The Spine Race 2012....an Epic Adventure.......( The Final installment )

( Photos to be posted later....)

So I rested up well at Alston ( Checkpoint 4 ), taking full advantage of the comfy beds, hot showers and copious cups of tea. Steve and I were interviewed by BBC Radio Newcastle shortly after we'd had our feet dressed. So all my swear words were momentarily out of my system.
Time was getting on so Steve and I readied ourselves for the nightshift and 40+ miles to Bellingham.
I headed out into a drizzly, windy evening. My feet were so painful, every step felt as if nails were being driven into my feet and that I was walking on broken glass. I embraced the pain by stamping my feet several times hard onto the tarmac street in Alston, within a few moments I'd transcended the pain. I was on a mission to get this race finished.
Through the wind and drizzle, Steve and I pushed on, making good time past Hartleyburn Common and on towards Greenhead.

In full flow........ picture courtesy of John Bamber

Greenhead was a significant landmark, as that  meant I was now on the Pennine Way North map.

On this day Steve and I chatted about what was going to happen in the closing stages of the race, by now we were both confident of a finish, we were both happy to keep pushing on through the pain.
My main goal all along was to finish, but now it looked possible that a first place finish in the Elite class was possible. By now in the race the only Elite class competitors left were Mark Caldwell and myself. Steve had originally signed up for the 100 mile ( 108 mile ) Challenger class, but felt so good he decided to carry on for the full 268 miles ! This essentially meant Steve wasn't in any official class.

Having gone through a lot together, and having got on so well during the race Steve and I decided if we had a substantial enough lead over the other competitors, we would cross the finish line together in Kirk Yetholm. The only way that would change was if Mark appeared on the horizon, then it would basically be everyone for themself in a race to cross the finish line.

So on we pushed, passing Thirlwall Castle and up onto Hadrians Wall.

What a tough route it is along the wall, especially when the ground is muddy and claggy. The going becomes really heavy, every stride your muscles ache with the extra effort of extracting yourself from the clinging mud.
Once north of the wall it doesn't get any better with the route disappearing through farmers fields knee deep in mud and slop.
It was in this section that Andrew Collister was retired. He was struggling to make steady progress due to excruciatingly painfull trench foot. Steve and I were lucky to avoid this, but it is a very real prospect for those considering the full distance Spine race.
Andrew Collister, age 21, put in a remarkable effort to go that distance. He would have still kept going but the race organisers retired him due to his trench foot. No doubt he'll be back to complete the full distance sometime in the future.

Andrew Collister receiving the Open trophy from Phil Hayday-Brown for a galant effort.

Daylight was breaking as Steve and I crossed the deep bogs of Ridley Common and Greenlee Lough. Our feet had been  soaked for around a constant 12 hours in non-stop bogs and mud, some bogs immersing us up to almost waist  level.

The rugged beauty of the Pennines....photo by Scott Gilmour

We escaped the rain and wind in a forest near Haughton Common, and there we had a more substantial bite to eat.
For fuelling I had been eating something every 15 minutes since leaving Alston, keeping my fuelling at an optimum. This far into the race it is very easy for the wheels to come off, by not eating enough, over exerting yourself, or not protecting yourself well enough from the elements. Or a combination of the aforementioned.

As the daylight improved the sun came out, and the previous night's drudge and torture faded away. My spirits lifted and I had a renewed energy. Steve and I made great speed and progress through the beautiful Northumbrian scenery and down into Bellingham.

We'd made it !! Checkpoint 5 ( Bellingham )  Over 226 miles covered, just a mere 42 miles to go !!

We fell into Bellingham checkpoint. We'd been promised by Becky Wood some of her 'special' pasta and we were starving. We were also in need of VERY urgent foot care.

Shortly after arriving I was handed a mobile phone by Scott gilmour and told BBC Radio Scotland will call me and give me an interview over the phone. I was struggling to keep my eyes open when the phone rang. I did my best to answer the questions, not sure how incoherent I was, but I do remember the presenter saying I was in the lead and now on the home straight. I remember answering... ' Aye...a 42 mile home straight over the Cheviots !!!!'
I had my feet attended for an hour, lancing, draining, squeezing etc etc, lots of food to eat and a sleep for a couple of hours. When I awoke I witnessed Steve being carried out of the door and to a local GP to have his feet checked. It looked as if there was the start of an infection.
Steve reappeared , again being carried, pretty amusing, all was good, he was ok to carry on.

As Steve and I were preparing to leave, Mark Caldwell appeared. He was looking pretty good, but like Steve and I, his feet were suffering. We shared some good banter, then departed.

Mark Caldwell...a great character and a great competitor.

Again Steve and I were on the nightshift, but now only 42 more miles.
My feet were shot, but I was past caring, I was capable of handling the pain, and now I could practically smell the Finish.
The weather was turning for the worst. Large snowflakes were falling, we'd been told there was snow lying on the high ground and getting deeper. The one advantage with this being it would cool my feet and take away some of the pain.

I pressed on, ramping up the speed of pace. I was determined not to be overtaken by Mark.

We headed up the Pennine Way through the falling snow, eventually making it into the expansive Redesdale Forest. Once inside the forest out of the wind we stopped, removed a couple of layers, had a more substantial bite to eat them ploughed on, literally.
Inside the forest with big snowflakes falling, it was magical, more fairytale than reality.

I crossed through Byrness, then up the steep climb to the top of Byrness Hill. Now above the tree line we were once again on top of the exposed fells.
Snow continued to fall, getting deeper, now I had to really concentrate on navigation. What was painfully obvious was that Steve and I were blazing a trail, if  Mark trusted our navigation, all he had to do was follow our steps.  He could essentially move faster.

