Original Mountain Marathon (25/26th October 2008)
Sun, 26/10/2008 - 21:29 — george
Results??
First back to HQ for the club Nick and Matty ('Cos they caught the bus!)
Second back to HQ for the club Anne & George ('Cos they walked!)
THE BROWNHILL'S VERSION
Arrive in car park at HQ, set off for start – arrive at start only to be told 
start point moved closer to HQ which will mean standing around for another forty minutes! So trudge back and stand in Barn chatting to Mick Lucking.
start point moved closer to HQ which will mean standing around for another forty minutes! So trudge back and stand in Barn chatting to Mick Lucking.Rain starts again, head back to start. 10:45 off we go Get maps, decide on route and head off, straight up as usual! Ascent bisects a waterfall which is usually a little trickle but is now a raging torrent Continue up and at the top (Anne waiting for me as usual) check bearing and set off through marshland up to your $%^&. Anne decides to do back flip into the deepest bog, and, after some pleading, and then a strong threat of violence, George decides to pull her out. Aha, spot first checkpoint (AZ) a couple of hundred yards away, but how to get there? In between is a great big river so we plod up and down looking for a saf(er) place to cross without much success. We plumb for the narrowest point; first one rucksack thrown across, then the other, George takes a “running jump” and just manages to scramble to the other side, Anne does the same and, with George’s strong? Right arm, gets across. After falling into a few more holes and bogs we make it. We find two young lads crouched down behind a rock at this checkpoint who seemed very lost and disorientated. After giving them a 10 minute lesson on how to read a map and compass!!! We went on our way heading almost due north with the wind behind us. Across more bogs etc. and down to Honister Pass. As we pass by the Slate quarry we see a couple of dozen competitors sheltering under the canopy (Did they know it was off then and never told us?) Long drag up the other side of the pass. Turn round and look across the valley and the view is absolutely stunning. Dozens of waterfalls cascading down the mountainside against a very dark backdrop, magnificent! Find next checkpoint by a small Tarn (DY), check time, not bad, 35 points in the bag. Set off, still north, for the next one. Weather getting worse if that is possible. After 45 minutes or so realise we missed next checkpoint, dammit, Meet two lads looking for their checkpoint supposedly just north of ours. Show them where we are, and then head off. Weather now even worse as we have turned round and heading directly into it. Wind blowing us all over the place, falling into bogs and generally being well and truly battered. Can’t lift our heads up to see where we are heading as the wind and rain makes it impossible. Look back and see the two lads following us, they have decided to call it a day and head down. Now George is in trouble as his map disappears over the horizon heading towards Scotland at 200 mph (no problem whilst we still have one!) After a while we find the “missing” checkpoint, (another 30 points). Our original plan is to now swing West, over Dale Head and down to DM approx 1 kilometre away then straight across the top for a couple more checkpoints and down to the overnight camp. Check the time again and realise that it would be impossible to continue on that plan so we decide to head back down to Honister Pass and then along the road to the overnight camp. The two lads are still with us so we all battle on against the weather which is STILL getting worse and worse. On reflection it took us about 2 hours to travel about 1 ½ kilometres. As we approach the road we see dozens of competitors walking back down the road towards Seatoller and assume they are abandoning. When we reach the road we are told that the event is off and we should head back to HQ. We don’t know whether to feel disappointed or glad! Dismayed would be a better word perhaps. As it is downhill to Seatoller (about 2 miles) we break into a trot which helps to keep us warm. As we walk down the final lane towards Seathwaite we pass all the abandoned cars then have to start wading waist deep, that wasn’t so bad as it was the force of the water which was dangerous, one had to be careful not to be swept away never to be seen again! Got into Registration and someone handed us a very welcome cup of hot soup. Went over to the table to be logged in and ran into Nick and Matty, all four of us relieved to see each other safe and well. Into the food marquee for a well earned meal and chat about our adventures. Wade through the muddy field to the car which, thankfully is above water but there is no way we are going to get out so it is a case of changing in to dry gear and settling down for the night in the car. After a quick “discussion” as to who is sleeping where George is in the front and Anne in the back (George knows his place!) Rain stops about 2 o’clock although still windy. At 8 o’clock, as people are coming back to their cars we hear that the road is now passable. At about 10:30 a tractor arrives and we are pulled off the field onto the road and off we go. As soon as we near Keswick the phone reception is clear and there are loads of messages from friends and relatives checking that we are o.k. After numerous phone calls we settle down to a nice drive home and welcoming bath. Next year??? We shall see.
