2nd to 5th April 2022, 186 miles in 78:45:11 (3 days and 6 hours), 8th lady, Joint 44th of 103
Where do I start? We were well trained as we completed the full186 miles of the coast to coast as a recce finishing just 3 weeks before race day and Blubberhouses Moor 25 the previous Sunday. Andy put together a race plan as we like to know how far it is between checkpoints and have points to aim for in between. How do you put a plan together for a race this long though! I know we’ve done The Spine but that was an endurance event and we were running this. We’d read blogs, watched other runners videos and talked to people such as Harriet and Karl Shields who did the event together in 2018. I reread my own blog from The Spine. None of this helped the panic of packing the day before the race as the UK went from spring like weather to snow plus a forecast for more cold weather.
WHAT TO PACK! As I left for work on the 30th I gave Andy the task of ordering new shoes for me Saucony Peregrine 11 size 10, the old version as the new ones are too narrow, I was panicking that my favourite shoe of choice Scott Supertrac Ultra RC’s grip would be too much especially with the long road sections and the rocky paths of the lake district. I get sore feet on short runs let alone something like this so didn’t need the tread digging in further. My old pair of supertracs fell apart when we recced the route and my new ones just weren’t worn in enough. Plus I thought having two different brands of shoe would give my feet a break. Andy loved the Peregrine’s finding the grip and cushion just right when we did the recce. He’d bought a new pair but realised they were narrower than the 11’s so bought 2 pairs of size 10 of the old style. .
I was also in awe of his new Montane Podium Waterproof trousers, lightweight but long zips so I wouldn’t have to take my shoes off. All I could think of was that the weather was changing and there was no way we’d get the dry, sunlit weather we’d had on our recce. I’d seen Wild Ginger Running testing the kit video and didn’t need any more convincing. So Andy bought me a medium pair of those. Remember DON’T try out anything new on race day! https://www.wildgingerrunning.co.uk/2020/08/03/montane-podium-pull-on-smock-pants-review-lightweight-waterproof-jacket-trousers-total-210g/
I was pleased to have Thursday 31st as a day off and spent most of the day repacking what I had already put together and packing it again. You can have a drop bag of 15kg that goes to the 4 main checkpoints, we used our 59L Ortlieb dry bag that we’d got for the Great Lakeland 3 Day Ourea event in 2013. Using Spine logic I took my sleeping mat (lightweight from the Marathon des Sables) and Spine sleeping bag, put a silk sheet sleeping bag inside so I could get in with dirty clothes on. I then found an old sheet sleeping bag and put all three inside and rolled it up like a sausage. This slipped into the bottom of my dry bag and as long as I remembered to squash it down I had enough space for everything else, plus no faffing around with lots of little bags at the check points.
I knew there was no point having too many changes of clothes so just took one clean set, sounds smelly but I knew from The Spine that you can’t always be bothered to shower or change much when you get to a check point as you just want to sleep or you find the showers too cold anyway! I had clean pants for everyday plus socks. Last minute I decided to wear my trusted winter leggings as it was forecast to be cold and if it was warmer at least I could run in a Tshirt if needed to cool down.
I made up food parcels into plastic bags for each checkpoint then reduced how much I was starting with and my Patterdale replacement food bag as we would have access to half way checkpoints on both those legs. Chia Charge Protein Crispy Bars Salted Caramel and Jaffa Cake flavours are my go to, then cliff bar Crunchy Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter Banana with Dark Chocolate Flavour both are amazing. I’ve given up chocolate for lent but needed fuel for this run so lent was paused and in went the snicker bars, one for each section plus a cheeky mars bar. I also like chunks of cheese and took shot blocks for each section but only used one packet on the last leg! There was also my tried and trusted pasties, mostly cheese and onion but a mix of flavours.
In the food bags went the pacing strips that Andy was writing plus spare batteries for the head torch. We tend to Sellotape the batteries together as it makes it easier to get them out with cold hands plus replace them. For some reason I couldn’t get them together right so they wouldn’t always work, it felt like too much wasted time stressing so close to the race! I also put together tiny plastic bags, saved from lateral flow test kits, with a strip of paracetamol and caffeine for those low moments and rennies as there’s nothing worse than indigestion when you run, it cured about of nausea for me this time. Plus salt tablets just in case I needed them although I now tend to run with a mix of Precision Hydration1500 and 1000 sachets, taking advise from Stacy Sims advice in her book Roar to separate fluids and nutrition, it’s still working really well for me. So in went 1x 1500 and 2x 1000 into each checkpoint bag. There might have been more but I think that was it.
