Let's go MBO! - But what's it all about?

All the gear...

Mountain Bike Orienteering is exactly what it says on the tin.  It's orienteering, on a MTB.  OK, hopefully you're with me so far... so if you know me, you're probably thinking "how the heck can she fit another hobby in?!" well the answer to that is, easily!  Because MTB Orienteering is really just another bike ride.  A timed one with cool checkpoints to find.  

You might have had experience of orienteering in its 'normal' form at school or possibly had a go at the more recent Geocaching? No? me neither, I hadn't really done any form of orienteering until I tried the OMM bike event last summer.  If you can plot a basic route on an OS map, and recognise landmarks etc. then you are halfway there.   If you're a cartophile like me then this is probably the sport for you (providing you like bikes too, of course!).

The premise of MTB orienteering is this -

• Enter the event online, then turn up ready for a day ride, 
• Tell the people at registration your name (no forms to fill in) and receive a "dibber" wristband, 
• get ready to go with your bike/gear etc. 
• go to the start area, "Dib" into the start control box with your wristband (there is a marshal to help) and receive a detailed map with the checkpoints on.  
• You then have a time limit - normally 3 hours for a winter event - in which to find as many checkpoints as possible, get back to the start area and "dib" in to stop the timer. 
• If you are over on time, you receive penalty deductions from the points you have earned whilst visiting the different checkpoints (these vary in value from 10 - 20 points each).  The later you are, the more points you lose.  

Me "dibbing"!

You then eat cake and drink tea/coffee whilst perusing your printout which shows you how you have done!  And that's it!  The results are usually up on the event webpage the following day.

Obviously there is a lot more to it as far as being good at it goes!  I am very much learning the ropes.  It turns out that you can be quite fit/technically good on the bike but if you don't plan a good route or are over ambitious about the amount of checkpoints to visit you will probably be beaten by a few septuagenarians! but, essentially, anyone can rock up and have a go, and it really is fun, results are irrelevant unless you want to get good at it!

How do I get involved?

Caz dibbing in style!

Firstly, you join the British Mountain Bike Orienteering governing body (the BMBO) as either a full member (for about £6 a year) or as a day rider (which is free but adds a £1 surcharge per event).  You then get a MTB number which you need to register for events.

Then, you find an event  - for example - The Dark and White Events Trailquest series (my local one).  The location of the events are not specified until 1 month before (to stop you from swatting up on the area!), you enter online using your MTB number and that's it, just turn up on the day.

A great pair!

You can enter as a solo or a pair - I recommend doing it as a pair as it's more fun (in my opinion).  It is advisable to choose a partner of similar skill/fitness otherwise you will find one person just feels like they are following their partner around!

What do I need?

Basically, you just need a bike, helmet and some waterproofs! However, the following items will help you on the day - 

• A map board to attach the map to your bike - these can be homemade or bought, I have one from ebay which cost about £5 and is waterproof.  
• A highlighter pen - to quickly draw your route onto the map or highlight the checkpoints you aim to get.
• A rubber band or an accessible pocket to store the "descriptors" which describe where the checkpoints are (these are on an A4 sheet and usually in a plastic wallet)

Gear-wise, I usually carry a backpack containing the following - 

Check out Pearl loaded with mapboard

• Spare pump, tube and levers
• First-aid kit (mini)
• Phone, keys, money (standard!)
• Waterproof overtrousers (this may not be required but sometimes you are made to carry them)
• Food, energy gels and water
• Compass 

You can buy your own dibber, but I usually just rent one for the day (you specify this on your entry - it's about a quid more per event).  The benefit of having your own means you can put it on a retractable keychain thing rather than fiddly wristbands but really, it's fine to just hire one unless you take it up in a big way!

Useful items for after the event include - 

• Dry clothes to change into/wear over your muddy/wet gear
• Change of shoes
• A towel to protect your car seats
• A binbag to contain your wet/muddy gear!
• Babywipes for hands/faces!

So basically that's it!  There are other types of orienteering such as running ones where they can be a bit more sneaky with controls - they sometimes make them difficult to find when you get to the specified location, but from my initial experience of an OMM Bike and two Dark and White Events Trailquests, its really more about getting out in the countryside and finding bridleways and tracks which you may never have found and seeing somewhere new.  

It's also a great workout/training as you have the time pressure of getting back, so you ride harder than you would on a normal ride out.

In a nutshell it is well worth having a go at, and I hope this has been useful to anyone thinking of trying this sort of thing or wondering what it's all about!

