Long distance off road running pares things back to basics. It's about body management - water, food, warmth, discomfort. Safety, above all.
In our everyday lives there are lots of minor (and major) frustrations and stresses. This year has been an awful one for me. Episode after episode of really spectacularly crappy life-stuff.
Running an ultra is 12-14 hours of peace. All I'm worried about is keeping going, keeping fed, keeping safe. Nothing else matters. In truth, nothing else matters in everyday life, but survival is so easy in everyday life that we have time to get stressed over things that are not a question of survival.
Wednesday 11 September 2019
Bullock Smithy - clang clang clang clang ouch
Sometime after I got back from Brecon, the damn silly idea of doing an ultra in september popped into my head. I've already put an entry in for Round Rotherham, but that's not until October. A quick look at the runfurther list gave me options of the Peak Trails Ultra 30, or the Bullock Smithy.
The Peak Trails didn't fit too well with my holiday plans and 30 miles seemed a bit short (what happened to my sense of proportion!?), so I thought about the Bullock Smithy.
I'd heard of the Bullock Smithy before. A couple of friends walked it donkeys years ago. They commented on the amount of tarmac. But, tarmac in soft barefoot running shoes is a lot nicer than rocky paths (see Brecon 50), so why not.
I umm'd and ahh'd and nearly didn't get in, a walking friend who knew I was considering it tipped me off when there were only 3 places left, and I sneaked in.
Then there was the maps and the kit...
The BS is a nav event. The idea is to navigate your way between all (eleven?) checkpoints, choosing your own route. There is a 'proposed' route that reputedly comes in rather more than the 56 mile theoretical ideal. The 25k OS mapping is on 3 separate maps. That's a lot of lamfold, and a lot of route marking. Especially after a last minute entry.
So I thought "sod it, I'll stick to the proposed route, and if it's 60 miles, so be it". Grabbed the gpx file and installed it.
There was also the question of grouping after dark. I'm not particularly sociable, so that idea troubled me a little. I was lucky on the Fellsman the one time I did it, so I wasn't sure how this would go.
Last minute announcements highlighted that a particular route was to be waymarked, to avoid a farm with nervous, barking dogs, and that the Castleton checkpoint had moved.
The kit, oh yes, the kit. The mandatory kit for the Bullock Smithy is thorough. Not Fellsman thorough, but pretty thorough. That's fine, I tend to be cautious on the kit and apart from a triangular bandage and spare socks there wasn't anything I wouldn't normally have carried (although the kit list could do with being updated to take into account LED torches - spare bulb?). More on torches later. The sticking points were:
Setting off to the 'clang clang clang' of the anvil being smacked by the organisers of the Long Mynd (just visiting), I tried to keep my pace to a sensible rate and ended up toddling along at around 8kph. The beginning is pretty flat, and I kept that up until we started to climb through Lyme (Pemberley in the classic TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice). The scenery looking out onto the western side of the Peak district here was gorgeous, and the sun was getting warm. At the top of the climb I stopped to get clipped at CP1, filled my bottle and kept going.
Most of the day time section is a bit of a blur. Pretty scenery, checkpoint. More scenery, checkpoint. There are lots of checkpoints, which is a bit of a grind near the beginning, but a fantastic motivator near the end.
Somewhere around CP2 I think, I saw one of the Runfurther regulars being accompanied back to the CP. I really hadn't expected to see him again after the start, but he seems to have been injured. updated: it was actually CP1
More scenery. Chatting to random folk.
The next thing that sticks out in my mind is Edale Cross. The climb up to Edale Cross is a right bastard. It goes on for approximately a century. Then down amongst all the normal, rational people doing normal 'going for a walk from Edale' things as runners dodge round them.
A very quick stop at Edale and back on the road again. Cup of tea at Castleton, ahead of my planned 'not until half way'. Chatted for a while with a computer science teacher between Edale and Castleton, eventually losing track of him somewhere on the top above the Devils Arse, where I was running with two local women for a while along the Limestone Way. They were maintaining a pace I couldn't quite match, but staying in CPs longer than me so at the next checkpoint I lost track of them too, seeing them briefly a little later. Then there was the next awful climb out of Millers Dale and on to Highstool Lane, where I was crossing and recrossing with the same bloke for what seemed like hours (I encountered him again during the night section after he got separated from his group).
Then came a slight cock up. It was starting to get dark, in fact by the time I got to Earl Sterndale it was positively pitch black. My GPS wasn't telling me there was a CP here, there was no one else around, and my brain was rather fuzzy, and I just wanted to keep going, so when a bunch of young kids were telling me there was a 'coffee place' just 'up there' I thought 'nah, probably another unofficial drinks stop, it's much too soon for a CP', and kept going.
This was a mistake.
This is where I was supposed to be grouped.
Oops.
So I spent an hour or so on my own in full dark, round the flagged section to avoid the barking dogs. A few people had said that they'd done the BS before and never been grouped, so I didn't worry about it. Around this time I could see some lights off to my right, and I caught up with them soon after. It turned out to be a couple I'd met at the Spire earlier in the year, Runfurther regulars (names withheld). They'd been grouped with a couple of local guys who knew the route. This turned out to be a massive stroke of luck - they were all lovely people, great company, and I really enjoyed the remainder of the run.
