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Derwent Water Dawdle

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Derwent Water Dawdle: 27 th  Apr Location: Braithwaite, Cumbria Length: 23 Miles Elevation: 4300 ft Terrain: Trail, Single track, rocky paths, open fell and road Ever since I saw the route for the Derwent Water Dawdle I have been looking forward to it. The Keswick area is one of my favourite areas in the Lakes, so I naturally couldn’t wait to race there. Training had been good in the build-up to the race but in the week preceding the race there had been some unseasonal hot weather. I really struggled in the heat so I was relieved when the forecast for race day was around 10C and showery. Showers were on and off all the way up until the start. We had our race briefing where encouragingly race director Jeff told us to prepare for the worst and expect conditions to deteriorate throughout the race, happy days. Conditions were near perfect, if a bit chilly, as we set off from Braithwaite heading towards Cat Bells which would be our first climb. The first two miles...
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Montane Grizedale Trail 26 - Review

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Montane Grizedale Trail 26: Feb 3 rd Location: Grizedale Forest, Cumbria Length: Marathon – 26miles Elevation: ~3000ft Paths: Fire Roads, Single track, field paths, forest paths My marathon debut took place in Grizedale forest at the Epic Events Montane Grizedale Trail 26 at the beginning of February. When I signed up in at the end of 2018, I knew it would be an interesting gamble with the weather. Sure enough, defrosting the car on the morning of the race at 7:15 in my ¾ length leggings was not the one. Arriving at the forest car park the car was showing -3C and waiting on the start line we were all begging the officials to let us get under way just to get some warmth into us. We were warned of snow and ice out on the trails and to take to the grass when necessary. I didn’t think we’d be doing that just a couple of hundred yards from the starting gantry but it was the only course we could take as the horde split like the Red Sea either side of the ice...
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2019 Races

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2019 Races If there’s one thing that I love about my new-found passion, it’s got to be races. There is nothing quite like it. You’ve prepared yourself for months for this event, you’ve done all you can, you’ve memorised the course in your head and know exactly what’s coming up next. As you pull up in the car park, you get that nervous excitement and as Go Time approaches you just can’t contain yourself. The banter that you have with the volunteers and other competitors is always top notch and it really is time to party. With that in mind I have now finalised my races for 2019 which I am both really excited for but also super scared about. Why scared, well lets put it this way, last year we were just “testing the water”, this year I’m pushing the boat out. First on the list for 2019 is the Montane Trail 26 in Grizedale Forest, my first ever marathon – yup, not done one yet! The real reason for this is simply to have something to train for over the winter. I k...
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