My OMM Bike Peak District

The week before last saw the final preparations for my first ever orienteering style race, and my second bike event of the year (a Duathlon in February being my first).  As part of my OMM Ambassador role I get the fantastic opportunity to enter OMM events and write about them, so I decided to try the bike event rather than the "Lite" (running) event as it was something different and Caz could do it with me.  

Team GVS ready for action!

In the lead up to the event Caz (my teammate) and I got our kit together and put in quite a few miles on our bikes (road and MTB) and were pleased with our fitness.  Caz has had experience of navigational events before in both running and on bikes, whereas I have never had to use navigational skills before, so I was really excited to give it a go!

At the beginning of the week I had my bike mini-serviced at The Bike Factory - who kindly supplied us with gels, bars and hydration for the event, and, on Wednesday, I competed in my second fell race of the year - the Herod Farm Fell Race.

An array of nutritional goodies

Herod Farm Fell Race in Glossop, Derbyshire is a Category AS race covering 3 miles and 340 metres of climb. Having never done this race before I was quite keen to have a go, especially as I had heard it called "Horrid Farm" by other Goyt Valley Striders!  

Me with Estelle and Helen

I found the course suited me down to the ground as it started off with a proper hill right from the off, and it reminded me of a mini version of the Famous Grouse fell race, which I had done well in last year, managing to be first lady Strider home.   

"She's behind you!"

After the first hill came another hill, one which most of the field walked up due to its gradient, little did I know that the next hill would be a monster! I literally had to use my hands to help and not look down as we ascended the nab (slowly!).  

"Wheeee!"

It was with jelly legs that I reached the summit, and it took a bit of persuasion to get them running again!  I really enjoyed the fast downhill sections which followed, especially a lovely steep smooth grassy field where I managed to pass two runners!  I really went for it at the farm track we had started up, as I knew the finish was imminent.  

Again, I was really pleased to be first lady Strider home, 11th lady overall out of 36 and 3rd in my age category with a time of 34:48, full results can be found here. Definitely not horrid, definitely Herod.

OMM Bike Peak District

Map boards were a brilliant addition to our kit

I was really excited waking up on the Saturday morning, the sun was shining and I felt that I was as prepared as I would ever be, Caz and I looked the part in matching outfits to represent both of our clubs - on Saturday we opted for the Chinley Churners (our cycling club) in our "Beer, Cake, Bikes" tee shirts, buffs and hoodies (which were a good talking point and much admired), and on Sunday we opted for our Goyt Valley Striders kit.  

Caz owns a workwear embroidery and printing company and supplies both of the clubs with merchandise so we were kindly kitted out by a&c workwear for the weekend.  

Wearing my Rotor Vest

Obviously, I also wore my new OMM products which had arrived just in time!  - namely the OMM long sleeved tee which served as an excellent base layer, and I actually washed and dried it overnight and wore it both days.  My new Kamleika Jacket was absolutely brilliant, it is soft, doesn't rustle at all and fits perfectly.  I stayed warm and dry both days when wearing it.  

Team Churners!

The second day was much cooler with stronger winds so I wore my Rotor Vest as an insulation layer, which was really good as it is so thin but lovely and warm, in fact I had to remove my jacket after the first climb!  My trusty OMM Last Drop 10 backpack served me well yet again and fitted all the necessary kit in (just!).

Dexshell overshoes in action

I wore Dexshell overshoes on both days - I found they were quite hard to get on, and Caz had to help me with the zip, but once done up they fit really well and my feet stayed clean and warm both days - on the first day we encountered a calf-deep river crossing and it was a few seconds before the water seeped into my shoes.  They dried out over the course of the day so I was really glad of the neoprene keeping my feet snug.  I really gave them some hammer up the boulders of a green lane where we ended up pushing our bikes and the bottom of the overshoes stayed relatively in tact - a big ask!

So, we had all the gear, but did we have any idea what we were letting ourselves in for?! The answer is yes and no, we both anticipated that we would push ourselves and get as many checkpoints as possible, but on day 1 we managed to spend too long getting a 50 point control and it really set us back.  

Control 31 was our nemesis!

The map covering a wide area

We had decided to try to map a vaguely circular route taking in as many controls as possible.  This we did but the terrain was unknown and we found ourselves taking some paths which were slower than taking longer road options. We were also less confident at knowing whether we would be going up or downhill, it was tempting to think north is up and south is down!  We got quite adept at reading contours and meters by the end of the competition!

