On friday morning after a getting up at 9am to work i attempted going back to sleep for the afternoon so the HPM burn out wouldnt come to quickly. That failed so instead i read and got keen!
All too quickly 630pm came around so grabbing my kit and stuffing it all in a box headed over to Sharpies house for pasta and films. For some unknown reason we ended up watching Four Lions so our heads were full of quotes for the next 12hours of fun. At 9pm we got into the car and headed off, all getting slightly quieter as we approached Edale, especially matt the fresher who went visibly whiter...I dont think he realised it was as big an event as it is.
In the village hall we sat around chatting to people we knew an eating the last of the decent food before GO bars and energy gels became the diet of choice. All too fast though we had to don our ronhills, lycra and cats tails and ears (we were the Pussy Cat dudes so fancy dress became mandatory). At 11.16pm we left my cackling laugh echoing across the cold, crisp car park.
Hitting Hollins Cross we knew the race had begun and the miles started drifting by. Talking and singing became our way of coping, not sure many teams appreciated our recitals of four lions quotes and drunken sailor but it helped lift our spirits. Prior to the race we had instigated a competition with the people manning the checkpoints that they should theme and dress up to make it more interesting for the runners and that we would be judging them along the way for the Individual choice awards. Lose Hill got our vote as they had suits, top hats, an ironing board and an iron..Completely random but fucking hilarious!
From Edale to Outer edge the route went well and our times were pretty fast for a team of non-runners (i had been on 10 training runs, and Sam had been on 2...) but going upto Swains Head our navigation got a tad way-laid and some sightseeing took place, nevertheless we got back on track and found the checkpoint, a tad slower than anticipated but a good craic. Over Bleaklow we got back into the swing of things however when we got to Bleaklow head and they were cooking bacon we couldnt smell we did begin to wonder if we were really ok...
As soon as we got to Snake we knew it was game on!! We had 3hours to cover about 15miles and get back to control to get under 12hours..our target. Racing speed ladies.
We got faster and faster as we motored along Kinder and down to Edale cross. Rushup passed in a blur, although their checkpoint was apparently well decorated...we could only hear them singing and screaming from miles away! Running down from Hollins Cross to the road i managed to pass 4 teams, the finish line was in sight!!
We finally got into control after 11 hours 36mins of running 42miles over bog, hill, rock, sand and grass. What a way to spend an evening / night / morning! It was brilliant. A massive thank you to all involved for making it such a special event and one i hope to continue to do in the future!
Somewhere over Brown Knoll....Im not lost Honest.....
Fighting the bog monsters! (Left to Right: ?,?,?, Me, Matt the Broken Fresher, Sam)
This video shows our madness at running this most enjoyable of ultra-marathons.
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