Race Report by Shutters:
The Moors The Merrier 21 Fell Race – Saturday 14th December 9am
This race is organised by CraggRunner who organises about 8 races around the Hebden Bridge/Todmorden area including The Lost Shepherd and Windy Hill.
The race is advertised as 21 miles long with 4000ft of ascent, starting at Hebden Bridge Golf Club and traverses the open moor of Wadsworth, skirts Stoodley Pike and uses various paths, trails, roads to route round anti-clockwise to eventually return back to Hebden Bridge Golf Club.
For those who haven’t visited Hebden Bridge Golf Club i can tell u that it is 1000ft above sea level and according to the website ‘The course is laid out on a hill side making use of the natural contours of the land which offers a challenge for golfers of all levels. Although relatively short at just over 5200 yards, the combination of the terrain and the prevailing weather conditions, ensure that you have to place your shots carefully in order to record a good score.’
And they are not kidding, it certainly is a challenge to get to it even in a car, it is high up and the wind is biting, people who play golf up there must be hardy, dedicated souls.
There is also a walkers and non-competitive runners event starting at the earlier time of 8am and following the same route as the main race. It is very similar to The Hebden in terms of organisation and route that some of our members have previously run.
In terms of organisation this race is among the best that i have seen, it has everything, a good base ie the Golf Club, food/water at CPs and pie and peas at the finish along with showers, an xmas present lucky dip, GPS trackers and finishing certificates.
A few friends of mine at Salford Mets were doing the race and offered me a lift so the 4 of us arrived at the Golf Club after the walkers/non-competitive runners had set-off, we each had a wrapped gift to drop into the lucky dip and a santa hat which is almost mandatory kit. I bumped into a few runners i knew including Chorleys very own Darren Fishwick and a few ladies from Rossendale. The weather was dry but had a biting wind and i settled on long running tights, a base layer, Helly Henson long sleeved top and at the last minute put my windproof jacket on as well as gloves, buff and santa hat. After a short pre-race dos and don’ts the organiser Darren set us off. As we were already near the top of the hill it was a short single file climb then out along the top of the moor soon going through cold muddy bogs! i was struggling to get going and get warm until we descended to lower ground and CP2 which had a small selection of toffees and water. We picked our way through fields, paths to Walshaw Dean Lower ressy which shares this section with the Haworth Hobble but instead of going to Widdop Ressy we turn left and headed to the remote Pack Horse pub and CP4 with flapjack, biscuits, malt loaf and juice, water. I cant remember much about the next section other than it was fairly flat but as we turned a corner in a farm yard i recognised what is a section of The Hebden where we descend thru some woods and a steep concrete track to CP6 which is a workshop converted into a banquet hall for the day. As soon as we arrived we were met by at least 4 elves who were very keen to fill our boots so to speak. We were given cups of Porter and shots of Whiskey chasers then we helped ourselves to wraps, flapjack and rocky road. The whole atmosphere of the CP was different full of festive music, laughter from the elves and epitomised the nature of the race, i could have stayed for a second course and shot.
From here we headed up to almost Stoodley Pike and then descended into Mythomlroyd before looking up and seeing the Golf Club high up on the hill facing us. After a grumble or 2 we set-off up, up and more up and till we reached the Golf Club. A quick change of clothes and then pie and peas followed by cheesecake.
I would have to say that it was a great day, the weather although cold was dry (for all but a few minutes of rain), the food before, during and after was great, the whole atmosphere throughout the day was one of fun rather than a competitive race. I would recommend this race to anyone who fancies a well organised day out running round a 21 mile route!
