The Washburn Valley Relay 18/7/14

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All pictures reproduced by kind permission of Debi Nicholson

Simon, me and Mike; the Fellandale team

As is my usual trick, when I was asked if I'd like to take part in the Washburn valley relay, I immediately said yes, then promptly forgot all about it. Normally that isn't really a problem, but it fell the evening before the Ingleborough fell race. No worries, I thought, I'll just do 'em both. I've never claimed to be sensible.

Under Starters orders

The relay is over three legs, and here they are:

After a quick discussion, we decided that Simon, as the fastest runner, would do the longest leg (the middle one) Mike would start us off and I would do the final leg.

Just after the start as the field makes its way across the causeway

The relay was carried out in a great atmosphere with everyone cheering their team mates on loudly. The abilities of the teams varied greatly from racing snake to snail.

Each of the 3 legs ends cruelly up a short, sharp hill and pride cut in time and again with the runners as they did their best to make a good showing for their team mates.

Here's Mike on the first leg

Great fun was had watching the first leg runners coming in up the hill and handing over. Mike came steaming in, clearly giving it his all before handing over to Simon.

Here's Simon floating on air as he finished the second leg, ready to hand over to me.

So off I went for my leg around Swinsty reservoir. It started on a flat and well maintained path and I was making good time. To my amazement, when I looked down at my garmin it told me I was running at less than 4 mins/k. I have not run anywhere like that fast this year, so I actually assumed that something odd was going on with the GPS. The path continued to meander through the woods and around the reservoir and soon I heard the familiar sound of a runner catching me from behind and all the while I was catching the runner in front. I was soon passed by a flash of blue and there was no point in me giving chase, his pace was so much quicker than mine.
As I reached the causeway at the end of the reservoir I over took my first runner and I was given a long view of the next part of the route and I could see a number of runners in front of me, which gave me some targets to chase.
As the race went on we cruised around the far side of the reservoir and I slowly picked off more runners before I could see a lady in Skipton's hi-viz yellow top. I was catching her, but only very slowly. My hope was that I would catch her on any hilly sections, or perhaps the final hill.
To get back up to the final causeway between the reservoirs to take us to the finish line, there was a reasonably substantial climb. I expected the Skipton runner to slow on the way up, but she seemed strong and the gap only closed slightly. Along the causeway she still seemed strong and I decided the effort required to catch her would probably be beyond me and I also had half an eye on the Ingleborough fell race the next day.

Me, on the way up to the finish

Of course, up the final hill, being cheered on by my team mates and a couple of people in the crowd that knew me, I couldn't help but put in a bit of a sprint.
I had actually run the leg around 45 seconds quicker than the Skipton lady, but it hadn't been enough to catch her. However, I felt reasonably pleased by my tally of picking off 4 runners in front of me and only being over-taken by one.

In the final reckoning our team came in a very respectable 21st out of 56 teams. A fine evening's work

Run review: Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs

This Sunday I woke up with nothing to do and all day to do it, so what better, I thought, than deciding on somewhere epic to run, rather than setting off down the canal again for the Nth time. Don't get me wrong, the Leeds-Liverpool canal can be really lovely, but in winter, with all the litter exposed in the bushes by the lack of foliage, it loses some of its romance. Call me crazy, but semi-submerged traffic cones and shopping trollies don't do it for me either. Surely, living in one of the more beautiful parts of the world I could find somewhere better.

I've walked around Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs a long while ago and mainly in the dark, so I didn't remember them well. Looking them up though, it seemed like it might be a nice place to run with a path that seemed fool-proof to a navigation-phobe like myself.
Then came the kit decision, would it be freezing cold? Would it be muddy? Would it rain?
I climbed in to the car with a giant, stuffed-full carrier bag, looking like I was off to Oxfam to donate 10 year's worth of clothing. On arrival I would be able to kit myself out for any conditions ranging from Saharan Africa to the Antarctic.

As it turned out, it was a slightly chilly day, so a long sleeved top and t shirt sufficed, the hat, gloves and buff stayed in the car. I looked slightly less silly and wimpy than usual, tights aside.
The trainer choice was more tricky. Would I need the trail runners or would my normal running shoes do? And if I chose the bright orange trail runners, would it ruin the look of my outfit?
I took a gamble on the normal runners - the paths looked well kept that I could see.

I have to say, this was one of the more pleasant runs I've ever done, oblivious dog-walkers excepted.
The paths are incredibly well maintained, in fact I'd go as far as to say they are the best I have ever been on. The scenery around the reservoirs is really lovely and it keeps close to the water as you go around.
I lapped each reservoir, crossing over between them to form a figure-eight.
Here's the route (Ignore the slight spiky detour at the bottom of Swinsty, that was a teeny error)

My fears of a wind and rain swept run didn't materialise and I managed not to trip over any dogs OR punch any oblivious owners.  The path gently undulated providing a good challenge without being too much for a lazy Sunday afternoon bimble.

So my conclusion is: If you want a pleasant, easy, Sunday afternoon run in lovely surroundings, with perfect paths and no navigation, and running up embankments occasionally to avoid the odd canine doesn't bother you, then look no further. I have to admit though, I don't think I would attempt this on a weekend in summer. The battle through the crowds would probably be too much.
And park in the northern car park- there's an ice cream van in there!