Winner - Ricky Lightfoot 3:44. 13th (123%). Great day out.
"
Deepest Lake, highest mountain, biggest liar and hardest fell race, that's Wasdale. Wordsworth once said that every fellrunner should do Wasdale at least once, or something like that!"
With Daz not showing up it was up to myself and Wardy to battle it out for the win in the Club Champs race
Steady away up Illgill Head, a pack formed ahead including Wardy and Jasmin Paris, which I caught up to Whin Rigg. Easy into Greendale and Hulley comes flying down as I save my legs. cruise across the valley floor but I still drop Wardy. Squash at Greendale courtesy of the legend that is Joss Naylor and I'm feeling good.
Drop Hulley and a couple of others on the climb to Seatallan, hitting the summit with Jasmin and a Carnethy Vet. A few people go walkabout on SLMM trods from Pots of Ashness. Not sure of the line towards the Pillar path, I think we're alright but then Hulley and a few others come in from below. They've gained time but we drop down to them and don't gain enough height, ending up too close to Red Pike than we want - better recce this before next year! (champs race).
Take a mars-bar on up to Pillar and don't have a great time of it from here until Gable. Jasmin's shot off with Hulley - though he's only there to look at her arse I reckon.
Struggle with the runnable bits to Beck Headand expect to see Wardy come past but he doesn't. Manage to gain ground on the scramble up Gable. Nearly go wrong off the summit (Gable's in its usual claggy hat) but there's a couple of other guys around me. Down into Styhead and there's a group I met on the campsite who give me a cheer. Go straight through the Bowland guy who's having a bad day and reel in another guy on the drag up to Esk Hause. Try to break the elastic as I go past him but it doesn't really work, and we collect Hulley south of Great End.
We decide to take the contour round Ill Crag as Matt got it dead on at Great Lakes, but he stuffs it up in the daylight! The other bloke gets away and I try my best to take the direct route to Lingmell Beck by slipping on scree. Get to broad Crag to see that the big cushion we had has been eroded somewhat due to the dodgy line.
Scramble hard up Scafell Pike, trying to close the gap on the guy that got away and drop Hulley. Line off Scafell Pike is dead on and once below the clag line I can't see the bloke who was ahead so presume he's gone walkabout to Mickledore. Dodge the daytrippers (giving thumbs-up to the guys in Hawaiian shirts for dressing better for the conditions than all those in cold-weather gear!) and cruise around Lingmell, lovely and runnable. Then onto the nose I forgot how steep it gets! I have a brief glance to see Matt and CV guy are a good distance behind me, but not so much I can rest my screaming quads - breaking after 4.5hrs on your feet is murder on the quads.
Pleased to get in around 4.5hours, but would have been nice to get in under it. Jasmin did 4.5 and I wanted to stick with her but I had a bit of a bad patch after Pillar, fannying about between there and Gable. Maybe without SLMM in my legs I'd have done it. Anyway, a cracking day out.
http://www.cfra.co.uk/results/Wasdale2012.pdf
Well done to Jamie in his first proper fell race(!) - 5hr10 is a baptism of fire and a good performance!