Warning. This is one of my longer posts, because there's a lot to remember next year.
tldr; I got dehydrated, didn't eat enough proper food, repeatedly ate sweet stuff to try and manage my mood and ended up severely hypo (worse than I've ever been in an event) at Cray. The dehydration made it difficult to keep food down to fix the problem. I ended up retiring after a couple of hours in the CP.
Some of it was good though - the new route via Marsett is great.
The end of April and once again the Fellsman comes around. A new route this year, via Marsett instead of the long road stretch to Yockenthwaite. Plus a less welcome but understandable diversion around the SSSI between Blea Moor and Boot of the Wold.
For anyone new to this, the Fellsman is an annual Scouting Association event, open to the public. It's been going since 1962 which makes it one of the longest standing ultra distance events in the UK. It's more of a fell race than a trail race, and traditionally more of a hike than a race. It's open to walkers as well as runners, with an overall cut off at 30 hours. It's 100km (actually more like 105km nowadays) and around 3800m of climb. Some of the terrain is pathless tussock and bog, much of it is pretty remote. The kit list is famously comprehensive (wind goggles, 5 long sleeved layers) and the kit check is notoriously thorough.
It has a longstanding following from the old-school fell/hill running community and an established culture and tradition. In recent years it's had to modernise a bit to attract enough entrants to keep going, but the resulting blend of modern and traditional is quite unique.
I've said before that the Fellsman always has something to teach you, more so than any other event I've done. The combination of time of year, terrain, kit requirements, horribly early start, and probably a few others make it unique, and that's what makes it compelling. It's harder than a lot of hundred mile events. I've never DNF'd the Fellsman before, so there are definitely things to learn here.
The weather forecast ahead of Saturday was warm and sunny. Apparently in the run up lots of people were posting on FB, emailing etc saying "Do we HAVE to take all this kit even though it's going to be sunny?!".
Yes, you absolutely do.
While I'm still not convinced the goggles belong on the mandatory list (advisory maybe) and I'd possibly welcome a slight further relaxation of the sleeves rule, I know only too well that a sunny day in the Dales in April can mean dangerously cold at Fleet Moss (and beyond) in the dark. The old routes used to bring us round the edge of Yockenthwaite Moor in the full force of the cold wind before Cray. The new route removes that, but adds a genuinely awful drawn out climb that slows you to a crawl, straight into the prevailing wind.
As usual we drove up Friday night and headed straight for registration. As usual the queue was enormous. It moved faster this year though, as the kit check wasn't "every item" as it has been in the past (although I still had the safety pins in my first aid kit counted). Since they were only asking for certain items it would probably have been quicker to take kit already packed (since you'll know where things are when they're packed, compared to loose in a big Ikea bag. One for the feedback form.
We saw Nick in the school hall and went over for a chat, then went back to the quarry to pack our rucksacks and get some sleep. We were packed by 10pm, and in bed by 1045.
The alarm at 4.50 was horrifying, particularly being the 3rd saturday in a row (Calderdale Hike, Birthday Bash, Fellsman). We got dressed and brushed teeth, then went to get the bus to the school. At the school we had time to drop off finish bags and have a brew, then we were on the bus to Ingleton.
More tea and last minute bag tweaks at Ingleton, and problem number one: I couldn't find my driving licence. Thankfully I had a photo of it and the checkers were happy with that. We got down on the field, and after a briefing we were away at 8:32.
I had a list of my CP times from last year, and my tentative plan was to pace myself roughly on that. I got to the top of Ingleborough in 58 minutes - 2 minutes up on last year which was close enough to be satisfactory. On the plateau crossing I caught my toe under a large flat rock that already had my other foot on it and pulled HARD on my left hamstring. It hurt a lot and bothered me until past Gragareth.
At the Hill Inn. I was still bang on schedule. I was pleased to see another runner holding a gate for a farm vehicle as we passed through and had a chat with her along the next section. It was feeling a bit warm, but quite early yet. A couple of biscuits at the Hill Inn and a swig of my peanut butter.
The 3 Peaks crew were much further along in their preparations than usual, and there were a couple of marshalls and a raynet member standing by at the bottom of the steps. The radio operator was startled to get a "7 3" from me as I passed (an all purpose "best wishes" type of code used by radio amateurs - more like "bye" but probably the nearest thing to "eyup").