Local motorists were a pain in the arse though, very few were willing to dip their headlights for pedestrians, although one of our party did point out that I wasn't dipping the stupidly bright reflectives on my pack...
There were checkpoints. They were manned by enthusiastic friendly people. I was glad to see them all. The bothy with an open fire was toasty, but it was a mild night so we weren't tempted to stay.
The last few miles in were hard work, we were keeping the pace up with run-walking, and still averaging 6.5kph (yes yes, I know, no one understands me when I talk in km - 4mph).
We trotted in, still running, at 02:17 or so. I think the others registered 14:09 because of grouping time, whereas I was still 14:17. Much better than I was expecting though, mostly thanks to our guides. I'd set out hoping to be inside 15 hours, and was definitely that. Meanwhile Rory Harris had been setting a new course record of 8:10...
My final distance was 93km, with 2700m of ascent. Strava link here
A welcome breakfast from the fantastic welcoming people at the Hazel Grove scout hut, and I limped back to my camper parked nearby to grab a few hours sleep before heading home to wash myself and my gear and see my cat.
Unpacking kit and putting things away, I checked the battery on my Petzl Nao+. I'd been running it on low/responsive which has a theoretical run time of six hours. I'd switched it on around seven, and off around 2. So why did it still show 100% charge? That's the trouble with responsive lights, there's really no way of knowing quite how long they're going to last. For Round Rotherham I'll run it on medium, and take the zebralight as backup.
So what did I think to the Bullock Smithy? Mostly runnable, good terrain. The rocky paths weren't as bad as I'd anticipated, and the road sections were OK because they were quiet roads. Very frequent checkpoints were a plus, the veggie hot dog was a particularly welcome thing. It's definitely a benefit to know the route - 3 OS maps is just too much to handle while running, and without knowing where the problems are going to arise, it's difficult to prep just the problem sections. To be honest I'd skimped badly on navigation prep, through a combination of entering last minute and being busy at home and work.
Overall a great event, well run by Hazel Grove scouts and one that I will hopefully return to. It coincides with the Yorkshireman marathon near home, so I'll have a tough choice to make next year.
As always since I took up distance off road running, and particularly ultras, I met some lovely people and enjoyed being with them, and also had a peaceful few hours to myself. Fifty milers are a holiday of sorts - 14 hours when I don't worry about anything except where the next checkpoint is, how much my thighs hurt, and whether I'm eating enough peanut butter.
Next, a return to my ancestral home for the Round Rotherham. Shorter, flatter, hopefully faster, but also probably colder and wetter.
Run retrospective
What went well?
The Peak Trails didn't fit too well with my holiday plans and 30 miles seemed a bit short (what happened to my sense of proportion!?), so I thought about the Bullock Smithy.
I'd heard of the Bullock Smithy before. A couple of friends walked it donkeys years ago. They commented on the amount of tarmac. But, tarmac in soft barefoot running shoes is a lot nicer than rocky paths (see Brecon 50), so why not.
I umm'd and ahh'd and nearly didn't get in, a walking friend who knew I was considering it tipped me off when there were only 3 places left, and I sneaked in.
Then there was the maps and the kit...
The BS is a nav event. The idea is to navigate your way between all (eleven?) checkpoints, choosing your own route. There is a 'proposed' route that reputedly comes in rather more than the 56 mile theoretical ideal. The 25k OS mapping is on 3 separate maps. That's a lot of lamfold, and a lot of route marking. Especially after a last minute entry.
 |
| 3 quid a roll 3M tape from Amazon. Very bright! |
There was also the question of grouping after dark. I'm not particularly sociable, so that idea troubled me a little. I was lucky on the Fellsman the one time I did it, so I wasn't sure how this would go.
Last minute announcements highlighted that a particular route was to be waymarked, to avoid a farm with nervous, barking dogs, and that the Castleton checkpoint had moved.
The kit, oh yes, the kit. The mandatory kit for the Bullock Smithy is thorough. Not Fellsman thorough, but pretty thorough. That's fine, I tend to be cautious on the kit and apart from a triangular bandage and spare socks there wasn't anything I wouldn't normally have carried (although the kit list could do with being updated to take into account LED torches - spare bulb?). More on torches later. The sticking points were:
- legs must be covered after dusk: I don't like running in waterproofs, and I didn't want to carry 2 pairs of shorts/leggings. I'd have preferred shorts, but long leggings it had to be. (I saw more people ignoring this rule than obeying it)
 |
| Reflecty! |
- Reflectives: The rules say that "ALL HIKERS must carry plainly in view at all times on their front and on their rucksack at the rear a square of white or luminous material at least 9” square or equivalent". That's a BIG area. I was a bit worried by this and tried to figure out how to solve it a couple of days before with the aid of a couple of rolls of retroreflective tape and a plastic A4 folder. Asking around friends who'd done the BS before, they said this rule wasn't really enforced, you just had to have a reasonable amount of white/reflective (and I saw a fair few folk who didn't even have that). I stuck two massive strips of retro tape down the back of my rucksack, two more on my shoulder pockets at the front, and wore a high viz yellow base layer on top. I was very, very visible indeed.
