Terrex

Pre Race

I arrived fairly chilled around midday in Keswick to be met by kit explosions various in the field and lots of people poring over maps. The rest of the team were in Ambleside (got the feeling I shouldn't ask why!) so I went to registration and picked up the maps. I'd fully intended to return to the campsite but got waylaid by planet fear hospitality and then Booths for a final food shop so didn't make it back to the campsite until about 3. We spent and hour throwing kit round then returned to Keswick cinema for the

briefing, a quick map check indicated we should probably have spent a bit time studying them as this was anything but an obvious linear route. We split effort and ensured at least one of us had plotted all sections before the prologue and went to get changed.

Prologue - Keswick

The prologue was 4 laps of Keswick running, orienteering, swimming and kayaking. Our aim was to complete it safely - I've seen many teams pick up niggles in prologues and didn't want to but adding to the list for this race. I was kayaking so had a long and increasing cold wait for the others to complete their legs. It was a quick run (OK adrenaline got the better of me) to th

e boat and a short paddle before a confusing run back. I always get lost in the wood and in the dark I couldn't read the map so went the long way round. We finished 14th 13minutes behind the leaders.

Stage 1 - Morecombe Bay

The coach dropped us off on a road with the great expanse of Morecombe Bay stretching out in front of us and the start banner worryingly close to a half submerged landrover 'beware of quicksand' the route book said but the Queen's guide was onhand and had marked the route with Laurel trees so as the hooter sounded we headed out across the bay. Some of the channels were quite deep and needed wading with care, but a couple of hours later we were nearing the island with the 'torso'. On arrival this turned out not to be a half naked Jim, but a mannequin around the corner. By this we were all complaining about sore legs - not good at the start of a long race. None of us had trained by running on the flat, so we were confident we'd recover in the hills. At the end of the leg we sat out our penalty from the prologue in bright sunshine while refueling. We almost

missed the restart after a map faff (this was a big stage that covered multiple maps which in theory we had in duplicate).

Stage 2 - Western Lakes Cycle

Leaving Holker we decided to take roads as much a possible to save our legs for later, this took me to Cartmell Racecourse for the first time and slightly longer tour of Cartmell Village than planned. Back on track we headed to the first checkpoint and then on through quiet roads and bridleways to Broughton Woods. I was off my map by this point and after climbing for a while in the forest Phil got agitated, we stopped to fill water bottles as we'd all run dry which gave Phil time to reorientate and realise we'd missed a turn(we also rearranged maps so both were back in play) on to the next checkpoint we passed a couple of teams already looking rough, the course was already taking its toll. Again we opted for the road and made good time un

til a van closed a gate on us (Dave and James your integrity is over intact!). Again opting for the road we headed as close to Devoke Water as possible before breaking out into the boggy hike a bike. Jackie had an over the handlebars moment but thankfully didn't land on anything too hard. We battled our way across the rough ground until rejoining the road and heading out to Ravenglass. The instructions clearly stated go down the closed footpath and cross the unsafe bridge, but this was anything but clear on the ground. After numerous double checks we passed the 'no cycling' signs 'footpath closed' and 'unsafe bridge' signs and made our round the coast. We decided to stay on the Cumbria Coastal way and not cut up yet another footpath through the Muncaster Castle as the rules state 'you must not cycle on footpaths'. By this point we were hot, thirsty and frustrated at the slow progress. As so often happens in

races, kindness by a member of the public lifted our spirits. Ravenglass didn't have a shop, but the camping and caravanning site did. We queued and steadily emptied the shelves onto to counter before walking outside and scoffing the lot. The camp attendant came out to ask what we were up to and pointed out the showers and taps. As the shop didn't stock any vaseline he went beyond the call of duty and got his own from a nearby caravan (he was a runner). As we cycled of Muncaster Castle grounds we hit a wirebridge, in Barbara's case literally - her handlebars were wider than Phils and as the bridge started to swing she caught the rail and caught her face on the suspension cable. The yell was bloodcurdling and I thought our race was over. Thankfully it was more shock than damage and we were able to continue shortly aftewards. We cleared the first orienteering stage efficiently just before dusk and cycled into the first night to tackle the first major climb up Harter Fell. Going up was a slog but trying to come down was slippery boggy hell. Progress faltered and after a brief respite on forest tracks a bad decision (sorry Barbara) put us back in the rocky bog until the wire bridge at the bottom. We formed a chain and got the bikes across fast, but I lost both water bottles in the process. It was then onto the next slog up Walna Scar Road, this was long and hard. In the end we summited, only to the find the descent very sketchy and, without good visibility, I'm sure we missed some fast side runs.

