Lakeland 100 2 – 0 Lindley

As you can tell from the title things did not work out as well as I had hoped.

Friday morning the whole family had an early start and had a trouble free dive up to the start at Coniston and set up the tent. I went and registered for the race and a couple of the organisers from last year recognised me which was nice and adds a very friendly feel to this race for being such a big event.
Bumped into a few friends such as Katie, Darren, Flip, Anna, Phil & Phil, Dino, David, and others who I can’t recall at this exact moment so apologies if I left you off.
Went to the race briefing at 1600 and listened to Marc and Terry who organise this event and the Legendary Joss Naylor gave us his pearls of wisdom for the race.
Went back to the tent and got ready for the race feeling positive and upbeat and really looking forward to it, I felt I was in much better shape for it this year.
The weather was forecast for sunny/overcast all weekend and it was warm as we prepared for the start.

Coniston to Seathwaite 7 miles over 4000ft of ascent and descent.

The countdown happened and then off I went after my family had all kissed me goodbye at the start, the start was as I remembered it from last year and soon we were heading up a steep stony hill track, I thought bloody hell this is steeper than I remember then realised it probbably was not I was just going faster this year.
My plan was to walk any ups and run/shuffle all downs/flat stuff that could be run to keep well ahead of the cut off times. Did not really chat to many on this bit apart from the odd comment about scenery/weather etc.
Soon I was on the way down and trotting along nicely and loving it, I rolled into the checkpoint and drunk a few cups of coke and grabbed a few slices of cake and malt loaf and dibbed and got out.

Seathwaite – Boot 7 miles 2600ft of up and down.

Quite a complicated section for navigation at point this with various gates to look for, I was still near the back end of the field but comfy and ahead of last years time easily and feeling better for it, a mixture of stony and grassy tracks on this one with no real serious cimbs but constant undulation and various sections of rocky/boggy terrain. This is where I lost my shoe in a bog and discovered my new gaiters had torn at the same time! I had only just paid £28 for them Grrrrrr.
The route into Boot had been changed this year and worked much better than last year and I rolled into boot well ahead of last years time feeling good with the legs intact. Just before Boot I had accidently hooked up with Tom Boother who had done GUCR this year also although I dont recall seeing him in it and we had found that we had similar paces and strategy so we decided to travel for a bit together for company coming into the night.

Boot – Wasdale head 5.4 miles and only 2000ft ish of up and down.

A nice section this which although not very runnable is very pretty and not horrendously steep or difficult terrain and me and Tom trotted along as best we could chatting and talking general bollocks as we ticked of the miles. As we just started to come down to the woods by the car parks at Wasdale we switched on our headtorches as it was now just dark enough as there was no moon this night to help us out.
We rolled into the checkpoint in good spirits and took a bit of time to eat/drink a bit of hot stuff and top my bladdder and Tom to fiddle with his feet. There was a couple of guys there who had already decided to drop out and we left after about 5 mins in good spirits.

Wasdale Head – to Buttermere 6.9 miles and over 4500ft of up and down.

This section has a couple of really nasty ups and downs, the path up to Black sail pass is very rocky slippery steps and just seems to go on forever, I am a heavy guy and this is where I slow down due to the extra weight. Tom seems happy to slow with me but I tell him that if he feels strong to go ahead and do his own race. eventually we get to the top and start to pick a route down which is not easy in the dark with headtorches, the path is very difficult to find here and we slowly pick our way down through the grassy rocks and after a few slips and falls we make it down to the bridge. On the descent we were caught up by a few guys who were not as sure of the route as we were and tagged along for the navigation help, once we got to the bottom and the track was more even they stepped out ahead and got a bit in front of us until Tom noticed that at the point we turn right they had carried on. So with a bit of shouting we got them back and they once again tucked in behind us for navigation. Off again we went on a steep climb up to Scarth Gap which really slowed me down a bit but up we trudged and once over the top we had to pick our way down the very rocky track to the bottom. Once at the bottom we were on a very good track by the lake and made good time running and walking fast around the lake to the checkpoint at Buttermere which is the first cut off point. We were 45+ mins ahead of the cut off and this was 30mins faster than last year so I was pleased and more comfy about the pace. Tom felt a little ill here so we waited an extra couple of mins to let him settle and then we plodded off into the darkness.

