 |
| from the frosty summit of Blake Fell looking over to Knock Murton |
This morning I went for a check out of the Blakes Heaven fell race route. Jonathan's cousin, Gerard and his mate Andy came along. The race itself is next week, think I might have a go. Today the course measured at 4.3 miles with a fair bit of climbing. It was very useful to have somebody familiar with the course, pointing out key parts of the route and advising on strategies.
 |
| route and elevation |
I was delighted to discover that I had bagged a fresh Wainwrigh (Burnbank Fell) as well as some Birketts. I didn't realise this until I got home and put the route on the computer.
 |
| 3d route |
The main climbing is done at the start of the course. Once in the woods, the path goes downhill slightly before joining the forest track where it climbs steadily. There is a steep climb to Sharp Knott then a grassy downhill followed by the steady climb up to Blake Fell. Gerard ran up this but advised the rest of us to walk and save some energy. I picked a target a bit of the way up the hill, got just above it and then walked the rest of the way. Once up Blake Fell, the course is quite runnable with a steep descent down Owsen Fell back through the grumpy farmer's fields. The start and finish of the course goes over private land. The farmer is obviously fed up of people cutting across, hence the sign, "No Footpath, piss off." Today there was a bit of snow about and the ground was frozen hard with patches of ice on the paths. I imagine that this is how it will be on race day.
 |
| Andy, Gerard and Jonathan on Sharp Knott about to head up to Blake Fell behind |
 |
| advice on route selection |
 |
| I think this is on top of Blake Fell, looking over to Carling Knott. Jonathan has just bought the same top as me. Hmpf! |
 |
| top of Owsen Fell, before the descent. |
No comments:
Post a Comment