I was passing a few people as I climbed, but nothing excessive and I kept my pace down once I reached the track. Clip & Felltrack at the summit, then start to descend. I passed Karen on this stretch as I usually do, along with Bill Johnson just behind her. My shoe was rubbing so I stopped to adjust laces and grabbed some malt loaf out of my bag.
The descent to Kingsdale was fine, and I reached the CP bang on time having dropped the 2 minutes gained. I drank half a litre of water, refilled my bottle, ate a couple of biscuits and got on. Claire and I talked about this later - the layout of the CP at Kingsdale makes it prone to congestion and difficult to get at food and water. I could probably have done with more water and food here, but the crowding was freaking me out. That's a problem I've had in CPs in other events, and before at this one.
Gragareth is famously hard work, but I enjoy it. I pushed on up to the top, seeing Julian Brown coming back from the CP as I approached it. Julian is a similar speed to me these days so I was OK with my pacing.
The top of the ridge was a bit less boggy than usual, although I was starting to feel the sun a bit. With hindsight this should have been the point where I rethought my plan for the day. I soon got to Great Coum, staying a bit too long on the path away from the CP before cutting down the hill, I saw a nice neat trod below me and backtracked a little to get down the left hand side of the reentrant to join it. I was already cramping a bit, but that's happened before here and wasn't an alarm bell. Yet.
Clipped at the CP and on down the track. Flinter Gill was as unpleasant as Flinter Gill always is. Claire says it's fine if you just stop trying to run and walk down it, and it isn't noticeably slower.
I reached Dent CP and was directed to kit check, as I expected. This was problem number two of the day. No sign of my survival bag. I went through my kit thoroughly. Not a trace, The kit checker went away to confer and came back. I was informed that although I was missing an item of mandatory kit, they were happy that I was carrying so much warm gear plus the famous poncho, that they were happy for me to proceed. I could get kit checked again, and wasn't guaranteed to avoid a DQ but for their part they were OK with it. Big relief, but I was now really flustered and I think that added another straw to the camel.
I filled up with water (2 bottles this time, since I'd pulled my second bottle out whilst looking through my bag), picked up a couple of cheese rolls (which I think I might avoid next time - I'm not sure they agree with me) and a brew and set off walking.
The road section out of Dent isn't too awful and I soon reached the Craven Way. I pushed a bit up the hill, but didn't run at all, and I was starting to feel a bit crap. I think I'd already not eaten enough or drunk enough - it came on very quickly.
I walked across the top of the moor, barely running at all. At one point I decided that I was just not enjoying myself any more, and should stop off for a rest and some food. This was a theme all day, and it's a dangerous cycle for me: "low mood, eat something sweet, recover, low mood again, eat something sweet". The sugar spikes and drops from the sweet stuff feed the low mood and the whole thing cycles downhill until I'm (spoiler alert) wrapped in a blanket at Cray. Again.
Just as I was getting up again Julian caught me up and I ran/walked along with him and chatted for a while. He was having trouble with his hip, and his knee where he'd fallen on Ingleborough and had decided to take it slow today.
Down at Force Gill there were a few folk not sure of where or how to cut across. The way marker points to Blea Moor once you get down close enough to the bridge, but the path is a bit vague and not really visible. On the other side I climbed up to the main track then, after a short way, cut right towards the summit. It might have been better to stay down by the stream a bit longer - I need to investigate this route a bit. The climb to the summit was long and difficult, although the ground isn't too rough - apparently there's a good trod to the summit if you stay on the track long enough.
I clipped at the summit and carried on walking, with little bits of running down through the woods towards Stonehouse. Once on the road I ran the rest of the way quite steadily to the CP, then stopped in Stonehouse for a long pause to get myself on a better footing. Lots of water, tea, mediterranean pastry swirl and some cheese wraps, but probably not enough. I could have stomached a lot more food here, and since I planned on walking a while that would have been OK. I still felt a bit rough with sore legs when I left the CP and started up Arten Gill. I was definitely in much worse shape than I've been here in previous years.
At the top of Great Knoutberry I checked the tracker, and Claire was at Stonehouse, so not far behind me. I debated waiting for her at the top of Arten Gill and decided to carry on but figured she'd catch me up eventually.