Eating my way to more space!

Our bike map boards were a Godsend, we could navigate on the move which was brilliant, and we managed to keep moving most of the time.  We had been really organised with food and made everything bitesize and mostly accessible - though at one point I literally had to eat a load of food to make room in my pack for my jacket!


We managed to get 12 controls on the first day, passing through Hurdlow, Glutton Bridge, Hollinsclough, Hardings Booth, Fawfieldhead, Hulme End and Biggin. We were pleased with our route and we ended up doing 27 miles which wasn't too bad considering some of the steep and technical terrain.  Going into day 2 we were well up for the challenge of another go!  In fact, we both said we would have liked 5 hours on both days rather than 5 on the first and 4 on the second!  

Caz with Parkhouse Hill in the background

On day 2 we changed tactics a little and decided to forget trying to get to tricky 50 pointers.  We headed north of the start at Parsley Hay crossing the A515 and heading to Alport.  We seemed to be picking up controls much more often and we were pacing ourselves well.  We saw some lovely places, the village of Alport was stunning and we loved the scenery around there.  After about 20 miles it started to rain slightly, and the wind seemed cooler.  We were crossing exposed arable moorland so we put our jackets back on and continued to our next control.  In the end we managed to get a couple of bonus controls - a total of 11, again covering around 26 miles.


The organisation of the event was excellent.  All of the OMM staff and volunteers went out of their way to accommodate everyone and it was really simple to know what to do - basically get your wrist SPORTident dibber at registration on day 1, have it cleared by "dibbing" it in the little box on both mornings, choose a start time for both days and off you go!  All really relaxed and fun.  The food provided was lovely, especially the cakes!

After the event - tired but happy!

Checking my compass!

I was relieved not to have to wear a competitor number as I didn't want to put holes in my new gear with safety pins!  All of our information was stored on our dibbers which was great!

Overall, our aim was to get as many controls as possible without getting lost, and without coming last! We really pushed ourselves and felt we couldn't have tried any harder. Out of 29 entries we were 21st overall, which for our first go wasn't a bad attempt and the main thing is we had fun!  

Since the event, we have printed out all of the splits to see what the more experienced competitors did differently, the main difference being that they went for as many 50 pointers as possible and travelled further than us. 

Our route planning however was good and we followed similar routes to others so that was reassuring.  On the whole we both really enjoyed the weekend and would definitely do it all again!  Thank you OMM!  

My next blog will cover tips for first-time fell runners, along with more race reports, until then, happy running!

TLF 

First Fell Race of the Year!

Scenery wasn't too shabby

On the 10th April I competed in the Thomas Theyer fell race, a race I had recce'd a couple of months ago with my friend Helen (see blog post here).  Based in Combs, Derbyshire at the fantastic Whitehall Centre - the race was being run in memory of 18 year old Thomas Theyer who tragically died whilst out fell running near Buxton in 2013.  Before the day, I managed to raise £60 sponsorship and said I was aiming to complete the run in around 1 hour - my blog post was shared by the Thomas Theyer Foundation facebook page and they highlighted my estimated time - the pressure was then on!

It was a beautiful day with a cool wind but lovely warm sunshine - perfect running conditions.  Many of my friends and fellow Striders were competing in the Greater Manchester Marathon, Sheffield Half Marathon or the local Ronde Van Chinley road bike race, and this reflected in the numbers with just 54 runners on the day, 14 of them ladies.

Pete and I before the off!

I felt cool and collected at the start - a bit too cold actually, even after warming up -  the wind was biting - I spotted Pete - the only other Strider entered - was wearing a t-shirt under his race vest and so I dashed back to the car to get my training t-shirt to put under my vest! 


Talking of race vests, I was wearing the new prototype Striders vest courtesy of Caz and Tony at A&C workwear.  I found it comfortable, longer in length - a must for me as I have issues with my stomach (not helped by having a 10lb baby!), and the new graphics with little green trees looked more modern.    I mentioned to Caz that it might be useful to have "Goyt Valley Striders" written across the back of the vest as well as the front, as in races sometimes people address you by your club and this would make it possible for people behind to identify you.  Caz agreed that this was the idea, I just have an early prototype - future vests will have the text front and back all being well.  

Thanks Andy Waring for the Photos!