TLF

Highlights,Lowlights and Aims - Hello 2017!

Firstly, I apologise for lack of blog action recently, One of my New Years Resolutions is to update it more frequently (but not too often, I don't want to bore you all to death!). Secondly, here is a brief round up of 2016 followed by my aims for 2017.

Highlights of 2016
There have been loads of highlights, when reading back through my blog posts I find myself going - ooh I loved that and I want to do it again!  Here is a (very) condensed list of my favourites...

• OMM Ambassadorship
• Running Snowdon
• 5k, 10k and half marathon PBs
• Hathersage Hilly
• This blog!
• Biking ladies - making new friends and (hopefully encouraging others)
• Learning to front crawl - thanks to Super Suzie!
• Equinox 24
• 2nd Place in the GVS Championship (Ladies category)
• GVS Fell Series Champion (Ladies)

Lowlights..
There haven't been many, but if you asked me during any of the races I would probably tell you it is hard and I am hating it! But these were the actual lows...

• Falling off my road bike - self explanatory! (although improved my riding no end)
• Cheadle 4 - just not a great race, reinforced my dislike of road racing - won't do it again
• Ankle injury and weakness - Went over on it at Longshaw Trust 10k, created a weakness - bugger
• Winter stomach bug preventing me doing the 3rd MACCL race and kiboshing my training!

Some 2017 Aims..
This is not an exhaustive list!

• GVS Fell series - defend my title (eek, I wanted a no pressure year!)
• Some of the Hayfield series fell races (short, hilly ones!)
• The Slateman (as part of a mixed team "The High Peaky Blinders")
• Grindleford Gallop - OK so I said this year I wasn't going to do any races I didn't enjoy - i.e. anything over 10 miles, road races, etc.  I then took the challenge of entering the GG (it is notoriously hard to get a space and fills up quickly) damn my competitive streak - got a place in the first 6 mins, now committed to do the race.  Balls.
• Another triathlon (sprint distance) and definitely the Hathersage Hilly again
• The Grindleford Goat (the longer "Billy" course this year)
• Improve my Mountain Bike Orienteering skills!

And I think that's it, although more will be added frequently no doubt!


In the meantime, I have the 2nd Trailquest event with Dark and White Peak events this Sunday, with teammate Caz, followed by XCountry at Kenworthy Woods on Saturday 14th January.

Perhaps the most exciting thing happening in 2017 will be the introduction of a new family member/running partner, a four-legged kind!  She hasn't even been conceived yet but, if all goes to plan I will have a canine training buddy to run with in 2018/19! Canicross here we come!

Training will now be aimed at the Grindleford Gallop with longer hilly runs in the fells and testing out my new Garmin watch and turbo trainer!

Happy New Running Year!


TLF

Dovedale Dash!

Having read about the Dovedale Dash in the summer I was intrigued to see what a fell race with over 1000 entrants would be like.  It sounded fun with a river crossing, varied terrain and fancy dress encouraged!  Little did I realise back in August that it would be 5 degrees with a windchill of about -2 on the day!  

Myself, Caz, Lucas and Louise (all fellow striders) - braved freezing cold windy conditions along with Chris T, Chris B, Paul H and Tracy, to take part in the counter in the GVS Championship.  

On arrival to the 60th Annual Dash it was very busy with cars queueing a few miles up the road just to get onto the field which was flanked by Thorpe Cloud - a very inviting hill which I thought we had to run up (but fortunately didn't!).  I would advise car sharing and getting there early as my first top tip. The start was actually delayed by 15 minutes due to people still arriving, which was a bummer because we had started to warm up and ended up bailing back into the warmth of the car!

The lady on the tannoy sounded like an energetic Caroline Aherne - she was brilliant cheering in all the juniors from the kids races! So enthusiastic!  She really added to the atmosphere of the race.

When the time came to start there was such a massive line of people we couldn't hear the starter so it just sort of happened out of nowhere - I was literally messing about with my watch and we were off!

Descending the field like a battle charge scene out of The Lord of the Rings there were men in wedding dresses, superheroes, a man in a gimp mask -kids, dogs, it was bloody crazy!  It was actually really hard to get through the first section so Caz and I ended up on a steep camber heading up and along the right hand side of the valley, whilst most people were bottle-necked into the bottom.  Top tip number 2 - go hell for leather at the start until the river crossing!

