Well, I didn't overheat...
The Spire has caught me out in the past by being more sheltered than I'm used to. Long Ashes is pretty exposed, but the rest of the course isn't. So this year I set off dressed and carrying a little lighter than usual and it worked out fine. It did, of course, throw it down all day but to be honest once we'd been under way ten minutes or so we stopped noticing.
I was in the same start wave as my regular race buddy Sarah, and Karen and a few other people I didn't know. Heading off at about 8.40 Karen disappeared rapidly into the distance and Sarah and I settled into a brisk but comfortable pace. I spent the first half hour trying to work out where I'd done my acrobatic stile fall in October "I think it was here, no maybe not".
It rained. Then it rained. Then after that it rained a bit harder.
There was mud.
It rained some more.
But the temperature was OK, everyone was in good spirits and the miles ticked by.
Each CP came along, we gave our numbers, said 'thank you, don't need anything yet' and kept going.
Around 30km Sarah was flagging a bit and I was still feeling OK, so knowing full well she'd pick up and catch me later when I flagged I pushed on a bit. Last year I was running out of steam badly around 5 Pits. This year I was OK, tiring a bit, but OK. That might have been the training over the winter, or tapering more, or perhaps I got the food right for once. Around this point I caught up briefly with Karen (a very rare occurrence!), and as I came into North Wingfield I realised I'd knocked 8 minutes off my marathon PB, to 4:36.
From North Wingfield I just kept waiting for the remembered climb to start, so kept pushing my pace as long as it was reasonably flat. Sarah caught me just outside North Wingfield, along with a guy from Solihull on his first ultra whose name I didn't catch, but who had been pacing himself with us since the start. A diversion round the construction site at Clay Cross, a strong smell of chips as we passed MacDonalds, catching Karen again after she'd gone off track on the diversion and then the gradual climb back up to Long Ashes. At this point I decided to risk a few jelly babies, then found out too late I was out of water. The last short drop down the road then climb up the track caught me out, I'd forgotten that bit. It's odd how starting from a different point makes the whole route seem different.
I still felt fairly OK at the finish, which was what I was aiming for. I'm not sure I'd have liked to have run much further at pace but I did feel like I could have carried on. After standing around chatting for a while I went back to my van to dry out and warm up, then after a chat with Karen and Bob headed back home. After a short spell of dry, the rain had come back and continued most of the way home.
Sunday I dragged myself out for 17km/400m round Cragg Vale and Hebden. It was tough going for the first km or so, but once I got going it was OK.
Thanks to Jamie and everyone else involved, it was a great day in spite of the rain.
Also thanks as always to the Runfurther sponsors
Tentmeals, Ultimate Direction, IceBug, Injinji, Mountain Fuel and Romney Mint cake