At this point I noticed a headtorch not far behind us through the falling snow. Steve turned to look and saw the same light. Mark had caught us up.
I thought he must have followed us right out the door at Bellingham without stopping.
Still, the headtorch behind us disappeared at a point where we took the Pennine Way along the top of a small crag, I thought Mark must have gone along the base of the crag and overtaken us.
Steve and I pressed on, we were following the Pennine Way route, but there were no footprints in the snow, no tracks, where had Mark gone?
An hour further on still no tracks. I must have been seeing things, so for that matter must have Steve !!
Mark had obviously not overtaken us, the light must have someone or something else !!!

Daylight started to dawn, Steve and I were making good progress, moving fast. We'd passed Chew Green, our last available water collection point for 27 miles, a stream. From now on the only water would be in a bog, not drinkable.
We headed up onto the Cheviots, Wedder Hill, bypassing the mountain refuge hut at Yearning Saddle, without stopping.  Up and down the route went, bogs, snow, sheet ice, wind, basically miserable. Yet the scenery is dramatic, wild and unspoilt.
We crested Windy Gyle, a significant landmark, we were well on our way to the finish, approx 11 to 12 miles only to go !! Less than a half marathon !  With every step I felt stronger, my pace increasing all the time.

Steve and I chatted away.

Then turning around to admire the view, I spotted 2 figures cresting the summit of Windy Gyle.
Instantly I thought it was Mark Caldwell with someone from the Spine team, encouraging him on.

I turned to Steve and said, ' that's it.. the race is ON, let's move !!'
I started running, pushing the pace, ignoring my screaming feet. Steve gathered himself up and started running.

Here we were sprinting for a Finish line 10 miles away, with trashed feet, aching muscles and  heavy backpacks, having covered 258 miles over the last 5 days !!!  If people could have seen us we would probably at that point looked more like geriatric zombies trying to catch a meal !
Mark Caldwell may have been labelled the 'Aberdeen Android', I was now becoming the 'Paranoid Android' !!

Having covered around 2 miles at this ridiculous pace, Steve announced that he had seen 2 walkers on Windy Gyle, I then remembered I had seen them too. Yet again there was no Mark Caldwell chasing us down !! Doh !!!
Unknown to Steve and myself, Mark had unfortunately slipped and fallen crossing a stream.And was now drying off his kit before he could continue.

Still realising it wasn't Mark in the distance I pushed on. Now I just wanted to finish.
My wife Vicky was waiting at the Finish. Friends and family had been sending me messages via Facebook, I'd read some of them at Checkpoints, and they had really spurred me on.

The last few miles to Kirk Yetholm I ran a fair bit, the downhills, the flats, the pain had subsided, I was totally elated, I knew I was finishing.

Pushing the pace... photo by John Bamber

It's a great route dropping down towards Kirk Yetholm, seeing the grassy track descend off the fells into the glen, knowing that you have broken the Spine. That within a few minutes you're going to cross the Finish line after a truly Epic Adventure.

As Steve and I neared Kirk Yetholm in the distance we could see blue flashing lights and a small group of people at a farm. I commented to Steve that there must be an incident of some kind. As we got closer it became apparent it was a welcoming party for us.

A great reception from Borders Mountain Rescue

The Borders Mountain Rescue team had turned out and gave Steve and I a 'blues & twos' escort into Kirk Yetholm to the Finish line. It is the most memorable race finish I have ever had, and ever likely to have.

The final push to the Finish !!!

Steve and I mustered up a sprint of sorts, and in perfect unison we crossed the finish line together, setting a new offical Winter Pennine Way record / time of 152 hours and 2 minutes.

I was congratulated by the whole of the Spine Team, locals, Steves family, and most importantly, my wife, Vicky.
Then to celebrate I downed the pint of Guiness handed to me at the finish.
The best pint ever !!

A Welcome reward !!!....picture courtesy of John Bamber

Later on that evening Mark Caldwell crossed the Finish line in a time of 158 hours and 55 minutes. Only the three of us completed the distance of what is a truly brutal, epic ultra-marathon.

Mark Caldwell on the final few metres to the Finish



The Spine Race 2012...an Epic Adventure !! ( Part 3 )

Checkpoint 3 ( Middleton-in-Teesdale ) to Checkpoint 4 ( Alston ) approx 44 miles

After a 2 hour power snooze I woke refreshed. I packed down some porridge and plenty of tea. The Checkpoint staff were amazing, nothing was too much trouble.
Whilst I was asleep my feet had dried out, and were now ready to be dressed / taped for their next 44 mile onslaught.
Even with the intense pain in my feet I felt really good. I had come through 3 tough sections of the race and now I felt I would definately finish.

Steve & I heading towards Sayer Hill

Steve and I left Checkpoint 3 together in joint lead after a good rest, in decent physical shape. Now our sights were set on Alston ( Checkpoint 4 ) approx 44 miles away. Between us and Alston lay the infamous Cross Fell, the highest point of the race, and notorious for it's own treacherous weather system.

It was a cold, clear day with a biting wind. Scott Gilmour ran along with us for a while out of Middleton-in-Teesdale.

Me, wrapped up against the elements.

As we headed past High Force towards Sayer Hill, we could here shells firing on the ranges further away on the moors to our left. At any time I was expecting a tank to come rolling over the horizon.

Soon we came to Falcon Clints, and beneath it an iced up slippery boulder field we had to clamber over. I stopped to do a little blister management on a new hotspot. Steve took the opportunity to film the event on a minature handycam given to him by Scott, to get some raw footage in the field. I haven't seen the results of this yet, I doubt hollywood will be calling Steve and I soon for our film making skills !

We still had plenty of daylight and rounding a corner the raging cascade of Cauldron Snout came into view.



Cauldron Snout





I arrived at the bottom of Cauldron Snout. It was raging. Along side the boiling outflow was basically a cliff you had to ascend using various handholds / footholds. Which conveniently were covered in a nice slick film of ice, making passage precarious.

