Well that was a bracing run. The temperatures was forecast to be chilly but with a stiff headwind blowing into our faces for the first half of the run it felt much much colder. Meeting at the turning circle in Old Glossop a group of seven of us (plus one energetic dog) headed up to Mossy Lea then onto Doctors Gate on the inaugural
Global Therapies Social Run.
A couple of the group headed up towards the top of James Thorn (plus dog, who had a keen interest in chasing a mountain hare - it lost the chase!), with the rest of us opting to do a shorter climb up to Shelf Benches. Pausing to catch our breath at the top we were pleased to have the wind on our backs and be heading downhill for some well earned coffee and homemade cakes.
It's great introducing runners who normally stay on tarmac to the hills. I think the perception that fell runners are all super-hard and run up all the hills is a myth I like to help demystify. Yes, some of us do run up hills...but then some of us run/walk and some of us just simply walk when the incline gets even vaguely uphill. That's the beauty of fell running. There's no pressure from car drivers or walkers or anyone watching. You can sit down and admire the view. You can pause to catch your breath without the invisible finger-pointing; we all imagine that is happening when we dare-I-say-it- stop running and walk. On tarmac that pressure is there. Will people see me as a failure if I stop part-way up a hill. On the fells no-one cares, let alone be there watching. I love showing people around a corner they've never been, up a trod they didn't know existed, and pausing to look at the view, to admire the wildlife and flora. Isn't that what it's all about?
Until next time, here's a few photos from today's run:
 |
| Running up the track to Doctors Gate |
 |
| Heading along the trod to Little Clough |
 |
| Climbing up a little used and barely visible trod towards Shelf Benches |
 |
| James Thorn in the background |
Thanks to everyone who joined us today, we'll be back for another social run soon (with coffee and homemade cake!).
No comments:
Post a Comment