Osmotherley Phoenix Ultra no 27

Osmotherley Phoenix, 33 miles 4700 feet of ascent

Great event but a pretty crap effort from myself coming in at 6 hrs 31 mins, 1 hour slower than last year.
Felt pretty tired and had some electrolyte/hydration problems leading to sickness/feeling dizzy and bad cramps. Had a great time after the race though catching up with so many freinds! next year I ll be back  to pull out


                              
               Garry Scott and Nic Ham                                          Mark Dalton trying to get some trade ;0)

                                          Ken & Jen Wyles, Andy Norman and some ugly git

                                                        Sarah Booth, Jen & Ken Wyles


Ultra no 26 was the Hamsterley Marathon, a  27 mile trail lapped course marathon based up near Durham with a big bloody hill in the middle, very tough after the WHW the weekend before and 56 miles in between both the events!!

NEXT BIGGIE!!! ULTRA 30 LAKELAND 100

Fame at last!! (only joking)

Runfurther interview ;0)

http://www.runfurther.com/featured-runners/featured-runner-jon-steele-c-534_919.html?p=shop

WHW Write Up

Sorry, I spent several hours writing up the WHW race report and the whole thing was lost, I cant bear to write it up again, id rather run it again!!

I will attempt to write up the Bob Graham Round in the very near future, leading up to the Osmotherley Phoenix I have completed 3 ultras since the WHW race , so am back on track with the challenge.
Osmotherley Phoenix will be Ultra no 26

Ultras 22 and 23

Just a quick recap, I'm sorry I haven't been on top of this blog for awhile but I have just set up my new personal training  business (Steele's Inspirational Fitness) also being finishing off relevant qualifications and Hardmoors 60 prep plus the aftermath of the Hardmoors 110.

ULTRA NO 22 - Baslow Bootbash 27 miles in about 5hrs 15 (started run late)

ULTRA NO 23 - West Highland Way 95 miles in 24hrs 26 (WET WET WET WET)

Ultra 23 was originally going to be a 2 section BGR but due to weather conditions over the Helvelyn range we had to cut the first day short, ran  up Scafell Pike and surrounding areas on Sunday but didn't do the golden distance. I have entered a 24 hour track race (Tooting Bec) in September so will use this as one of my 100 finishes. I damaged my leg on the WHW so the plan of adding 5 miles to the race to make it  100 miles wasn't very practical with my leg .

I plan this week to write up reports for the WHW race and the BGR

This week I have a 10k race Tuesday night (will possibly scrap this) followed by running 8.5 miles from Barkston Ash to Boston Spa via Tadcaster for the 'Real Relay' at 23.15. A 5 mile Fell race over Carlton Bank on Wednesday night, this is all dependant on my bad leg. Saturday would possiblyly be a 32 mile recce of the Osmortherley Phoenix route with good mate Garry Scott and Sunday the Hamsterley Forest Marathon (North East Marathon Club)

Saturday 7th July will be the Osmotherley Phoenix
Sunday 14th July Marlborough Downs 33 (not an event)
Sat / Sun 21-22nd Weekends grace to rest before the Lakeland 100 (never happens though ;0) )
Fri - Sun 27-29th  Lakeland 100 (A race of the year)

Ultras 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Sorry I havent blogged for awhile just been incredibly busy and the following is a very quick short catch-up. This weekend is the Hardmoors 110 and I am up to my neck in admin so will file proper race reports next week.

ULTRA no 17  The Ingleborough Marathon (27miles) 2nd place  (12th May)

ULTRA no 18   The Bob Graham Round (65-72miles, 28000ft) Finished in 28 hours after a fantastic day shared with some great people.We hit bad mist on the Helvelyn range and lost a lot of time finding the route, leaving us to abort the 24hr time. (19 - 20th May) (re attempt  August 18th 2012)

ULTRA no 19   3 days after the BGR I ran the 27mile Osmotherley Phoenix Route with Shirley (24th May)

ULTRA no 20   Dukeries Ultra   40 miles -Sherwood Forest (cracking event)  (26th May)

ULTRA no 21   Leaden Boot   27 miles (6000ft) - Dovedale (Beautiful route)   (27th May)

No Ultras next week (2-3rd June) Organising and Directing the Hardmoors 110.
9th June Baslow Bootbash
16th June 3 x Bob Graham Round legs (Wasdale to Keswick)
23 - 24th June  West Highland Way Race

Bob Graham Round Recce Ultra 16

Bob Graham Round Recce Ultra 16 (Keswick to Dunmail)

Saturday 28^th April saw four great races on one day, the ‘Fellsman’ the 3 Peaks, the Highland Fling and the lesser known East Yorkshire LDWA Woldsman 50.
After much deliberation I decided to enter the Woldsman, the Highland Fling I had run the year before plus Id also be on the same route while running the West Highland Way Race in June (the Highland Fling is the first half of the West Highland Way)
Then there was the Fellsman, I had never run the Fellsman before and was on my to do list. The deciding factor was that some of the top runners who usually take podium positions at the Woldsman would be running the Fellsman leaving me a good chance of getting a top 3 Woldsman placing, I knew I would be capable of pulling out 9 hours for the course (its always good to be optimistic ;0) ) Also at the Woldsman friends Steve Walker, David Cremmins, Mark Dalton and Danny Aldus would all be there too. Decision made!!

