White Holme Circular

15th of January 2012. The Summit Inn

This was my first step into the world of fellrunning.  Organised by the FRA (Fell runners association) these are short, fast races of about 5-10 miles over open moorland.

The Summit Inn

The White Holme Circular was set in the beautiful west pennine area near Todmorden, notorious for its valleys that delve into the dark shadows created by the steep and unforgiving surrounding hills.

I was pleasantly suprised to find that me and my friend Jack (his first time too) were a couple of the first people there.  Seeing as we only arrived 45 minutes before the race started, it seemed it would be quite a laid back affair.

After signing on we decided to have a little warmup, up and down the road outside the race office (The Summit Inn) and the atmosphere was very friendly, with many more doing to same. Everyone was full of smiles, and greeted you with a nod and a "morning!".   Not a sniff of pretentious athletes, which was a relief from several 10ks I've done, where you just feel like the air is hostile, and people are scoping you out!  Everyone would be happy to help.  This felt more like a charity walk or a barbecue!

At around 10:30, all the competitors slowly made their way to the starting area.  Full of laughs and banter, you wouldn't think we were about to embark upon an 8 mile fell race.  Some even looked quite hungover, but I would later learn this is a fellrunners tradition!

The start

The race organiser quite casually counted us in, and off we went.  I said to myself I would just go as hard as I could and not worry about my placing, good job really!  About 30 meters from the start, the runners turned off the main track and went left up onto the first and only hill of the day.  I don't mind the odd incline, but fellrunning is quite different to road running.  This incline was steep.  From the valley floor up to the moortop, a mile and a half of uphill.  Luckily, people of all different abilities take part in these races, and walking uphill is quite common in the midpack area.  I'm sure the best run up most, but for many of us, a brisk powerwalk up the hill was enough to keep our heart rates sky high!

After the brutal first incline, things got a lot more tame.  Surrounded by the beautiful moorland, the bulk of the race consisted of flat, well beaten paths around reservoirs, the occasional muddy moorland patch, and a few hundred meters of stone slabs.

The beauty of fellrunning is, everyone suffers the same.  It doesn't matter if you're in 1st or 101st, everyone goes as hard as they can, and everyone is in the same pain.  This really becomes clear after the first few miles.

I had settled into a group of about 15 runners, all gasping for dear life like me, and it was a real challenge to keep up, and I found myself trying to beat them.  These were my competitors.  They were in my league and I would accomplish something in this race by beating them!

One of the reservoirs 

I forget how many I passed, or how many passed me.  I was quite concentrating on not dying, to be quite honest!

After a good 7 miles on the flat, the route returned to the top of the first uphill, and for the last mile and a half it would be a case of just throwing yourself downhill!  This is where serious time and places can be gained.  I threw myself down the steep hill with no regard for my own safety, trying to pass my competitors.  It felt as if my bones were going to break apart!  It seemed to go on for longer than the uphill, I was enjoying myself but I couldnt wait to get to the bottom.

Eventually, I made it to the finish line in 1 hour 27 minutes, and my Garmin actually said 9.1 miles, not the stated 8 miles.  I didnt mind, as I had set myself a target of 1 hour 20 minutes for 8 miles, so to come in just 7 minutes later having done another 1.1 miles, I was happy.

Everyone was jubilant at the finish line, and I shared tales of my grief and joy with the people hovering around the drinks table, laughing about this and that.  It was a nice atmosphere, and I hope to see these faces at the next race!

My only complaint is that the course was too flat!  I would rather have a bit of uphill, and a bit of downhill.  Not just Up, flat, and down.  I was told this was very unusual for a fell race, so I look forward to seeing the next course.

Overall I came in 72nd out of about 100.  Which I am reasonably pleased with.

Race reccomended!