1st Draft kit list.
Necessities:
Omm classic 32l/Pod rocsac
thermarest
Snugpak single season bag
Vango Ultralite 200 tent
whitebox stove & 250ml meths /gas stove & 110g cylinder
windshield
msr titanium pot
plastic plate
plastic mug
spork
Petzl tikka plus
bog roll & disposable lighter
knife.
2l platypus
BMC 1:40000 dales map.
compass
skinsosoft
cash (10 for camping, another 30 in case of food/bus/taxi needs)
alcohol hand cleaner
antihistamines & basic FAK
contact lens stuff
mobile phone
Luxuries:
toothbrush & paste
small travel towel
small travel pillow??
liquid soap??
book
food:
loaf cake & jacket potato on the train
2 x malt loaf for daytime
100g porridge oats with drinking chocolate powder
2 x 100g porridge oats with dried cheese, dried mushrooms, stock cube, dried vegetables.
(already in boil bags)
4 x tortilla
250ml port??
ceylon teabags
clothes:
on:
summer running shorts
base layer
vivo running shoes
carry
summer running shorts
arcteryx long sleeved base layer
light gloves
Montane waterproof
inov8 summer hat
fleece hat?
base layer bottoms
base layer socks
buff
Friday 30 May 2014
Wednesday 28 May 2014
2 day camping run - the route
The next step in planning the 2 day run is the route.
The planned route is to get the train to Dent, arriving at 07:41. From there:
Day one
The planned route is to get the train to Dent, arriving at 07:41. From there:
Day one
- Blea Moor
- Whernside
- Chapel-le-Dale
- Ingleborough
- Horton in Ribblesdale
- Pen-y-Gent
- Plover Hill
- Foxup
- Halton Gill
- Hawkswick Cote
That works out at around 45 km according to the map. So up to 50 km in total. The amount of ascent is difficult to calculate. The fell race website reckons the 3 Peaks is 1400m, plus Blea Moor. Probably 1800m of ascent in total.
At an average of 6km per hour that's nine hours for distance alone, or eleven if we factor in a rough guess at ascent. Twelve hours from 07:40 is 19:40, which isn't a rude time to be arriving at a campsite, especially since we're overestimating here to allow contingency time. On the day I'll be tracking my pace with the gps, so regardless of the exact distance I'll be trying to keep a pace I'm happy with (target/max 6km/h).
At an average of 6km per hour that's nine hours for distance alone, or eleven if we factor in a rough guess at ascent. Twelve hours from 07:40 is 19:40, which isn't a rude time to be arriving at a campsite, especially since we're overestimating here to allow contingency time. On the day I'll be tracking my pace with the gps, so regardless of the exact distance I'll be trying to keep a pace I'm happy with (target/max 6km/h).
Day two
Option 1:
- Kettlewell
- Grassington
- Burnsall
- Bolton Abbey
- Home
45km
Option 2:
- Mastiles Lane
- Bordley
- Hetton
- Flasby Fell
- Skipton
- Home
(not measured yet)
Option 1 is looking favourite, because a) I know the route better, which saves having to carry a 1:25000 (more about that when I post about kit), and b) if I've overestimated my fitness or get the food wrong, it passes settlements where I can get food, or at worst a bus.
Option 2 would be good if I was wild camping, since Hawkswick Clowder has lots of craggy shelter to get out of the wind.
I'm being a bit conservative with this: overestimating travel time, taking shorter/easier route choices, to try and make it a comfortable, relaxing couple of days instead of a slog. I haven't done more than marathon distance in a few years, so going all out to run 100km with as much ascent as I can pack in probably wouldn't be wise. 50km a day at a gentle trotting pace hopefully won't be too bad. Depending on how this goes, I might do something a bit more gruelling later in the summer.
Option 2 would be good if I was wild camping, since Hawkswick Clowder has lots of craggy shelter to get out of the wind.
I'm being a bit conservative with this: overestimating travel time, taking shorter/easier route choices, to try and make it a comfortable, relaxing couple of days instead of a slog. I haven't done more than marathon distance in a few years, so going all out to run 100km with as much ascent as I can pack in probably wouldn't be wise. 50km a day at a gentle trotting pace hopefully won't be too bad. Depending on how this goes, I might do something a bit more gruelling later in the summer.
Monday 26 May 2014
2 day camping run
Sometime in June, my partner is away on a hen weekend. This struck me as an obvious opportunity to run further. The original plan was to do either Hadrians Wall or the Dales Way in 2 or 3 days. I decided that was a bit ambitious at my current level of fitness, so I'd keep it down to 2 days. And so I had the silly idea of 100km over 2 days. I've done something similar before: 100km in a single stretch. That was the 'Fellsman' ultra event in 2010, when I walked 100km and some stupid amount of ascent in just under 27 hours.
I'm tentatively thinking of another go at a brisker pace in 2015, and so as training I'm looking at doing some longer distances. Of course this is nothing to an ultra runner, but I'm not an ultra runner. Not yet anyway.
