A write up on the Hebden 22 fell race from Mytholmroyd, which saw a number of Saddleworth Runners entering the fray.
Chris, Peter, and Jonny after the race.
It was an early start with the alarm going off at 5.30am and a then a car journey at 6.30am to make sure I was at race HQ for around twenty past seven as cut off for registration was quarter to eight with an eight o’clock start.
On arriving parking was straight forward at a local business park, and it soon became clear the organisers had really put a lot of time into pre-race preparation. Race HQ was the community hall, nice and warm with tea, coffee, and toast freely available.
By the time I arrived the hall was already busy with people registering and getting themselves sorted.
Christobel and Jill.
Just before eight we gathered at the car park for the Good Shepherd Church. It was dark and people were all chatty before the start.
On the right, Monica and Fiona.
And we were off on the adventure. The race is basically a loop from Mytholmroyd around Hebden and taking in Stoodley Pike. The race is varied in the terrain it covers over the 22 miles and 5k feet of cumulative climb.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/2088790345
There is a wide variety of scenery and history in the area, especially in old houses dating from the Elizabethan period to former mills at Hard Castle Crags. I think the race challenging as you cannot really get into a pace for most of the route due to all the changes of navigation, the up and down, and the hard work underfoot in today’s conditions. A lot of rain has made the ground sodden and muddy, and snow had come down more heavily that we realised on the high ground.
Stoodley Pike.
I had great company running with Jonny Ullett, Chris Roberts. Well done on Jonnny shaving off an hour from when he last ran the race, and for Chris running his first long fell race with such climb incorporated.
The route does need a recce before hand as it chops and changes over the scenery, and some people did get lost or take a wrong turn. Thankfully I managed to remember the recce of the route from before Christmas with Andy Poole.
Chris and I ploughed on and we left Jonny on the climb to Stoodley Pike, where realised we were making good time and decided to try and go for sub 4 hours just missing it by two and a half minutes. A good effort mind you as we pushed quite hard in what at times were treacherous conditions.
I did manage to get the usual photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/petercobley/07dx68
We got back to the community hall to hot pies, mushy peas and tea, followed by apple pie and custard. A credit to the organisers who also had well manned checkpoints where they checked on the safety of competitors and cheered you on.
A highly recommended race.
