Giving fell racing another try

I am quite prone too spraining joints. I remember rolling my ankles all the time as a child. I got pretty good at bandaging them up! In my 20s, I started to sprain my knees. That was even worse. I've also sprained my thumb; I think I sprained my right thumb twice (here and here, although I don't think I mentioned it in the latter post). And I know from climbing and caving that my elbows are a bit floppy as well.

With all these floppy joints, it is no surprise that I have never been attracted to fell running. I am terrible at running downhill! And I am terrible at running on uneven terrain, whichever direction it goes. One wrong step and I’m out of business for a while. When I wanted to be sure it wasn’t for me, and I registered for a fell race, I comprehensively came last. So that should've been the end of it.

I'm going to try again, after all. Harri, of Parc y Moch fame, has been trying to talk me into joining a series of short fell races in the evening for years. And this year the chorus got louder: a lady at the finish of Ras Trawsfynydd also recommended them. She was an Eryri Harrier, that's the club that organises these things. That race gave me a wealth of running endorphins, and I think that is an excellent high to chase, so I was susceptible to the suggestion. And during Katrien’s inaugural lecture, the people I was sitting next to were also Eryri Harriers, and also thought it would be a good idea.

In order to be allowed to join you have to register for the whole series. It’s in the Midweek Series, under the umbrella of the Welsh Fell Runners Association. Registering doesn't make it compulsory to actually show up. Or to pay. So I registered. The first race after my registration was not a good idea as I had to get out of bed at stupid o'clock the next day, for fieldwork. And the race after that I had to skip as I was teaching until so late I wouldn't have made the start.

I'll see how it goes! I haven't found a map of the route yet. The instructions recommend bringing gardening gloves, which suggests that they expect you to run straight through gorse. I think I will wear full length leggings for the occasion. And I will have to manage with the route markers, or the people in front of me, for finding the way. 

Since my doomed fell race I have become a lot stronger at running uphill. So I think I will do okay on that. And then I'll just see how the downhill goes! I don't need to do well. But it would be nice to get a regular short race in beautiful terrain under my belt. I'll report back!