Hebden 22 (again)

A wonderful, value for money, challenging event. 22 miles, over 4000 feet of up and down, technical trails, open moorland, lots of food at the checkpoints, tea and toast at the start and a hot meal at the end. Shall I stop now!

I travelled south from my home in south east Scotland to West Yorkshire on the friday afternoon, parked my van up in a free car park 200 yards from the start/finish of this race. And headed to the pub for seriously good cheap food and beers.

This event is organised by the Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) is can either be run or walked. What a fantastic organisation this is. The organisers and marshals are so friendly, enthusiastic  and helpful, which rubs off on the competitors. Everyone is there for the same reason and knows it. Fellow runners offer you food, hold gates open for you until you get there.

Race morning brings sleet down at race HQ, which obviously means snow up on the course. For once, I got my race kit spot on. From the ground up: Inov8 mudclaws never once slipped in the mud, snow or slush. Inov8 race tights with my trusty kilt to keep my arse warm. Three merino base layers and my Montane Polartec jacket. And of course, buffs ! One round my neck and one on my head (note folks: never run buffless)

The light snow showers continued on and off all day. Perhaps there was 2-3 inches right on the tops but it was not a problem. On the plus side, you could follow the tracks of the other runners more easily as this is not a straightforward, marked route.

My run? Well it went better than expected. I had quite a tough running year in 2014 and so have been taking it easy for a month. I ran this last year in 5 hours 5 and thought anything this side of 5:30 would be a good steeping stone to my first marathon of the year which is towards the end of February.

I just ran it by feel, without looking at my watch until 18 miles when I realised I was way inside last years time. For the record, I finished around 25 minutes quicker, which pleased,if amazed, me.

The course itself is quite something. In no particular order, you have to run across boggy moorland, open fields, pass through or over what seems like about a million stiles or kissing gates, descend steep woodland paths, climb killer steps. You get the idea !

Fancy it next year? Get in quick when the entries open as I know lots missed out this year as it filled up so quickly.

Not much in the way of photography I'm sorry!