Bank Holiday
The Bank Holiday weather was not exactly sparkling, but I enjoyed the opportunity to walk and, on Sunday, run. Saturday I went out to pick wild garlic greens (ramsons) . During a break in the weather a glimpse of the distant Berwyn mountains across a 'greening' landscape stirred some yearnings. I craved something steep, my faulty knee demanded something not too remote, so I settled on seven miles of Shutlingsloe and Macc' Forest for a Sunday run.
Berwyn Mountains from a gap in the hedgerow along Crackley Lane (Hollywood Lane end), a local footpath. Unfortunately this path is a 'BOAT' and horribly mangled by off road vehicles.
Standing Stone car park was pretty empty and I set off, in mildly wild conditions, for Shutlingsloe summit. I took the permissive path round the edge of the forest, joined the main path then went left and round to ascend from the south east (Roaches Race ascent). There was no one else on the summit, I did a quick three sixty and set off down the paved step north descent.
A summit to myself, a wet Shutlingsloe trig. point.
I fair flew down to the reservoirs, the ascent of the 'Forest Bridleway' heading north had me puffing though. It always seems to be ascent fitness that goes first when one isn't running regularly. The first part of the 'Forest Chapel' footpath is also steep, but the wonderfully spooky scenery (pictured elsewhere on this blog) takes away the sting and one hardly notices the gradient. There are a number of roads by the Chapel and I took the wrong one, unbelievable given my familiarity with the area. I took 'the road I took last time', forgetting that I was on a different route last time! I ended up running an extra two miles, and five hundred feet more ascent. Much as I enjoyed running further than I have run since well before my knee 'op, my knee was a little inflamed afterwards.
Rainow 5
I had had my eye on the Rainow 5. Aerial imagery suggested no parking possibilities at all. Not to be beaten I cast my net wider and found a car park in Bollington a little less than two miles away. There was virtue to this necessity, the walk would serve both as a warm up and a knee test before the race. The walk was well worth it for its own sake, and I was fortunate enough to meet a couple of others headed for the event so had company along the way.
The 'knee test' results were not good and I was a little apprehensive about running. I signed up anyway as running often seems more comfortable than walking these days (I am guessing tension in the quads is keeping things in line). We poured out from in and around the Village Institute and filled the small lane ready for the start. It was heartening to see the large gathering of fell runners glowing in the light from the embers of the day. At a guess there were around two hundred runners. I was filled with an, 'as long as this sort of thing continues, all is well with the world' feeling.
We were away and off down Oakenbank Lane. My decision to run was quickly vindicated, even this fast descent was giving me less grief than the walk had. A broad smile spread across my face as the familiar 'nothing else matters so long as the run continues' feeling came over me.
A big queue for the first stile.
After the stiles and crossing the 'walk in' lane out of Bollington, the ascent up to 'White Nancy' began. This steep path surprised quads and lungs after the easy running that had been enjoyed so far.
The running along the ridge to Kerridge Hill was really outstanding, a good surface playing few tricks, the gorse looking magical in the evening's glow.
The descent was technical enough to keep one's attention, but not so much as to be threatening (at my kind of speed anyway). I am no longer passed by hordes, in descents. It is ironic that I seem to have found the descending skills I needed, only now that I am running on borrowed time.
Big climb out of the way, I had started to pick up a bit of speed. I passed a good few people on the ridge and subsequent descent, and continued to do so as we contoured. The ascent back up to Rainow came as a bit of a shock to the system and I began to think I had paced myself badly. I felt really tired, but managed to keep going. As the distance slipped away and I didn't feel much worse, I realised that I had just become unaccustomed to the feeling of running tired . Indeed in the last few hundred metres I found I could still pick it up quite a bit and gave it my best to the finish line.
I hadn't felt so good in ages and finding that there were cheese and tomato rolls available in the Institute, as well as the excellent cake selection, just topped it off. I found out later that the charming girls with impeccable manners, who served and had prepared the food, were Rainow Guides. A credit to the community and themselves.
Rainow's 'Village Institute', home of some remarkable hospitality.
I balanced as much food as I could on a plate (I had come straight from work and home was perhaps an hour and a half away) and grabbed a coffee. With the walk back to Bollington and the drive home, I couldn't hang around for long. I shook a few hands, stroked a few dogs, found and thanked some of the organisers and apologised for having to leave before the awards. As I went outside and dressed for the walk, I met one of my companions from the walk in. She was ready to leave as well, so I had company to shorten the walk back. I got home not long after ten, just enough time to sort myself out and for a beer before bed while reflecting on my sojourn in Ladybird Land.
The Rainow 5 is a great event on a route well worth running. The organisation and luck we had with the weather on this particular May evening, made it something extra special that I will remember for a long time. My thanks to those who made such weekday fun possible. Results are up here, on the Macc' Harriers site, they confirm that there were over two hundred and ten runners. Well done everybody, especial congrats to the two MV50s in the top ten overall.
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