Withins Fell Race and Walshies
October 23rd, 2011 by Andy NicollJust got back from a spin round the Withins Fell race organised by fell race legend Dave ‘Woodentop’ Woodhead.
Before the senior race there was some fast and furious junior races which are brilliant to watch – the looks of determination during the race and the smiles and laughetr afterwards as they munch through their goody bags is just fantastic.
It’s a long time since I’ve done this race and as there are so many run over the same area I’m always a bit unsure about which route I’m taking when I set off. As I’m never going to win it’s not a problem as there’s always plenty of folk to follow.
I really wanted to do the race but having been struck down with the dreaded lurgy this week I probably shouldn’t have done. However the lure of the cadbury’s curly wurly won me over and got me to the start line.
The start is fast and furious and the majority of the first mile is flat / downhill but after that the race climbs steadily right to the top of the moor and on to the skyline. From here it’s a mud plug across bogs and heather to the Withins ruin (of Bronte – Wuthering Heights fame) before a mad dash back down to Bronte Bridge. A steep pull back up Bronte Falls sees most of the climbing complete and from here it relatively flat back to the finish.
After making reasonable ground on the true fell sections I threw away all my hard work on the 2 mile run back to the finish as my reduced capacity lungs failed to provide enough oxygenated blood to my muscles.
Anyway, enough of the excuses, I dragged my sorry soul over the line to finish in thirty odth place in just over 50 minutes.
It’s a cracking course and a brilliantly organised race and I just wished I’d felt better so I could have raced it properly.
On a higher note, the race saw me unleash my brand new walshies and I must admit to having forgotten just how good they are on a true fell course. The grip on mud is simply superb and they’re still the only shoe out there that will offer any sort of grip on wet rock. They will never win any prizes from teh fashionistas but sweep the floor when it comes to function over form. If Walsh could inject a bit of clever design in to the uppers and leave the sole unit as it is they could find themselves back on top when it comes to fell shoes in no time at all. Until they do they’ll keep losing out to Inov 8.