June's 2 day run will be 60km on the saturday, and 40km on the sunday, camping in between. To make it more difficult, I'm intending to be totally unsupported - carrying a light tent, sleeping bag, stove etc, and food for 2 days. Stopping short of pointless masochism, I'm intending to camp in a camp site rather than wild, so clean water will be available (as will a shower - while I only have myself to live with that night, washing the salt off reduces the likelihood of painful chafing on day 2). In any case, most of the wild camping possibilities in my planned area are up on the moors, where it's cold, which will mean carrying more gear. Lowland camping definitely preferred this time out.
I'm calling this a run, but it's not a run in most peoples terms. I'll be carrying several kilos of gear, climbing large hills (more on that later) and travelling for many hours, so it's much more like an ultra. If I make 6km per hour I'll be doing extremely well, maybe even overdoing it. The aim is to complete the entire distance within 20 hours of travel time.
June's 2 day run will be 60km on the saturday, and 40km on the sunday, camping in between. To make it more difficult, I'm intending to be totally unsupported - carrying a light tent, sleeping bag, stove etc, and food for 2 days. Stopping short of pointless masochism, I'm intending to camp in a camp site rather than wild, so clean water will be available (as will a shower - while I only have myself to live with that night, washing the salt off reduces the likelihood of painful chafing on day 2). In any case, most of the wild camping possibilities in my planned area are up on the moors, where it's cold, which will mean carrying more gear. Lowland camping definitely preferred this time out.
I'm calling this a run, but it's not a run in most peoples terms. I'll be carrying several kilos of gear, climbing large hills (more on that later) and travelling for many hours, so it's much more like an ultra. If I make 6km per hour I'll be doing extremely well, maybe even overdoing it. The aim is to complete the entire distance within 20 hours of travel time.
Wednesday 21 May 2014
The Ingleborough Marathon
Two weeks ago was the Ingleborough Marathon/CRO challenge. This is an annual fundraising event for the Cave Rescue Organisation, who do cave and fell rescue for the 3 Peaks and Malhamdale area of the Yorkshire Dales national park.
The forecast for the day was grim - heavy rain, strong winds, general nastiness. The route goes up Ingleborough from Clapham, then down through Humphrey Bottom almost to the Hill Inn, round the bottom of Park Fell to Selside, across the valley to Birkwith, down to Horton, up Sulber Nick and down into Crummackdale, to Wharfe, sharp uphill out of Austwick, and finally down to Clapham. My Garmin worked out the ascent to be 1000m, but I've found the 310XT underestimates ascent on fell runs by at least 25%.
In any case, it took me 5 hours 45 mins. Quite a bit more than even my slowest time on the Yorkshireman, which is down to the terrain and amount of ascent I think. I was running in Vivobarefoot neo trails, as I do more or less all the time now. It was a bit of an experiment over that distance and on that type of terrain, and they were perfect. A newish pair, with plenty of grip left on them. That's the trick with Vivos I think - the uppers last for ages, so it's tempting to keep running in them when the soles are badly worn, then you slide around in the mud. Better to replace them when the soles are worn, then use the old ones as everyday shoes, road running shoes etc. The climb up Ingleborough, rocky ground and all, took 15 minutes less than I planned at 1:15, so no grip problems there.
As it turned out, the weather was nowhere near as grim as expected. It was windy and cloudy on the top of Ingleborough, and there was some very heavy rain and strong wind as we climbed Sulber Nick, but otherwise it was a fairly nice day.
One of the marshals (Michael Hale) took this picture somewhere on the Selside section.
This was also the first off road marathon I've done fueled by jacket spuds. They seemed to work pretty well, although I ran out of steam whilst dropping down into Wharfe at about 33km. I'd been running with Andy from Hull since Selside, but he'd developed a blister and dropped back on the section from Sulber Nick to the top of Crummockdale. I'd maintained my pace to start with, but then ran out of steam in the walled tracks on the way down to Wharfe. Chocolate solved that problem, and Andy having adjusted his shoes caught me up there.
We charged into Clapham feeling pretty good, finishing joint 3rd. I was completely nonplussed until I found out that the Calderdale Relay and the Leeds Half were both the following day, attracting most of the regions runners. Ah well, "you can only race them as turns up on t' day".
The food: one substantial jacket potato for breakfast, another whilst waiting to set off, and one during the run. Oh, and half a large soreen halfway round, and the chocolate for the last couple of miles. It turns out that jacket potatoes are higher GI than cake, which is pretty damned annoying. Malt loaf is lower though. Food on longer off road runs continues to be an experiment. I'm better at managing without than I used to be, up to about 25km. More than that and food is really a necessity.
I made a basic mistake in the evening. We were booked into the Buck at Malham for a mates birthday, and I'd ordered rabbit pie, and stilton mushrooms. Nothing rich and difficult to digest there! On top of a dose of flucloxacillin, I was doubled up with stomach cramps and cold sweats the minute I finished eating. Oh well, it was still delicious, just a shame I missed dessert...