At the river, I opted to go straight through as I thought the stepping stones were a) for wimps and b) potentially slippy! and with the number of spectators with cameras, I thought falling off said stepping stones was not worth entertaining!  Poor Caz got shoved as we exited the river and ended up squished and losing about 10 places.

After the river section I went over on my ankle again in a repeat of Longshaw Trust 10k the week before.  It was less painful this time so I decided I had got away with it...

The rest of the course was actually really good, it varied from slurry bogs (a child was spotted fishing his shoes out with his hands - he must have given up as he was seen at the finish completely shoeless!), moorland and rocky paths with the odd hill thrown in for good measure - with an uphill finish.  

Dovedale Damage!

I was pleased with my progress as I was focusing on slowing down my breathing, having read an interesting article in the week.  I had left enough in the tank for the uphill finish and was just starting to crack on a bit as we came out of a rocky river side section, when out of nowhere I heard a dog whistle and was aware of lots of spectators.  A pointer dog ran straight across my path -  it had got away from its owner - I dodged it but it changed tack and totally took me out, straight onto some horrible rocks, to add insult to injury an unfortunate man then fell straight on top of me.  I had cut my leg and was really really peed off, it had ruined my finish.  I limped up the hill having shouted at the owner to get it on a lead (very assertive of me!) and had a little self pitying sniffle before I pulled myself together and cracked on as best I could with my new found infliction.  

At the finish we were funnelled into an airport style system - there were a few organiser errors here which were avoidable in my opinion - firstly we were not told to stay in order - this was important as the timing marshal took your time as you entered the funnel then you got a position number as you came out of the funnel.  It took about 10 minutes to get through and it was absolutely Baltic.  How nobody got hypothermia is a miracle - maybe they did in hindsight.  I would happily pay a few more quid to be chip timed!


A few weeks on from Dovedale and my ankle is still not right, in fact today it is really bad.  I gave the second cross country counter "Boggart Hole Clough" a miss in order to try and rest it which was really disappointing and my knee is still lumpy from the fall but my grazes have healed and gone.  I still can't kneel on my right knee which is very annoying and I have my final championship race this weekend - Cheddleton 10K Pudding race.  Fingers crossed my ankle holds out!

For anyone interested here are the Results of the Dovedale Dash.  I was 29th lady out of 424!  My time was 40 minutes 12 seconds - overall I was 350th out of 1410 runners.  There are loads of videos on YouTube if you search Dovedale Dash 2016.  

I will definitely be doing it again as although it was freezing it was fun!  Type 2 fun maybe, but still fun!

Happy Running!

TLF

If you like my blog please vote for me for the 2017 Running Awards here...http://therunningawards.com/#vote

Histio Ride, Tissington Half and MACCL #1

Since Equinox I seemed to have hit the ground running as it were - two days later, I took part in a charity road bike ride for the Histiocytosis charity.  A friends little boy was diagnosed earlier this year out of the blue after falling and breaking his arm, Xrays showed up a mass which was a concern.  His parents were wonderful and took it all in their stride and started fund raising for the charity.  

Our ride was just a small part of a John O' Groats to Lands End baton journey which saw teams of families affected by the illness - along with their friends and communities, transporting the baton in a range of ways - by bike, on foot and on skates to name a few. You can read all about the Team Isaac story and donate here. 

Our ride went from The Beehive pub in Combs, High Peak to the Tissington Trail at Parsley Hay.  I devised a back roads route which would keep us off main roads as we would be riding at night.  On the night the traffic from Whaley Bridge to Combs via Chapel Road was very fast and unrelenting.  We decided on a last minute route change and headed off from the pub up Castle Naze, which to anyone who knows the area is a jolly big hill! 

My team - representing Team Isaac - consisted of Mr A (Chris), Caz, Glenn, Helen, Jac, Brian and Claire.  We covered 31.8 kilometres with 668 metres of ascent.  The conditions were near biblical - it poured with rain and howled with wind as the light went from the evening sky.  I was freezing! Fortunately, we had friendly faces to meet us at Parsley Hay in the form of Alex and Fred from the Bike Factory who kindly brought vans for us and the bikes and Sara and Lee (with Isaac and Heidi) who came to accept the baton, cheer us in and take photos!  It was tough but for an extremely worthwhile cause and everybody put lots of effort in on all the stages, I was proud of our little team that night! 


As far as running was concerned, I was happy to have stayed injury-free post Equinox and started pacing and upping the miles for the Tissington half Marathon.  After a 15 mile training run and a 10k at just over race pace - I was feeling worried as I found it really hard both mentally and physically.  