Still walking pretty much all the time, I crossed the moor to Redshaw. At Redshaw I was feeling quite bad. I had a hot dog wrap, some more malt loaf, a couple of biscuits and some tea. Someone's poles slid off the table onto my head while I was sat, which startled me and left tea everywhere. While I laughed it off at the time I was a bit irritated by it later - pole etiquette is really starting to be a problem, both out on the course and in CPs.
Andy McFie popped up while I was regrouping, and left the CP a couple of minutes ahead of me. I went in the bog up to my knee by staying too close to the fence (should have known better). At Snaizeholme I clipped and carried on, trying to run a little bit.
I ran quite a bit over the Snaizeholme estate section to the Cam road, and again along the track to the turning up Dodd Fell. My quads were cramping on the climb, but actually no worse than last year. I started to think I might be on top of things now the sun was dropping and it was getting cooler.
Across the delightful bogs of Dodd Fell and through the beaconed gates to Fleet Moss CP. No sign of Dirk, apparently he'd been pig-napped particularly early this year.
At Fleet Moss I had planned to layer up and change my socks. I'd got very cold on Dodd Fell and could see my breath in the marquee. A kindly fellow participant who'd retired helped me to get socks and shoes over my wet, cold, macerated feet, and I ate some bean stew. The bean stew was an amazing restorative and I left Fleet Moss feeling genuinely better. Until I got outside where it was absolutely chuffing freezing. My quads were still pretty sore, but I managed to get running down the road. So, so cold though.
Problem three: while sorting evening kit out at Fleet Moss I discovered that I hadn't locked my head torch and it had been on in my bag all day. It was pancake flat. Obviously being me I had a 2nd lamp that was just as powerful as the main one, so that was OK. 2 head torches or a spare battery - excessive? Obviously not. The point of the Fellsman mandatory kit is to get round no matter what the eventuality, and an accidentally discharged main light shouldn't stop you.
I got onto the path down to Marsett and acquired a couple of companions who didn't know the route. I was mostly on top of it, although I did fail to spot the same left hand path coming out of a gate that we missed during the recce. Annoying, given that I'd made a point to remember. I had a lovely chat with a guy who came from Edinburgh and who was doing the Fellsman as BG prep. When we got to Marsett his wife and kids were there to cheer him on, which was really sweet.
Back on the way. Up to Stalling Busk with a group of 3 others. I know this section pretty well. The climb was hard going and it was getting really cold again. I put off eating until we reached the CP, which was a mistake as it was a lot further up the track than I remembered. The crossing to Cray was shorter though, and we were soon descending to Cray CP.
At Cray one of the medics looked at me: "are you OK?", "mmm, not sure to be honest". They parked me in front of the heater and fed me rice pudding and some unbelievably strong coffee. The medic came over to check on me and "Mmm, feeling a bit better but sorryIhavetoleavetheroomrightnow". Much vomiting later they parked me in the medical tent and kept an eye. We had the usual explaining about fast gut emptying and reactive hypoglycaemia. I really need to print out and laminate a card for these occasions. Claire arrived when I'd been there maybe 90 minutes, and stayed until the medics told me I definitely shouldn't continue.
I would have preferred to stay at the CP and eventually carry on, but my time sense was pretty badly messed up and I wasn't aware that I'd been there for 2 hours plus already, so the chances of me improving enough weren't great. When I get very hypoglycaemic the effect is very much like diabetes and my awareness is severely impaired (like being drunk), and it can take a fair while to come back. The medic crew at Cray were fantastic and took really good care of me, and were rightly firm with me when I wasn't thinking clearly.
So, Claire headed onwards at my insistence, and I settled down with a brew to wait for the bus back to Threshfield. I had an enjoyable chat with Chris Driver about all things Fellsman (Chris has been involved with the Fellsman for 40 years), met lots of other participants on their way through the checkpoint, and generally had quite a nice time considering. Back at the school after a flannel wash (hot water!) I bumped into fellow Craggrunner volunteer Ben Foulds and we had a chat over some food.
It was disappointing not to finish, but I do keep trying to remind myself you can't always guarantee to get through any ultra distance event, and especially the Fellsman. Too many things went wrong yesterday. I'll probably dissect the problems in a separate post. In the meantime I'm both philosophical and bitterly disappointed.
