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RE: Update 2016
Hi there BB. I am slowly creeping back up the field you might say. But it does, as you well know, depend on what kind of race you are running. We both tend to run in small, committed fields. Although yesterday I ran in the Northern 6-stage road relays around the Ethiad Stadium. This was a large, committed field. I was running a respectable pace on my leg but looked completely pedestrian when compared to the runners at the sharp end. I guess alot of them were young, track runners.
The Bank Holiday weekend of the Malham and Reeth Shows may well have been the highlight. I was planning to do the Grasmere Sports in between but we didn't get out of bed in time. Not the first time that's happened. Agricultural shows are fantastic because the races are slotted into a programme of events in the show-field. So really you're just another type of livestock being paraded before the crowd and then you head off into the hills. And the reception when you get back is always a warm one as, by that time, the beer tent has usually done some business.
Reeth is in a lovely part of The Dales that we don't visit much called Swaledale. There were even camel races; with commentary from an aristocratic General type who was genuinely knowledgeable about camels.
Some of these shows, such as Muker and Kilnsey are during the week so you have to take time off work to attend. I think Kilnsey is the most famous with a very short and perilous fell race down limestone 'chimneys' and big scree fields. But it's on a Tuesday afternoon!
The Jack Bloor race was amusing as I spent the hour before the race frantically studying the map and working out bearings off each checkpoint, attack points and the like. Well, it was advertised as needing navigational skills. The reality was 250 people following each other along paths and marked sections of the moor. So I would have been better off going for a warm-up.
Arncliffe Gala and Burnsall Sports are always August highlights. I do the road races and watch the Fell race with a pint which suits me nicely. This year I actually paced the Burnsall 10 correctly which was a first. Not a particularly quick time but I usually find it impossible to get right as it's so lumpy.
I suppose a few pictures would paint a better picture. I'll try and cobble some links together.
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