I have had issues with a nerve in my foot for months now and I was really unsure as to whether I would be able to do the race...foot pain every step gets a bit annoying after a few miles. I decided to start and see how things went. If things were not going well I would stop on the way back down Pen Y Ghent and head back to the start.
To say I was a bit gutted when the weather was rainy and cold is an understatement. I had packed shorts, suncream and was looking forward to catching a tan. Thankfully I had plenty of other clothes and so tights replaced shorts, waterproof and hat replaced the sunnies. My plan was to aim for a 4.10 ish finish if I was having a good run and I had the splits on my wrist to achieve this....although they did come off in the rain! Waterproof pen next time.
I lined up in the 4 hr finish section after catching up with some lovely people at the start. Great to see MG as I haven't seen her since June! As always my money was on Mr Lightfoot to win and despite just having come off a nightshift with 3 call outs I I expected him to be first over the line.
The gun went and off we began, I tried to set off conservatively and tried to just keep on plodding away up PYG. I had a chat with my fellow Team mate Shelli Gordon from 9Bar on the way up and I knew she wouldn't drop far behind me at all. The run up PYG felt ok, it began to get very cold and the wind was pretty blustery but served as a reminder of the challenging conditions that we could encounter during the event.
There was a lot of support on the route and to see the cheering marshals at the summit of peak number one was a delight. Quick dib in the mist and then head over to the wall and follow the trod down. I enjoyed the descent and as always passed quite a lot of people. I was just under my target time of 40 mins and dibbed on the summit at 38.46.
The run over to Ribblehead is always a welcome part of the race as the terrain is easy and the running is pretty flat. There was a lot of support out on the route and plenty of people offering sweets and drinks. I had a gel on this section so that it would be in my system ready for the climb up Whernside. I was feeling good but telling myself not to get carried away. This is the easy part of the race and there is a long way to go.
The High Birkwith checkpoint came quickly and again cheery Marshals sent us on our way. I had a plan to be at Ribblehead for around 1hr 40 and was surprised to dib at 1hr35 minutes. I only had a few sips of coke and didn't want my banana that I had sent to the checkpoint either. My stomach felt good. I hadn't even stopped for a wee yet.....minor miracle for me. Nothing was bothering me on my body, my hip felt great but a little twinge had started in my foot so I took a couple of ibuprofen to hopefully hold off any real issues.
Whernside is a corker of a hill! It really is a case of dig in, hands on your knees, keep going and don't look up. There are about three false summits where you think you are at the top but you aren't! The weather was pretty grim and getting colder so I put my coat on and kept working at it. It was lovely to see Elton (In his shorts!) just below the summit who offered drinks and food, I gratefully took a swig of water and thought he was joking when he told me Helen wasn't too far in front. As I dibbed on the summit I did the sensible thing and just walked for ten meters ate a bit of 9bar and removed my jacket as I like running downhill free of restrictions. My legs didn't feel too bad however I was surprised by how wet and muddy it was underfoot...foolishly I had considered running in road shoes! Thankfully sense prevailed and I opted for the Salomon S lab Sense and they were perfect. The descent from Whernside is a shocker....but I love it! I genuinely look like an idiot, I smile, I laugh and even at one point I admit I shouted to one of the guys next to me "I LOVE THIS RACE!". I did however have to stop for a wee at the bottom...thanks to the lovely marshal telling the guys to keep their eyes ahead!
The run over to Hill Inn (2.37) was uneventful and I just enjoyed running and feeling good! It was superb to see my friend Jo at the checkpoint who gave me a shout of encouragement as I passed through and then again to see Dave Motley armed with supplies too. I was feeling good still and really had no complaints about anything. I was infact having a cracking day out! A few people had told me I was in the top ten women which to be honest I thought was a lie. I carried on towards Ingleborough and the final climb of the day. Encouragement from Lou and Mrs Livesey helped me on my way and a very loud shout out from David from Sports Sunday boomed around the hills as I ran past. SUPERB! He was nearly as loud as Laura had been earlier ....thanks guys!
Ingleborough is a trudge and quite a scramble in parts especially for those of us with little legs. A chat with Gary on the way up confirmed I was indeed having a good run. I knew that the run back down to Horton would not cause me any problems today. I felt good, I felt strong and knew I could make up a lot of places on that descent. The summit trek is always tough but I honestly felt sheer delight on the final summit and knew if I could hold it together on the way back down i'd be finished in around 40 mins. I love descending and I am ok at it. I really did enjoy it, of course there is always the pressure of trying not to trip, fall or slide on that horrible limestone but I honestly felt pretty confident. I overtook 31 people on the way down and three of them were women. I had a real tussle at the end with a girl who managed to get away from me but it made me work hard! I felt delighted coming into the finish. Cheers from the Accrington gang and a big cheer from Ady at Sports Sunday finished off a perfect day.
3.49 finish and 7th lady. Genuinely never thought I would get close to four hours.....to go ten mins under that is still hard to comprehend. Don't know what happened but it worked out well!
And of course Ricky Lightfoot won in 2hrs51.
Helen had a superb run to finish Fourth Lady in 3,42 - hard work paying off!!
9bar as always are my big support and provide all my race fuel and support me in all my adventures in so many ways. Extra thanks to Salomon, Trionz, Biosteel for their continued support. Also a huge thanks to the TFK Buggy people who I think are responsible for strengthening me up on the hills by making me push Juliet and her chubby butt up the hills!
Fingers crossed that this race is a sign of things to come.
