Edale Skyline and preparation for the Orienteering season

Busy few weeks recently but managed to find a few minutes to update what's been going on the last few weeks. uni work has kept me pretty busy as mentioned above and this wasn't helped by the strikes which has thrown everything up in the air in terms of exams and diss, but that's a problem for a different place. I've managed to keep on top of everything I needed to do and feel like I've managed to get the balance right with training and racing to keep the quality high with both.

A couple of weeks ago was my first major race of the year, the Edale Skyline. Whilst Ilkley was a good tester of shape, this was my first real aim as it was also the first counter in the English Champs fell championships this year which I'm focusing on for the u23s. This is not to say that I don't have aims in orienteering this year and I will undoubtedly be racing my hardest for positions and possible selections in the upcoming races, the JK next weekend being the first.

But two Sunday's ago this wasn't going through my mind. All I was contemplating was the challenge ahead, the 34.5km +1300m race and all of it's boggy, rocky, hilly joys. I'm no stranger to longer, hard runs, I've tried to make it a feature of my winter training to include as much climb as possible and to get off the roads and in to the hills to prepare for these sorts of races and for the transition in to senior orienteering. Whilst these have gone well, it's a very different story when racing and I don't really have any experience of racing in the hills for more than about 10k. Yet because of this I was looking forward to it and was almost curious to see how one of these races panned out.

The route for the 2018 Skyline

Driving out to the race with Hannah and Nic settled my nerves to some extent as both have vastly more experience than I do on this stuff and talking through the route and past long races allayed some of my initial fears. On arrival it was really nice to catch up with some of the guys who have left in recent years such as Jack Wright and Malley alongside some of the others I just haven't seen due to the lack of major races in the winter. After a quick kit check, registration and general catch up it was time to kit up and head off. Annoyingly the kit requirements had been relaxed, something I hadn't prepared for meaning despite the relatively warm weather I was still stuck in my leggings and short thermal, but given the length and potential exposure on the tops I didn't necessarily see this as a bad thing and headed to the start in good spirits.

I've always wondered how one of these races sets off and was surprised at the pace it did. It was by no means unmanageable, but given the gradient of the climb to begin with 'Up the Nab' it seemed a little brisk. I followed by plan though and settled in with Pete Bray and Jack, working our way up nicely and reaching Ringing Roger in no time. From there though I was surprised to catch a glimpse of the front of the race and the pace the eventual winners were shifting at. It dawned on me then that this was a race from the off, and there was no slouching around on the edge. Having said this, my initial plan had been to sit on the likes of Jack, Pete, Barbie and Malley who I thought given my training I'd be able to and so I settled in to a comfortable trot along the top without ever really working too hard. This continued until we got to Grindslow Knoll which was where things began to go wrong...


I've had some problems with my breathing in the past, most recently as the County XC champs which reduced me to little more than a jog. I'd taken my inhaler before the race as usual and had had no signs previously that anything would go wrong. On the turn at the top of the slight climb though I could feel the familiar unwanted feeling beginning to creep in to my lungs. I'd initially thought that it was just the effort of the hill but it quickly became clear to me that something bad was going on. I tried eating a bit to settle it down and took on some water but to no avail. I began drifting from where I wanted to be and got to the point below Brown Knot where I didn't care about the race so much as just keeping moving. I thought on the flat flags across it may settle but I had no such luck. Josh and Pete came past me, along with Ali Thornton when I was in the worst spot at the climb just before Chapel Gate and I could feel the race and any hope of placing well slipping away from me. I took the descent really easily and was surprised with the amount of support at the bottom, not least the presence of a certain Ed Nicholas who's encouragement was a massive help and reminded me of the work we'd put in together for JWOC last year, which began stoking the fire in me to sack up and crack on with this.

Genuinely contemplating whether it was worth carrying on here...

I took the climb up Mam Tor super easily, eating a lot, taking a gel and some water and for the first time in 10k my mind came back from the brink a bit and I began thinking about racing. I used the frustration I'd pent up from not being able to race and focused it on getting moving and chasing the bobbing shapes ahead of me on the ridge. I think my chest properly settled down after Back Tor at which I took a load more water and another Mars Bar, then used my new found spring to really push on, catching Ali back up at the top of Loose Hill and then chucking myself down to start wrestling this race back. I loved that descent. My chest opened up again and because of how the race had gone so far I just went for it, not caring about how much further I had to go for the ominous climb I could see looming across the valley to Win Hill. From here I knew the race was on but kept it sensible on the road section and again after some encouragement from Ed who had someone razzed around I set about the Win Hill climb. It was an absolute death march. Just a string of skinny runners trudging up a disgustingly steep, brackeny, heatherey hillside. I just plugged in and tried to keep going. Took infrequent stops if I needed them but knew I just had to keep trudging.

Chest settled down so now it's go time

As we crested and I hit the tourist path, I was surprised to see Jack Wood careering the opposite way to me and began wondering if maybe there was still a chance of a race here. My suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later as I passed Pete, Jack and Nic going the other way. The real carrot though was seeing Josh Jardine descending the steep but of Win Hill just as I hit it. I'd expected him to be right up with the leaders but as he was (I assumed) the leading u23 at the time I thought that the race was back on. On the turn around I snagged a quick drink from Paddy and a couple of Jelly Babies from Anna, then set about closing the gap to Josh. As the field opened up a bit, I spotted his blue vest ahead in the distance and used my legs which still felt reasonably good given my impeded effort earlier to chase him down. Passed him just at the bottom then spent the next 15 minutes or so like a deer in the headlights, just trying to plug away at the last climb and hoping that he wouldn't catch back up. The climb actually went surprisingly well and I was surprised to catch Jack Wright up who was suffering as we ascended to Coffin Rock. After trying to give him a bit of food or water I turned my attention back to the race and suddenly realised that the end was nearly in sight. Just a few short km's and we'd be back at Ringing Roger and the descent to the field. Those k's didn't feel short. I think a saving grace for me at the end was having Josh and Peter (both DP) ahead of me and the support of the marshal's to keep pushing for the team spots. I just about managed to pass them both by the end and despite some potentially horrible cramping on the final steep descent, got back to the finish to come in 36th but crucially taking the u23 win in a time of 3:03:29.

I was delighted to take the u23 win but was still left a little frustrated at how the first half of the race went. I need to sort this chest thing out and I think without it I should have come in comfortably under the 3 hour mark. On a more positive note, I was really happy to have kept pushing and take nearly 30 places from the top of Loose Hill to the finish. At the time I probably hated the race but to be fair it was an absolutely awesome experience and I really enjoyed the different challenges that the longer stuff poses. After prize giving and a quick pint with Waino it was time to head home and turn my attention to the next big thing, the JK.

Since Edale, I've managed to slot back in to normal training reasonably well. Legs hurt like hell for the first couple of days but after this I began feeling better. I think the higher mileage I've been on over the winter has possibly made recovery from this sort of thing better and I was pleased to still churn out some decent runs. I've also tried to up the amount of orienteering I've been doing, heading out to JK relevant areas and making sure the sessions and courses I've been doing have been tailored towards these races, with especially more focus on compass and direction out of control. I'm really excited for what the coming season holds, both in terms of fell running and orienteering because I've never had as consistently good a winter as this and I'm really enjoying my racing and training at the minute. Hopefully the fitness I've amassed can translate in to some good results and that I haven't completely forgotten how to read a map! I'll try and update a little sooner after the JK but until then
keep an eye out for more exciting spuddy adventures!

It's not all been fun and games since Edale, training cracking on as usual as evidenced by the happy spud on Win Hill