Of course I had a wash kit, the trusted toothbrush and clothes to sleep in plus a warm hoodie to put on when I arrived at a checkpoint in case I was cold. I also had a protein shake for each checkpoint as we’d found this useful on The Spine. Andy made up a new checkpoint guidance sheet so we would remember what to do when we were shattered as we arrived at each checkpoint, plus a new number for my shoes to keep them together and identifiable as mine.
We had a mandatory check list but most of that was for the race bag. I also needed a first aid kit which was mostly zinc oxide tape but I added other bits as recommended. I always tape my big toe and the next one plus the little one on my right foot as they often blister but don’t if I prevent it. Plus a bowl to eat from and spork. Finally my crocks for those expected swollen feet.
REGISTRATION and START. We got 3 trains to St Bees meeting Eoin Keith, previous race winner and Kate Farley on the final train. Eoin was staying at the same hotel as us so joined us for dinner along with several Hardmoors friends Jo Barret, Heidi Lewis and David Wall. Robin Kinsbergen, who we know from the spine race, saw us at tea and gave us buffs from his race series. David’s wife was there so they happily took bigger bags up the road in their car as registration was at the school. Great to see so many of the Ourea event crew from our Cape Wrath adventure last year. Pete had even met us off the train but then headed back to work. Quick kit check of a few things, tracker on, stickers onto drop bag and finish bag plus tag for drop bag to ensure they knew where my bag was. Pete was taking the photos for Open Trackers.
Back to finish packing and get an early night but a quick catch up with Karl and Harriet Shields out for their 2nd Traverse together, it was Karls 3rd race.
Breakfast, the full works then a lift up the road by David to drop of the bags and have our pre-event chat at 9:30. We’d seen the Lakes Traverse race heading to their start as we headed up. We could dip our toes in the sea as Wainright did and take a stone to drop on the beach at the finish. Then we were off at 10:30am. I regretted not taking a picture of the weather forecast which predicted minus figures but it was warm enough to start without my windproof on even!
RACE PLAN. Our basic plan was to aim to be moving at 3mph with 30 minute rest stops at the 2 midway checkpoints and sleep breaks between 3 to 6 hours at the 4 main checkpoints. We didn’t know if this was achievable but it was something to have in our minds. I’d looked at the 2 previous events and thought somewhere between 3.5 to 4 days was possible but our aim was to enjoy the adventure and finish. The idea of stopping for food and afternoon teas along the way appealed, we’d just see how we went.
ST BEES to ROSTHWAITE (midway checkpoint) 29 miles, arrived 18:00 7 hours 30 (ETA21:40). so lovely to see friends from previous races and chat a little along the way. A big climb to start with then gentle undulations along the coast for 4 miles before heading East. We’d been advised about a detour at 10 miles to miss a hill but add a 600m of distance. Ourea events had signs up so no one missed that turn. It didn’t take long and we were at Ennerdale Water. Lots of people were supporting us. Lovely to see Carol Morgan and Paul Nelson. I’d researched and was excited at the thought of having Hartley Ice cream at the cafe but it was in tubs and just 3 flavours. I didn’t want to queue so we filled our bottles at the tap and headed on. I was pleased I’d overheard someone asking if anyone had left their map in the toilet as we saw a guy searching for his as we headed towards the lake, he was quickly reunited with it.
The rocky section along the lake didn’t seem as long as before and we were soon heading to Blacksail and our first climb of the day up Grey Knotts before the descent to Honister and Rosthwaite. Chatting with Colin Green helped. Kate was running with us and her coach, Dave Troman, came to say hello, she wasn’t surprised he knew us.
As we reached Rosthwaite we told Steve Braithwaite, Colin Green and Robin Kinsbergen of our rough plan to stay 30 minutes. Alec Major was there, we know him from Cape Wrath plus Debs White, I didn’t appreciate she was doing the Lakes Traverse until we caught up with her on Greenup Edge. All I remember from the menu was that there would be soup at every checkpoint plus sandwich making stuff. We both had soup and a few cheese and pickle sandwiches, filled up our water and felt ready to go after 20 minutes. We chuckled that the guys started to pack up as they saw us head out the door early!
