My fell running club has this as a Club Champs race so I thought I’d better go and have a look. I chose a fine wintry day. Fantastic views.
A quick internet search turns up loads of information and race reports, but I was more interested in the cut-offs.
I hit Checkpoint 5 pretty much on the cut-off time of 1:45 but I wasn’t unduly alarmed. The fine views and a steady pace, with a few photo stops, and then, just before the checkpoint, a flock of smiling sheep blocking my path.
The anti-clockwise loop back to Checkpoint 10 took way longer than I expected. In many ways conditions were optimal; crisp bog-free running, but the flip side was ice. Some sections of track were transformed into frozen rivers, and getting from one side to the other was undignified.
I was way over time at Checkpoint 10. A lot of that was due to sightseeing, photos, and icy tracks. But it was firm fast running and it’d be too close for comfort on the day. So I’ll enjoy the recce, but leave the race for the fast guys.