Very civilised Friday night camp on the Welsh Showground. Carpets in the HQ and loads of food. Nick bought more gear than all of us put together, including the last survival bag which provided entertainment as he tried to fit it back in to the packet.
Early start on Sat morn in the dark. So dark in fact that Phil ran off in my Innovates. So, I had to make do with his. Luckily his had more tread than mine. Result!
A 30 min bus journey to some wet lay by and a trudge up to the start. It was raining by now. Glimpsed Phil and Nick setting off in to the gloom.
The first few hours were misty and wet. Then the wind started. Running west was not pleasant. Bog, tussocks, rain in your face and getting cold. Navigation was ok.
We caught Phil and Nick at some point and then went our separate ways. Following them was bound to be a mistake.
Descended to the reservoir and the wind eased a bit and the clouds cleared. A long run along the edge of the water was fairly grueling but then we picked up a control over the dam, which involved a steep down, river crossing and up again.
Time was running out so we blasted down to the finish but picked up a final control on the other side of the valley. Problem was, hundreds of other runners were crossing the one man bridge we needed to get across. So we halted the traffic and picked it up. Saw a bedraggled Phil and Nick running to the finish.
Camp site was wet and raining when we arrived. Found Nick and Phil bickering over who was sleeping on which side. Cleverly, I had left the tent pegs behind to save weight. So, suitable sticks were used to secure the tent. Also, invented the ‘double sticking’ technique which involved putting in two sticks in place of a single peg in case of wind gusts. Cunning, eh?
Despite a new down bag, had a rough night. Matt seemed to sleep through, the b******. Heard various rumblings from the other pair. Phil uttered a strange groan at about 4am. Not sure which end it came from. The best point was a pee at 5am and seeing shooting star. Other than that it was a looooongg, cold night with hurty legs, back and toes.
A dry Sun morning was great. We all made it to the start in plenty of time, which was first. Followed the people train up the first hill. Felt a bit rough but loosened off a bit when we were on the top.
Air was clear but still windy, so navigation was ok. Yes, we did make a ‘small’ diversion into a bog, but that was only because we were following the pair behind us from the front. I blame them for not playing ball.
After a small bonk out (thanks for the protein bars Matt), we picked up the tempo and started zig zagging all over picking up controls. A steep descent down to a ravine was worthwhile but the climb back up was hard.
Back on top we had one more potential control, but time was running out so we blasted off to the finish.
Great descent down through mud, bracken and grass, knocking walkers off the path.
A long wait back for the bus was supplemented by mugs of soup.
Matt is far too fit. Someone else’s turn next year. Great time out, recommended to all, but get a decent Karrimat.
Phil must have been doing secret training... no MM’s for 4 years and a placing like this!
An extra report from Nick:
Richard has submitted a fine account to which I add the following comments:
Friday was very civilised - beer for the journey, port and Bowmore for the camp. Surprisingly Matt doesn't like whisky or port so I drank his share. Yes I did buy the last survival bag which they had to remove from the ceiling but I got 33.3% discount and I kept the boys amused whilst I successfully got it back in the bag (admittedly with help). I did also buy a new sack and can recommend the OMM 25 litre which was supremely comfortable.
When we saw Matt and Rich on day one they were taking it easy. When we saw Matt and Rich on day two they were taking it easy. We let them overtake and then watched them head off in the wrong direction as they have not mastered the follow from in front technique. They then had to put a bit of effort in so as not to be embarrassed but overall they took it easy.
There may have been farting noises coming from our tent but the sounds from their tent were possibly orgasmic - must have been the shooting star but I'm not sure which one was the star.
Matt's scoffing makes Gary look like an amateur - he now has the club record of 18 gel bars in a day until I hear differently - no doubt George has beaten this whilst on one of his walks.
Yes it was cold and Phil tried to kill me by beating me to death whilst going for a wee at 1.30. Clever boys can do it without getting out of their sleeping bags. He also removed the main guy peg and had to use his spoon as a peg. If it was me I'd had pinched a stick from the tent next door.