 |
| No sign of Jennifer Ely |
Most of the day time section is a bit of a blur. Pretty scenery, checkpoint. More scenery, checkpoint. There are lots of checkpoints, which is a bit of a grind near the beginning, but a fantastic motivator near the end.
 |
| For CP2, please run off this cliff |
Somewhere around CP2 I think, I saw one of the Runfurther regulars being accompanied back to the CP. I really hadn't expected to see him again after the start, but he seems to have been injured. updated: it was actually CP1
More scenery. Chatting to random folk.
 | |
| Climbing to Edale Cross |
 | |
| Highstool Lane. Getting dark-ish |
Then came a slight cock up. It was starting to get dark, in fact by the time I got to Earl Sterndale it was positively pitch black. My GPS wasn't telling me there was a CP here, there was no one else around, and my brain was rather fuzzy, and I just wanted to keep going, so when a bunch of young kids were telling me there was a 'coffee place' just 'up there' I thought 'nah, probably another unofficial drinks stop, it's much too soon for a CP', and kept going.
This was a mistake.
This is where I was supposed to be grouped.
Oops.
 |
| Sun going down |
So I spent an hour or so on my own in full dark, round the flagged section to avoid the barking dogs. A few people had said that they'd done the BS before and never been grouped, so I didn't worry about it. Around this time I could see some lights off to my right, and I caught up with them soon after. It turned out to be a couple I'd met at the Spire earlier in the year, Runfurther regulars (names withheld). They'd been grouped with a couple of local guys who knew the route. This turned out to be a massive stroke of luck - they were all lovely people, great company, and I really enjoyed the remainder of the run.
Local motorists were a pain in the arse though, very few were willing to dip their headlights for pedestrians, although one of our party did point out that I wasn't dipping the stupidly bright reflectives on my pack...
There were checkpoints. They were manned by enthusiastic friendly people. I was glad to see them all. The bothy with an open fire was toasty, but it was a mild night so we weren't tempted to stay.
 | |
| Rocky path (the climb to Edale Cross). |
The last few miles in were hard work, we were keeping the pace up with run-walking, and still averaging 6.5kph (yes yes, I know, no one understands me when I talk in km - 4mph).
We trotted in, still running, at 02:17 or so. I think the others registered 14:09 because of grouping time, whereas I was still 14:17. Much better than I was expecting though, mostly thanks to our guides. I'd set out hoping to be inside 15 hours, and was definitely that. Meanwhile Rory Harris had been setting a new course record of 8:10...
My final distance was 93km, with 2700m of ascent. Strava link here
A welcome breakfast from the fantastic welcoming people at the Hazel Grove scout hut, and I limped back to my camper parked nearby to grab a few hours sleep before heading home to wash myself and my gear and see my cat.
Unpacking kit and putting things away, I checked the battery on my Petzl Nao+. I'd been running it on low/responsive which has a theoretical run time of six hours. I'd switched it on around seven, and off around 2. So why did it still show 100% charge? That's the trouble with responsive lights, there's really no way of knowing quite how long they're going to last. For Round Rotherham I'll run it on medium, and take the zebralight as backup.
So what did I think to the Bullock Smithy? Mostly runnable, good terrain. The rocky paths weren't as bad as I'd anticipated, and the road sections were OK because they were quiet roads. Very frequent checkpoints were a plus, the veggie hot dog was a particularly welcome thing. It's definitely a benefit to know the route - 3 OS maps is just too much to handle while running, and without knowing where the problems are going to arise, it's difficult to prep just the problem sections. To be honest I'd skimped badly on navigation prep, through a combination of entering last minute and being busy at home and work.
 | |
| Fluorescent green eejit |
Overall a great event, well run by Hazel Grove scouts and one that I will hopefully return to. It coincides with the Yorkshireman marathon near home, so I'll have a tough choice to make next year.
As always since I took up distance off road running, and particularly ultras, I met some lovely people and enjoyed being with them, and also had a peaceful few hours to myself. Fifty milers are a holiday of sorts - 14 hours when I don't worry about anything except where the next checkpoint is, how much my thighs hurt, and whether I'm eating enough peanut butter.
Next, a return to my ancestral home for the Round Rotherham. Shorter, flatter, hopefully faster, but also probably colder and wetter.
Run retrospective
What went well?
- Kept the pace up
- Lucky with the grouping
- No stomach/blood sugar problems
- Enjoyed myself
- Shoe choice
- Food in the side pocket of rucksack was sometimes awkward but not too bad
- Under prepared (navigation). In particular, in future know where the checkpoints are!
- Over equipped. I was sticking very close to the rules, and could have got away with wearing shorts. That said, I was comfortable on the night section.
- Rucksack chafing on my lower back
- Sunflower seed butter wasn't as good as peanut, didn't squeeze easily
- Very uncomfortable night in the van. I need better bedding for when I'm dirty after a run and don't want to mess up the van interior.
 | |
| It's a big area, but it's still not 9" square |
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