Good Athletic Practice

It’s been a while but this weekend we are heading up the Lakes with the boys, the tent and the running shoes. L picks me up from work and I manage to get out at 4:30pm to aid with any M6 hold ups..

When we get to the Langdale Campsite it is deserted which isn’t normal. Even at the most obscure times of the year they’ll be a dozen nutters camping at least. There are a few campervans, which L is eyeing up naturally, but no tents.

This is probably because of the near gale force winds... which we certainly didn’t have back in Nottingham. No matter, we find a safe, sheltered spot and pitch the tent. Another tent does quickly join us which makes us feel a bit better. Then we head for an Old Peculiar at the Old Dungeon Ghyll.

The next morning the campsite attendant is shaking his head at us pitching at all and revealing that he had considered closing the site. I’m not sure what we’d have done had he done that.

The wind has now lessened a touch, so he has no problem with us stopping Saturday night. Which is a good job because the main reason we are here is for a race that we have run many times before, Saturday's Great Langdale Christmas Pudding 10K run which is under new management this year.

The Brathay Trust, who are based in Ambleside, have taken over the running of this race along with the Langdale Half and Full Marathon. The youth charity already organises the Windermere Marathon.

This year it is the 30th running of the event and the new organiser has invited the long time previous organiser, Rod, to start it.

Then a thousand of us, less those who have wimped out because of the high winds and cold wet weather, set out from outside the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel at 12.10 once the local bus has been let through.

This year there is a new course which I was a little worried about, and I wasn't only one. Rather than being the practically out and back run of old the route now takes us around the back of Elterwater village and back to Langdale via Baysbrown Farm which must surely have off-roads sections? Apparently not, it turns out that due to some excellent footpathing, it doesn't.

It isn’t easy though and it was at Elterwater that it started to get serious with a climb that went on far longer than I recall from when we've walked it. There was a reward for completely this part though and I could smell the drinks station probably half a km before I reached it. Yep, smells like mulled wine to me. It's not really good athletic practice to stop for such things but I wasn't going to pass up on this.

That sort of spurs you on to the finish which is in the muddy swamp that used to be the field in front of the New Dungeon Ghyll. I then rush to get some clothes on and to warm up, just as the rain starts again with poor L still out there.

The other change the organisers have made is to downsize the Christmas pudding. It is no longer one you can feed your whole family off on Christmas Day but a tiny individual one. Which for us is probably better, it might actually get eaten, and we already have one for Christmas Day from the Heanor run.

Some folk resorted to fancy dress to keep warm. 

Then we have a pleasant evening in the Sticklebarn. I'm still not overstruck with the food or the beer there but I think all four us deemed it too far to walk to the Wainwright's in Chapel Stile.

On Sunday morning we pack up camp but before heading home we go for a hearty breakfast back at the New Dungeon Ghyll before some early Christmas shopping at the legendary Co-Op in Chapel Stile.

(Sunday 9th December)

Away With The Elves

The guy who runs the campsite recommends we move our tent. Apparently the cones that appear to be scattered randomly everywhere in fact indicate the safe camping area when we are less likely to get a tree blown down on top of us in the coming gale or rather they did, until the wind moved them. Health and Safety... pffff.

We move. At least we’re not feeling so Billy no mates now as a few other tents have pitched up near us.

The gale arrives, or rather the rain arrives, in time for the race at midday. We both don Santa hats, something I’ve not done for a run before. L says I look more like an elf. Cheers. I wonder if all us elves have to run in a group together..

The race is under new management this year and they have dedicated the race as a ‘testimonial’ to the guy who used to organise it. We see him running the fun run before the main race, which is a relief. We don’t want it to turn into a ‘memorial’ just yet.

The only change in organisation that I can see is that the 10k is marked in miles this year. Pffff. Sacrilege.

I take the event very slowly and the knee is fine, on the flat bits and even the uphills but I have to crawl down some of the downhills. Funny thing is, I’d always had this run down as pretty flat in an undulating sort of way. Funny how your perception can change when injured.

The result is my slowest ever 10k... 54:34. As L would say shoot me now or lead me to the Old Peculiar.

Instead we have a swift one in the New Dungeon Ghyll before heading back to the tent for mulled wine and to think of creative ways to kill time before heading to the Old Dungeon Ghyll for tea and a few evening ales. The mulled wine is nicely aged, it says drink within six months but must be two years old. Seems fine to us.

(Saturday 14^th December)

Lakeland Essentials

Today is my fourth day in the car this week. Yikes. Today though I have a good reason, we’re off to the Lakes tonight where I might, or might not, run in Saturday’s traditional pre-Christmas 10k race.

After squash last night I can barely walk this morning and no, it’s not the injury, it’s just stiff legs that haven’t been used enough recently.

After work I head home to collect L and the dogs, pack up the Lakeland essentials e.g. mulled wine and we head off up the M6, which is blissfully quiet for once. Well, as quiet as it gets outside of 3am in the morning.

We arrive at Langdale and at first we think the campsite is closed. We appear to be the only tent on it. Yes it’s December but usually there’s still around thirty tents pitched. The curse of Friday the 13^th perhaps?

Then we see the weather forecast which predicts extreme gales but they’re due tomorrow, so we’ll worry about them tomorrow then and anyway everything will look a lot rosier after a few Old Peculiars. We head off to the bar at Old Dungeon Ghyll. 

(Friday 13^th December)

Softening Things Up

Yorkshire get the Tour de France. Wasn’t expecting that.

We’re off to the Lakes this weekend, camping naturally and perhaps just for us the weather warms up and rains. Great. I think I’d have preferred it cold.

It rains most of the day, well at least it’s softening the ground up for the tent pegs.

L collects me straight from work and the trip up the M6 is relatively easy, although wet obviously. The campsite is oddly quiet, even in December the Great Langdale campsite is usually busy. Instead there are only around 15 tents this weekend. This means the pub is quiet too, so at least we can get a seat and settle in for a night of Old Peculiar.

(Friday 14th December)

Who Stole The Snecklifter?

After being early yesterday and thereby causing me to miss it, the bus is well late this morning. No consistency.

The plan is for L to collect me from work at 5pm and then we’ll head straight up to the Lakes. Where I plan to re-rupture my knee in the Grizedale night race. I’ve packed most of our kit in the car already, so all L needs to remember really is to being the dogs. Luckily even if she tries to forget to pack MD, he's unlikely to let her get away with it.

The M6 is no better for us being that bit earlier but then we didn’t expect it to be; at least it’s no worse.

We roll up at a very busy Great Langdale campsite and pitch up, as usual, in the dark. Then because it’s so busy, we forgo the usual pilgrimage to the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hikers bar and head to the Sticklebarn instead, hoping it will be quieter. It is, much quieter. It’s usually much busier than this in October...

Turns out the Sticklebarn is now owned and run by the National Trust. They took over in June. First impressions aren’t great. There’s a new food menu, which we didn’t try but gone are the hot toddies and the regular local real ales: - Tag Lag, Cumberland and most importantly Snecklifter. No Snecklifter, no wonder it’s quiet. 90% of their beer trade must have been either Cumberland or Snecklifter. True, there’s an impressive array of lagers that no one’s touching and there’s the dreaded Doom Bar from Cornwall... There are other beers too, to be fair, but it’s no wonder everyone else has gone elsewhere. Probably sitting in the ODG emptying the cellar of Old Peculiar.

I think the National Trust are going to have to learn quite quickly that there’s a world of difference between catering for the summer tourists and the winter walkers.

So not a great beer night, at least back in the tent we have the cake that L has baked specially for the trip. She says it’s a disaster but the boys and I love it.

(Friday 26th October)