Duddon Valley Fell Race

I have for a long time promised to do more of the classic long races in the Lakes, but usually failed to do so. This weekend I at least added one more to my list – the Duddon Valley Fell Race. It is @20 miles and 6600 feet of Lakeland beauty and is a great horseshoe of a race starting from a pretty inaccessible part of the Lakes, Seathwaite, reachable only by gruelling narrow lanes that take twice as long to travel as you might think. However on such a gorgeous day as Saturday it was worth it. The expected hot sunny day did in fact transpire and I lined up with 135 other nutters, including sometime Westies Crispin and ex-Westie Helene Diamantides in a field beside the Newfield Inn with my wee rucsac full of gels bars and a Camelbak full of water. I headed off at a leisurely pace, knowing that this was my first real long race test after my 3 month layoff during winter. After a few hundred yards we slowed to a halt to cross a lovely narrow wooden bridge, and then had a good mile or two on narrow forest tracks varying from nice runnable trail to horrible boggy root-strewn mush. We plodded up Harter Fell (649m) then had a nice soft descent to Hardknott pass then a steady plod up Hardknott summit itself (549m), followed by a good descent down to the “swim” across the burn at the foot of the 400m climb up to Little Stand (741m). I had spied a bunching of runners ahead and simply thought they were having a wee drink of water but in fact they were trying to figure out how to cross a narrow but deep burn. I forgot that I only have wee legs and lept to a seemingly solid bit of grass only for it to collapse underneath me to waist height resulting in a unseemly lunge for the other bank which I only just made. I had a good climb up here, steadily pulling in a dozen or so runners to the craggy top before getting a good line off here to traverse across Cold Pike for a cracking descent down to Three Shire Stone at Wrynose Pass. Fuelled up by my jam piece I had a good climb up to Swirl How (802m) and then there was some great ridge running alongside Old Man of Coniston which we just bypassed. I underestimated the number of hills left soon after and had a bit of a low point after White Pike summit (608m) where I lost 2/3 min following a Bowland lass on a dodgy route choice, allowing a big group who I had expended a lot of effort getting past to overtake me, but then it was my own fault. The last climb up to Caw summit was “enlivened” by first being passed by the Wendy Dodds and then coming the other way off the summit by a woman I had passed an hour earlier but had not seen pass me since! I could have easily just finished at the top and sunbathed away the rest of the day but still had to descend about 1000ft to the finish. It was a cracker of a soft grassy descent though, boggy in parts, and I at least passed the Bowland lass that had led me astray earlier. I finished in 4h 18m in a sunny field with kids, dogs and adults milling around drinking beer and sunning themselves and joined them for one of those well-earned rests that only a long hard race can bring you. I was 67th of 136 starters; the race was won in 2h59m; Helene had a great run in 3h36m; Crispin was just ahead of her. The deck chairs were usefully employed for a few hours after as I enjoyed the fantastic setting after a nice wash in the burn nearby and a pint of Cumberland Ale. The previously dodgy knee seemed to hold up well which was great news. A great day was rounded off with a visit to some of Jane’s friends in Patterdale who were enjoying a Barbie and drinks on the cricket ground.

Duddon Fell Race