Eventually Steve and I reached the top, much to our relief, and pressed on towards Dufton Fell.

Now with all the mileage I had covered, sore, blistered, leaking feet was not the only problem. My lubrication of certain delicate areas was proving insufficient, and chafing was becoming the issue.

Basically I could have fried an egg on my bum cheeks !! A possible new survival technique !! Not that Steve would have thanked me for it !!

So out with industrial strength Sudocrem, and a little short term relief. Fortunately nipples, back and shoulders were all fine, no chafing.

Steve and I moved on quickly towards High Cup Nick, a spectacular ring of cliffs that drop hundreds of feet to the valley below. We got there in complete darkness skirting the upper ring of cliffs, where a few feet to the left of the path it plunges straight down. This was reminiscent of my run on the 208 mile Tor Des Geants in Italy.

Once off the tops I quickly descended, running down to the village of Dufton. I was feeling really strong with over 150 miles covered.  Steve was pressed but managed to keep up with me.

We pulled into the Stag Inn, where the barmaid put together a bacon & egg toastie, chips and beans, along with fresh coffee. This was greatly appreciated, as on a Tuesday evening they don't serve food. The locals couldn't believe we had been up on the fells, and that we were running to Scotland.

I met Dougie, Mark Caldwells dad, who was waiting for Mark, so he could get a sleep in the campervan.

Steve and I pressed on.

The weather was closing in, the wind getting up. We had our biggest challenge now facing us.

A string of high tops and ridges that goes on for miles and notoriously dangerous.

Great Dun Fell ( 848 metres ), Little Dun Fell ( 842 metres ) and finally Cross Fell ( 893 metres )

The other danger is that in some areas there are sink holes and pits.

Steve and I marched on submerged in darkness and the escalating winds. We quickly ascended up to the south eastern top of Great Dun. As we reached the top visibility plummeted to 1 metre and winds were now reaching 60 to 70 miles per hour. It was terrrible conditions.

I shouted to Steve over the screeching wind for us to stay side by side. We hunkered down beneath the man-made rock pillar cairn of Great Dun, whilst I took a precise compass bearing. Steve had GPS, but it was vague at times. I paced counted on a bearing, and bang we hit the pathway. Then quickly lost it again in the poor visibility and also due to the obscurity of the path. Another bearing and I picked it up again. We moved on slowly bent double against the screaming wind. We were taking a serious battering, but we kept eating through this, and importantly kept moving in the severe cold.

We reached Little Dun Fell by walking straight into the cairn on the summit ! I was pleased with my navigation. We huddled down behind the cairn out of the wind and celebrated our little triumph with a piece of Richard Lendon's Mum's homemade fruit cake ! Fantastic.

Now it was time for the big one, once more into the breech !!

We stepped out into the howling maelstrom, navigating onto the path. However the path was lethal, great swathes of ice covered the paths. They were impassable. We had to leave the path and go around which meant navigatinf to relocate the path again. We did this repeatedly and again, BANG !! we walked straight into the Cross Fell summit cairn.

Steve and I were on a high, we'd accurately navigated in the dark, in 60 to 70 mph winds when we couldn't see our hands in front of our faces !

We quickly crossed the tops and started our descent. A little further on we stumbled into Greg's Hut.

A little safe bothy on the side of Cross Fell.

John Bamber and Paul Shorrock from the Spine Team had set up a base there for runners to seek some respite from the conditions.

John and Paul gave Steve and I a big welcome. John fixed us some piping hot coffee and some noodles. I huddled close to the stove for warmth whilst John and Paul took some photos.

We chatted for a while and then headed back out to push on to Garrigill.

John and Paul did a great job establishing a base in Greg's Hut.

Back into the elements, the weather was changing. It was now lashing, horizontal, freezing cold rain. An absolutely evil night to be out. Still I felt good, had some nice hot coffee and noodles inside me.

We cracked on, descending quickly to Garrigill, making excellent time.

I could practically smell Checkpoint 4 despite it being 7 miles away. Now we were mostly on the flat, just some fields ansd riverside pathways to negotiate, we'd done the hardest part......or so we thought.

The path descended into a sea of mud, knee deep in places. It really started to sap our strength. The path also disappeared through fields of mud and slop. It was becoming frustrating, so near to Alston yet such slow going.

Eventually we broke out of it and arrived at Checkpoint 4, the Youth Hostel at Alston. Hoorah !!!

I was cold, wet and tired.

Phil Hayday-Brown, Becky and Anna met us, and quickly got Steve and I into the drying room to discard some of our wet outer layers. Then it was copious amounts of food, HOT SHOWERS, such luxury and importantly sleep, in a proper bed !!!

I'd made it to Checkpoint 4 !! Over 180 miles covered, only 88 to go. I was definately going to finish this. The Spines back was breaking !!

to be continued......





The Spine Race 2012...an Epic Adventure !! ( Part 2 )

Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3 ( 33 miles )

So we'd made it to Hawes, Checkpoint 2.
Once in we started getting a picture of the attrition taking place on the race behind us. Several runners had withdrawn through various injuries and one runner with hypothermia. Now there were only 10 left in the race.
I was pretty dog tired, ready for plenty of food and a few hours sleep. I also needed to get my feet checked out. The harsh mix of terrain, frozen rough ground, rock, deep bog, mud and stream crossings were all having an effect on my now throbbing feet.
I removed my shoes and socks to reveal some pretty impressive blisters and a few raw spots. I'd been doing my best to treat any early signs of hotspots, but this terrain was mashing my feet.
Now was my introduction to the 'feet team', Anna, Becky and Dan. Here on in I developed a love / hate relationship with them for the rest of the race.
Whilst I had my fill of a really tasty Muligatawny soup Anna got to work draining blisters, squeezing my right big toe to remove the fluid & pressure building behind my nail. To say the air was blue is putting it mildly !
If you are reading this and have a desire to take part in the 268 mile Spine race, at some point you will need to embrace and deal with the pain in your feet !

