Thirlmere Trot - 26 June
Report by Lucy Smith
26 June saw the inaugural Thirlmere Trot. A 24 mile race with roughly 6,500 ft of climb. The route starts in Grasmere and heads out and up to the top of Helm Crag along the tops and down to the dam and Thirlmere. It continues up the steep ascent of Sticks Pass and the summits of Raise and Helvellyn. Finally skirting past Dollywagon Pike, down to Grisedale Tarn and then back down to Grasmere via Little Tongue.
My friend and I arrived in Grasmere with the intention of run/walking the route as this was our final long run before an ultra in 2 weeks’ time. The weather was hot and sunny so we knew we were in for warm conditions. It was lovely to bump into Paul Walker and have a chat; he was setting off in the wave after us. And also Anneke Immeson and Heather Glegg who were in the wave before us.
Our wave set off at 9.30 and we set off at a steady pace until we reached the bottom of Helm Crag. The ascent was never ending. Paul zoomed past us on the way up. Once on the top we were subject to endless rocks and ups and downs of the undulating ridgeline. The endless bogs sapped our legs and made running almost impossible. We finally descended down to the shoreline trail which took us to the one and only checkpoint. As it was a hot sunny day we had run out of water and the checkpoint was most welcome.
As we were entering the checkpoint Anneke and Heather were leaving and we had a quick chat before they left. The checkpoint was well stocked and we replenished our water bottles and took advantage of the wonderful cakes and sandwiches.
Leaving the checkpoint we then had to tackle the brutal ascent of Sticks Pass, which wasn’t helped by the sun beating down on us. This proved to be a bit much for my running buddy but she pushed on and finally we got to the top. However before we could catch our breathe we had the sharp climb to the summit of Raise followed by the climb to Helvellyn. The descent to Grisedale Tarn and finally the descent back down to Grasmere were a welcome respite. Running across the fields back to the finish line felt amazing. It was a nice surprise to see Anneke and Heather at the finish cheering us in.
Our finish times were:
Paul Walker 5hrs 28
Anneke Immeson 7hrs 58
Heather Glegg 7hrs 58
Lucy Smith 8hrs 22