Written by Gemma Bragg - http://www.themindandmanymiles.com

Well where do you start to write about this… what a race, pure adventure!
I was extremely nervous the days leading up to this race, in fact Jez said that he has never seen me so nervous, I wasn’t even as nervous on our wedding day! I think the nerves were for a number of reasons, there are so many aspects to have to think about during this race and you are not allowed any outside assistance otherwise you get disqualified, so you really need to get it right.
Firstly you have to think about the right kit, the Yorkshire Moors are notoriously wet, windy and misty on the higher ground, unless you are a front runner you will be running well into the night, so you have to think about being warm enough for the night section. You then have to think about the navigation of which is not a forte of mine… the race is not marked, a lot of the land is privately owned and only opened once a year for the sole purpose of this race, so for a lot of the race there is no ‘well trodden’ path, well in fact for most of the race there is no path/ track at all, it is just a case of pick a route on the map and follow it. You may reach a peak and then go down and see other runners going down a completely different route to you. There are also walls which you have to climb over and barbed wire fences that you would usually not consider clambering over and question whether you had gone the right way, but for this race you go over them. There is no one out there cutting the barbed wire down or sign posting you over a wall.

feeling relatively fresh in the earlier stages of the race!

I knew that the race entry took up to 500 runners; they aim to have 450 runners on the start line, as each year there is a large number who can’t make it on the day of the race due to injury or some other reason, statistically there is usually 350- 400 that line the start on race day. There is often a high drop out during the race, looking back over previous years, around a 1/3 of runners that start, voluntarily drop out during the course. The race also spreads out pretty quickly, with the front runners finishing in a time consisting of 10hours + something minutes and the end runners finishing in over 24hours. This means that there may be large sections where there are not many, if any people around you in the race. I found that there were actually a lot of runners who came as a two and ran the whole race together, in fact there appeared to be more people in a pair opposed to sole runners.
About 5 weeks prior to the race, I had driven up to the Moors with Jez and run some sections to get an idea of the terrain, that weekend the weather had not let us down with strong winds, rain and big mist meaning you couldn’t see 10ft in front of you. Although it was good for me to get a ‘feel’ for what was in store in terms of the terrain, the fog and mist had increased my anxiety as it would make it very difficult to be able to see other runners, let alone follow them so I really did need to know where I was going! On most races that you do, there are markers- taping, sign posts etc but I guess this is what makes this race so unique. It is not just about testing your endurance and strength- it’s about your navigation skills too or your ability to seek out other runners and befriend them!
I guess these factors were all that added to my nerves. I remember going up to watch Jez race the Fellsman 2 years ago in 2011 and I actually thought ‘I don’t think I could do this race’, the course is extremely rough, the amount of road running is probably about 5% give or take and trails 15%, the rest bog and moorland. However 2 years on I found myself toeing the start line with 350+ other runners taking on the challenge and adventure of The Fellsman…with purely one aim in my mind to get to the finish.
When you check in on the day you are given a tally card, with 24 check points which you tie around your neck. There are some big check points on the lower sections and on the summits and along the high ground there is a small tent with usually two volunteers huddled inside that chip your tally, and if you don’t get every tally chipped then you don’t finish the race. Therefore if you go off course and miss a check point then you are disqualified. The volunteers of this race are amazing, huddled up in a small tent on the summits through the night, or at the bigger check points preparing bread and jam, soup, tea/ coffee, custard creams….
We were able to check our kit in the night before to save time on race morning. Race day we made our way by catching a coach which the race organisers had put on to a village hall in Ingleton, where the race was to start from. Everyone huddled in the hall at the start, eating their breakfast, it was wet and cold outside and I was a bundle of nerves. We were all then led out to the field ready to start at 08:30am, first tally point chipped and we were off.

