Hunshelf Amble Fell Race Report
After doing a hard speed session Thursday night & a friday rest day Saturday 16th June was the 2nd chance in 2012 to do the Barnsley Double. http://www.parkrun.org.uk/Barnsley/results/latestresults, A 4mile run to Silkstone in 30min or so then the http://www.barnsleyharriers.org.uk/bh/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=26&Itemid=52.
I ran 19:20 & 2nd @ Parkrun, averaged 7.43min mile to Silkstone then ran 30:31 & 14th @ a wet, muddy Silkstone Shuffle on tired legs. Good days running and a couple of good results.
So that brings to today and the 3rd race of the weekend, The Hunshelf Amble fell race in green moor. This is a gem of a race, one of those local ones organised by a small parish council that at£4 for 8miles of tough hilly fell fun is also value for money.
I walked the 1.5mile up the bloody steep hill to the race HQ from home. the legs felt a little tired but not too bad. i knew they weren’t anywhere near enough fresh and that the race could be a struggle but reckoned i had enough to simply dig in and do what i could. Will stick to the highlights and not describe every little bit.
Thought i might try to empty my bladder pre race but it wouldn’t come so went to the start line and on go we were off, i quickly moved into 2nd, followed the leader up the hill and turned left past the cricket ground and thru the gap in between the houses and into the isle of skye. I was at this point 3rd and in a group of 4 with the leader a little in front of us.
Into the woods and down the muddy trail the feeling of needing a wee came on and i hoped it would eventually go away but on the climb back up thru the woods to green moor i realised i would have to stop to relieve the feeling and hoped i wouldn’t lose too many place or time on the 4 guys (dark peaker and 2 kimberworth runners) getting further in front. I finished, shook and retied my shorts and NO ONE caught up or went past, in fact i couldn’t see anyone. We must have built up such a lead.
I chased as hard as my now tiring legs would let me but wasnt really gaining, I worked my way back up into green moor and then worked my way down the trail to the field at the bottom of quarry hill where i was confronted by a calf surrounded by maternal/paternal cows blocking my passage. I had to clap my hands to eventually make them move, this enabled a guy in a red t-shirt to catch up a little. So it was over the little bridge, over the 4ft wall, along the road and to the Trunce river crossing, the water was higher and faster than last mondays trunce so on getting to the middle my legs were swept away, i fell into the water and banged my shin on one of the covered stepping stones. Red t-shirt managed to catch me because of the fall
This had taken a lot out of me and i struggled up the hill, along the path and into the 5 wheat fields we had to struggle thru. I noticed i was catching the dark peaker but also red t-shirt was keeping up around 30sec behind and i was literally just digging deep to keep it like this. We got back onto the road, past the power station and up the hill to Hunshelf bank and the last undulating 3miles.
Nothing Changed from here, i didnt get any closer to Dark peaker, I had to keep digging in and red t-shirt wasnt catching me. The extra 1/2mile added due to the refurbished isle of skye wall was intresting and i finished strong.
5th Place in 54min 48sec. Happy because it was a massive improvement of 17 place on the last time i ran it in 2010 but do wonder if i hadnt needed to stop & go whether i would have been in the prizes. Nex