Once we were off (I only just made it back to the start in time) I found my stride and amusingly had a little chat with a Pennine runner - normally in races I am the one who is talking and usually get one word answers or grunts - anyone who knows me well will understand this - whats that you say? chatterbox? me?!  

Anyway, I felt good going onto Ladder Hill.  I found the stony surface hard going on my ankles down the second part of the hill and concentrated hard on where I was putting my feet, it was funny how many of the blokes were dodging the puddles over the flat track section, I remember a friend (Katy) telling me, you don't worry about getting wet and muddy in races, just go for it!  It definitely gave me an advantage over ladder hill just ploughing through the puddles!  Also it cooled my feet down which were, by now, very warm!

At the left hand turn onto Old Road I was cheered on by Sally (a mum from my sons school) and her lovely girls - they were impressed by my race number! (I was number 1). It is really nice to have people cheering you on, it does make you try that little bit harder knowing they have made an effort to come and support you, especially if it's a grueling race or bad conditions (this race was neither fortunately!).  Further up this rather monotonous road section one of our best pals Glenn came hurtling down on his bike - he was competing in the Ronde van Chinley bike event - we heckled each other and it boosted me up the hill to the next section - a woody track leading to the fields we had previously crossed on the stony section.  

Once back on the track we came to the gateway where a friend Andy was marshaling - he got some great pictures of us all, which is always appreciated! (it helps with the best bit - reminiscing afterwards!).  Next, we headed down a steep muddy field to a cattle grid and I gained a couple of places which is great because I have really worked on my downhill skills as I have talked about in previous blogs.  Back onto the road we headed up to the Beehive pub - I was veering towards the beer garden thinking how welcome a drink (of the alcoholic type) would be right now -  but round the next corner and I was cheered on by another marshal Victoria (Andy's wife) and her Mum Hilary who were doing a great job bucket shaking and directing us runners.  



The next road section saw another chat with a lovely chap from Pennine - he told me he was in the Vet 60 category and had done a 16 miler round Kinder the day before! - I was most impressed!  We stayed together until the next hilly section when I managed to pull away from him and his poor tired legs!  The next section was brutal and involved walking quite a bit.  The lady ahead of me was still in sight but with the gradient of the hills I knew I couldn't catch her in the distance we had left to the finish.  

Once at the top we headed downhill slightly to the finish which was uneventful with nobody close by - I still managed a little sprint - its got to be done!  My mum, sister and her partner Steve were at the finish to cheer me on which was lovely as usually fell running isn't much of a spectator sport, you just finish and go home!

My prize!

Once finished, I learned I had come home 3rd Lady, which I was really pleased with and I thought I had done it in around an hour.  I cheered Pete on to the finish and helped him avoid getting "chicked" on the line! ("she's behind youuuuu!!!")  Back at the centre we enjoyed amazing home baked cakes and flapjacks and as much tea as you could drink - all for a donation to the charity. 

Overall the event was really well organised, laid back and fun, unfortunately I couldn't stay for the prize giving as I had to get home, but kindly Ste Davison who I met at the Macclesfield Duathlon in February took my prize for me - a lovely beanie hat which he posted on to me - thanks again Ste and good luck in your forthcoming Ultra!    

At the bakery in Tideswell

I found out through the results that I had come home in 1 hour 1 minute and 1 second so not a bad guess hey?!  Thanks to all my supporters on the day - Mum bought me a Thomas Theyer technical t-shirt which I sported today on my run, and I have raised £90.00 online through justgiving, so a really good outcome all round!  I'm already looking forward to next year and fingers crossed for more decent weather!

The girls with Lyme Hall in the background

In other news this week,  I have had two great bike rides - one on Ladybird to Tideswell with Caz - not only did I manage 30 miles without falling off, I even conquered my fear of cattle grids and crossed 4.  In the wet.  This is big. 

Lovely Ladies!

I also went on one of our ladies MTB rides on Thursday with Helen, Caz and Estelle on a Lyme Park loop which is a bit of a Heinz route - a bit of road, a bit of canal, a bit of techie and a lot of gates! It was great!  I wimped out of a technical bit which has annoyed me so I'm going to conquer that soon.  One thing at a time... I might just let my face fade first...

OMM ready!

In the next couple of weeks I will be writing my first OMM Ambassador Blog which will involve a report of the Herod Farm 3 mile fell race and the OMM Bike event which Caz and I have entered on the 23rd and 24th April through my OMM role.  

In the meantime happy running to all!

TLF x