I was alerted to this race in the Lake District by a FB post from Mike who said he might be doing it. It’s a lovely area that I’ve been to before so it was tempting. No other Carnethies showed up though. Well, you missed yourselves! An absolutely cracking cool sunny day. Rather wet underfoot, particularly in the two river crossings which I’d been dreading, but they turned out to be fairly benign and no deeper than calf level. I’d also been dreading the reported tussocks but they weren’t so bad either.
Going the wrong way was more annoying. It’s a route that benefits from a recce. Relating the network of walls to the map is hard enough when you’ve got time to spare, but coming from a different direction in the race, when you imagine you are on the right line, is another story. Tusssock hell followed. I led the only other runner anywhere near me – a gnarly FV60 in the JBF mould – the wrong way, and by picking a better (wrong) line got a lead on her, not to last.
The marked areas are limited but make life much easier where they are in place. Apart from the detour which cost maybe 10mins I had a good run, fuelled by the new race superfood, Tesco’s rich fruit Christmas Pudding laced with brandy & rum, expiry date 2002, and custard.
There were only 16 runners, down from 50 last year, the first runing after a long break. A great shame as it’s an interesting and testing race over 11.23 miles, and a shame for the organisers too. Though there’s not a lot of ascent the ground is quite difficult, and some navigation is essential. The final clamber up the Cannon bank is an evil test, but finally sitting in the sunshine in front of Muncaster Castle and its lovely gardens was a treat. Because of the low numbers there were prizes for all. 1st (and only) V60 for me!
Digby
50k OS map (opens in new window). Race website here.