The Trollers Trot

As usual the lack of updates have been apparent (cheers Ed), at the moment I’m struggling to get fired up by writing technical stuff and so I thought I’d change tack a little and write about some of the stuff I’ve been doing outside of work both as a bit of an aide memorie and hopefully to provide some inspiration for other people.

Trollers Trot 01/03/2008

To be help me train towards the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon, I’ve been keeping an eye out for interesting events and found the Trollers Trot in the Long Distance Challenges section of the Fell Runners Association forum.

The Trollers Trot is a 24.8 mile (3,000ft ascent) event organised by the Long Distance Walkers Association which can be walked, ran or if you’re like me hobbled starting from Grassington taking in Threshfield Moor, Winterburn Reservoir, Rylestone Moor, Barden Tower, Trollers Ghyll and returning to Grassington via Burnsall along the River Wharfe.

After the severe weather warning on the Thursday and Friday running up to the event Steve and I were unsure whether the event was a goer, but as we got ourselves organized on Saturday morning the weather had cleared sufficiently and the wind had dropped.

As we left Halifax and gained height it was nothing but clear skies with great views out to the Dales, as we drove past Bolton Abbey there was alot of standing water on the road and debris from the previous nights storm and I began to wonder what the going would be like under foot.

Being unfamiliar with this type of event I assured Steve we could rock up at any time and start the event these long distance walkers are a bit more relaxed than fell runners, we parked up just as the back marker was setting off I could sense this matter of fact approach coming back to haunt me if we didn’t get an entry. Fortunately we managed to get the last two entries on the day taking numbers 422 and 423 respectively, and were pleased to find we were only a mere 25 minutes behind the starters!

As we set off down Wharfedale Avenue from the school and past the rugby club we almost missed our first turn and we both shook our heads at each other and decided to get the map out and pay attention to the directions provided at the registration. As we made our way towards Threshfield Moor we caught sight of the back marker and some of the walkers.

Steve was keen to run the uphill flouting our original tactics and took some persuasion to actually slow down given we still had 24 miles to go. The climb up on to the moor passed quickly and we soon caught the back marker and gave him our numbers and began to pass the more punctual starters.

Once on the moor and past the first checkpoint (2.6 miles) the wind was blowing hard which made for slow going and I struggled to get warm even when running in a hard shell and fleece gillet and hat, as we descended past Winterburn Reservoir to checkpoint 2 (4.24 miles) and out of the wind the ground softened to thick mud which proved difficult to stay on two feet nevermind negotiate the walkers we were now passing.

Just under an hour in we halved a cereal bar and passed a couple of runners, this really lifted our spirits given our late start. As we descended in to Hetton I stopped to get rid of the gillet, my rucksack was now full with a fleece and a gillet why did I decide to bring that extra fleece after all!?

Once on the road we headed to checkpoint 3 at Rylestone church (6.34 miles), I looked up at the crags and thought back to the last time I was cragging there. As we arrived at the checkpoint I had a slurp of water and treated myself to a fig roll but we were keen not to overstay our welcome, the climb up to Barden Moor was beckoning.

As we set off there was a clear division between the walking brigade and the more serious lightweight walkers come runners, as the walking boots began to give way to trail shoes and the odd pair of bare legs. Slowing to a brisk walk on the uphill we worked our way up on to Barden Moor and traversed the moor beginning the gradual climb to the top of the moor passing more as we jogged up slowly. We were both keen to keep our legs moving after they had seized on the last climb.

By now my calves were beginning to tell me they’d done a sufficient amount of running, but I was keen to push on to Upper Barden reservoir and checkpoint 4 (10.49 miles). The run along the reservoir wall seemed to go on forever as we eventually caught a solo woman runner who we passed and preceeded to pass us as we stopped at the far end of the reservoir to find some food and take a quick drink.

We eventually caught the woman again on our way to Lower Barden reservoir, and this game of cat and mouse continued until we eventually left her after Barden Bridge. The running down this section was fast and the field had thinned out sufficiently to forgot there were nearly 350 people taking part. Looking down at my watch we were still averaging 8:30 minute/mile at this point I wondered whether this was overcooking things slightly. As the descent stretched down towards Barden Scale my legs began to suffer and I wondered whether I’d been taking on enough fluid.