3 weeks before the Woldsman the ‘Bomb’ was dropped, I had to work :0( So 4 great races and I couldn’t run any of them! So Friday night I decided to hit the Cleveland Hills after work for 4 hours of Hill Reps
 (14 to be precise and 14000+feet of climb,) Dead legs helped a little way to ease my disappointment and Ultra fix.

Monday 30^th April was to be the next Ultra after missing an Ultra the previous weekend. This Ultra was to be a Bob Graham Round recce (27miles 11000 feet) Keswick to Dunmail Raise (sections 1 and 2 of a clockwise round)

I met up with Rorie Macintosh from ‘Runfree’http://runfree.co.uk/(specialist in minimalist footwear, ie vibram fivefingers/Inov 8 Bare grips etc) at Scotch Corner. He is also having a bash at the ‘Bob Graham Round’ Rorie had brought me some Inov 8 X Talons 190’s with a 3mm drop and sticky rubber studs, today was the time to test them out..Rorie drove to Keswick and we arrived in sunshine at 0850!
We had packed numerous layers of warm clothing plus waterproofs expecting a very wet day after the weekend that had seen the ‘Fellsman’ close in the early hours due to weather conditions and people becoming hypothermic. Plus 8-10 hrs of food had to be carried too. Water was going to be a problem, I carried 1 and a half litres of water and 1 litre of Hammer’s Perpeterum ( Protein/Carb drink) So all in all 4 hours worth of fluids ( Im too spoilt with checkpoints providing water at races :0) )
Fingers crossed I would find another source of water along the way.

Hall's Fell Blencathra

We eventually stopped dithering about what layers we needed or didn’t need to wear and headed up Spooney Lane towards Latrigg and ultimately Skiddaw. Ten minutes later Rorie stopped in his tracks, he had spotted a Red Squirel, the Squirrel had vanished before I could understand what Rorie was going on about. The steep climb up Jenkin Hill soon passed and we reached Skiddaw summit dead on a 23hr BGR schedule time. The Summit was being assaulted by some very strong winds, we decided not to hang about Rorie found the best line off the back of Skiddaw towards Gt Calva and we lost 1000 feet in minutes. ‘Back of Skidda’ was boggy as per usual. We trudged up and down Gt Calva across a river (shin deep) and up to Mungrisdale Common. This climb was steep, very wet and relentless with no redeeming qualities apart from one; it eventually finishes!

Blencathra summit was cloud free with superb panoramic views over most of the Lake District. The continuation of our route ahead (The Dodd’s) was hidden in the clouds. We dropped down to Threkeld via the exhilarating Hall’s Fell Ridge.

Reaching the bottom of Hall’s Fell and hitting ground level we where taken aback by how warm it was. We stopped for 5 minutes then set off up the steep grassy slog that is Clough Head. The Roseberry Reps had trashed my calves (possibly the 2 hours of incline treadmill the day before the Roseberry Reps could also take some of the blame too) Within 10 minutes of the climb my calves had swollen up to the size of basketballs, so much so I had to pull down my calf compression sleeves to stop them from cutting off the circulation to my legs. Following Rorie’s technique I sidestepped up the slope for awhile to take the strain off my calves. We reached the summit and made our way over the Dodds which were now cloud free! I focused in the distance at Helvelyn. Once again the views where superb in every direction. The Dodds/Helvelyn range consists of the following mountains Clough Head, Great Dodd, Watson’s Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Raise, White Side, Helvelyn Low Man, Helvelyn, Nethermost Pike and Dollywagon Pike. We made short work of the range and eventually dropped down a 1000 feet or so to Grisedale Tarn. I filled my water bottle up from a small stream, circumnavigated the Tarn and headed up the steepest climb of the 2 sections, up to the summit of Fairfield.

This climb to me was arguably the toughest climb of the day and half way up the steep slopes my calves went on strike and started to go into convulsions. I dropped my bag off onto the floor (the route up Fairfield, bgr style is also the return journey, so I would be back to my bag within 10 minutes) As soon as the weight was taken off my back I found I could negotiate with my Calves and get on track , 5 minutes later I picked up my pack on the descent back down to Grisedale Tarn. After dropping off Fairfield a climb up Seat Sandal was in store, this climb was much easier on my legs and on reaching the Summit the views which we had been so fortunate to enjoy where still there waiting. Directly ahead after the main road which passes by Dunmail Raise sits Steel Fell and the start of the notorious leg 3 of the Bob Graham Round (Dunmail to Wasdale via the Langdales and the Scafells) To the south views of Fairfield, Rydal Water, Coniston and Esthwaite waters plus Windermere, it was tempting to sit back and take in the views while relaxing on the summit of Seat Sandal but we had a date with the 555 (bus back to Keswick) So we descended down to Dunmail Raise and jogged down the road to the bus stop .

