Orion Harriers Midsummer Fell Race. 21st June, 1996
It seems every time
an idea like this surfaces, it surfaces in a pint of beer.
This one was
McMullen's AK; a mild beer but the course isn't - it's tough; tough enough to be
a Grade "A" Fell Race, which, as Paul Filler gleefully pointed out, "is quite
unusual with views of central London and including the 'flat' county of
Essex".
To elevate (no pun intended) the course to "Grade A" took its
architects quite some time.
The first sprawling efforts meandered as far as The
Owl at Lippits Hill but that meant insufficient height was gained per mile
covered,
thus losing the quality and intensity of elevation: we had to condense
it, pack it into as compact an area as possible.
You can see from the
accompanying route description that the final course centres on Pole Hill and
Yardley Valley.
Pack runs for the weeks prior to the race veered towards that
area, new loops were tested and discarded almost daily.
We gave up even trying
to describe the "new" route there were so many variations.
However, the
final new course does seem to have an elegance and natural flow to it.
A suggestion that would have made it slightly tougher was rejected on the purely
aesthetic grounds (honest!)
that the view running down Yardley Meadow
should somehow be retained.
Figures for ascent and descent were kept as ultra-conservative as possible to ensure that we really were going to make it to
Grade "A".
The course is genuinely further to run up and run down than it reads.
Anyway, back to the 1996
race...
With weather like the Mediterranean and with 7 hills on the course
like Rome,
a lot of blood, sweat and tears were spilled... like the Coliseum.
The race starts and ends with a ferocious climb up Pole Hill to the Greenwich
Meridian Obelisk from the west,
which didn't worry Peter Tarrier, John Wallis
and Quin Broadbent who charged away at the off.
My sole regret at running in the race is not seeing Peter boil over midway through.
"I saw steam coming out of his ears going down Yardley Meadow.
I think that's where he blew up!", said a friend...
Peter still finished miles ahead, even Pole's and Yardley's ahead, of your
reporter.
Meanwhile, back at the sharp end, Paul Filler had steadily worked
his way through the field -
"I definitely think course knowledge helped." -
which maybe explains why the real route was kept secret till Race Night.
Your reporter agrees: at a last vital downhill, I let two runners ahead of me
run just that little bit too far, before yelling they were off course, as I cut the corner.
Yes! Play up and play the game!
Paul won in an impressive 21.47, with John Wallis maintaining his early effort for 2nd.
Neil Pitcher surprised a lot of folk with his excellent 3rd,
and Tony Eccles (4th) was first Vet.
Tony and Kevin Cressy have been seen doing hill training sessions on Pole Hill,
so maybe course knowledge did play its part.
Midsummer madness for the 42 finishers was rounded off by
a PDQ OK BBQ back at HQ by P O'C: A1 even without AK.
THE ORION FELL RACE STATISTICS:
H=Height, A=Ascent, D=Descent
Point H A/D(metres)
START - Hartford Road 25
Pole Hill - Obelisk 91 66A
Golf Course Path 73 18D
Hawk Hill (1k) 76 3A
Yardley Valley 30 46D
Yardley Hill (2k) 67 37A
Gilwell Lane Bottom 40 27D
Gilwell Lane Top 68 28A
Yardley Valley (3k) 30 38D
Point 76 (Hawk Hill) 76 46A
Golf Course Path 73 3D
Pole Hill (Forest) 90 17A
Drysdale 40 50D
Pole Hill:FINISH 91 51A
Total Ascent=248 metres/814 feet
Total descent=182 metres/597 feet
Distance=5km/3.1miles |
Richard Kingsnorth winning the Fell Race, in July 2006: time 22.07 | |