Checkpoint 5 (12.98 miles) was the psychological crux being just over half way round, as we stopped and drank some water I wondered how I would fair with the remaining 12 miles which was equivalent to the furthest distance I’d previously ran. Half a banana a quick jabber with the helpers and once again we were off, keen to catch our nemesis (the old woman), we soon crossed the main road and were headed towards Barden Tower. Both of us remarked at the distance we’d already covered. Certainly beats lying in bed with a hangover I thought.

As we dropped down to Barden Bridge we joined the Dales Way riverside path and past a couple of runners who were stopped and evidently feeling the pace (much like my legs). My pace had slowed right down at this point and it was just a case of picking off the next two miles to the next checkpoint.

As we emerged from the riverside path in Howgill, I recognised the lane from previous climbing trips and reflected on the unrelentingly climb to Lords Seat. Thankfully we continued further along the lane to a footpath and worked our way uphill to the checkpoint 6 at Eastwood house (15.87 miles).

One of the helpers at the checkpoint recognised us as the ‘late starters’ and remarked on the progress we’d made so far, we had a quick laugh and a joke and were off again quickly through the fields towards High Skyreholme and then down the lane following a team of 5 running. They made good progress as they worked they’re way up through Trollers Ghyll and began to leave us.

For both of us the aches and pains were beginning to kick in, it was time to eat a little more as we climbed through the picturesque valley and towards an old quarry bringing us out at checkpoint 7 (18.04 miles) just as my legs began to complain loudly at any more uphill movement.

After the comfort of the tea and biscuits at checkpoint 7 leaving was psychologically hard, the wind was biting and suddenly I began to realise how tired I was. The short slog on the road was the kiss of death to my legs as they finally gave in. From here on in it was a case of running as much as possible until the lactic acid in my calves built up sufficiently that it precluded running and I resorted to walking it off again (and repeat).

The descent down to Hartlington was exposed as we were buffetted by the wind and frequently stopped in our tracks, the balls of my feet hurt by this point and towards the bottom of the track I chose to switch to running/walking on the grass rather than the gravel track. It was run walk all the way down here as my legs allowed and checkpoint 8 at Woodhouse Farm (20.11 miles) was a welcome sight.

I’d heard people comment on the long slog back to Grassington but it hadn’t really prepared me, Burnsall came quick enough which sparked child hood memories of walking up the river side path with my parents and so it was a walk for me on this occasion as well. I was conscious of a walker who had been making ground on us since we passed him before Trollers Ghyll and was keen not to let him pass us, so tried to illicate some sort of run to the next obvious landmark (the suspension bridge).

Once over the suspension bridge the ground was nice and flat and we continued to run, by now we were both aware that it was going to be tight to keep to a sub 5 hour round unless I could pick up the pace to 10 minute/mile. I looked down at my watch and we were running 11:30 minute/mile and the hope of the 5 hour round soon evaporated and with it both my conversational skills and sense of humour.

Steve continued to harp on with some good banter which was appreciated, but I was broken by this point and wanted the whole thing to end as swiftly as possible. With about 2 miles left I thought back to people’s comments on the long slog up the River Wharfe and willed it to end. Soon enough we passed Linton Falls and were on the road, just crossing the road required some effort.

Once heading in the direction of the School Steve’s thoughts quickly turned to the food on offer, whilst I wondered whether I’d be seeing it again once I’d finished the meal.

The school hall was now a hive of activity in stark contrast to when we’d entered it earlier in the day. We checked in to complete the Trot and quickly scouted out a warm meal and a place to take the weight off our limbs. Surprisingly the meal went down easily and as I looked round I was pleased to see others looking as weary as I felt.

As we moved on to pudding we both began to wonder about the next event, I had the Haworth Hobble in mind but with only two weeks before the event but I sensed that I’d probably bitten off more than I could chew atleast this time round.

For me the Trollers Trot was the perfect intro to some of the longer distance challenges on offer, the event was well organised with a nice relaxed feel to it. The course itself was fast, runnable and passed through some spectacular
scenery.

Grid Refs

Map: OL2

Start: GR 993639
Checkpoint 1: GR 957631

Checkpoint 2: GR 950607

Checkpoint 3: GR 971587

Checkpoint 4: GR 016580

Checkpoint 5: GR 050567

Checkpoint 6: GR 063592

Checkpoint 7: GR 063622

Checkpoint 8: GR 039606