ROSTHWAITE to PATTERDALE 15 miles (TOTAL 44) arrived 23:30 (ETA01:40), 13 hours 20. We expected to be ahead of the schedule here because the hills had only just begun. It was lovely to get to the top of Greenup Edge without the need for headtorches as the route was a little vague at the top with plenty of boggy bits to avoid if you wished. I was grateful for my poles going up here but it restricted my ability to eat. As usual we tried to get as far as we could without the need for artificial light casting shadows before we really needed it. As we bypassed Grasmere it was lovely seeing the trail of lights heading up the very steep climb to Grisedale Tarn. I ate a few bars on the road section before the climb as we got the poles out again. I liked the way Debs White had a place on the bottom of her bag for her poles and we had our inside the packs so needed help getting them out. The advantage of running together!
Again the descent was quick to Patterdale as we chatted to different people. The hall was tiny with lots of people crammed in. Nice food before resorting bags and resupplying. We asked about sleeping and an extra 8 person tent was erected for us. The other 3 were full including the entrance areas. It wasn’t the best sleep with the Dutch guys chatting next to us initially then snoring from somewhere. After 2.5 hours we were up and ready to go. I was surprised how good my legs felt, I think being lovely and warm in my sleeping bag helped. We’d planned a slightly longer sleep as we were ahead of time, plus it’s amazing how much time it takes to sort yourself out when you arrive at at checkpoint! Again we’d let the guys know of our plans for leaving.
PATTERDALE to SHAP 16 miles (TOTAL 60) arrived 09:15 Sunday (ETA 10:00), 22 hours 45. I had my protein shake and a couple of sandwiches. It was 4 am when we left. We knew we should be fine following the paths up towards Kidsty Pike although we knew we’d have to be careful not to miss any turns which of course we did but only briefly. Robin and his 2 Dutch friends disappeared quickly up the hill but we soon caught them near the summit and headed down to Haweswater with them. They seemed to appreciate Andy’s knowledge of the history of the place plus advice on what the course ahead would give them. We were strong over the distance and kept just nicely ahead of our schedule by 45 minutes. The weather was kind to us not too warm just dry and wind free, what happened to the cold snap! The food at Shap was excellent, a chilli with rice I seem to remember. Its the finish for the Lakes Traverse so was quite busy. Kate came in having bought sunscreen so we helped her loose weight by applying loads.
SHAP to KIRKBY STEPHEN 20 miles (TOTAL 80) arrived 15:50 Sunday (ETA 17:10), 29 hours 20. Kate didn’t stay long and was out the door before our 40 minutes was up. She was taking it steady as we walked with her over the M6 and headed off. The day got warmer but never too warm over the rolling hills. There was the new diversion we’d not done on the recce but this was easy to navigate and was nice to stay up high but otherwise there were no big climbs just rolling hills and a few road sections. We met a lady struggling with her asthma and feeling sick, she’d been like it at Shap but was keen to keep moving. Andy talked to her but she didn’t want us to stay with her there was nothing we could do. It’s always so hard to know what to do in these situations but she was moving well!
Kirkby Stephen was our 2nd main checkpoint and although we arrived in day light we knew we needed a good rest before heading out hence the plan for a 6 hour stop. Soup and chips were the main feed and something called Cawl which seemed to be mostly veg, it was missing the protein, it was tasty and easy to get down. Being an old style rugby club ladies had to use the referees shower, the water was warm but the room wasn’t, it felt good. They were more organised with the tents here knowing how many people were in the tents, but not which pod they were in! It was very windy and despite setting the alarm for 5 hours later I don’t think I slept the full 5 hours. Neither of us were keen to get moving again but knew it always sounds worse inside the tent than it really is. I put full waterproofs on to leave the tent but needed to take my jacket off once back in the main building as I was too warm. We managed to get sausage and beans from the Neil in the kitchen, we started a bit of a craze but then he only had enough chips to give to anyone arriving at the checkpoint.