Trust me, in the picture above I'm not laughing !!
Once my feet were dealt with and I'd had my fill of soup, noodles, bread, tea etc, I settled down to 2 hours of blissful sleep. I'd been on the go for 41 hours without sleep.
Surprisingly I awoke refreshed. I waddled penguin-like to Becky who then dressed my feet, taping up some of the damaged areas.
I re-stocked my race pack from my drop bag, then along with Steve and Richard, departed Checkpoint 2 for Middleton-in-Teasdale, Checkpoint 3.
Our stomachs were full, we were well rested, our spirits high and we were on a mission to Finish !
We had overtaken Mark Caldwell without realising, the previous night.
Mark had decided to Bivi down on the trail somewhere between Horton and Hawes. I was now ahead of Mark.
However if I wanted to win the Elite class there was no letting up.
Mark Caldwell is an incredibly driven, determined athlete, with a wealth of mountain experience.  He just keeps going and going and going, no matter what the pain, he'll push through it.

Mark Caldwell

Steve, Richard and myself headed out of Hawes and up over Shunner Fell ( 716 metres ). The day was beautiful, a cloudless sky, bright sun but extremely cold. The route up over Shunner was very icey. Whole sections of the route were virtually impassable. We had to take detours around the ice onto peat bogs. The moorland was desolate but had a beauty to it, an untouched landscape. After Thwaite we passsed by Arn Gill Scar with gaping cave entrances, and onto Keld.

Still the banter between us all rolled on. I looked back often into the darkness to see if I could spot Mark's headtorch, but it seemed we were well ahead.

From Keld we crossed over Stonesdale Moor, conversation was dropping off, we were all starting to feel the biting cold. Richard then broke the silence with  a random 10 questions at Steve and myself. This took our thoughts away from the cold for a while.

Our next aim was Tan Hill Inn situated 520 metres above sea level.

On arrival we burst through the door into a lovely warm bar. I asked for food, to which Sarah the barmaid replied they were shut. I was totally downcast. Then everyone in the bar started laughing.

We then feasted on the best ever homemade Mushroom soup, huge chips and giant mugs of coffee. Fantastic !!

We were asked as to why we were out on such a god forsaken night on the Pennine Way. We explained we were in a race to Scotland, not just for ourselves, but also to raise money for charity.

So on hearing this the Tan Hill Inn gave us free food and coffee, and a customer donated money to the Help for Heroes charity. This restored our faith in the human race. A great bunch of people.

We headed off into the night and onto the peat bogs. It was bitterly cold but the Tan Hill Inn had warmed us up. 17 miles to go and we would be at Checkpoint 3.

The temperature was around -10, and in the wind it reduced further. Steve and I were feeling great. Eating regularly, keeping our furnaces stoked we marched on. Richard was starting to succumb to the cold.

Further on the route became obscure, difficult to navigate. This slowed us down and the cold started to affect Richard more. I kept urging Richard to eat, I asked him if he had another layer to add. He did, but couldn't make up his mind if he wanted to put it on or not.

The pace was slowing and the cold was now starting to affect Steve and I.

Richard was becoming increasingly confused, his speech started to slur. He was slipping into Hypothermia.

Richard made the decision enough was enough, his race was run after 135 miles. He wasn't warming up. Richard's core temperature had probably been dropping over the last 2 days.

So at Blackton Reservoir he decided to call for rescue.

Richard turned on his phone........no reception !

So Steve switched on his phone......no reception !!

So I tried my phone, turned it on, and......no reception !!!

By this time Richard had taken off his pack and there was some relief that it was all now over. Errr....

not quite. Richard asked what we were going to do, I replied, 'put your pack on and we're going a further 1.5 Km across the fields to a road-head' Richard was not happy, Steve and I chased him up and off we went.

Fortunately 1 Km further on I managed to get some phone signal, so I phoned the Spine team with the grid reference. Steve and I sat with Richard until he was collected.

Part of me was sorry to see Richard go part of me relieved.

Richard is a great guy, spend any time in his company and he'll brighten your day. However in his hypothermic condition he was slowing Steve and I down, to the point that we could also become victims to Hypothermia.

Richard Lendon retiring from the Spine race at 135 miles is no failure. Prior to the race, the furthest Richard had ever run was 50 miles in favourable conditions. On the Spine race he covered 135 miles of the most brutal, gnarly unforgiving terrain imaginable in extreme cold weather conditions.

This is an impressive feat, and I expect Richard will be back toeing the Start line in 2013.

With Richard now safely in the hands of the Spine team, Steve and I cracked on.

We upped the pace considerably, I now meant business, I had a lead to maintain.

Navigation was spot on and we flew through the next 5 Km to Middleton-in-Teesdale. Ironically the last 5 Km since Richard had been picked up were the easiest of the entire section.

On reaching Checkpoint 3 we met Richard, who was now in great spirits and back to cracking jokes. A brilliant guy !!

Feet were the order of the day again, more lancing, draining, squeezing, swearing etc etc. Then huge feed followed by a pleasant 2 hour sleep, Perfick !!!

To be continued.......



The Spine Race 2012...an Epic Adventure !! ( Part 1 )

Pre race day



Kit checked, bags packed, unpacked, re-packed, weight cut down as much as possible.... this had been going on for several weeks, much to the irritation of my long suffering wife Vicky. Now Thursday 12th January had arrived and I was getting a lift with Mark Caldwell, fellow competitor, to Edale.
It turned out to be a Scottish contingency road trip, 4 x runners in a campervan, Mark Caldwell, Ben Hunter. Andrew Collister and myself. In Girvan we fuelled on fish & chips, I had an exploding coke bottle episode in the chipper and we picked up Mark's dad, Dougie, then it was off at full speed, literally, to Edale.
After a comfy night in the campervan in an obscure Asda car park, it was off to Spine Race HQ in the village hall of Edale.
There we met Scott Gilmour, Phil Hayday-Brown, the rest of the expert team and some fellow competitors.
Just after 6.00pm we all sat down to a series of presentations inc, navigation, weather, hypothermia, hypoglycaemia etc and most notably areas of the route to watch out for - a series of pot holes as deep as 140 feet, lying alongside the route and not fenced off. Disused mine shafts, sink holes, precipices.....etc etc etc. It was at this point that most competitors sphincters were starting to get tighter....... and the enormity of the task ahead was realised.....!