Brian Holland - Winner Men's Vet Prize

As anyone who knows me will know - I don't like distance running, it definitely isn't my "thing".  It's not that I'm rubbish at it or anything, I just find it mentally as hard to endure as physically.  I entered the Tissington Half with the aim of getting a 1 hour 45 minute time (and because it was a counter in the GVS championship series) this would be 6 minutes quicker than my PB (I have done one half marathon before in 2015 - the Stockport Trail Half) and as Tissington was billed as being slightly downhill I was hoping to get that new PB.  

On the day I was very dubious, I needed to hold an average of 4:59 minute kilometres to make 1 hour and 45 minutes - a pace I had never held for longer than 10km before.  At the start I hung back from the other GVS ladies, I wanted to run my own race and thought the chip timing would be accurate so it wouldn't matter.  I paced myself well and was surprised to be holding an average of around 4:47 for the first 5k.  

Ladies team haul

Striders and friends before...

Somewhere around 7km there was a slight change in gradient and my pace dropped slightly to the 5:00 minute km mark.  I was trying to avoid letting it get any slower than that and rallied to continue at around 4:45 - 4:59 minutes.  I passed my friend Lesley and had another Strider lady in sight - Mary, she was holding a good pace and as I came alongside her she had a massive spurt and surged ahead again.  Pleased with my continued pace I carried on as I was.  It was lovely seeing supporters, including my sister and her puppy Dotty, at various points along the way.

Striders and friends after

Near the 12 mile mark I started to feel tired, Lesley was just behind but I had reeled in Mary, in the last 2 km Lesley and I broke away and managed a great sprint off with her just pipping me to the post!  I was so chuffed with my time - I managed to finish in 1:42:22 which put the GVS ladies as winning team of three - Sally and Julie both finished a couple of minutes ahead.  I was so pleased, mainly because it was over and I wouldn't have to do it again! 

Just before Tissington, we had a weekend away in the Lake District where we managed to sneak in a trip to Whinlatter, Chris and I both had a go at the Altura North Red route MTB trail.  I endured it but found that it was at the limit of my technical capabilities and I suffered a snapped chain so had to run the final 3km.  I enjoyed all the uphill (I know, I'm weird!) but nearly came a cropper on a few of the drops.  On further inspection Pearl needed fairly hefty work doing to bring her up to scratch again, including a new headset, a new front mech and rear cartridge - basically a couple of hundred quids worth of work on the gears eek!  My bike is a bit like the broom which has all the parts changed!  It is at least the original frame!

Looking like I was enjoying the cross country -
what I was actually enjoying was the fact
I was about 5 yards from being allowed to stop!

The first counter in the Manchester Area Cross Country League (MACCL) was at Wythenshawe Park - this was a new venture for the Goyt Valley Striders and we fielded a ladies team of 5 (4 times to count) and a men's team of 4 (we didn't have enough to count as a full team - six were needed).  It was pretty different and very like school cross country!  There were lots of professional looking people in compression socks and spikes - the really fast looking women had bare midriffs!  Lot's of children were taking part with coaches yelling direction at them from the sidelines - it was a world away from the casual fell races we are used to - especially the terrain - flat grass surrounded by blocks of flats, not exactly beautiful!

The course was a 3 lap 8km consisting of one shorter lap and two (very) long laps.  It was really disorientating and hard to describe, there was no mud and it ran fast on the good going.  I think it was the first race I have ever done where I didn't pass a soul.  I must have started in the right position for my ability because not many ladies passed me either - although some did! I have to say, at the time I hated it.  I hate the flat, I hate the distance - once again I found myself thinking "what am I doing?" but as soon as I finished I decided I would have a go at the next one - I have been promised mud and hills.  Bring it on.

My next race was another counter in the GVS championship - The Longshaw Trust 10k - It was certainly eventful!  The course was a 2 lap of the Longshaw estate which is very varied, from moorland to single track and rooty woodland.  I started off well until disaster struck and I went over badly on my left ankle - my first ever proper injury! I hobbled a few strides and was commiserated by a chap who checked I was OK.  After running a few strides I decided I was OK to carry on and my ankle pain subsided.  Unfortunately my calf began to get a stabbing pain with every footfall and I realised I had probably strained my leg.  I ran through it and decided I may need to retire after one lap.  

About 1km from the start of lap 2 Julie fell over right ahead of me and Amelia.  She too had gone over on her ankle but had fallen heavily with it.  She got up and carried on running but we could tell it was sore.  I decided if Julie retired after 1 lap then I would too.  Amelia has already romped home with the Championship title so it was only Julie I was competing against really.  