Claire eventually came in at somewhere around 22 hours. She'd walked practically every step, and spent half an hour with me at Cray. If I'd binned the idea of running as soon as it got rough going, at least until the sun dropped and it got cooler, I'd probably have finished and not spent most of the day feeling sick and hating it. That's the big lesson for me from this year - if it's stopped being fun, slow down to a fast walk, take rests and treat it as a slower outing. I tried to do that, but left it too late.
DNFing did also give me the opportunity to see things from slightly behind the scenes. The size of the logistical undertaking at the Fellsman staggers me. No other grassroots volunteer run event has anything like this complexity. If I wasn't so wedded to taking part I'd love to be on the other side.
It's noticeable that they've gained a lot of new sponsors, as well as managing to fill the event completely this year. In many ways it's a different event to what it was in the old days, but enough of the old culture persists for it to still be a fantastic event. It's a hard tightrope for the organisers to walk - modernising enough to get the numbers and keep the event alive, whilst still retaining it's essence. I can only applaud everyone involved for how well they have done and continue to do that.
Things that worked well
- Clip (like a small clothes peg) to hold my tally on my rucksack
- Mild cheddar wraps should have been OK, but the heat, nausea and dehydration stopped me eating
- T shirt and separate sleeves.
- The mediterranean swirl was actually OK, a reasonable substitute for cheese scones. I should have taken two. Or maybe 3, and fewer cheese wraps.
- My watch lasted far longer than expected on ultramax mode and accuracy didn't seem to suffer.
- The (maybe 20) extra grams of carrying the Zebralight saved me from a retirement at Fleet Moss - a good backup torch is a better idea than something minimal.
Things that didn't
- Not convinced by the SeaToSummit mug. The tea tasted rubbery and unpleasant. The Whitefurze screw tops are better.
- Spare bottle should have been to hand so I could fill it without stopping to look for it.
- Altra gaiters with King MTs are a waste of time and just make it hard to get shoes on/off.
- I concentrated too much on "big food" and didn't eat malt loaf/cereal bars that might have helped. I found 3 nut bars in my bag afterwards, I should have eaten those.
- The Altra King MTs rubbed on the top of my foot above my big toe, which they haven't done before.
Lessons learned
- I'll repeat it, because it's important: if it stops being fun, do something different. It's better to finish slow than burn out. I knew this, and I did slow down, but much too late and I wasn't committed enough to it.
- More food in the front of the bag. It's fine to carry food in the back when walking, but when running it needs to be accessible.
- Gaiters, for Altra King MTs. Almost entirely pointless.
- When things start to go wrong, don't worry about eating a lot of food and feeling bloated. I could have eaten more at Stonehouse, and should have.
- It's a feckin long way from Stalling Busk to Stake Moss CP - EAT FOOD!
- Water was probably THE key problem
- I didn't drink enough at Kingsdale due to the crowding and jostling
- I should carry a filter bottle on the Fellsman
Kit
- Ember insulated windproof
- inov8 primaloft
- Element waterproof
- UD Fastpack 20
- goggles (bog standard woodworking goggles)
- foil poncho
- SOL survival bag
- sleeves
- short sleeved shirt (saunders one)
- Bridgedale merino socks (plus second pair in bag)
- Altra King MT 2.0 shoes
- 2nd baselayer (long sleeved)
- windproof gilet
- cycling hat
- buffalos
- OMM windproof gloves
- compass
- Petzl torch
- Zebralight spare torch -
- spare socks
- Buffs
- Shorts
- OMM leggings
- survival bag
- first aid kit
- waterproof trousers
- whistle
- race number belt
- clip to hold tally on rucksack pocket
- Sea to Summit mug
- plastic bags for bits of food
- powerbank & watch cable
- gaiters
- two water bottles (UD ones)
- ID
- glasses
- soft cup for rice pudding etc
- spork
- Fellsman 26 map
Food
- Peanut butter
- salted cashews
- salted peanuts
- Cheese wraps
- malt loaf
- jaffa cakes
- chocolate buttons
- mediterranean swirl
Finish kit
- Shower gel
- flannel
- towel
- warm clothes
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