Spine trophies

  

Race briefing

So after all the up-beat good news we then fired up our stoves and each competitor received a full kit check to ensure we were packing all the required kit.
Then it was back to the Ramblers Inn and off to bed to sleep.........zzzzz

Race Day 14.01.2012  ( Day 1; Start to Checkpoint 1.....43 miles )

I managed a decent nights sleep, got a decent breakfast inside me, picked up my race pack and headed to the Start with Richard Lendon. It was a beautiful sunny, frosty day, not a cloud in the sky.
After a photo call with all 17 fellow competitors, a little after 9.00am we Started. The race was on !!

Race start line

It was quite amusing at the Start. It was an uphill start and a fair few competitiors took off as if it was a 10K, I stuck to my plan on pacing myself along with Mark Caldwell, 268 miles over rough terrain is a long, long way, where a lot can go wrong.
I settled into a steady pace, heading up out of Edale and onto Jacobs Ladder, the first decent ascent. The field was already starting to string out.
Then it was up onto the plateau of Kinder Scout, a sea of peat hags, basically giant man-traps. This is where I made a navigational error and basically turned myself around trying to exit a deep peat hag.
Fortunately I realised my mistake early and got back on track with a little bit of relocation, catching up with the field. We ran over the spectacular Kinder Downforce, which was frozen solid, then onto paved pathways across the peat bogs. Paving stones in normal conditions would have been great, but this day they were covered in sheet ice, making going very treacherous. numerous runners took some heavy falls. I witnessed Sharon Gaytor, fellow Elite competitor, take a nasty fall onto her side at this point. I was later to find out that, unfortunately, Sharon had retired at 25 miles due to repeated falls and taking quite a beating with the conditions.

Me on Kinder Scout

The field of runners by now had thinned out. Mark Brooks ( 100 mile Challenger competitor ) had taken an early lead,  and was now 30 mins ahead, closely followed by Mark Caldwell, ( Elite competitor ).
I settled into my rhythm, running closely with Steve Thomson, Richard Lendon and Andrew Collister.
Gradually night fell. We were forming a close group, the banter was great. Richard is priceless, a hilarious guy to be around. He's always talking and is an authority on where every pub, cafe, tea room along the entire Pennine Way can be found. He had ringed them all on his maps ! As we neared a pub he kept dropping hints of his need for salt & vinegar crisps, Steve and I closed our ears and we continued into the night.
Temperatures were dropping, it had been below freezing during the daytime, but now it was dropping to around -6, and in the wind it felt even colder. On this race you can't afford to stand still or you run the risk of starting to shut down.

'Twas a cold and frosty night.......

The cold along with the dark can start to make thought processes slow, the Pennine Way was proving to be badly signed, harder than expected to navigate, with parts of the route becoming very obscure over peat moorlands, very easy to get lost. My orienteering skills helped along with occassional gps use.We made a slight nav error at Standedge costing ourselves around 15 minutes, however later we caught up with Mark Caldwell and Andrew Collister who'd had a similar event. Later we crossed over the M62, a significant indication as to how far we had already travelled.
At this stage my feet felt good, I was warm, energy levels were high and I was alert, all good.

Past White Holme reservoir and Chelburn Moor we pushed heading for Stoodley Pike, a rather ostentatious victorian memorial, that never seemed to get closer. Eventually we passed it and headed on into Hebden Bridge, crossed the road and up a steep hill over fields to Colden, and down to Checkpoint 1 at 23.14hrs. 
I'd made it to Checkpoint 1 - one part completed only 225 miles to go !!!
Richard and Steve asked when I intended to leave the Checkpoint, and if we should sleep. I opted for a 1 hour power nap after a plate of baked tattie, beans and cheese. However I could only lie and close my eyes, my body and mind were in race mode, I couldn't sleep.

Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2  ( 62 miles )

