Saturday morning was warm and sunny on the 100m contour line, which is exactly where the ODG pub lies, but it was a bit colder above 450m and distinctly cloudy around Crinkle Crags i.e. less than 50m visibility.

I had come along to do Langdale, feeling somewhat obliged having done Ennerdale and Wasdale earlier in the season and thinking it would be good to make a qualifying set of races for the Lakeland Classics long distance series.

I was pleased to see Steve Birkinshaw and Philip Sanderson there too: our NFR presence may have been small, but it was of a high quality as all three of us finished in the front 10% of the race:
Steve did an excellent run into the top ten with 8th in 2.19.13 (winner Rob Jebb did 2.05.07); Philip S was 23rd in 2.30.06 and I was 31st in 2.34.54.

I came along expecting just another small fell race like the previous two races I’d done with just 100 or so hard core fell runners, but was rather surprised to see the valley swarming with coloured vests on the morning. In fact the organisers confirmed 500 entries and there were 370 finishers on the day.

I logged a cumulative height gain of over 1600m for the route. It was a very pleasant route and the bit from Esk Hause towards Crinkle certainly favours those proficient at contouring, (which I’m not nowadays.) Although I have good familiarity with the area, I must admit to never having been up Pike of Blisco before (seasoned BGRers will be tutting!) so this was a pleasant voyage of discovery both in ascent and descent, especially as the view from the summit of the Langdale valley was stunning.

A very enjoyable race and a great way to finish off a challenging race series for me.

results on Ambleside AC site

Philip Addyman