Tour de Helvellyn

The Tour de Helvellyn is approximately 38 miles and is held on the last Saturday before Christmas. It starts from the village hall and outdoor swimming pool (!) at Askam then makes its way over Askam Fell before descending to the hamlett of Martindale. From here the route follows the Boredale valley then climbs to Boredale Hause and drops steeply to the checkpoint at Side Farm in Patterdale. A flat run along the farm track to the road, it then follows the main road to Glenridding before ascending to Greenside past Helvellyn YHA and climbing up Sticks Pass to immediately descend down to Legburgthwaite.

This year, the route took an alternative course because of the tree felling in the Forestry Commission plantation at Wythburn so instead of traversing across the fell above the A591 and through the plantation to Dunmail, it crossed over the road and went down the minor road alongside the edge of Thirlmere Reservoir and took a path at Steel End to reach Dunmail Raise. Here it crossed back over the A591 before ascending the rocky path beside the stream to Grizedale Tarn. The route followed the edge of the Tarn, then had a technical descent down into Grizedale past a bothy to a wooden bridge where upon a track and road was gained back to Patterdale. From here the route retraced its steps back to Askam.

For me, I had unfinished business to contend with. Last year I set off early and made a big school boy error with my navigation in the dark over Askam Fell and went off route. My heart wasn’t in the race so when I realised my mistake, I made my way back to the village hall and retired. Luckily for me I saved myself a drenching as it was wet and windy for the most part. I made myself useful at the hall and spent the rest of the day helping out buttering bread and washing dishes! …I was determined that wasn’t going to happen this time though!!

I made sure I knew beforehand where I was going. I’d ran across the fell in the mass start on the Lakes 42 race in April. It really wasn’t that difficult to navigate over but could be confusing in the dark with lots of paths sprinkled across the moor many of which weren’t marked on the map. With no mass start on the Tour de Helvellyn everyone is left to start at their own time between 7am and 9am. I decided to start a little later this year at just after 7.30am. I had no problems with the navigation only looking at my map once in the entire race to check where the path down to road branched off before Martindale as I knew this was a slightly quicker route than sticking with the main path.

The climb up to the very summit of Sticks Pass was extremely windy and I struggled to move forward the wind was that strong. I felt the gusts could have blown me off my feet at any time so progress was slow here. Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before we dropped out of the strong winds so I could pick up my pace and aim for the village hall at the bottom. This was a new indoor checkpoint this year with the change to the route. It was particularly welcome as I could grab a bite to eat and a drink in the warmth and even use the toilet facilities before setting off again.

The weather had given out heavy winds and showers so rather than wear my OMM Kamleika smock I had decided to wear my Mountain Equipment Goretex Jacket to see how it performed on a run. I only wore a Ron Hill base layer underneath my jacket and I was pleased with its performance even running alongside Thirlmere, where it was sheltered and warmer, I pushed my sleeves up but the goretex fabric worked well in terms of its breathability and was much better than the Kamleika.

The weather was clear all day so thankfully it was easy to navigate around Grizedale Tarn. I’ve been up here on numerous occasions previously and not been able to see the Tarn because of the thick clag.

On my return, Darren was waiting at Side Farm taking photographs of the runners as they went past into the checkpoint. I didn’t realise it was him behind the lens at first. A quick cup of tea and a few peanuts and I headed out again from the checkpoint.

The return over Boredale Hause went relatively quickly followed by the rocky descent on the other side into the valley. The light was fading as I headed past the checkpoint at Martindale Church, again I opted for the road section. On a muddy path, a guy who was running in front slipped then got back onto his feet then only a few seconds later my feet went from under me too. “My turn” I jested as I quickly got back onto my feet no worse for wear apart from a muddy leg.

The climb up from Martindale up to Askham Fell seemed to take for ever. It was deceptive and I didn’t remember it being so steep when I ran out this way earlier in the day. I knew I was tiring and had to pay attention to where I was going as the light was fading, I didn’t want to make any mistakes now. The lights of Penrith and surrounding villages could be seen from the path. This is always a favourite of mine when running at night in the mountains. It’s mesmerising being able to look down on the twinkling lights of the towns and villages below.

Before long, I arrived at the Cockpit stone circle and knew we branched off from the main path at this point and headed towards the plantation, which in the complete darkness now its shadows could just about be picked out. From here the path descended alongside a wall. It was extremely dark now other than one or two other runners headtorches in the distance. I thought the lights of Askam village would be able to guide me back to the finish but it was longer than I thought before you could spot the lights. It was easy terrain gently downhill through the last few fields then back on to the track and into the village. My tummy was rumbling and all I could think of was getting to the finish and to the welcome sight of Joe’s famous soup in the village hall.

Thanks to the Team at Nav4 for organising a great event.