Swaledale Road Runners

One of the advantages of fell racing is that you can wake up in the morning, think " what shall we do today?" and then find yourself a few hours later on the start line of a local race that perhaps you never even knew existed. That's exactly what happened to us and how we found ourselves staring with trepidation up at the skyline of the Weasdale Horseshoe.

This is a challenging race in the Howgill Fells, starting from the Ravenstonedale Show. After a short, fast, downhill start, the next few miles are steeply uphill on grass to the summit of Randygill Top (625m). A fine undulating broad ridge takes you on to Green Bell, then a couple of miles of descent takes you back down to the valley bottom. Unfortunately the finish line is at the top of a long field, so the crowd watches you struggle those last few metres. The route is only partially marked and with the 51 runners well spread out over it, there is not always anyone to follow and therefore map-reading skills are helpful.

Neil Bowmer ran really well, particularly on the uphill sections, and finished in 1:18.08 in 20th place (2nd MV40). I struggled with the uphill sections then got lost in the valley bottom, eventually finishing in 1:42.17 in 48th place. My one consolation was that I was the 1st Female Swaledale Runner over the line!

Ros Blackmore