In between writing Part 2 & starting Part 3 I’ve found my third tick, have removed it but not sure where’s it’s gone to, this could be an itchy blog!

Our initial plan was to head for the Obvious Control BZ with it’s 30 points on offer, clearly most doing the Score courses felt the same although at least a couple of pairs set off in the opposite direction of my fantasy, of course they may have been on a Straight Linear Course

BZ was approx 2.5K from the start & included a climb of circa 1,000 feet. To begin with it was a straight forward track on a gentle climb that we partly ran but then we, like most others left the track over trodden rough ground climbing gently to the steeper slopes ahead. Once up on the cull where the ‘Saddle’ Control was there was a repeat of yesterday’s early mayhem with pairs looking left right & centre among the myriad of peat hags. Thankfully Barry spotted some more joyous activity over to our left & soon we’d bagged our first Control of the day some 52 minutes into it.

Next target was Control BI again with 30 points on offer, it lay some 3 kilometres to our North West & from there we would make our decisions on how to progress further. The terrain could best be described as arduous with numerous deep peat hags & bogs occasionally relieved by simply rough crap but at least once we’d covered the first kilometre we had sight of our goal, described as ‘Northern Crag, South East foot’. Un-like most we took a straight line on the final way into it as I’d seen a faster pair do this & make light work of a troublesome looking gully immediately below it. Now some 1 hour & 38 minutes into the day we already had 60 points bagged but sadly like yesterday we failed to maintain this scoring rate from here-on.

We decided to climb over the headwall above us to get a good view of what lay ahead before making the decision for our next objective. This steep climb of 100 feet or so was soon over & we stopped to make our decision. Two options over to our North East & East had attractive Controls (30 & 20 respectively) but had un-attractive terrain including more Peat hags followed by steep & rocky downward terrain. Decision made lets head North West over to Control BD 10, only 10 points on offer but an obvious feature described as ‘Lochan South West side’, indeed we could pick out it’s location as ‘beyond that cull somewhere’. Route was agreed although a couple of young bucks who were initially on our traversing line soon made a beeline alteration which maybe we should have had the confidence to follow.

Our route would cover about 3K over some peat hags & lightly tracked rough terrain but generally a bit better terrain than that into the previous control. This said it was a long way for 10 points taking up almost 57 minutes & may/should become part of a future review, our reasoning at the time being that it led to a arching way back to the finish that looked sensible.

Once the Control was bagged we sheltered under an enormous peat hag mushroom feature & layered up, again the wind was increasing & a threat of rain lay over to the South West. I studied the map & Control AB was the obvious next target one & a quarter kilometres away & again 10 points on offer. I also spotted two broken fence lines interceding with a third than ran across the summit we’d first need to skirt around. Setting off with two other pairs some way ahead I began to think they may be taking either the wrong line or were set on a different course & suggested to Barry we’d need to stay right if we were going to pick up the broken fence I wanted. We duly did this, picked up ‘my’ fence & Barry offered warm appreciation of my call. Unfortunately I failed to notice just how steeply the ground fell away below but it was doable with care & after little under 800 metres from picking up the fence we had partially re-climbed the next hill & bagged our fourth control.

We had a plan of attack to conclude of either 2 or 3 more controls before the finish, first up  was Control BQ (20 Points) described as Rocky Knoll (Boulder). Barry took an altitude reading from his watch of 606 metres & I took a contour reading from the map to confirm that the Boulder (we should have focused on Rocky Knoll) was 60 metres lower at circa 545 metres. The route to it was a 1.5 kilometre traverse around an Easterly summit which soon had us joining other pairs converging onto a similar course. Because we were focusing on a Boulder (hindsight should have re-checked that description) Barry said we need to be above it as it would be very difficult to see it from below. So we let the others go lower whilst we stayed higher checking Barry’s altimeter reading here & there. To not help matters others were above us but we soon realised they weren’t looking for what we were.

With Barry 10 metres above me we spread out to widen the search when I soon came over a shoulder to see what can best be described as a Rocky Knoll lay below to my front left. To cap it the pairs we’d been following earlier were crowded around it like Bees to a Honeypot. We’d found our Control 20 more points in the bag. 

We now had an hour & a half up our sleeve & decided not to go for two more Controls & just focus on Control CH (again 20 Points) & some 3 Kilometres away but on a direct route to the finish. If this went well we might just be able to add control CK (with it’s 20 Points too) which lay next to the finishing field. Things went anything but well.

With hindsight on the journey back to Penrith I’d say to Barry I think we went wrong by not keeping to a higher contour & the reason we went too low was because we were mixed up with other pairs who were on a Linear course & aiming for a lower Control not shown on our map. I’d deduced this as a female couple had at one point called out to us to come back for their control to which I made it clear it wasn’t on our course, that said a very kind gesture by them.

By now we were reaching a major ravine feature but at too low a level, I’d previously pointed out to Barry where I thought our traverse over a subsequent cull lay & Barry pointed out  a bail out path that avoided the steep ravine. As we descended into the ravine the steepness of the climb back up to the cull rightly concerned Barry. He pulled us up & said we’d never do it & still finish within the 5 hours. Not sure even now if this was correct but I was more than willing to concede he was correct so we decided to bear left & down to pick up the bail out option.

