By Chris Roberts
Horton in Ribblesdale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales was the setting for the 60th Yorkshire Three Peaks Race. It is a gruelling 23.4 mile course consisting of 5000ft of climbing. YKH had a strong contingent taking part this year with myself, Simon Collins and Tom Ratcliffe, fresh from London Marathon, taking part for the first time. We were joined by race veterans Barry Atkinson, Andrew Johnson, Robyn Hawxby and Tony Heron who were hoping their experience of the course would pay dividends.
The build up to the race for me was far from perfect due to stupidly playing football the weekend before and sustaining a badly bruised knee due to a collision. After some physio and a week of rest my knee was moving relatively freely but far from perfect.
When we arrived the weather was gloomy with frequent rain showers, which lead to much debate about what to wear as the weather was expected to improve as the day went on. I settled on wearing my full waterproof top, base layer, vest and backpack which was stuffed full of goodies to keep me going.
The race began at 10:30 with 780 runners racing down the main road towards the turning to begin the climb up the first of the three peaks, Pen-y-ghent.
The top was still covered in a layer of clag as we made our way up the gradual incline before the real climbing started. It was at this point that the rain had completely stopped and the sun was beginning to peak out which made the early decision of a waterproof top a bad one, what followed was a bit of juggling of backpack and jacket whilst still trying to run and not fall over on the rocky terrain. I tried to maintain a steady and controlled pace as the real climbing started, I lost a few places on the way up but I was hoping my conservative pace would allow me to regain these later. At the summit of Pen-y-ghent Tony Heron was first over in 35mins, followed by Simon Collins and me in 37mins, Barry Atkinson nursing his dodgy hamstring was next in 41mins followed by Tom Ratcliffe, Robyn Hawxby and Andrew Johnson.
Next came the decent and it was at this point that the fast hard pounding on the gravel path back down was causing my knee to hurt. I had to slow my pace to alleviate the pain which meant runners were now streaming by. From the bottom of Pen-y-Ghent to Ribblehead is 6 miles of gentle downhill where it is very easy to overcook it leading you to have nothing for the rest of the race. With this in mind and a painful knee I settled into a steady pace, putting thoughts of binning it to the back of my mind, and arrived at Ribblehead in good shape.
The weather had now fully cleared and we were met with the ominous site of Whernside in the distance, ready to test our legs to the limit. The race follows a different route than the traditional easier but longer ascent of the walk. Turning left under the railway track I approached the stream crossing which despite the rain was only calf deep. The beginning of the climb is a long slog with a few boggy areas waiting to swallow up unsuspecting runners of which I was one. After dragging myself out of the mud the real climbing started, an almost vertical climb which requires you to hold on whilst being battered by the strong winds. Cresting the summit first was Tony in 2:05, I had made up a few places on the climb including Simon and reached the top in 2:16. Barry was starting to move through the gears and picking up lots of places in 2:24. Tom, Robyn and Andrew also reached the top in reasonable shape and I am sure all were pleased that 2 out of 3 climbs were completed.
The decent from Whernside is not a favourite with lipped paving steps which seemed to have been designed to trip up as many tired runners as possible. Once these had been carefully negotiated it was only a short run to the final low level checkpoint at the Hill Inn. I quickly found my water bottle and took on as much fluid as possible before I headed towards the final climb of Ingleborough.
The approach to Ingleborough is across a few fields and rolling hills which by this point were taken at a fast walk. I realised at this point that I had not been eating as much as I had planned but the thought of taking on any food was not appetising so I ploughed on to the base of the climb. The climb starts with a steep stepped section that takes you most of the way up to the top. I was just concentrating on taking each step at a time and to keep moving. I got to the top and approached the checkpoint when I was hit by a sudden cramp in my left calf which caused me to trip and hit the deck, ouch. With no major damage done I reached the summit just inside 3:20, Tony had long since passed by in 3:02, with Simon 4 minutes behind me.
Andrew Johnson @ 16:50
I had not been giving my pre race target of sub 4 hours much thought until this point and I realised that my goal was the seemingly achievable 5 mile decent in 40mins. 8 minute miles downhill would normally be a walk in the park but with tired cramping legs it would be touch and go. The first two miles are the steepest and went well with me passing lots of runners who were walking or bent over in pain before it levelled out into a rather rocky path. I was then struck by more cramp in both thighs which meant a minute of walking before I was able to get going again. I was now treading a tightrope of going quick enough to break 4 hours but not too fast as to bring on more cramps. Everyone around me was also in similar difficulties with a couple taking nasty tumbles on the rocks, thankfully with no serious injuries. I could now see the finish marquee in the distance and the Garmin said 3:51 with a mile to go. A slight climb before the finish caused a tumble and another bout of cramp but there was no time to stop. I raced under the railway and through a kind Horton resident’s garden before the sprint through the crowds down the finish field. I had made it in 3:57:47, job done.
I was greeted at the finished by a rather fresh looking Tony who was changed and having an ice-cream. Tony was slightly disappointed in his time of 3:40, ten minutes slower than last year. Shortly after came Simon in 4:05, glad to be finished but again with a tinge of disappointment at being outside 4hrs. Barry was the 4th counter for the team in 4:13. Next was Robyn, 4:33, who had paced it to perfection and made up tens of places on the decent to the finish. Tom had a bit of a mare from the top of Ingleborough, the London Marathon finally catching up with him, taking over an hour for the descent and finishing in 4:48. Andrew ran a great race and completed the team with 4:58. In the team results we came 16th out of 65 teams which is a great result and hopefully we can build on this as a club in future team events.
Results
46th – Tony Heron – 3:40:23
134th – Chris Roberts – 3:57:47
172nd – Simon Collins – 4:05:24
236th – Barry Atkinson – 4:13:47
378th – Robyn Hawxby – 4:33:13
471st – Tom Ratcliffe – 4:48:04
539th – Andrew Johnson – 4:58:58
16th – Knavesmire Harriers
Finally if you have read this far and you fancy a go yourself the Esk Valley Summer Series starts on Wed 7th May at 7:15pm on the Moors at Carlton Bank. More info can be found here or contact myself on 07720710411.
Photos courtesy of Norman Berry, Holmfirth Harriers.