It was now onto Church Beck, but none of us were clear where the start was. Phil logically beelined it to the centre of Coniston, but there were no obvious signs. Jackie checked the routebook but there was no title 'Church Beck'. I figured it was probably the upper beck, so we set off up the road, not at all sure we were going the right way. Eventually we met a marshall who pointed us all the way back down the hill so, after more confusion, we arrived at the transition. The marshalls informed us that full body cover was required (me in particular - Pete Rostron is still scarred by seeing me jump in a buff at the Open 24), so we stripped off and put on waterproofs only for the stage. The stage time had thankfully been extended, which gave us enough time to get down the rock slides and jumps, but not enough time for the final checkpoint on the bike. So that was it, we were off the full course before the first day was up.

Stage 3 & 4- Coniston Water and Bethecar Moor

Putting the disappointment behind us we set off for a beautiful moonlit paddle down the length of Coniston Water and the first big high point of the race. The first control took a bit of finding, with a number o

f teams to help, then we were on our own for most of the paddle before meeting teams coming back at the far end. On the map stage 4 looked an easy hop, but as we passed a sleeping team for the 4th fourth time less than 200m from the lake and started up onto Bethecar Moor, we were soon moving slowly in bracken and heather. This slowed us down far more than we'd realised and in the night with teams all around we started looking for the checkpoint in completely the wrong place. With hindsight we should have rested until first light as dawn brought a new perspective and we moved 500m SW to the correct footpath and found the control. It was an uneventful trot to Windemere YMCA for some toast and kit reorganisation. Jackie had a sleep while we sorted maps, trackers and kit for the next stage. We all tried for a cheeky 20 minute sleep on the floor in the hall while rain bucketed down outside.

Stage 5 & 6- Windermere

Revived we set off for the long paddle up and down Windermere. It was a fairly uneventful paddle with the odd wobble on the wash of speed boats and cruisers. The weather was mixed and by the end we were all soaked. The ferry was going to be tight so we raced up to transition and tried to get hot drinks before jogging down to the ferry to see it pull away. Frustrated we turned back and realised we were in a pretty bad way. Back in shelter we got more hot drinks and sorted out our kit so when we went across the second time we were in much better shape to start the bike. The sun had come out and made good progress to Elterwater where a mistake marking up the maps before the race caused much confusion and Barbara's local knowledge got us out of the quarry and back onto the correct path. Sticklebarn transition was a field so we got changed quickly and headed up to Pavey Ark in the fading light.