NICK'S VERSION
Well the build up was epic with Gary having to pull out due to years of self abuse so Matt was recruited as a last minute reserve. I had to
fabricate his experience but was confident that being from sheep farming stock he’d be at home in the Lakes. As it turned out, being used to a bit of rain helped as well. Just to add to the fun, at the last minute, Richard caught Russian Flu or some other Eastern European equivalent and was not able to participate in the fun. There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that he had seen the long range forecast and was scared of getting wet. Rather sensibly for me, I decided that in view of the rather wet and windy conditions which were being reported in Borrowdale we would spend Friday night at my parent’s in Blackpool. I think this was a good decision and so we ate, drank and slept reasonably well. OK we had to get up at 4.30 but we arrived at the event centre at 6.30 for registration where we met Mick Lucking who informed us that the 45min walk to the start was now 5min and that for the first time ever we would be having bad weather courses for day 1. As I was old and unfit Matt generously offered to carry half a bottle of malt (in a plastic bottle) – this was a good decision too. We started at 8.23 in windy but dry conditions and I was soon into the usual plod mode using the wind, uphill and my collection of ailments to avoid running. Matt didn’t moan about this so I assume he was happy and so we collected our first control. We now headed for Honister Pass and were running ( it was level !) along Brandreth when it started to drizzle. We made it to the slate mine before we put our waterproofs on, wet but not cold. Off up Dale Head where the wind got stronger with the increase in height, the rain became persistent but visibility was good and we didn’t get lost. At this stage Matt decided to put some waterproof trousers on, as the rain had been stinging his legs for the hour previous, and he thought he had proved his point by then. We got the next two controls without undue problems but the wind was strong enough to influence route choice. Ridge runs were out. We chose a low level route from our third control to Little Town which meant awkward contouring - going over the tops would have been exciting but silly and very hard work. There was a near vertical ascent up wet heather from Little Town to a sheep fold on Sleet Hause. This was knackering and I kept falling and slipping as the heather wrapped itself around my ankles and the wind unbalanced me. It was warm and sheltered in the heather but I didn’t want Matt to think that I was slacking so I slogged on. It was true Gary territory and would have been ideally suited to the lanky git. On the way way back down we took a slight detour through a wooded bit, where I got blown through a tree. The next bit was all into the wind and so it was head down and press on. The grass on the hillsides was waterlogged and ripped off causing feet to slip but we found the next control without difficulty and so made our way to a crossing point on Newlands Pass. Five minutes earlier and we would have completed our first day but a marshall arrived as we approached the road and told us that the event had been cancelled. We had been out 6 hours and I reckon we had an hour left. If we had done the full day 1 route it would have been truly tough but as it was we were fine and we arrived at the day 1 finish feeling reasonably fresh, if not a bit damp. We were told to report our team number in a barn at the Buttermere camp site. Mick was grinning as we gave him our number and we then considered what to do next. We had been instructed to make our way over Honister Pass to the event centre and we debated whether or not to brew up. The barn was like a refugee camp with people changing out of wet clothes and having a bite to eat and drying out their inflatable woman (truly mad). We opted for a swig of whisky and left to leg it over the pass. Honest we would have walked it but it would have been silly not to take the bus that stopped just in front of us – OK we sprinted 30m to get it! It did look dreadful outside as the bus made its way up the pass and at times it felt as if we were travelling up a river bed as the wheels slipped on stones and rocks which had been washed into the road. On the down side it was cold in the bus whilst those outside would be warm with the effort of walking into the rain up a 1 in 4 hill. I’m not sure why but we got turfed out of the bus at the top of Honister Pass. There is a rumour that it was the man from the mine who told the bus driver that he wasn’t allowed to descend into Borrowdale because of the state of the roads. I’m glad we ran down as the scenery was magnificent with the streams on the hillsides raging down and the wind blowing spray across the fells. The river by the road was frightening in its ferocity and if you’d fallen in there wouldn’t have been a chance of surviving intact. Even Matt seemed impressed by the wade back to the event centre (the water on the road, now river, was cold, testicle deep and flowing with attitude) and it became obvious that parking your car alongside the road in the hope of a quick getaway was a bad decision. We had parked where we were told and this was a good decision. Met George and Anne for a civilised bowl of chilli in Wilf's mud garden and then paddled back to the car for a change of clothes. Finished the whisky, drank some beer, made a brew and had the best night’s kip I have ever had on a Karrimor/OMM. No snoring either.