Julie being hard as nails decided to carry on much to my dismay but I was feeling OK and felt like I had energy to ignore the pain and keep on running.  I stuck with Julie, deciding I would see how I felt in the latter stages of the race as to whether I made a break for it or not.  Julie was obviously in pain and struggling as soon as the terrain got rough and sure enough right where I had injured myself on the first lap, Julie went over again, this time shouting out in pain.  I did what I would do for anyone and stopped to help.  Julie decided to try and carry on but she was much slower paced after her second fall and I left her to it.  I warned the next few marshals that there may be an injured strider coming and carried on with the race, as much to get the pain over with in my own leg as anything else!  

As I crossed the line some of the male striders and some of our supporters were there and looked concerned that I had blood on my arms, "Oh that's Julies blood" I said thinking to myself that sounded odd and like I had killed her and left her in the woods or something!! I explained what had happened and she came in not long after - I was amazed she had managed to finish at all!

The following week was half term and I rested my leg for four days - it was very sore and stiff around my ankle and all the way up the middle of my calf muscle, but by day 5 I managed a steady 5 miles and it felt fine. On day 6 I did Clumber parkrun and was pleased with my second best 5k time of 22:40 - 4th lady and 26th overall out of 233 runners.  
I am now looking forward to Dovedale Dash this Sunday, which promises to be a bit different!  I am currently sat here aching after a Roaches Fell Race recce yesterday which was 8.5 miles over nearly 550m of ascent! followed by a brutally brilliant Pilate's session today plus a hilly MTB with the girls this afternoon.  Hmmm, what shall I do tomorrow - I know - hill reps!  Great idea Anna!  

Until next time - happy running!

TLF 

Equinox 24 - Endurance Race

Team WB (Post event debrief curry!)

It was with a slight sense of trepidation back in 2015 that I agreed to make up part of a large team entry for the 2016 Equinox 24 hour race.  Once again coerced by Amanda, I decided it would be fun, and with 8 people on the team, it would be totally doable - run a 10k lap, have a rest, run another, have a rest... 

As the event loomed, I was worrying quite a lot about my loss of fitness over the summer holidays - not to mention the 7lb prosecco induced weight gain - oops.  During the week before the event I didn't have too much time to panic as it was back to school and new routines all around.  

Team mates in "Team WB" consisted of Aidan "the IT guru" Grant, Amanda - "the organisor" Skeldon, Dane - "Ironman" Stanley, Caz - "ac workwear" Whittle, Connor - "tallest man I've ever met" Lomax, Sally - "long stride" Kaill and Julie - "onemorelap (with a blister)" Rundall.  

Caz looking strong at the finish 

Living up to their organised reputations Aidan and Amanda did a sterling job of creating a rota of run times for us all to work from.  It wasn't an easy task as a) during the first team organisation meeting we all got pissed (the bike ride home through Whaley Bridge with Caz and Aidan was utterly hilarious though) and b) we all wanted different gaps in between laps.  After a second - more productive team meeting - everything was arranged - from run rota to who was bringing what and travelling with who.  


On Saturday 17th September Connor collected Caz and I at some unsociable hour (after a very unsettled nights sleep  - thanks to Amanda pinging our Equinox messenger group in the middle of the night to let us know she had insomnia) and off we went - loaded up to the hilt. 

 The event was being held in the grounds of Belvior (meaning "beautiful view" but pronounced Beaver - because the Anglo-Saxon population was unable to pronounce it and it stuck - unfortunately! Castle in Lincolnshire near Grantham.  The journey took around 2 hours and on arrival we found Amanda and Dane looking freezing at camp WB as the rain had set in.   

Sponsored by ac workwear.com

I was very envious of their Dryrobes - a long garment designed for swimmers to keep warm and dry between swims.  Connor was so envious he went and bought a Swimzi (same idea as Dryrobe) and this was also a bonus for me as I followed him on two of my laps so I was able to wear his (floor length on me) Swimzi while I waited for him to arrive!

Lap 1 complete! 

After we set up camp and everyone arrived (bar Julie who came a bit later), we cheered Amanda off on the first lap of the 24 hours. 

 The atmosphere was great with teams cheering people on and the run in was very long - about a kilometre lined with tents and people cheering and watching.  