By now minds were beginning to scramble a bit, we never picked up the bail out path & simply descended through various degrees of crap that went on far longer than either of us hoped. I was certain we’d need to pick up the road & use that to lead us into the finish but Barry quashed this hope by pointing out that it was not allowed to be crossed (there were X’s marked along it.

Finally we got to cross the main stream at the bottom of the ravine, here I went across 1 metre below Barry, my left foot slipped on an under water rock & my right leg went into the water with my shin bashing into a rock, sore (later a bit bruised & bloodied) but for now just another morale breaker.

After another half K we headed into a woodland both becoming increasingly concerned about time & probably my slower pace becoming an increasing concern for Barry. We were meandering in the right general direction albeit feeling that progress just wasn’t good enough. Then rising to higher ground we came to a stop peering down a suicide cliff. Game up I felt but Barry dragged us away & down to our right before we re-straightened our line through a gladded swamp. Thankfully this led to a single track path which in turn led to a wider grassed track on mostly solid ground, it also led in a straight line in the direction we needed to be on. We were now into our last half hour & roughly I calculated we still had a chance that I had previously given up on. How important this all felt at the time!

After some time we came to the woods end & met a Deer fence which would lead us to the final gate onto the event field, we could even see other competitors entering the field at the gate about a Kilometre away. A few hundred yards later a 2nd Deer fence blocked our path but the first fence had a gate that led onto the field. Barry confirmed ‘if we use that we could be disqualified it’s Out of Bounds’. Seeing no other option we used it resigning ourselves to ‘it will be what it will be’. 30 metres beyond the gate Barry looked back & saw several pairs running towards the other permissible gate from our previous line & then surmised very quickly that there must have been a track to their line from ours. ‘Do you want to go back Paul?’ It was a no brainer we’d been so far, done so well to throw it all away for the sake of a few late penalty points, we retraced our tracks went back through the gate & as Barry closed it behind us I found the alternative line a mere 5 metres away from where we reached our earlier dead end. Barry led on, I looked at my watch, a little under 6 minutes left with probably best part of a K to travel, could we? Barry sped ahead occasionally stopping to offer encouragement by sight alone mostly. I ran most of the few hundred metres to the field’s entrance gate through thick bracken. Once on the field there was no time to consult the watch we just had to run & run at any pace I could manage. This included running through two stream crossings which the day before almost everyone had wasted time using slippery planks & stepping stones. A further 300 metres beckoned, we crossed the line running. I stopped the watch as Barry dibbed in, the watch read 4:59:47, we’d made it with 13 seconds to spare, I informed Barry who’d been unaware of my maths on that final run in. We smiled, took on fluids proffered by smiling faces & then remembered to shake hands & congratulate each other.

From here they took my bag tracker off me (this a check that both members of a pair do the whole route) & they handed me a print out of our route. It corrected our time to 4:59:49, just 11 seconds but as I’d corresponded with Huw Price the day before our respected events (Huw doing the Snowdon Marathon), oh how those seconds count!

We went to the main event tent which was a hive of glowing fatigued activity where we relaxed with a cuppa & a hot meat & veg thingies, I only managed half of mine. Time to move on but exchanged brief well done with Hayley who had just come through the finish & was smiling too.

Back at the van we slowly changed & began the packing process, separately we just peed on the field both of us literally peeing blood, later at my hotel I would also shit blood too (sorry if that’s too much info).

By shortly after 1:00 pm Barry was driving us off the event field, he’d later stop at a services on the M80 so that I could get some edible food & a couple of bottles of diet coke, not quite Pepsi max but thirsty beggars cannot be choosers can they.

Next up a call to Dorina to confirm all was well & asked her if she could book me the hotel in Penrith that we’d stayed at back in the Spring, ‘yes my darling’, hanging up I said to Barry ‘she’s my PA as well’ he smiled & replied ‘I was just thinking’. By now the rain & clag we’d avoided throughout the 11 hours on the hill was firmly set in, how lucky we’d been.

Just after 4:00 pm we reached my car, no ticket, no broken windows & all wheels in place, transfers made we shook hands & congratulated each other again as indeed Barry did to me by WhatsApp the next day. I was soon checked in & visiting an M & S local food store 100 metres down the road to stock up on snacks & some vary good Amarone & Primitivo di Manduria.

Back at the hotel there was some kind of party (possibly Halloween) going on in the bar, looked very lively but definitely not for me. Indeed that morning in the mayhem of our tented village in the middle of nowhere I’d thought ‘if you showed a photo of us lot out here to a city slicker they’d think we were mad’.

Can I say to all involved a massive well done such a great, crazy, joyful & very well organised event, but you can keep your 125 to yourself Ellie Salisbury:)

Now to those stats:-

Day 1 – 5:42:57, 9 Controls, 160 points, amended to 194 for Vet category, 14.46 miles with 3,848′ of height gain.

Day 2 – 4:59:49, 5 Controls, 100 points, amended to 121 for Vet category, 11.98 miles with 4,974′ of height gain.

Overall – We finished in the bottom quarter of both the overall results & the Vet category but that didn’t matter, we were not disqualified, & finally, still just the 3 Ticks so far.

To all who’ve either taken an interest in this & to those who helped me in the lead-in a big thank you to you all & of course special thanks to Barry for both inviting me, guiding me through the process & for a wonderful two & a bit days in your company.