Back in Keswick to keep the tradition we visited the Moot Hall Chippie (purely like I said for tradition, and it would be rude not to order food, wouldn’t it?)

We had kept to a 23hr Bob Graham pace all the way comfortably (except for the calves) while taking pictures, chatting and carrying weight.

I found the shoes to be perfect, exceptionally light and responsive to the ground, A great fell shoe and just right for the decent of Hall’s Fell ridge off Blencathra http://runfree.co.uk/products/inov-8/x-talon-190

NEXT Ingleborough Marathon - Saturday 12^th May

Ultra's 11 to 15

Sorry I haven’t ‘Blogged’ in a while just haven’t had chance due to lack of time. This blog is really a Catch up with only a few lines about each race ( if I wrote full reports on each race, you would be then reading this in August :0( )

HARDMOORS 55 (Ultra 11 )

I managed to get 2 hours sleep the night before the race ( Last minute race organisation ) A fast start fuelled by adrenalin (again Race Directing nerves) and optimistically following a 10 hr schedule. Fell to bits at about 37 miles (Blowarth Crossing) Picked back up at Kildale felt good at Roseberry and finished in 11hrs in 26th place, 2011 time was 10hrs 28 mins….

HARDMOORS 110 Recce (Ultra 12 )

This run I helped a 110 competitor with a 30 mile recce of the route from Square Corner Osmotherley to Slapewath. I was pretty ill throughout the duration of the run to the extent that if I hadn’t felt like this before at the TDS in 2011 then I was sure I would probably die on route :0)

Very High Pulse, chest tightness and pains, excessive sweating etc (Yes I was well hydrated)

Needless to say no I didn’t have a great time ;0(

BLUBBERHOUSES 25 (Ultra 13)

Beautiful course made even better by having Shirley with me for this race. Ran with and enjoyed the company of Dan Aldus and Mark Dalton for a while. Came off course following 2 other runners who had taken the wrong turning and ended up adding an extra couple of miles to the course. Finished the route in just over 4 hours. Sat and chatted for awhile after the race then ran the extra 2 miles I needed for the event to be an Ultra (note to myself, never sit down for awhile before adding the extra miles on to the end)

BOB GRAHAM RECCE (Ultra 14 )

Ran with Rorie Macintosh section 3 and 4 of the Bob Graham. Dunmail Raise to Wasdale via the Langdales, Bow Fell and the Scafells into Wasdale, then from Wasdale to Honister Pass via Yebarrow, Red Pike, Steeple, Pillar, Kirk Fell and the Gables. Weather was pretty wet and nasty, a trip to Keswick Moot Hall Chippie saved the day!

CALDERDALE (38mile option well kind of ;0) ) (Ultra 15)

A fiasco from the start but highly enjoyable fun and was actually running well for the duration.

We arrived 20 minutes late at the start after being sent in the complete wrong direction by a man walking his dog. We went through registration and pressed on, everyone had left awhile ago and I hadn’t marked out my map and started running blind. Eventualy without the aid of my glasses (in the car) I managed to mark on the map the checkpoints but couldn’t work out from the dozens of footpaths the best ones to take. While searching for CP2 I received a call from the organisers asking if we were okay and if the challenge was too much, if we were fit enough to complete the coures (our route choices where possibly the longest routes we could take, and we had lost a lot of time) I knew the best way to the next checkpoint (this particular bit was similar to Haworth Hobble but in reverse) so we made pretty quick work of it and then rang the organisers, they realised with our timing it was a navigational error rather then fitness. We finished the 38 mile route in 10 hours covering a distance of closer to 48 miles but due to missing one early checkpoint we were classed as 27 mile option runners ( I wasn’t too fussed as it was another Ultra and David Cremmins got his marathon) I ran the event in Hokas, in areas where I thought Hokas would let me down And no they proved me wrong and where once again fantastic!

Recently I have missed a weekly Ultra. (This was one of my planned  Ultra free weeks) I still managed to get some decent runs in  around London and up and down Roseberry. 

NEXT FEW WEEKS (May to June)

Sat 12th May   Ingleborough Marathon (27miles)

Sat 19th May   Bob Graham Round (65 - 72 miles?)

Sat 26th May   Dukeries Ultra (40miles)

Sun 27th May   Leaden Boot (27miles)

After Bob Graham next big races -

June -West Highland Way Race 95miles (Adding 5 miles on the end to make it 100)

July - Lakeland 100

August - Glenmore 24hr  (minimum target of 100 miles)