Buttermere – Braithwaite 6.5 miles 3900ft of up and down

A nice section this but with a couple of steep nasty climbs that beat you up a bit, the climb over Sail Pass on the scree slope being particulary bad and giving me a hard time. the best thing about this section was that dawn was coming and as we were in a valley it was dark around us but we could see the dawn coming on the edges of all the fells around us which was magical. As we crested the pass and headed down it was light on the other side and we comfotably rolled into the checkpoint in good spirits. we both agreed to take some time at this checkpoint to sort feet and eat properly as it had hhot food. We had a bowl of pasta each and some snacks and I swopped socks and used the lav and off we went about 10-15 mins later.
This is where I had quit last year and I was pleased to move on from here in good spirits.

Brathwaite – Blencathra 8.5 miles and 2500ft of up and down.

A nice section this for getting on quickly with lots of runnable sections, once we got down on the A66 we got a good shuffle on and made good progress along the section but then made a stupid navigation error and lost a few minutes time doubling back when not needed. Tom was Struggling here with tiredness and was not fully waking up but I gave him a Proplus and we chatted and eventually he woke up and soon we were moving again and then I had a tired/slow patch with some negative thoughts and it took a little while to get through that then we trotted off and got to the checkpoint in good shape and spirits and it looked like we would be good for each other and likely to be together for the majority of the race. We talked a guy into not quitting at that checpoint although he did quit at the next one, he was a finisher from last year so a tough lad and still very young too. We shovelled down some cake and topped up our bottles/bladder and off we trotted.

Blencathra to Dockray 7.7 miles and 2300ft of up and down.

We started this leg in good shape and off we trotted feeling good, I was tiring but was feeling positive that I was still moving well and apart from the uphil sections seemed to be holding my own with Tom, I must say that Tom’s navigation was excellent as he had recced almost all the route and we as a result did not have to consult the map much and I was gratefull for that as I could just concentrate on moving as best I could.
As we moved up a boggy hillside towards the old coach road I just started to feel my knee niggle and when I got to the top I could still feel it as we levelled out on to the road and I did not like the feeling as I know this is how it started in GUCR and that it was unlikely to get better and very likely to get very much worse. I plodded on and Tom stopped briefly to sort out a few bits as I tried to shake it off. Tom caught me up again and off we went, the Old Coach Road was a very undulating t rack and my knee was still tight and I made the decision to pull out as I knew there was no way I will be able to push it 55 more miles even with taking a lot of drugs to get me through at the risk of making myself ill or breaking myself properly in the process. It was dissapointing as otherwise I felt as ok as I could have hoped for at this stage.

I told Tom and we shook hands and I wished him luck and off he went, I slowed down and calle Sue and arranged for her to pick me up at the checkpoint a mile or so further down the road and I strolled slowly towards it, my family walked out to meet me and we got back into the car and drove to Dalemain to get my dropbag and head back to Coniston. At Dalemain I met Flip who was going well in the 100 and watched the start of the 50 and spoke to Steve and Anna and Dave before they started.
Once back in Coniston I gort showered and got a massage off the physio who reckoned my knee needs a bit more strengthening through exercises and gave me a very painful massage which seems to have really helped it out since.
My feet were in good shape after, not a blister and other than a niggly knee my legs are good and I ran today with no issues. It was very hot for the event on saturday and even my hydration was good and I was drinking plenty and coping well with it. Just the bloody knee let me down.

In summary I feel bad for Tom who later quit as we were going well together and I feel had I not been injured I may have been able to keep him with me till the end. I feel like I wimped out early even though I know in all likelyhood it would have progressed to the state I was in at GUCR and that I could not nurse it for 55 miles. I feel a bit like I let my family down as they came up to support me but I did not finish.

I will be back next year, fitter stronger and lighter to try to get this done. Do not underestimate this course or think you can come here not fully fit and finish as it will find any weakness and exploit it.

It is a great race but I just want to finish it and put it to bed and then leave it alone, it is my nemesis and I hate that it has beaten me again.

I will be back…