Rose, Saul, Emma & Kay pitched up to Ambleside on Friday evening for this event in mid-October.
Despite recent bad weather, Saturday dawned calm and settled.
Saul started in Caldbeck, on the northern side of the Lake District fells. At 8am the route started up and over High Pike in early morning cloud before descending steeply for the pleasure of a cooling wade across the River Caldew before then climbing across the boggy backside of Blencathra.
The reward for this early effort was a fabulous cloud inversion view from the summit before then picking a way down Hallsfell Ridge and running into Threlkeld to the first checkpoint. After a quick helping of refreshments there, it was out and across the valley to work a way up Clough Head.
Back in cloud here, the route now progressed all along the ridge line, climbing as it went via the Dodds, Raise and White Side to reach Helvellyn. Somewhere along that route we reached above the clouds and enjoyed that cloud inversion again before the day warmed up enough to dispel the clouds completely.
After Helvellyn there was Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon Pike then the steep stony step descent to Grisedale Tarn. And the reward for reaching there was then to climb steeply back up to the top of Fairfield.
Feeling Ambleside could not be far off now, we negotiated Hart Crag, Dove Crag, our second High Pike followed by Low Pike, and, with some rock climbing necessary here and there, made it finally to the track to Nook End Farm and the lane into town.
The day had heated up by now and I was quite dehydrated as I arrived at the second checkpoint that was also the start point for the rest of the Wooler team’s LIAD Half. After kicking their heels all morning, they had finally set off at 2.30pm, 90 minutes before my arrival, cheered on fabulously by the hordes of travelling Wooler supporters in the form of Janet, Mitch and Phil.
After about a litre of flat coke and two slices of pizza, I tumbled onwards south down the western side of Windermere following a different but overlapping route to that of The Lap a month before. Nauseated and exhausted, I found company in the form of Luke from Nottingham and in the end, we stuck together to see our ordeal through to the end.
Night fell as we descended towards Finsthwaite, the final checkpoint. The route from there seemed interminable in the dark, with us endlessly wondering if we would ever see the lights of Cartmel. Eventually we did, and sped up with excitement, only to realise that the end was at the school at the far side of what was a bigger village than we had initially thought. That finish line came just in the nick of time. We finished seconds over 13 hours, Saul being 3rd in his age group and 36th overall.
The rest of the team had sprinted that southern half of the course it seemed. Kay was 6th female and 2nd in her age group with a time of 4:13. Rose came close behind, being 8th female and 1st in her age group with a time of 4:23. Emma was 36th female and 10th in her age group with a time of 5:05.
Huge thanks to Phil for his selfless and patient taxiing all weekend, he deserved the biggest winner’s medal!
Wooler Running Club 