Nervously awaiting the start of The Fellsman

The first climb I found pretty tough and a technical decent, a lot of rocks and clambering going on. It had rained heavy the day before and through the night, so was super slippery. The top of the climb you could not see a thing, thick fog and wind; I must admit I did think, ‘what have I signed myself up for?’ However down into the next valley and the weather began to improve. The second climb I felt stronger and the fog was less dense on the top, I found that I began to move more easily and descended happily off the second summit. I ran the first half of the race pretty much on my own, although there were generally one or two runners in sight; I was surprised how quickly the field spread out. On my way up the fourth climb I met a chap called Lee he had not done this race before either and we ran a bit together, coming off the fourth climb and down into Redshaw, a few other chaps descended with us. I was keen to stay with someone across Dodd Fell and Fleet Moss as it is easy to lose direction and choose the wrong path on these sections, through the bog. Coming down into Fleet Moss check point I felt my body hit a bit of a low, so was glad to fuel up at this point. I actually consumed quite a lot of fuel during this race, roughly; 2 Marsbars, 2 Yorkie bars (although Jez tells me there just for men!), 4 slices of bread and jam, soup and bread, pieces of wrap filled with Nutella (which I had prepared the night before), 2 slices of cake, a slice of amazing homemade flapjack (made by one of the volunteers), bowl of rice pudding, jelly babies and about over half a dozen custard creams! There aren’t many days in the calendar year where I eat 4 chocolate bars, 2 slices of cake, a handful of biscuits and a slice of flapjack and don’t feel an ounce of guilt! I also made sure I kept my water pack filled at each check point- I had electrolyte tablets in here, and also took a few salt tablets and I drank about 8 cups of squash and a tea.
I ended up going across Fleet Moss with two guys that had done the race 4x before, therefore I knew they would have a good idea about what route to take through this section, we decided to go around the edge opposed to through the middle, although this is slightly longer, it saves going through the thick of the bog, which really zaps your energy. I felt comfortable through these sections; I was slower on the climbs but felt I made up time on the descents and flatter sections across the tops.
At dusk it is the rule of the race that you get grouped, this is for safety reasons. Navigation is difficult at the best of times, but in the pitch black with just a head torch to lead the way that’s another ball game all together. Although some people don’t like this rule, as you have to stay within 10m of your group at all times, I was extremely happy about it and felt a lot safer and happier in a group then I would have going at it alone at night, I may well still be on the moors somewhere if this hadn’t been a rule. As it was I ran into Cray checkpoint just after 8pm with 4 guys I had already been running with for about 3hours, so we automatically got grouped at this point. Just 16 more miles to go and 2 more climbs. I layered up my clothing at this point, had some soup and bread and then we headed up the next climb. When we got to the summit we all got our head torches out and started the next descent. Although a lot of people who run the Fellsman come back each year, probably about ¾ of the entrants have raced the Fellsman before, I found myself in a group where none of us had run the race before, unlucky? May be, but at the same time it was a lovely group and I knew whatever happened we would get to the finish at some point, so I was happy. We did take a slight detour off this summit and in the dark it really does make it a lot harder, as you can’t see other runners, in less they are close enough to see their head torches. You can’t see landmarks- fences etc, so it is going on bearings alone and trusting that. However we did find the right path in the end and joined on to a couple of other groups that had taken perhaps the more direct route off the summit , in to the last big checkpoint, Park Rash before the final climb. Here I met Jez who had long finished his race, showered and come out to meet me.

The last big checkpoint, before heading out for the final climb

When we got to the summit of the last climb, it had turned a bit foggy and although there had been another group of runners just ahead we soon lost them. The volunteers in the tent at the summit directed us to go about 30m to the left (I think it was) and we would hit a fence, to then follow the side of this fence all the way down to the path. However we didn’t find the fence and ended up going off course, through more bog. I thought we were never going to see the red beaker light (which flashes from the check points in the dark) but we kept moving forward and down, over a few more little hills and eventually there was a light and was I happy to see the light, although it seemed a long way off, so I still had a little doubt in my mind that it might be a car somewhere, but as we got closer it was definitely a checkpoint, relief. The final 6miles were down hill, 4 miles to the final checkpoint and then 2 miles of road (a real novelty in this race) to the finish.

Having my tally clipped at the last checkpoint

at the finish with the four chaps I had been grouped with for the section through the night

We made it to the finish in Grassington in just over 17 hours and what an epic journey, race and adventure it had been. The Fellsman for me really was a challenge and that’s why I do these races and what I love about these races; and that’s why I get so nervous the days leading up to the start, because they take you out of your comfort zone, they test you and they push you and at the end you sigh and you think ‘I did it’ and you sit down and you drink tea and you reflect on it for days to come.
I would like to thank Jonathon for organising and leading this amazing event, for all the Volunteers who without, there is no way this race could happen and to the Scouts for supporting this event for the last 52 years! If you want to find out more details about The Fellsman, then this is their website www.fellsman.org.uk
Will I be back again….? You bet I’ll be back