KIRKBY STEPHEN to RICHMOND 34 miles (TOTAL 114) arrived Monday 10:50 (ETA 10:30), 48 hours 20. It was 11pm when we headed out into the wind and gentle rain, we knew we had the climb up to Nine Standards Rigg so were dressed for the weather. We found the ginnel down to the river but took a wrong turn to get to the bridge! We had a good march up the hill without using our poles. Visibility was poor with us barely being able to see each other let alone the ancient line of cairns on the summit. From here we found the path fine and followed it over the slabs but then lost it as soon as we hit a boggy section where people has made paths in various directions as they tried to avoid getting wet feet! Sometimes we found the path which often turned into a dead end sheep trod but a few times we were left going round in circles and even with GPS on Andy’s phone we struggled to get back on track. We ended up going downhill on a really good track at one point and I knew from our recce this was wrong so back we went. Finally we hit the right track and made it to Ravenseat, home of the Yorkshire Shepardess. Except for the cold and worry of damaging Andy’s phone it was the best part of the whole adventure, the wildness of the night and thrill of being out there together, it’s why we’re so lucky to run together.
The route towards Keld and then the mine section went without bother, I just kept feeding myself, I seem to remember 3 chocolate bars in a row here plus a cheese block or 2. Easy to swallow and a massive sense of satisfaction and boost to my morale. The route took us down to the first stream and I was convinced it was a zigzag down but it wasn’t, we climbed up to Lownathwaite before the climb down to Gunnerside Gill and the remembered zigzag path. The climb up from the Surrender Bridge sign seemed so much more straightforward even though it was still dark, I know that’s why a recce is such a benefit, nothing ever seems as bad when you do the race itself. The night was lifting and we had the magic of a tailwind to blow us down to Surrender bridge, those 3 miles felt magical. We were on a high.
We caught a few people or were caught on the section to Reeth, it was good to see Colin and Stephen again as well as Heidi at the Bike Shop. The shop leaves the toilet block open for us, perfect for getting tap water and sorting ourselves out before the 12 miles to Richmond. We breezed over this section catching quite a few people but on looking at our timings we averaged the 3 miles an hour planned but then I guess some of that was going round in circles on Hartley Fell! We didn’t have many breaks.
Alec was there to greet us at the checkpoint with the news that the tents weren’t up as one had blown away and the fire brigade had to recue it from someone roof! Kate was here which surprised us but she’d slept less at Kirby Stephen. We were to sleep on the changing room floors of the shower areas. We ate well as we got sorted and ready for leaving before spreading out the sleeping mats and setting an alarm for 2.5 hours, I used Andy’s spare ear plugs, I stopped using them years ago as I get sore ears but I needed to block out the noise of people moving about plus any potential snorers, it worked along with the eye mask.
RICHMOND to THE LION INN 43 miles (TOTAL 157) arrived Tuesday 05:10 (ETA 03:50), 66 hours 10. We planned to have a short break so we could use the daylight for the tricky fields section as we know the Cleveland Hills beyond very well. Breakfast was an amazing curry meal, like a pot noddle but nutritious and tasty, I was delighted!
It always takes longer to leave a checkpoint than you can imagine despite us having a checkpoint list to keep us focused. We were 20 minutes late arriving there, had an extra 1 hour 20 in total at the checkpoint and so were 1 hour 40 behind our schedule as we left. I wasn’t really paying attention to it now, I just wanted to keep moving at a pace that worked for us and not make it rule or stress us. We knew the next 21 miles were flat, with at least 6 miles on tarmac, at 3 miles an hour it should take us 7 hours to reach the 24 hour garage on the A19. We trotted along, thinking about whether to stop at any of the pubs along the way as John Kynaston had. We decided not to especially as we knew our favourite cafe in Ingleby Cross was shut on Mondays. We aimed for the garage and were delighted to get there just before it was dark, the lights of the lorries parked up behind the petrol station surprised me at the extent of the facilities there and why they needed that 24 hour hub. We knew it got dark around 8:30 pm, we couldn’t believe the flat landscape had allowed us to make up time and we were back on schedule! I’d hoped this but didn’t want to believe it but it gave us confidence that we might finish in daylight tomorrow. I’d already mentioned to Andy that perhaps we should make contact with our friend Bill to see if he fancied a day out in Robin Hoods Bay to ferry us home tomorrow. Andy had rung him earlier and said we’d confirm our expected progress in the morning.
