Getting through The Peaks unscathed was a good way of opening my account with the running world this year. I'd done bits and peices beforehand but it did have the feel of a curtain raiser.
I'm very much aware of the debate going on here about the purity of running away from The Circuit. What you might call 'Startled Deer Running' . And I get plenty in around here. Sunday morning long runs in the hills and woods above Keighley and Bingley are a great escape. Or up onto the Pennine way between Haworth and Hebden Bridge. It's a definite sanctuary.
But there is something brilliant about a race. The coming together, the silent suffering and the boozy aftermath. And I'm also having alot of fun on the track helping with junior coaching. Sitting on the shoulder of my 10 year old son as he moves effortlessly through a pyramid session. The gap slowly closing.
Saturday 19th April
The week before had been Rivington Pike. Primarily because it was a Junior FRA championship counter. But I decided to join in and run the senior race. This is an old race having been put on since 1892. But perhaps the best part was something I was ignorant of until several days later. I'd been running against Ron Hill. Dr Ron is 78 now but still dons his Clayton-le-moors vest and runs this event every year. There was not much open fell to run on but very steep nonetheless.
Saturday 26th April
The 3 Peaks
Saturday 3rd May
The weekend after saw Fells & Bells. The perfect marriage of romance and running. Two Bob Graham members who put on a race before their nuptuals followed by more cake and pork pie than you could throw a stick at. All set in the idylic world of the Wharfedale valley. Plus our first outing in the new campervan. A truly memorable day.
The Happy Couple
Wednesday 7th May - Esholt 5k race 1
The first in a series of 3 5ks going from the village once home to the original Emmerdale film set. This race has alot of soft edges for a 5k road race. There was a great turn-out and quite a buzz on the start line. The race was won by one of Britain's top fell runners. And I didn't have a bad run, still managing to duck-in under 18 mins.
Sunday 12th May - The Calderdale Way Relay
100 teams, 12 runners per team, 6 legs, over 50 miles. Legs run in pairs. Starting at 8am with the winners doing the whole thing in less than 6 hours. This is the Mixed Kebab of running. People just love the experience. It's a chaotic mix of logistics, waiting around and balls-out fell running where people feel compelled to meet up later in the pub just to make sense of it all.
I was doing Leg 3 this year from Todmorden up to Blackshaw Head. The shortest route with the steepest climb. Just my cup-of-tea. Blackshaw Head being a remote hamlet typical of this pocket of the South Pennines. It was a mythical place for me as a kid; a place I only knew about as the end of a bus route I'd never ridden. A few streets surrounding a Wesleyan chapel made of blackened millstone-grit. As it was a short leg we jogged the leg in reverse back into Tod after finishing. This time enjoying the views across the valley to Stoodley Pike and down into the womb of The Industrial Revolution.
Leg 4 Team mates