Richard Lendon

Steve, Richard and I left together at 02.30 hrs feeling awake and refreshed, and in good spirits. Now we were in for a long haul, to Hawes.
From Hebden Bridge we headed over Heptonstall Moor, Wadsworth Moor, and Oakworth Moor. I maintained good contact with the map and we made good time. Conversation rolled along, along with the constant miles.
I was constantly grazing, keeping energy levels at optimum, however as we neared Gargrave I could feel myself tiring. I needed more than my snacks to fuel up.
Having listened to Richard talking about all the different coffee shops for the last 30 odd hours, Steve and I relented. We stopped at the White Cottage Coffee Shop in Gargrave.
It was the best thing we did.
Fortunatley the owners kindly let us in. Steve, Richard and I resembled post apocalyptic road warriors crossed with Mr Gay UK, thanks to being caked in mud and wearing lycra !! We were also eminating a bit of a whiff.
We absolutely stuffed ourselves, much to the amusement of the owners and fellow diners. We basically sampled the entire menu !! Boy it was good.
Eventually we all rolled outside with stuffed bellys and great spirits. We were ready to race once more!!
Quickly we moved towards Malham, and the spectacular sight of Malham Cove as daylight faded.
On the way up I was asked numerous times by tourists why we were going up when everyone was coming down. When I explained we were in a race all the way to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland, they were a little bit astonished ( under statement ). Basically they thought we were all bonkers !!
On past Malham, over moorland, the trail becoming difficult to navigate. The wind was now getting up, chilling me down to the bone. I added another layer and maintained grazing from my snack bag.
Eventually we neared Pen-y-ghent. A large mountain, steep sided and very exposed. As I looked towards the summit I noticed a headtorch, it was Mark Caldwell, about 1 hour ahead.
Richard was slowing, Steve and I pushed him on. The track was completely covered in ice, making going very treacherous. We couldn't afford to slow down or we'd start to lose heat. Steve was excellent at force marching the pace on.
On the other side of Pen-y-ghent lies Horton in Ribblesdale, where there is a pub. We all checked our watches, 21.20hrs, and we were on the wrong side of the mountain. Could we make to Horton before last orders??? The race was now really on!!
We scrambled up the sheer face of Pen-y-ghent, blasted over the top and ran down the other side.
At 22.25hrs we made it to the pub, hoorah !!!
On arrival at the pub we asked for 3 x large mugs of coffee, to which the landlord explained the kitchen was shut, everything cleaned and switched off. So I asked if he could just boil a kettle for hot water. This wasn't possible due to some lame excuse. Not exactly great customer service !!
In the end we drank coke and ate crisps.
Still we got warmed up, and after 45 minutes hit the trail again.
I pushed on, trying to up the pace along with Steve, conversation flowed and we were making good time.
Around an hour later Richard started to slow, complaining of cold. He'd added a layer but was still a little cold. I pushed on more, and explained to Richard we were only 6 miles from Hawes.
BIG LIE !! But it worked, for a while. Richard picked up the pace.
The best bit of deceit on my part came when Richard spotted a sign stating 4 miles after I had told him there were only 2 miles to go. I explained the sign was actually in Kilometres ( BIG LIE number 2 ) much to Steve's amusement.
Eventually Richard twigged and started to slow, feeling cold. He said he needed to sit down for a while. I told him if he sat down I would stab him in a testicle with one of my running sticks !! It did the trick and after some very tricky navigation we all made it to Hawes ( Checkpoint 2 ) 105 miles covered in total. Only 163 miles to go.

Great News !! ...Run 4 It Sponsorship

Hi All,

After a meeting with Ben Lee, Business Manager, and Elaine Taylor, Aberdeen shop Manager, I am delighted to announce that the Scottish running shop chain, Run 4 It have very kindly offered Sponsorship towards my running endeavours.
This will involve some Kit testing which I will be reviewing on my blogspot and the 'Run 4 It' website, and help towards some of the Kit I will need for future races including the 430 Km 'Spine Race'.

Here is the link to the 'Run 4 It' website;

www.run4it.com

Cheers,

Gary

The Spine Race in aid of Help For Heroes

Hi All,

I will be racing in the 430 Km Spine Race in aid of the 'Help For Heroes' Charity.
I've been thinking that tackling such a brutal race as the Spine race promises to be should not be for nothing. Especially when you consider what British soldiers have been through and are going through in conflict, and what they have to face now and in the future as a result of their injuries.
So please give what you can, I know times are hard for everyone at present, but anything will be gratefully appreciated for such a great cause.

Here is the link for my fundraising page;

www.bmycharity.com/GaryMorrison1

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog,

Cheers,

Gary

Tor Des Geants race report...pain, grapes and nursery rhymes...!!!

Hi Everyone,

Here is my post-race  report on what I can confirm is 'The World's Hardest Endurance Trail' 330 Km and 24,000 metres of ascent, with 24,000 metres of descent, on rockiest and gnarliest trail I have ever encountered.

Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc) from Courmayeur

10th September 2011, day before race day.

On arrival at Courmayeur I was stunned by the immense grandeur of Monte Bianco ( Mont Blanc ). Looking up at the mountain and it's close neighbours it hit home as to the sheer scale of the Tor Des Geants race I was about to take part in, I was going to be ascending and descending the surrounding mountains, day and night !!

That evening I attended registration where I received my race number, bag, buff etc, and then the pre-race briefing and pasta party, meeting up with fellow Brit, Mark Barnes.

Race number, Kit bag and all important Buff

After the Pasta party I headed for a local Bistro for some more sustenance and met up with another Tor Des Geant entrant, Gabi Schenkel, the Swiss Ultra Princess on account of her running in a purple skirt and a silver tiara, and support friend Adriana Marcil. Gabi unfortunately was to retire at 170 Km after becoming ill with suspected pneumonia.

11th September 2011, Race Day !!!!!

The day dawned bright and sunny, the mercury rising up to 24oC, not ideal race conditions. After breakfast I made my way to the Start pen at the old Church in Courmayeur, the atmosphere was electric. There I met up with Mark Barnes and all the other runners.

Mark Barnes

Me at the Start, 15 minutes to go !!!

At precisely 10.00 hrs the race started. The run through the town of Courmayeur was fantastic, huge crowds lined the streets cheering all the runners, ringing insanely large cow bells, whilst a helicopter hovered overhead filming for the race video. An electric atmosphere !

Very soon we climbed out of Courmayeur and hit the forest trails, this is where the gravity of the task ahead hit home, the steepness of the ascent and the length of the ascent. The climb to the first Col, Col Arp was 1300 metres, which would turn out to be one of the easiest ascents on the entire Tor Des Geants. From Col Arp it was a descent down to the first of many checkpoints, La Thuile.

The descent to La Thuile checkpoint from Col Arp

At La Thuile it was a quick drink of Coke, some orange, a water bottle refill and then off La Joux and the climb up to Deffeyes at 2,500 m ( 8,250 feet ).

The weather remained hot and sunny, but in the distance the storm clouds were gathering. Just as luck would have it, having been roasted in 26oC on the way up to Col Haut Pass at 2,857 m ( 9,400 ft ) when I was scrambling up the last 500 ft a thunder storm struck. Being the highest thing for miles around when lightning is striking is not fun, especially in horizontal rain when negotiating 18 inch wide trail with an unprotected 1000 ft drop off the edge of it. To say my heart was in my mouth and my sphincter clenched was putting it mildly !!!

