Coniston 15km Trail Challenge

Well, the weather forecast said it would stay dry, but while I was having coffee this morning the heavens opened! Gulp. I took precautions and stuffed a serious waterproof jacket and hat in the car, all the while reminding myself that the weather could quite possibly be totally different in Coniston. It's always tricky running on the fells, you know you're gonna get hot cos of the climbing, but it can very quickly get cold if it's raining hard.

Took a little over an hour to get to the venue. Lovely clear signposts and excellent marshalling at the car park, as I had expected having encountered this lots event management in the past. So I booked in, collected my race number and a cappuccino from 'Bob the Coffee' and then sat in the car passing the time considering whether to switch the Garmin over to kilometres or leave her on miles.

I had made a mental note of key points along the route (ie the steep bits) in miles, so I decided to leave it where it was. Also, psychologically I was only gonna have to run 9.3 instead of 15, so that's obviously a lot shorter isnt it!!?

The weather in Coniston was ideal - lovely sunshine but a cold breeze. Why have I got this jacket in the car?

The elevation map of the course told me that the steepest bit was the first 4 miles, then another shorter incline and then pretty much downhill from there.

Oh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Let me translate that into English for you. Out of the nice flat school playing field and then up the hill to the village and up the hill to the pathway that leads up to the next bit that goes up and then it goes up a bit and then oh yeah, you guessed it, up again. Phew it was seriously steep, and so early on in the route there was no way I was gonna be able to run all the way up it. Did my best, though, but to be fair, it was a bit like the last few miles of the Great North Run - even if you wanted to run, you couldn't for the walkers in front of you!

When the trail levelled out a wee bit it unfortunately narrowed to a single file and this meant that we were literally queuing on the fell side! Bizarre really, but it gave us all chance to get our breath back before managing to get some really great running in - and to enjoy the fab views.


There are several waterfalls alongside the route, particularly this section, and the downpours of yesterday ensured that we were treated to them in full flow. Wonderful.

I was quite surprised to find that when we got to some lovely wider stretches on the downhills that I was zooming past everyone. Obviously my additional weight means that Dr Gravity helps with that, but seriously, it struck me that a lot of people seemed to be scared of running on rocky paths. Why enter this type of race then? Duh.

Of course, while I am zooming away and feeling pretty pleased with myself I trip dodging a walker and nearly went a right purler!! I'm not absolutely sure what part of that bloke I grabbed to steady myself, but I was grateful for it, and he seemed to enjoy it. Thanks - whoever you are, big boy - you saved me a quite nasty fall!

The rocky path then turned into grass. Now this is a different story, that can be very slippery in the wet, but the rains had softened the ground enough that every step sunk in muddily and there were only minor slips on this bit. Again, there were folk trying to run around the streams and boggy bits - for goodness sake - just go through it!! Splosh!

Yeah it's all good fun, but the steepness of the early section was starting to tell and my legs were feeling heavy. It's pretty tiring mentally too, constantly watching your footwork on the rocks as well as on the mud. It's not really anything like road running, that's for sure.

The good news - toe and calf both absolutely fine and the only trouble I had was just tiredness, mainly felt in the hamstrings.

Coming in to the last two miles or so I could picture MUN studying the HR graph but I just couldn't do any more than I did I'm afraid. Latched on to a couple of fellas on the last stretch along the lakeside and back in to the village, and the chat kept me going. Thanks fellas.

And then the pain is all behind you and you're in the queue for Bob the Coffee again, and you're thinking it was bloody murderous, but I LOVED IT!!

Yeah, this time next year I will be fitter and stronger and lighter and it'll be easier. Won't it?

Final words - It was no surprise to meet several folk who I had seen on the previous Lakeland Trails event that I had taken part in - I really can't tell you enough how terrific these events are, if you are within reach of Cumbria anywhen next year then sign up for one, you won't be disappointed!