June

[glaconman]

May was concluded with The Ilkley Trail Race. 

A popular, 7 mile, bank-holiday jaunt upto the moors on the less famous northern side of the town.

It was an interesting race for me. Perfect race conditions. Damp and overcast. My legs felt amazing having benefited from several days of proper rest. But my aerobic capacity was definitely restricted by the 3 pints of ale I'd consumed the previous evening. Such are the compromises in life. The Abbeydale Deception had been on top form. So no regrets.

I was 4 minutes slower than 2 years ago but still had a satisfying run. I 'd probably had a really good winter of running back then. Whereas this past winter was virtually cancelled. So no worries. I'm starting from alot further back.

And it was just what I needed as a sharpener for my first 'A' race of this current ..... not sure what to call it. Season? Struggle maybe.

And so into June.

The Bronte 5 is a perfectly packaged road race. Starting in Haworth village it takes in two laps of Penistone Hill before finishing in the cricket club. Whence Gooseye is served from the clubhouse with a prominent aspect overlooking the Worth valley.

There are many flavours of tarmaced topology in this race: flat, draggy, undulating, steep ascent and steep descent. So you're constantly having to adjust the throttle and recalibrate your effort. Always uneasy about whether your race will finish on the line; or if it will start to die a slow and agonising death with a mile to go. It's knife-edge stuff. And I think this is what's so engaging about running a race.

It was my 6th outing and the slowest I've run. But again, the numbers didn't diminish a rewarding run where I ran hard and paced things well. And having had a dry week to put me in a better place the post-race ales tasted magnificent.

The evening also incorporated the Yorkshire Vets 5 mile Championships. I've had Silver in the MV45 before. But tonight I was the 8th MV45. Oh well, next year I'll be an MV50 so hope springs eternal.

I'm also starting to get some miles in on the bike. Although in truth I have little choice in our house. The missus dragged me out on my day-off last week. We headed up to Bolton Abbey then made for the flat roads heading out to York and ended up doing over 100 miles. At least I got to put my feet up at work the next day.

Next stop The Hawkswick Dash on Sunday. And we now have a Labour MP again. Happy Days.

[glaconman]

Well, the Hawswich Dash never happened. For some reason the thought of driving up the Dales for such a short race for me and the lad didn't appeal come Sunday morning.

Mrs was out with the Roadies so me and Junior had a day on the MTBs over into Calderdale with lunch in Hebden Bridge. And whilst the wind blew and the sky squalled it was, nonetheless, a champion outing.

I came across this short film the other day and I'm not sure if I've shared it. I'd just been given a dash/helmet cam for my birthday and I kind of waved it around abit at a junior fell race a couple of years ago. Then Mrs G did some magic in the edit to make it abit more watchable.

It captures something of these low-key summer events.

[glaconman]

Incidentally there's a chap from Lancs who has made some cracking fell running films. They certainly help me to get out of the door on occassions.

I could watch this one all day.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Brilliant videos, for sure. I often wonder though, don't all those fell races mess up the countryside somewhat? The thought of hundreds of feet clomping over fairly pristine terrain looks a little damaging? How is all that managed?

[glaconman]

Hi MLCMM;

I'm not sure environmental impact is a major concern.

Compared to walkers, the number of people running these routes is very small. Where erosion is worse (Dales, Lake District etc) there are millions of walkers vs a few hundred races annually.

Then there's races on private land that only see a small footfall once a year. And compared to motorbikes, MTBs and horses it's less damaging.

For me they are a really important aspect of a healthy community and sporting culture.

I think grouse hunting and sheep farming are by far the biggest threat to our uplands. They leave them totally barren and cause major flooding in urban areas. Whilst serving a relatively small number of people. Change must come in the form of rewilding and a more diverse management of land. For the benefit of urban and rural communities.

But I may just be rationalising something I enjoy doing.

As always, be interested to hear your views.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Hi MLCMM;

I'm not sure environmental impact is a major concern.

Compared to walkers, the number of people running these routes is very small. Where erosion is worse (Dales, Lake District etc) there are millions of walkers vs a few hundred races annually.

Then there's races on private land that only see a small footfall once a year. And compared to motorbikes, MTBs and horses it's less damaging.

For me they are a really important aspect of a healthy community and sporting culture.

I think grouse hunting and sheep farming are by far the biggest threat to our uplands. They leave them totally barren and cause major flooding in urban areas. Whilst serving a relatively small number of people. Change must come in the form of rewilding and a more diverse management of land. For the benefit of urban and rural communities.

But I may just be rationalising something I enjoy doing.

As always, be interested to hear your views.

No, that's probably all fair enough. No argument from me, I was just curious, as many of those environments look rather fragile. As you say, the  number of runners is probably tiny compared to the hikers, hunters and farmers. These issues are no different here, of course, but with a rather lower population.