Mount Famine fell race.

Over to Hayfield today for another fell race. This one is, like Shining Tor, a cat. AS meaning that it has a lot of climbing (564m/1850ft) and is short distance (8k/5 miles).
This was my first time at this race, and also my first time running in this area although I have mountain biked nearby. So I was slightly nervous, especially as I couldn't find any obvious paths on the OS map that tied into the race route. However the race was listed PM which means partially marked so there would be flags on the ground to guide me in the unlikely event that I lost sight of the person in front.

The race started in some woodland called Elle Bank. So we spread out along a woodland path. But instead of going along the path when the race started, the route actually went straight up a bank. A loose loamy bank covered in ferns, brambles and branches. 4 minutes(!) of undignified scrambling later we hit a path, turned left and headed out onto open ground.

We ran along narrow rocky paths, walked up steep grassy hills and crossed stiles heading for Mount Famine itself. Once over the top we carried on down and up to South Head, then it was a steep drop on nearly pathless moorland down to Dimpus Clough then a stiff climb (walk) on more moorland back up to Mt Famine. Here we retraced our steps for a while before taking a slightly different route back through the woods and into Hayfield, the finish being next to the cricket club's grounds.

The weather started out overcast, with a little light drizzle. Then with a couple of kilometres to go that drizzle turned to rain. But I didn't mind too much, to me fell running is about pitting yourself against the landscape and the weather.

As for my performance, today was just about running somewhere different. I had a rough time in mind based on a quick glance at last years results (I'm generally finish about 2/3s to 3/4s down the field) which I came within 2 minutes of. I ran well I feel, on a course unlike any other that I've so far come across. I enjoyed running on the trackless sections, I liked hearing the skylarks although I was too busy watching my step to try and spot them in the air, I felt good on both the downhills and the ups, I liked the wind rattling my race number and I enjoyed the company of the other competitors. Yes I have work to do, practising running downhill faster for example, but I am satisfied with today.

My time was 1:12:15,putting me in 134th place out of 178 finishers.

Paul.