I was shattered though which was a concern. I bought chocolate milk and an egg mayonnaise sandwich and asked if it was ok to have a lie down on the floor under the bench. It was obvious by her reaction that I wasn’t the first to ask, she didn’t offer me a duvet or pillow though! I couldn’t relax, couldn’t get comfortable and the music was too loud so we didn’t stay. Andy had spoken to Karen who was leaving as we arrived, she was planning to sleep somewhere on the trail, he suggested the woodshed at Scugdale. As we started the climb up to join the Cleveland Way we didn’t realise that Karen was sleeping in the woods. I was struggling. We sat on a bench after the climb down from Scarth Wood Moor so I could eat something as I felt nauseated, I’d been looking forward to the garlic mushroom pasty but after a couple of mouthfuls doubt I’ll try one again! Andy gave me a renne to see if that would settle my stomach. We kept moving and I hoped the woodshed would be empty, it was. Andy moved the bike that was for sale and I lay on the wood piled up and closed my eyes, I said I wanted to leave by Midnight as I didn’t want to loose too much time. I slept but possibly only 10 minutes or so but didn’t feel I needed the full 40 minutes we were there for. Andy used the time to check his feet and we were off. We know these hills so well from the Hardmoors series and I still can never remember if there are only 3 sisters or 4 after Lordstones cafe, we were grateful for the water tap there but a cafe stop would have been nice.
The climb up from Clay Bank to Round Hill seemed to go on for a lot longer than I expected it to but the miles were ticking along. I was amazed at the mass of lights around I guess we’re used to running here in daylight and don’t realise how many little villages are dotted about below. Somewhere I saw a hedgehog and was quite delighted! Finally we were on the old railway line and I knew it was going to be flat going to get us to the Lion Inn 6.5 miles away. The route curves in and out so it was hard to know when I saw lights ahead if they were the pub or racers ahead. I could see cars at times but the pub didn’t get any closer. We walked and jogged and had finally picked up the pace when I realised we’d missed the turning to the pub so we had to back track a little. There was a sturdy tent pitched with various small tents around it and a row of portaloos nearby. The main tent was doing an amazing service of fantastic tasting food. We got sorted and headed to a tent that we could have just for us 2. We’d discussed with the usual crew that had turned up that we would leave at 09:30 setting the alarm for 9am. We’d arrived at 05:10, 1 hour 20 behind the schedule but I’d stopped thinking about those numbers now. I set the alarm for 08:45, giving me 2 hours 45, I slept so deeply I was surprised when the alarm went off and Andy was already on the move. He said that Colin and Steve were already up, they left about 9 I think.
THE LION INN to ROBIN HOODS BAY 29 miles (TOTAL 186) arrived Tuesday 17:15 (ETA 19:30), 78 hours 45 minutes and 11. Actual 193.66 miles 9115 m of climb. The 3 miles of road weren’t too bad, we overtook Karen and a brother and sister that were doing the route together. Then the lovely off road track, 6 miles down to Glaisdale, the 3 of them overtook us on the short road section and disappeared off. Andy rang Bill to say we were on schedule for the 19:30 finish, we’d left the checkpoint at 09:40, I still can’t believe how long it takes to get moving! On checking our race plan we were expecting to leave at 09:50, we were surprised that we were back on plan, we didn’t feel we needed the full 6 hours at the checkpoint that we had planned but I’m amazed we were there for 4.5 hours. We knew the stretch down to Glaisdale would be quicker than our 3 miles an hour and even though we slowed on the rocky path along the river for the 2.5 miles to Egton we were still moving nicely. There was a free drink stop at Egton but we both felt we had what we needed, I couldn’t be bothered to go round to the front of the building and then we saw there were quite a few racers there so we were pleased not to join the queue. Andy called out to Colin and Steve and on we headed. Colin caught us on the old toll road to Grosmont so Andy could warn him of the 2 mile steep climb out of the village. As we climbed Bill and Olga pulled up. He’d spotted a good place for a photo so turned round and headed back up the hill. We didn’t stop there for long but Steve had caught us up. We stayed with him on the path down to Littlebeck and through the woods. Andy took an early turn but Steve has a fancy fenix watch that had a clearer path marked on it and knew we needed to go just a little further to get down to the waterfall and troll bridge at Falling Foss. Before the sharp turn at the end of the woods we found Colin and another runner, Louise trying to climb the steep side above the path to get to the road, in hindsight they were very close to the road but we didn’t want them getting penalised for missing any of the official route so they came back down. Another steep climb before the last big boggy section towards the coast. Steve struggled across this section where as I stayed ahead with Colin, and Louise. Andy held back with Steve as he was feeling really strong. We got to the road and all stopped to put rain jackets on. I knew Louise said she was fine with bog but struggled on the road. I was surprised how long it took for them to get sorted as Andy and I started off as soon as we had jackets on. It didn’t take long before we realised we were ahead of them. I was desperate to finish more than trying to be ahead of them. We were quickly through Hawsker and onto the coastal path for the last few miles. We know this last section so well and it was so lovely to be off the road. Andy rang Bill again knowing we were doing so much better than we could have hoped. He and Olga walked down to the hill in Robin Hoods Bay so as we came down the hill they were there with Pete to greet us as we finished at 17:15:11. It was the perfect finish having Pete to scan us at the end. Being completists we walked into the sea to dip our toes as we had in St Bees. I forgot to throw my stone in!!
