The RAB Mini Mountain Marathon at Edale attracted over 250 entrants eager to pit their legs, lungs and navigational skills against the monolithic Kinder Scout plateau. The basic format of the event is three hours of score navigation being run under official FRA (Fell Running Association) rules and guidelines. <p>
People were a little slow in arriving at Edale Village Hall for registration and the start, not surprising given how cold it was in the early morning. But by 8.45 it was a beautifully sunny and clear morning ready for the early starters keen to get out on the hill.<p>
The village hall was extremely lively as entrants registered and then chatted over the master map showing the area to be used for the event. Closer examination showed that navigation on Kinder was not going to be easy as there were a number of out of bounds areas to complicate route planning.
But soon it was time to get off and go for a run myself, so I punched the start box and collected the map marked with the 21 control point locations and values. A quick look at the map and my basic route choice was made ... my first mistake! <p>
I decide to go east along the foot of the plateau and gain height gradually, well as gradually as you can when trying to get up onto Kinder. This seemed perfectly sensible down in sheltered Edale, not so later on when I was battling my way back west along Kinder edge into a stiff head wind.
So I headed into Edale village before turning right on to the footpath towards the 1st check point (CP). Everything is going swimmingly I even overtake a couple of other competitors … something quite novel for me. <p>
The first four CP’s came and went without incident, the going was good on established footpaths and I was feeling good. I set off for the 5th CP in good spirits; I check my watch and disaster, no watch. Now what?
<p>
I decide to retrace my steps back to the last CP in the forlorn hope of finding this vital bit of equipment, while beating myself up. “How could you not notice the watch falling off,� I tell myself. I hardly notice as a team coming up from the CP ask me if I have lost my watch. Ehh! Are they psychic? I’m perplexed. “Yes�, I reply, “How did you know?� “Oh, we found one some way back and the chrono was running so we guessed it must belong to another competitor.� So with a great deal of thanks I was off again with only a few minutes lost.
<p>
Time to push on again and head up onto Kinder, via Edale Cross picking up another checkpoint on the way. The going underfoot was now much tougher in the tussocky grass and heather as I battled my way up to the next CP. At this point normal service was resumed as several people ran past me. That’s more like it! I was beginning to think I might be getting fit when I was overtaking people earlier in the race. On the plus side it was obvious where the next CP was as I could see competitor after competitor coming and going on the sky line at the end of Crookstone Knoll. Finally I was up there; another CP is in the bag and it’s time to head back west along Kinder.
SleepMonsters