Stage 7 - Central Fells

We set off up Dungeon Ghyll passing the time with Tim and Sarah who had kindly come over to cheer us on. A change in route meant we went up Easy Gully, rather than Jakes Rake which took a bit of time as a mass of teams were just ahead of us. Once out, we worked our way round to Esk Hause and met the first teams bailing out due the weather. In the shelter we donned more layers and decided to carry on as we were all competent in the mountains and still well placed, despite our problems in the early stages. After Sprinkling Tarn we hit the confusion of paths around Sty Head, eventually losing them all (and all but one of the teams milling around up there looking for the start of the corridor route) and headed cross country to CP38, looking down on the maelstrom I was unconvinced Open Adventure would put a control in an area with the potential to flood, however Phil went down across the streams and confirmed there was indeed a control. Having dibbed we set off scrambling up the side of Piers Gill aiming for Broad Stand. The going was very slow and I was fairly uphappy as stories such as http://www.wasdale-mountain-rescue.org.uk/truestory14~piers%20gill%20rock%20step%20may%2002.htm and http://www.wasdale-mountain-rescue.org.uk/rescue%20pictures%20page%20039%20-%205%20in%20Piers%20Gill%20-%2027%20Oct%2007.htm made me worried for the more tired members of the two teams. We eventually hit the summit path for Scafell Pike and decided to follow the route we'd taken on my Bob Graham Round above the crags rather than below them. In the rain and wind plus increasing tiredness the teams were slowing down too much for my liking. We decided to take shelter in the Rescue Box on Mickledore and so once we'd picked up the path we were relieved to start descending, unfortunately we were on a lower path and missed the box. Phil went and located it while the rest of us huddled in the bothy (7 people can stand in a four man bothy!) By this time people were getting cold and wanted to descend rather than climb so we decided to traverse to CP 39 and head to the abseil figuring this would actually be the quickest way off. Pacing and on the contour we spiked the tarn and woke the marshall who confirmed the abseil was still on as far as he know. We set off in slightly better spirits with me force feeding snickers and jelly babies to the team to stave off hypothermia. the terrain quickly deteriorated and with Barbara mentioning the dreaded words we could get crag bound attempts to find a safe way down became more frantic. the navigators descended some way (towards the CP) but it was loose and sketchy so when they came back we took the decision to head back to Broad Stand. The weather was now starting to play a part as it was torrential rain and windy so hypothermia was an immediate risk if we stopped, while team members were starting to meander with lack of sleep. We took the decision to head to Wasdale as it was the closest civilisation and wanted to get moving. The other team got in a huddle and we agreed to part so Calder Valley was back on its own. Yet again we missed the saddle on Mickledore and rather than climbing back up headed down towards the Esk. The weather and ground were still both atrocious and we lost the path yet again. It was a relief to see the white foam of the Esk below us as we finally exited the crags and the ever present risk of becoming Crag Bound (Phil and I were only too aware of the risk after a bad experience on my BGR nearby in similar conditions). Once on the path I was much happier and started working on the team to get in the bothy to sort our lives out. We hunkered down under a rock and spirits lifted immeasurably once we were out of the wind and rain and warming up rapidly. So much so we decided to try and last out to first light and complete the course rather than take the huge detour back via Esk Hause. Eventually the cramped conditions and collapsed twister contortions got too much for me and I roused the team trying to get the adrenalin flowing for the inevitable burst of uncontrollable shivering that would mark the escape from the bothy. A couple of minutes later we were running towards the Esk when I realised it was a white foamy mess. I called everyone together and we linked arms, crossing as team - in the event it had no power and was easy to cross. It was then onto Gait Crags which turned out to be much further South than we initially thought - thankfully it was now light and we found it once in the right place. We nearly overshot the ruin which should have indicated minds were sleep deprived but we recovered out height, dibbed and set off for the final CP, minds definitely wandered here and having plotted a route from the bottom we gaily summited Crinkle Crags 150m too high and 1km off route. As we dropped down the band the weather improved and we finally made it back to transistion, the last team off the stage. In StickleBarn we had our second encounter with generosity by the public. We stopped in for 4 full breakfasts and the landlord pointed out the warmest seats, brought us extra fleeces and a rug for our feet. Jackie got her head down while we took stock of the race and came up with a plan given our late arrival at transition.

Stage 8 & 9 Not High Street and Ullswater

Refuelled we set off on the bikes electing to skip High Street and head straight to the kayaks to ensure we made the cut off and get our race back on track. The sun warmed us up and we made good time up The Struggle. Unfortunately we were all a little close and when Phil was blown off by a gust of wind I stopped and Jackie fell sideways onto the only rock for the entire climb. We got the transition and cooked up some food while Phil slept. We all had at least 20 minutes but then the rain came calling an abrupt end to the snooze. Once out the water we had a few portages over the shallows before getting on to Ullswater and it took a while to catch back up with Phil and Barbara. I was overheating as our speed neutralised the wind so for the first time we left the tow off and paddled side by side. A buzz from the film crew in the helicopter got our stroke rate up and then the swell pushed us rapidly to Ambleside. With the leg completed much quicker than expected we reevaluated and decided to do the whole of the Helvelyn Stage.

