Dales Highway
A couple of months ago I was asked to do some webcasts on ultra endurance. Feeling a bit embarrassed about my lack of long stuff over the last 2 years I was prompted to re-boot my running, both as a coach and as a distance runner.
So in mid May I completed the Dales Highway, my second Punk Panther Event, in 3 weeks, and 5th marathon distance run in as many weekends.
Distance of this trail is around 93 miles with an optional 13 mile loop at the end. The terrain is pretty mixed with lots of bog and moorland, leading to mountains, muddy farmers’ fields, stony paths and quietish roads. It starts in Saltaire (near Bradford) and ends at Appleby-in-Westmorland. Almost everyone including myself had entered the longer option.
Climbing is significant with plenty of short ups and downs, a full climb of Ingleborough, a complete traverse of the Howgills, before the optional loop that includes High Nick Cup. Around 5,200 metres of ascent in total.
After weeks of dry and almost warm conditions the weather forecast for the race weekend was pretty exciting, with lengthy heavy downpours forecast. I was the first to go at 06:07. The Covid secure staggered start meant that the other runners (20 or so) would be starting over the next couple of hours.
For the first 30 minutes it was dry and pleasant. However by the time we got up onto Ilkley Moor we had snowy flurries and hailstones, which were replaced by high winds and unrelenting torrential rain. Coming into the first checkpoint near Addingham I realised I was getting cold so I put on almost all my extra kit, and I started nibbling some of the food I was carrying. This rain stayed with us until Settle (30 miles). There was no access to drop bags until the 50 mile mark so I continued in my sodden kit.
As usual the marshals and folk at checkpoints were amazing at providing encouragement, water, snacks and even a cup of tea at Settle. I don’t normally eat much on day 1 of a long event but was now feeling a bit tired so I ate some sandwiches and more of the food I had been carrying. I still can’t work out if this was tiredness from the previous few weeks of activities, lack of training for something of this magnitude… or a low level lurgy?
By mid afternoon I had slowed to a brisk walk with only an occasional run. Most other runners had gone past me. The afternoon was dry and I enjoyed a really nice new route up Ingleborough with some fabulous views from the tops. It’s one of my favourite hills and I never tire of being up there. I think I even enjoyed the slippy descent past some very familiar potholes. I got to the half way mark, in Chapel Le Dale, just as it was getting dark. The CP was inside a large garage and out of the wind – boy was that a welcome sight.
I was well within the cut-offs and was not feeling particularly competitive, so I spent a good 45 minutes getting changed, drying out my feet, re-fuelling, socialising with people I knew from other events. I discovered that a number of people had dropped for reasons ranging from dehydration, to concerns about hypothermia, to feeling unwell, to just being knackered. I switched from my running kit into warmer winter kit for the night section ahead.
As I left the CP I realised that I was feeling so much stronger and was now happier to run the easier sections. This of course meant that I was now too warm, and overdressed. So I eventually stopped to remove kit… only to have the torrential rain return minutes later and to be completely wet through again. Funny how often that seems to happen.
At one stage high above Dent I could see three lights behind me. However I was keen to do my own thing and not be caught so I picked up the pace and ran into Sedbergh… which inevitably led to me making a couple of minor navigation errors. There are so many tracks in and out of most villages, that in the rain and dark, it is hard to know which is the race route, especially when the main well trodden path is not yours. I stopped briefly for a drink and a snack in Sedbergh, thanks to a lovely lady who was supporting the runners just ahead of me. I caught sight of them high above me, but with tricky route finding, torrential rain and limited visibility I wasn’t sure if I passed them in the dark… eventually catching them as I ran off the Howgills at dawn.
The same lady was waiting down at the first major road crossing. I had carried a pie since the start of the event. It was looking a bit bashed but it tasted yummy. My new best friend gave me some boiled eggs and a cup of hot tea.
The morning was dry and pleasant and the miles ticked by, albeit slowly. I was surprised again by the amount of mud and the sheer number of tree roots around river banks and the friendly cattle that seemed to ‘enjoy’ my company. [Note to self get some new fell shoes with decent grip.] I arrived in Appleby around lunch time to discover that only three runners had taken on the extra 13 miles at the end, and that no one else planned to do so. I was still OK for time, and had felt fine since the previous evening, so a change of clothing and a little food and I was ready to head out. I removed all the non-mandatory kit I had been carrying including my chargers and cables.
And then within 20 minutes my new watch ran out of juice – incompetence on my part as I had thought it would be fine for days… but only if you remember to choose the low power settings! This made for a stressful finish as I only knew a short section of the route and was navigating using a 1:50,000 scale map. This does not show all the farmers fields or small paths that needed to be negotiated.
The weather had improved and there were a few people out on those final hills. Amazingly I came across two groups of people I hadn’t seen for several years. It’s always fun and disorientating meeting friends when you are sleep deprived and have a few mile in your legs. The last few miles seemed to take forever as I had to zig zag around fields to find the official route. Shuffling in to Appleby was surprisingly emotional… it felt like I was marking the end of a pretty odd 15 months, and a realisation that I can probably still call myself an ultra distance athlete
So the scores on the doors:
Hardness rating = 9/10. I think this is as tough as any event in the UK over this kind of distance (especially in these conditions).
Unhappy toe nails = 4 (I foolishly chose to wear some sealskinz socks for most of the event which squeezed by toes)
Niggles/soreness = Surprisingly little… I think the strength work and steady pace paid off
Calories consumed = c2,000
Fluid = c4 litres
Inclination to repeat this next year = very high… it would be great to do this in OK conditions when I am more race ready
Results = 3rd placed male and 4th overall… although there were only four finishers!
And finally thanks to Punk Panther events for putting on this event even with the small numbers, thanks to all the lovely people that turned up to help and encourage the runners… and to Louise for putting up with me and doing the taxi runs at both ends of the event.
Javed Bhatti