Col Haute Pass 2,857m, 30Km into the race mid Thunder storm.

I continued to run well despite the weather, however due to the rocky sharp terrain the soles of my feet were starting to hurt.

Eventually I arrived at the first life base, Valgrisenche at 43 Km, where I received my first completion medal. Here I grabbed a quick bite to eat and quickly departed, not wanting to stop this early in the race. Now I headed off into the night, runners were now spreading out, and at this stage I was in 120th place, further up the field than |I imagined I would be.

The rain gradually eased off leading to a mild night. I climbed constantly through forests, out into the open, up scree slopes, always climbing. If you imagine climbing a staircase non-stop for 5 hours that may give you some idea as to the severity of the ascents, without the Grivel running poles I would have found it impossible.

On this 2nd section I climbed twice to Cols in excess of 3000 metres, with Col Loson at a dizzy 3,296m ( 11,000 ft ), here I started to develop a cough and a slight nose bleed, which I put down to the physical exertion at altitude. Thankfully it didn't come to anything, however the soles of my feet were becoming increasingly painful, so I swallowed down 2 x voltarol and pushed on.

Day 2 The tough climb up to Col Loson 3,296 metres

Eventually I limped into Cogne, life base 2, and collected my 2nd medal. Here it was an urgent visit to the Medics, the soles of my feet were by now really painful. It turned out that the metatarsal bones in my feet had swollen, due to the pounding on the harsh terrain, and were pushing through the soles of my feet. So the Medics covered my soles with compeed patches then bound the soles with zinc oxide tape, along with a number of my toes. They then gave me some strong anti-inflammatory painkillers and explained I was good to continue. Hoorah !!!



After treatment, I've spared you the 'before' shot

After a 2 hour break, medical treatment, food and a short nap it was off onto Section 3, with 102 Kms covered. By now there had been a lot of retirals, the hard, sharp trails, constant climbs and rough descents were taking there toll.

I was fortunate that at this point I was in relatively good shape, my quads, calfs, hamstrings and joints were coping perfectly well with the demanding route, I was using regular bottles of hammer perpetuem and supplementing this with some of the checkpoint food, although I drew the line at warm beer, tepid salami and mouldy cheese.

By now I had established a good rhythm on the ascents, managing to keep a steady forward progress without expending too much energy. I was settling into the race and admiring the outstanding scenery and the friendly local cammaraderie.

I pushed on towards Donnas, life base 3, eventually arriving sunburnt, over heating and dehydrated after numerous steep climbs and descents in 26oC.

Here I had my feet re-dressed, a good feed and I had planned to sleep for an hour at least. However due to the excessive noise I decided to push on into section 4.

This was probably my first mistake of the race.  I don't do well in heat, and now I was leaving the life base into what felt like a furnace. I had 1 litre in my bladder mixed with nuun electolytes and a 500ml bottle of Perpetuem. The temperature was now reading 27oC with no breeze.

I started the long steep climb out of Donnas.

On the way I passed small private vineyards among the houses. The grapes looked fantastic, big. ripe and juicy. Despite the temptation I didn't steal any, instead hoping to find a local to ask if I could have a bunch. I didn't find anyone as I trudged past the lovely grapes.

This now played on my mind as I ascended up and up into the forests above Donnas, how I now longed to taste some grapes. It's funny on Ultras how sometimes you can become fixated on an item, grapes were now this item !!

It was now a constant climb up the side of the valley along cliff edges..

1000 m above Donnas

I climbed and climbed in the heat, now sweating buckets, at around 2000 m the trail passed a small dirt car park where an Italian race follower unprompted handed me 5 grapes. I couldn't believe it, I was ecstatic and they tasted great.

I eventually reached the Rifuge Coda checkpoint, at this point the drop in temperature at altitude hit me hard, I quickly put on my montane minimus jacket for protection but I was already becoming hypothermic. I pushed on, by the time I reachedCol du Marmontana ( 2,350m ) I was dropping into moderate hypothermia, I could feel myself shutting down, just wanting to sleep, now it was night time and the temperature was around freezing. I sat by a camp fire at the checkpoint for 2 hours gradually warming up. Once my senses had started to return I moved on to the next big climb Crena du Ley ( 2311m ). This was a tough, slow and steep climb, again my core temperature plummeted and I was slowly shutting down, but managed to limp into the next checkpoint. Here I curled up into one of the emergency bivis, slept for an hour, then warmed up by the fire for am hour.

Gradually I gained control of my faculties, I was asked if I wanted to retire, a definate NO I replied, and stumbled / shuffled off to the next checkpoint.

Fortunately the sun was rising along with the temperature which gave me a much needed boost.



Recovering from Hypothermia at 8,500 ft

So I made it to life base 4, Gressoney Palazzetto, 200 Km into the race.

Here I had a massage, some more strong painkillers for my feet, a good feed and a short snooze.

I also met up with Mark Barnes who was unfortunately having to retire due to foot problems. Dressings hadn't initially been done properly and unfortunately had led to his feet resembling raw hamburger, not pretty. It was at this point I became aware I was now the only British Ultra runner left in the race, all other Brits had retired.

It was now onto Day 3, I think !!! The days were now melting into each other.

I left Gressoney in the night feeling strong. I marched off through the village and started the really steep climb up to Col Pinter ( 2,776m ). It was an arduous night, that I don't have much recollection on, I do remeber feeling on top of the world and unstoppable for some reason. It was probably down to the painkillers !! I was still fantasising about grapes as well.

Climbing again through the forests.

Section 5 for some reason I remember little about, I think this was probably a time I was becoming very insular, battling with myself, making up silly rhymes !!