The rest of the time went incredibly quickly for me considering I had an 8 hour gap until I was running my first lap! I spent the time watching the others off, cheering them in, eating and trying to rest (unsuccessfully!).

At the finish of my 4am lap

Sally looking strong with her long stride!

The rota Amanda and Aidan had devised worked really well and we changed it as we needed to - Julie needed a bit of a longer rest after her first lap so we just swapped Caz in early.  Dane went out on his lap and was sick, he had been struck down with some form of man bug which was a bit of a blow as he was one of the 4 lap plus crew!  It really didnt matter in the end - we let Dane sleep through the night and Connor and I ended up going an hour earlier than planned which wasn't a problem as I couldn't sleep at all. 

My Favourite team name "Nice Belvoir"

Running in the dead of the night was really strange but actually totally fine.  The strangest thing for me was running my third lap - the only lap I did in the daylight!  It was funny to look around and think - ahh so that's where all the laughing ducks are - at the side of a huge lake!  

 "Thank you.  I've just had it stuffed"

I felt really sorry for the solo runners and small teams - the feeling of passing lots of people is really motivating, it's like being in a race where you are the fastest and you just keep progressing - the only difference here is that you can be fresh as a daisy bounding around your second lap of the course after an eight hour gap - whilst the poor sod you just passed is hobbling round their 11th lap with no proper resting (and about a million blisters) in between! It makes you feel both happy and guilty at the same time!

Julie heading for home

There were all sorts of people competing - small teams of 3-4 people, solos, pairs, and large teams like us.  Some were doing it for charity whilst others were doing it for their own personal goals.  There was even a man with a tumble dryer on his back!  I passed him sat down in the middle of the night sorting out his blisters - everyone was really supportive though and offering help.  There were blokes in tutus, people in teams all dressed the same, and even a rival team for Team WB - the Marple Runners team!  

Running in with Aidan on the final lap

Most of our team members are involved in Whaley Bridge junior parkrun, and the Marple runners are the same - either involved with Marple juniors or the Marple adult parkrun. Although they only had 7 team members, we seemed evenly matched and it became Aidan's mission for us to beat them!  They were easy to spot in their Dennis the Menace style running tops, and we had good banter with them.

Feeling and looking tired during my 3rd lap

Posing with our medals

All of our team did really well with everyone completing at least 3 laps and Aidan and Julie completing 4.  I think the hardest thing is the combination of camping and running! It's hard to stay warm when you have dried chilled sweat on your body (nice!) and no amount of baby wiping can constitute a shower in my opinion!  I was the only one who braved the showers after my last lap (think huge tanker attached to portaloo style) but it was the best thing ever!  It was lovely and warm!  In the night though I felt cold and sticky and it stopped me from getting any decent sleep.  I think adrenaline takes over too.

My essentials for a 24hr race:
- wellies! or crocs if it's dry - my birkenstocks were a big fail
- lots of socks - I ended up spending £15 on a pair of compression ankle socks because my feet were cold and I only brought enough socks for 3 laps!
- loose warm clothes for over running clothes (inc. a fleece)

Coming in after my 8am (and final) run - eyes closed already!

- diet cherry coke!
- hot chocolate/tea/coffee
- decent headtorch and spare batteries for each lap

See it was fun!

Desirables
- dryrobe
- shower between laps!
- team vests with names on

Gear-wise for the runs I wore my OMM three-quarter length running tights for 2 laps and then my Karrimor capris for my last lap, these were both really comfortable and warm enough/not too warm.  I wore my Inov-8 Roclites for all 3 laps with no problems - I changed socks for each lap.  I wore my Team GB vest for all my laps - for the early morning lap I wore a technical t-shirt underneath.  I don't sweat very much so that made it much easier!  My LED Lenser headtorch was brilliant and three of us used it!  I even lit a lady in whose torch had gone very dull! (she was fast and made me go a bit quicker so that was a bonus!).

Overall, it was a totally different experience which I enjoyed (we have entered Team WB again for 2017 so it can't have been that bad!) it was fun being part of a team and we all worked well together.  I was worried about the distance but actually having large gaps in between made them manageable and I avoided injury so that was a bonus!  I am never going to be interested in long distance running but I reckon for a weekend once a year I can put up with it and try my best!

Results are here for anyone interested in lap times. 

Thanks to all the team for a fun weekend!

Representing the Goyt Valley Striders, Whaley Bridge junior parkun and ac workwear

Connor and the girls (Julie MIA again)

Look closely and you can see the castle in the background

The magnificent 7 - (missing Julie)