fabricate his experience but was confident that being from sheep farming stock he’d be at home in the Lakes. As it turned out, being used to a bit of rain helped as well. Just to add to the fun, at the last minute, Richard caught Russian Flu or some other Eastern European equivalent and was not able to participate in the fun. There is absolutely no truth in the rumour that he had seen the long range forecast and was scared of getting wet. Rather sensibly for me, I decided that in view of the rather wet and windy conditions which were being reported in Borrowdale we would spend Friday night at my parent’s in Blackpool. I think this was a good decision and so we ate, drank and slept reasonably well. OK we had to get up at 4.30 but we arrived at the event centre at 6.30 for registration where we met Mick Lucking who informed us that the 45min walk to the start was now 5min and that for the first time ever we would be having bad weather courses for day 1. As I was old and unfit Matt generously offered to carry half a bottle of malt (in a plastic bottle) – this was a good decision too. We started at 8.23 in windy but dry conditions and I was soon into the usual plod mode using the wind, uphill and my collection of ailments to avoid running. Matt didn’t moan about this so I assume he was happy and so we collected our first control. We now headed for Honister Pass and were running ( it was level !) along Brandreth when it started to drizzle. We made it to the slate mine before we put our waterproofs on, wet but not cold. Off up Dale Head where the wind got stronger with the increase in height, the rain became persistent but visibility was good and we didn’t get lost. At this stage Matt decided to put some waterproof trousers on, as the rain had been stinging his legs for the hour previous, and he thought he had proved his point by then. We got the next two controls without undue problems but the wind was strong enough to influence route choice. Ridge runs were out. We chose a low level route from our third control to Little Town which meant awkward contouring - going over the tops would have been exciting but silly and very hard work. There was a near vertical ascent up wet heather from Little Town to a sheep fold on Sleet Hause. This was knackering and I kept falling and slipping as the heather wrapped itself around my ankles and the wind unbalanced me. It was warm and sheltered in the heather but I didn’t want Matt to think that I was slacking so I slogged on. It was true Gary territory and would have been ideally suited to the lanky git. On the way way back down we took a slight detour through a wooded bit, where I got blown through a tree. The next bit was all into the wind and so it was head down and press on. The grass on the hillsides was waterlogged and ripped off causing feet to slip but we found the next control without difficulty and so made our way to a crossing point on Newlands Pass. Five minutes earlier and we would have completed our first day but a marshall arrived as we approached the road and told us that the event had been cancelled. We had been out 6 hours and I reckon we had an hour left. If we had done the full day 1 route it would have been truly tough but as it was we were fine and we arrived at the day 1 finish feeling reasonably fresh, if not a bit damp. We were told to report our team number in a barn at the Buttermere camp site. Mick was grinning as we gave him our number and we then considered what to do next. We had been instructed to make our way over Honister Pass to the event centre and we debated whether or not to brew up. The barn was like a refugee camp with people changing out of wet clothes and having a bite to eat and drying out their inflatable woman (truly mad). We opted for a swig of whisky and left to leg it over the pass. Honest we would have walked it but it would have been silly not to take the bus that stopped just in front of us – OK we sprinted 30m to get it! It did look dreadful outside as the bus made its way up the pass and at times it felt as if we were travelling up a river bed as the wheels slipped on stones and rocks which had been washed into the road. On the down side it was cold in the bus whilst those outside would be warm with the effort of walking into the rain up a 1 in 4 hill. I’m not sure why but we got turfed out of the bus at the top of Honister Pass. There is a rumour that it was the man from the mine who told the bus driver that he wasn’t allowed to descend into Borrowdale because of the state of the roads. I’m glad we ran down as the scenery was magnificent with the streams on the hillsides raging down and the wind blowing spray across the fells. The river by the road was frightening in its ferocity and if you’d fallen in there wouldn’t have been a chance of surviving intact. Even Matt seemed impressed by the wade back to the event centre (the water on the road, now river, was cold, testicle deep and flowing with attitude) and it became obvious that parking your car alongside the road in the hope of a quick getaway was a bad decision. We had parked where we were told and this was a good decision. Met George and Anne for a civilised bowl of chilli in Wilf's mud garden and then paddled back to the car for a change of clothes. Finished the whisky, drank some beer, made a brew and had the best night’s kip I have ever had on a Karrimor/OMM. No snoring either.On Sunday morning the road to Borrowdale was declared as passable with care. On Saturday night it had been up to 7 feet under water. We escaped from the event centre at 7.00am with only two pushes needed to get off the fields; thanks Matt. Text messages started coming through as made our way along Derwent Water. “R U OK?” – Of course we were.
Nick
PS. I have just received my tee shirt and day 2 map – day 2 would have been awesome – maybe we shall go and do it one day.
Date:
04/12/2008 12:53