Off Course Phalarope

Off Course Phalarope

Wednesday 31 July 2013

The Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon 2013 Corney Fell

For the weekend of the 6th and 7th July, Sam (my youngest son) and I headed to the Lake District for the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon.  It was only four weeks since I completed my BG and Sam had been busy with his GCSE finals, so we weren’t expecting to break any records!

We’d entered the Carrock Fell course which was one level up from our previous efforts and would give us a slightly longer and more challenging route.  I had mixed feelings about this as my feet had been very blistered and bruised in the BG and hadn’t had much time to recover!

We arrived late on the Friday evening, pitched our tent in the late arrivals camping field, and settled down for the night.  It was warm and the air was full of midges so we made use of the midge screens built into our snugpack sleeping bags – these had not previously been put to the test and although a little claustrophobic worked a treat, which is great as they were purchased primarily for bivvying where midges and other critters could be a problem!
 
On Saturday morning we awoke to a glorious sunny day and wasted no time applying the sun cream.  We didn’t know the competition area at all so we had to carry more water than normal in case we couldn’t dip en route.  This added to the weight we had to carry but couldn’t be helped.

Day one saw us climb out of the valley then follow a long and undulating route through the fells.  The navigation was relatively straightforward as the landscape didn’t lend itself to interesting route choices, which was a bit disappointing as it’s the navigational challenge we enjoy most. The ground was generally covered with rough long grass and proved heavy going for me. There was also a lot of contouring which caused some blisters on our feet and forced us to choose long routes in an effort to limit the damage.

We arrived at the overnight camp early in the afternoon.  The location was stunning with views of the coast and western fells.  After a wash in the stream and plenty of rehydration, Sam and I spent most of the afternoon and evening snoozing in the sun, before retreating into the tent when the midges started to appear.  It was a blissful restful way to spend the afternoon! We slept pretty well despite the long afternoon snooze.  I could have slept for half of the next morning too!

Day two brought similar terrain to leg one with lots more grass and contouring.  There was a line of runners to all of the controls which made for a race type scenario and little to be gained from good navigational skills.  However, the scenery was stunning and the weather hot so it still made for a great day on the fells.  I twisted my ankle on the run to the final control and had a temporary moment of horror when I couldn’t bear weight on my foot….thankfully the pain passed quickly and we were soon running again.  It was a brutal descent to the finish over a gorse covered slope which Sam attacked in impressive style.

At the finish the post race dinner was the best ever and the dip in the stream was lovely.  We also enjoyed the post race banter and met a fellow fell runner who has attended Sam’s school in Devon and knows some of his teachers and rugby team mates; a small world it is!

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