starters, with a total time of 12hrs 33mins 02secs.

Now, I'm not sure what this really means for the overall results, but it could be where I come in useful: there is an age discount on time for vet categories. Due to our combined age (mainly mine!) our overall time is adjusted to 11hrs 55mins 22secs.

Given free rein, I'm sure Tom could have got round a lot faster, and I have to thank him for sparing me the last 15m climb to many of the checkpoints, but I think we worked well together as a team and retained our good humour whilst others around us were not quite so compatible.

Did I enjoy it? Ask me next week.
Would I do it again? Ask me in 6 months' time.

PS. Don't believe the weather forecast - ever - especially not for the Lake District.

Results

Carrock Fell

Day 1: Distance 18.8km, Climb 1185m
Day 2: Distance 14.6km, Climb 705m

122 starters, 84 finishers.