Swaledale Marathon

Reeth, Saturday, June 11, 2011

23.2M / 4,128'

Pam Kirkup

I had planned to walk/jog the whole way this year – I’d certainly done enough training. However, a nasty little virus intervened and I was relegated to the sidelines once again; a reluctant spectator after Langthwaite, the first checkpoint. The weather forecast was dubious for Saturday when what seemed to be a smaller-than-usual field congregated at the start for that heart-warming slog up to Fremington Edge. Heart-warming? Try lung bursting, leg burning and totally knackering. Ok, I’m exaggerating but I was feeling feverish at the time.

Nina ended up running much, much faster than the prediction she rather strangely had stuck in her cap. Nigel was in denial at this stage, but it all went ok.

I drifted steadily to the back, or so it seemed, by the time I got onto an unusually bog-free Fremington Edge. There I met some friendly people from Northallerton with their very fit niece, Emma, from Brisbane and on leave from the Aussie air-force. They kept me entertained en route to Langthwaite where, after umpteen coughing fits, I decided to drop out. So the rest of the route is Paul’s description!

From Langthwaite to Whaw was good underfoot and the support was much appreciated on that steep hill up to the main road and on to Great Punchard Head. The first drops of rain occurred at this point although the hill-side and path remained drier than usual. A couple of weeks previously we had recced the possible routes from Great Punchard and there was still plenty of sloppy mud about. The area near the checkpoint was badly eroded and taped off and so on to Little Punchard and the real mud-bath! Paul was very impressed with the extensive choice of grub at Level House – a wide range of sandwiches, cake and flap-jack managed to stave off hunger pangs and cramp.

It was at Gunnerside when the rain got really heavy which seemed to be an on and off feature all the way to Surrender Bridge. The last three miles I personally hate – heavy, aching legs, sometimes cramp, always running out of energy – and then there’s the gully to negotiate and finally that horrendous, long, stony and narrow path down to Reeth. It’s like having the soles of your feet beaten with a bamboo stick. However, Paul doesn’t agree! He actually loves that last stretch – it’s ‘a buzz’, an adrenalin rush’! Clearly he was dropped on the head as a small baby! After his moment of excitement he came into view running down the road and finished in 5.02 – delighted and cramp-free. And cheered in by myself, Shaun and a bunch of Hartlepool Burn Road Harriers who had kept everyone at the Buck Inn amused all afternoon.

Is that a skirt, or 'skort', you're wearing there Jean? Very smart. Any chance of getting them made up in Striders colours I wonder ... that'd be a bit different for the Harrier League, eh? Just a thought ...

Striders had some excellent performances, including Nina coming in as 5th Senior lady. All in all it was a very pleasant day with considerable successes for the club. Back at Langthwaite, one of the marshals told me that 62 people hadn’t turned up to run, so if you fancy it next year and miss the entry in January, you can always register on the day.

Shaun adds: Tom Reeves was first Strider home, in a fantastic time of 3:55, having left his abdominal difficulties on the start line. I came in a couple of minutes later in 3:57, some 23 minutes faster than my previous best time, hugely faster than I’d expected. Nina was also much faster than the 4:15 she’d hoped for, and did a PB time of 4:02. Andrew Thompson, on a break from marathon running, got round in 4:30 or so, followed by Jan looking very strong in about 4:45, then Nigel on his first time out here in 4:50-ish. Dougie came in a tad under five hours, doing well with a twingey knee, and Stef wasn’t far behind having a good solid run, as did Pam’s Paul coming in soon after. Jean Gillespie came in just under the six-hour mark, and Maggie Thompson came in somewhere around six hours 30, recovering well after a bit of a fall, finishing with Barrie and Christine who had a romantic day out on the fells together. Great day on the hills! SR.

Results

Pos Name Club Cat Pos Time
1 Matthew Hayes East Hull M 3:06
10 Heather Mochrie Unattached F 3:37
32 Thomas Reeves M 3:55
36 Shaun Roberts MV50 3:57
41 Nina Mason F 4:02
102 Andrew Thompson M 4:32
143 Jan Young FV40 4:47
146 Nigel Heppell MV50 4:50
165 Dougie Nisbet M 4:58
175 Paul Foster MV50 5:02
183 Stephanie Barlow F 5:06
274 Jean Gillespie FV40 5:58
295 Phil Layton M 6:18
304 Margaret Thompson FV40 6:25
305 Christine Farnsworth FV40 6:25
306 Barrie Evans MV50 6:25
374 Bob Layton MV50 7:05

426 finishers.
Striders Mens team 6th, Striders Womens team 14th, of 21.

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