Stages 10 to the end Helvelyn to Derwent Water

We set off at a quick pace to the transition, with Tim and Sarah who had again made the journey out to come and say hello. We were surprised and relieved to see our kit bags again, as we were slightly marginal on equipment for another big mountain stage. Some faffing ensued though as we were unprepared and eventually we made it out for a beautiful evening stroll up St Sunday Crag with everyone in high spirits. We made great time round through the well on Helvelyn and everything was going smoothly. Of course it never lasts and the change in pressure threw out our altimeters so we missed the ski tow and had to circle back before reorienting ourselves and eventually finding it. A frustrating decision to contour into the next control cost us time and split the team a bit. We took a 5 minute power nap part way up the next hill to recover and set off again with a purpose to the transition above Dockray. The transition was full of bodies so we hunkered down in our sleeping bags next to Paul Noble's landrover. Barbara went straight sleep while the rest of us ate copious amounts of food. We all put our heads down for 20 minutes, only to be woken by the landrover 30 minutes later (phew - over sleeping is always a problem for me in races!). Barbara's efficiency in getting to sleep hadn't paid off and she's gone into a deep sleep that she now struggled to wake up from. The coach road was long and hard with the loose gravel keeping our speed down, FGS were less concerned and came flying past us towards the end. We caught them again in Threlkeld and set off up the hill together. With all the houses around we didn't chat and a when we stopped to strip off some layers they disappeared into the night. We cycled on past the youth hostel and then stopped to put layers back on for the descent to Bassenthwaite. We got to the lakeside an hour before dawn and the lake was sucking every ounce of heat from the air and us (think dementors in Harry Potter!). We saw planetfear emerging from a very cosy looking hotel reception, but we were seconds too late and the landlord had locked up and gone back to bed. We watched them cycle off into the night bunny hopping and swerving to try and get some warmth into their bodies. Tiredness and cold were taking their toll on us and no amount of cajoling was going to increase the pace so it was a settle down and wait until the sun put some heat and energy back into our bones. The forest trails were slightly confusing but in the end we picked up a path that climbed through the trees and brought some respite from the lakeside chill. Finally the sun rose and we could have 5 minute powernap in a glade which revived us enough to get to the Whittlatter Cafe. More confusion here as to where the trail officially started and while Phil located the control at the bottom of the hill Barbara had a chat with the cleaner who was somewhat bemused by all these cyclists passing at 6:30am on a Sunday morning. A bit of towing took us to the next CP and a rip roaring descent by Barbara, on her last gasp high, brought us back to the bottom in the sunny morning. Time was against us so we skipped the last bike CP and headed to the orienteering. This turned into quite a faff and frayed tempers as tiredness was taking its toll. We eventually started bagging the controls with Phil and Jackie negotiating the navigation. We'd allowed two hours for the final stage in the canoes, but this hadn't taken account of 20 minutes learning how to paddle the boats. Barbara wasn't feeling well so we'd swapped canoe partners for the this leg putting Phil and Jackie in the same boat. This confirmed we'd made the right decision keeping them apart and while Barbara and I paddled a safe distance away we wondered when the divorce papers would be filed. The slow start cost us one CP and we upped the pace to dib the last CP with 3 minutes to spare. There were lots of teams around and the sun was shining making a great final leg through the Bank Holiday crowds to the finish, slightly different to my last jog up the hill at the end of Bob just over a year before.

Epilogue

Having shaken and Bruce and James's hands and cursed Stage 7 and reflected on a great race the others went to start packing while I finished the champagne, cheering in the remaining teams. A trip to the cornish pasty shop confirmed I was unsafe to be allowed out alone (incoherent ordering and meandering up the street) so I went back to the finish area to cheer in planetfear and await the prizegiving. When all was done a shower and kit explosion followed before a quick nap and beers in the Square Orange to reminisce on a great race.

In total we had between 1:45 and 2:30 hours sleep which is much less than I was expecting. We never went particularly fast but also never stopped, which kept us up the leaderboard. Decision making was shared but swift and there is probably only one decision I would change with hindsight (not taking the forest road on Stage 2). Navigation was a challenge. We would have all been happier with the map to keep us mentally stimulated and 'in control', but we chose to select a navigator and let them get on with it with a second navigator following. This avoided four people poring over maps and in the main this worked, but it did open us up to gaps in communication and some legs where double checking would have avoided errors. Having both maps in play continuously would potentially have avoided a couple detours but who can say?

A week later and my body is fine but my mind is still quite mashed. It has better recover soon as it is the Nokia Coast to Coast in 2 weeks...