We had finish photos then the others came in as we walked back up the road to Fylingdale Hall. Luckily they don’t do the fastest time back to the hall race anymore! Shane Ohly was there and came for a chat which he recorded, it ended up being used for the daily blog as I mentioned how we’d met running 11 years ago on the Sunday. https://www.northerntraverse.com/2022/04/lifelong-friendships-and-tales-of-adventure-on-day-four-of-the-silva-northern-traverse/ A wonderful feeling to get into the back on Bill’s car and be driven home. I had a quick bite to eat, showered and was in bed. Andy unpacked!! I wasn’t happy about having to do that the next morning!!
All I can say is I loved it. I can’t believe how well the rough plan worked, we hadn’t expected to follow it at 3mph but found it so useful to know roughly where we needed to be. The marshals were great, the food was perfect and enough. I’m glad I had my protein shake at each stop but possibly didn’t need it. I know of others who didn’t get the food they needed and there were issues but with space and sleeping space not being quite right. Looking forward to either doing the race again or helping on it some time. So good to see familiar faces from other races plus the same Ourea events team.
The Northern Traverse – 300 km across Fell, Dale & Moor
Andy Norman (with Sarah)
At around tea time on Tuesday, we ran down the slipway at Robin Hood’s Bay and hugged each other as the North Sea waves rolled over our legs. Just under 79 hours earlier we had been standing in the Irish Sea on the other side of the country! In between those moments we completed The Northern Traverse, a 300 km (186 mile) self-supported ultra race following Wainwright’s coast to coast route from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay.
We had set off with a simple plan of a minimum average pace of 3 mph for the whole event. We knew that the big climbs were in the Lakes and there were some easy running sections later on but loads of other hills & technical sections scattered along the course. There were four main checkpoints, Patterdale, Kirkby Stephen, Richmond & Blakey Ridge, where we planned to stop, refuel & rest but there were no set cut-off times. Our rough plan was to stay at each one for either 3 or 6 hours and get as much sleep as we could. From the moment we started we were consistently ahead of our guide pace which meant we were able to stay a little longer in each checkpoint, and therefore we were fresher when leaving and able to keep moving well. We completed the 186 miles in 78 hours 45 mins, or just under 3.5 days. A couple of hours ahead of our plan.
A few memorable moments
- Chatting with one of the elite runners (Eoin Keith) on the train there.
- No new ice cream flavours at Ennerdale Bridge!
- Stunning Lakeland views.
- Having an 8-sleeper tent put up for us at midnight in Patterdale.
- Two snoring Dutchmen joining us in the tent shortly after that.
- Overnight climb passed Angle Tarn and sunrise at Kidsty Pike.
- Great veggie chilli at the mini checkpoint in Shap.
- Freezing cold shower at Kirkby Stephen Rugby Club.
- Getting totally disoriented in a bog near Nine Standards Rigg, at 2am, in the rain & wind.
- Lovely long run hill down after Gunnerside Gill to Surrender Bridge.
- Sleeping on a cold changing room floor at Richmond, as one of the 8-sleeper tents had blown away.
- 6 miles of flat road, in the middle of all those amazing trails.
- Eating pies and eccles cakes in the A19 petrol station shop.
- Twenty minute nap in a woodshed near Osmotherley.
- Running multiple Cleveland Way hills overnight, with the lights across the coastal plain below.
- Meeting a friendly Pacer on the road climb out of Grosmont.
- Feeling great and running well across the final moor and along the NYM coast path.
- The deep sense of completion having made it from coast to coast.
- Most of all sharing the trail with old friends & making new ones, both runners and from the event crew.
If anyone is thinking of attempting an ultra this might not be the first one I suggest but it’s definitely one to put on the Wish List.
Event Director, Shane Ohly, feedback from the Northern Traverse. You can read it on our website here.
Making lifes adventures - Sarah Norman 