28th July Stumbling round Stoney Middelton


I was not quite sure what to make of it when chatting to one of my fellow runners he described the route I was about to attempt as 'lumpy'. Within 3 mins of starting the race I soon discovered that lumpy translated as uphill for the first one and a half miles. So uphill in fact that running was not an option. Welcome to the Stoney Middleton Fell Run.

A mere 10 miles from Tom's and having done yesterdays alternative option, the Brassington Hill race a few years ago, I thought I'd go for something new. Arriving for the registration I did notice my nemesis Elizabeth warming up, needless to say that was about the last I saw of her as the race began with a lap of the football field and then out into the neighbouring countryside and that hill on an overcast and humid night.

As I ran / power walked / walked round the course which did indeed prove to be very lumpy ie up and down, I did wonder if it was a proper fell race, with in my opinion, too much of it being run on country lanes and hard tracks. Having said that throw in a couple of tricky technical rocky sections and a downhill across the fields that had 'warning tristed ankle' written all over it, metaphorically not literally and I guess it was varied enough to justify the name.

And changing the name wouldn't have made it any easier or made any difference to the end result in which I managed to maintain my usual standard by navigating the 5.3 mile course twice as slowly as the winner.

Hopefully the photographer stood by the electronic timer at the end of the race managed to snap my superb sprint across the finishing line.

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