I arrived at life base 5 Cretaz Valtournenche ( 236 Km ) at some time I think on day 4, picking up my 5th medal of the race.

I don't remember staying long at the base, I was now starting to have food issues, the sometimes poor choice at some of the checkpoints was having an effect. I longed for bananas, oat cakes etc, high carb items, instead I was finding, lemons, salami, beer, fizzy coke, cut oranges, dubious cheese. I was dinding this increasingly unappetising.

At 250 Km I had an 'exorcist' projectile vomit moment, I couldn't stomach the food on offer anymore or even water. My hammer perpetuem was becoming increasingly affected by the heat, and now I couldn't stomach that. I realised I was crossing into very dangerous territory. When there's no fuel going into the tank, eventually my body is going to shut down.

I pushed on determined to keep going.

I arrived at Close checkpoint, ( 271 Km ). My feet were becoming increasingly sore, the pounding they were receiving was relentless. So I went to the Medics tent to have them checked.

This was probably my single worst moment of the entire race.

I lay down on one of the medical beds, the doctor inspected my dressings and stated that they had to come off...

Now by this stage my feet were bound in zinc oxide tape, sheets of it, covering all my blisters, sores etc, the thought of this stuff being torn off along with the skin from my blisters was definately not appealing. I protested loudly both verbally and by hand signals, the doctor merely tore open a sterile dressing rolled it up, stuffed it into my mouth and said ' BITE, scream as well if you want '.

So here I am screaming my lungs out alongside another fellow runner lying in a bed beside me having the same procedure, screaming for all he was worth as well.

At some point I either passed out or fell asleep due to exhaustion, when I came round my feet had been carefully treated and re-dressed perfectly.

I was informed by the doctor that due to the concussion and swelling, my metatarsals had burst through the soles of my feet and I now had open wounds in the soles of my feet. They had packed the wounds and then rebound them with zinc oxide tape, after a strong painkiller it was back on my feet and off I trotted to the next checkpoint.

It's amazing how the human body can handle pain, I should have been crippled, yet I could shut off from the pain and keep going as I was so focused on finishing.

After a few more 9,000 ft climbs and descents I made it to the final life base, number 6, Rey Ollomont, 283.5 Km, receving my 6th race medal.

When I arrived I attempted to eat but had another projectile vomit moment in front of all the spectators and race supporters.

It was at this moment I had a 'toys out the pram' episode, making it plainly obvious what I thought of the checkpoint food and that I wanted a decent cup of tea, no lemon, no herbs, just proper tea with milk and lots of sugar.

Fortunately one of the kitchen staff took pity and hurriedly made me a huge mug of 'proper' tea, followed by another. It really lifted my spirits and gave my stomach something to try and digest.

I now struck out for the finish into the night.

It was a hellish climb, rain started, the temperature plummeted, still I was on the home straight, well just a few more 9000 ft peaks to climb.

I reached Rifuge Letey at 2,443 m, where I rested for half an hour, struggling to eat anything. I met up with some guides who were acting as 'sweepers' between the final checkpoints. They now accompanied a group of us up the next steep ascent and descent.

Huge drop just off the edge of the 18 inch wide path

I was now just past  300 Km of the race, only 30 Km to go, when suddenly without warning my eyesight started to fail. As it was night I at first thought my headtorch batteries were getting weak, but I had put in new ones just 2 hours previously. The sight came and went. I was now getting worried, my body was into the 'shutdown' phase, I'd been running on empty for too long.

One of the guides asked if I was ok in broken english, it gave me the kick I needed and my eyesight came back online. I answered 'yes'. Knowing that I had been struggling to eat, the guide gave me an energy bar which I attempted to nibble on, but it was too little too late, the damage was done.

One of the other guides, with a tattoo of a woman's face on the back of his calf, unfortuanately I never remembered their names, kept calling me ainglase ( english ), which I took offence at and made a point that I was Scotsaisee ( Scottish ). This made me more determined to finish.

So now started a silly defiance on my part not to give in.

Now the guides were there as part of the race organisation to look after the runners and I assume make sure we didn't come to any harm. However I became fixated that the guide with the tattoo didn't like me and just wanted me to give up. This is probably more down to my diminishing mental state at the time. I was also now starting to go deaf in my left ear and my balance was now affected.

The guide with the tattoo walked in front of me and periodically I would become aware of the sweeping light of his headtorch as he turned around to check my condition, at this point I would bolster myself up and try amd look in good shape. I was quickly unraveling at the seams as my body shutdown.

I was around 310 Km, the guide with the tattoo kept asking me to stop, that he will signal a 4x4 to pick me, so I can stop the pain that I was going through. Being of a stubborn nature and so close to the finish, I refused. He was not impressed.

So in defiance I started ranting nursery rhymes at him, 'Jack & Jill' and 'Humpty Dumpty'. I not aware of how loud I was, all I know is that it was designed to annoy him. I think the 'good cop' guide behind found this amusing.

So this rather ridiculous scenario continued to around 315 Km where in a short spell of sanity I was made aware by the guides it was impossible for me to reach the next checkpoint within the strict time barrier. Essentially my race was over, like it or not, 15 Km from the Finish, having covered 315 Km.

I had done everything I could to finish the race, given everything physically and mentally. 

Pre-race I thought it would be my muscles and joints that would struggle, in the end it came down to nutrition, if there's nothing in the tank then inevitably the body will shut down at some point.

Was I bitter, upset????

Strangely no. I thought I would be, but I know deep down I gave everything I could. Despite the pain, the Tor Des Geants is a fantastic, life changing race. I have learnt so much of value, been immersed in the most stunning scenery and met the most fantastic people.

I will definately be back to finish the job in 2013. Next year 2012 I will be racing in the UTMB at the end of August, so not enough time to attemt the TDG in 2012.

3 hrs after finishing, after a shower. I'd been to hell and back, 5 days running and a total of 3 hrs sleep