Race Report by Tony Marlow:
Double header weekend part two….Heptonstall Fell Race 15 miles 3200ft of climb.
7 Lostockers made the trip to Calderdale West Yorkshire for the latest instalment of the Fell champs. The weather was overcast and chilly compared to recent days. The race starts in middle of the ancient village on top of a hill. The uphill start on cobbled streets quickly gives way to a steep off road downhill to the bottom of the valley. Josie had made the early move and got ahead of Greg and I however the narrow tracks and the large field meant getting stuck behind folks with no overtake possible is quite common early on, therefore after a couple of miles I’d caught her and from then on we dualled throughout the race. About half distance yesterday’s road race began to affect my legs and I began to slow on the hills. Several runners came past and I couldn’t respond. I decided that the best plan of action was to relax a bit and enjoy it. The last bit of this race is called ‘the steps of doom’, a 750ft climb up a very steep wooded bank. With @Josie right behind me we powered up and caught most of the people who had passed us earlier.
A cheeky downhill sprint into the finish and a time of 2hrs 52mins for Josie and myself. Results are not published at time of press however Greg finished in 3hrs 6mins, Sally was 1st LV60 who along with Shutters and Dan came in 3hrs 26mins, with mike after a sterling effort at the Howarth Hobble last week in 3hrs 31.
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