Update: anyone who wants to support the Cave/Fell Rescue team can make a donation via justgiving here:
https://www.justgiving.com/caverescue/
or sponsor me for the run here:
https://www.justgiving.com/charles-colbourn
GPS track here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498042114
The forecast for the day was grim - heavy rain, strong winds, general nastiness. The route goes up Ingleborough from Clapham, then down through Humphrey Bottom almost to the Hill Inn, round the bottom of Park Fell to Selside, across the valley to Birkwith, down to Horton, up Sulber Nick and down into Crummackdale, to Wharfe, sharp uphill out of Austwick, and finally down to Clapham. My Garmin worked out the ascent to be 1000m, but I've found the 310XT underestimates ascent on fell runs by at least 25%.
In any case, it took me 5 hours 45 mins. Quite a bit more than even my slowest time on the Yorkshireman, which is down to the terrain and amount of ascent I think. I was running in Vivobarefoot neo trails, as I do more or less all the time now. It was a bit of an experiment over that distance and on that type of terrain, and they were perfect. A newish pair, with plenty of grip left on them. That's the trick with Vivos I think - the uppers last for ages, so it's tempting to keep running in them when the soles are badly worn, then you slide around in the mud. Better to replace them when the soles are worn, then use the old ones as everyday shoes, road running shoes etc. The climb up Ingleborough, rocky ground and all, took 15 minutes less than I planned at 1:15, so no grip problems there.
As it turned out, the weather was nowhere near as grim as expected. It was windy and cloudy on the top of Ingleborough, and there was some very heavy rain and strong wind as we climbed Sulber Nick, but otherwise it was a fairly nice day.
This was also the first off road marathon I've done fueled by jacket spuds. They seemed to work pretty well, although I ran out of steam whilst dropping down into Wharfe at about 33km. I'd been running with Andy from Hull since Selside, but he'd developed a blister and dropped back on the section from Sulber Nick to the top of Crummockdale. I'd maintained my pace to start with, but then ran out of steam in the walled tracks on the way down to Wharfe. Chocolate solved that problem, and Andy having adjusted his shoes caught me up there.
We charged into Clapham feeling pretty good, finishing joint 3rd. I was completely nonplussed until I found out that the Calderdale Relay and the Leeds Half were both the following day, attracting most of the regions runners. Ah well, "you can only race them as turns up on t' day".
The food: one substantial jacket potato for breakfast, another whilst waiting to set off, and one during the run. Oh, and half a large soreen halfway round, and the chocolate for the last couple of miles. It turns out that jacket potatoes are higher GI than cake, which is pretty damned annoying. Malt loaf is lower though. Food on longer off road runs continues to be an experiment. I'm better at managing without than I used to be, up to about 25km. More than that and food is really a necessity.
I made a basic mistake in the evening. We were booked into the Buck at Malham for a mates birthday, and I'd ordered rabbit pie, and stilton mushrooms. Nothing rich and difficult to digest there! On top of a dose of flucloxacillin, I was doubled up with stomach cramps and cold sweats the minute I finished eating. Oh well, it was still delicious, just a shame I missed dessert...
Update: anyone who wants to support the Cave/Fell Rescue team can make a donation via justgiving here:
https://www.justgiving.com/caverescue/
or sponsor me for the run here:
https://www.justgiving.com/charles-colbourn
GPS track here:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/498042114
Sunday 18 May 2014
Introduction
When I was a wee kiddywink, many years ago, I was fascinated by our history and prehistory. I was intrigued by the passage of time, especially great big swathes of it. I was also, due to having almost exclusive access to an acre (that's a big area for a 7 year old) of boggy copse, more than a little outdoorsy and slightly feral.
Fast forward thirty some years, skipping over many things that are not really relevant (except maybe the acquisition of various qualifications in psychology & history), and I'm now once again fascinated by our history and prehistory. Somewhere along the line I also became a runner. Not a very good runner, since in the interim I was a pretty heavy smoker, but an enthusiastic one. A fell runner. One of those crazies who straps on a bum bag and runs over soaking wet hills and mountains with every sign of enjoyment, then shovels thousands of calories down his gullet in an effort to make up the shortfall.
So this will mostly be a blog about running, with occasional excursions into primitive target sports & other things relating to our ancient past.
There may also be cake.
Fast forward thirty some years, skipping over many things that are not really relevant (except maybe the acquisition of various qualifications in psychology & history), and I'm now once again fascinated by our history and prehistory. Somewhere along the line I also became a runner. Not a very good runner, since in the interim I was a pretty heavy smoker, but an enthusiastic one. A fell runner. One of those crazies who straps on a bum bag and runs over soaking wet hills and mountains with every sign of enjoyment, then shovels thousands of calories down his gullet in an effort to make up the shortfall.
So this will mostly be a blog about running, with occasional excursions into primitive target sports & other things relating to our ancient past.
There may also be cake.
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