The Hardmoors 55 is a 55 mile ultramarathon run over part of the Cleveland Way from Guisborough to Hemsley along some of the most spectacular scenery in the North York Moors. It climbs over 2,700 metres in total and would be my third ultra.
I've put in a lot of hard training miles over the winter but there's nothing like that mix of nerves and excitement you get leading up to a big race day.
My sister Rachel had kindly offered to drive me which saved a super early start to catch the bus from Helmsley and time spent hanging around at the start. In the end I had 45 minutes to get my number, kit checked and smash some porridge before the start. The atmosphere at the Sea Cadets Hall was buzzing as Jon Steele the race director gave the briefing and told everyone the drill if they broke both their arms and legs and assured everyone there wouldn't be any DNFers.
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| Pre race fueling! |
Having recently tested my merino baselayer on a hilly recce, I made a late decision to wear a better wicking long sleeve top and carry the merino. It just about packed into my race vest alongside the other mandatory kit items. There was quite a long list of required kit due to the arctic conditions in which this race has been run previously.
Thankfully for me, the weather was kind this year. Dry, but cloudy with a blustery Northerly which would have been cold for marshals and aid station volunteers but made for quite nice conditions for running.
Pausing for the important prerace selfie with Rach and Bobby meant I missed the start! I ended up joining the back of the queue to climb the stairs onto the old railway line. We soon joined the Cleveland Way heading for the first climbs of the day. Rach and Bobby had already headed off for a brew and to meet up with three new members of my support crew for this race, mum, dad and Hally the border collie.
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| The race has already started dumbass! |
The first major obstacle of note is Roseberry Topping and the leaders came flying down as I started my climb. I had not been to this part of the North York Moors before and I was blown away by the views to the bleak moors and down into the fields of Yorkshire around 360 degrees. No time to waste though so I pushed on down and then up again to Captain Cooks monument and soon found myself in the tiny village of Kildale (12 miles) where we expected to find our dropbags. Due to a problem of some sort the bags had not arrived and would instead be 10 miles further on. This suited me fine as the hundred weight of porridge I had consumed was still providing sufficient fuel so I stopped briefly to refill the bottles and was soon on my way again.
After Kildale, the route heads into a remote part of the Moors climbing steadily to Blowarth Crossing. The trail was compact here and I felt good momentum building after the early climbs. I thought about how rough it must get here in the winter and how challenging it must have been in those years when the weather was far less accommodating. From Blowarth the route turns West to climb Round Hill where you can look back to Roseberry Topping and the distance you have covered and ahead to the challenge still to come. It was around this point my knees had started to grumble a little. It was still early in the race, and I hoped that it wasn't a return of my previous problems as this would surely mean a painful grind to a DNF. Nothing could be done but keep going for now and soon we were descending to Clay Bank (21 miles) where my dropbag and family were waiting for me. Here Rach and Bobby swarmed around me like an F1 pit crew replacing bottles and food as I wolfed down some rice pudding.
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| Pit Stop Clay Bank |
From here to Osmotherley is easily the hardest part of the route as it ascends and descends the beautiful, brutal rollercoaster of Hasty Bank, Wain Stones, Cringle Moor and Carlton Bank. I knew what was coming as I had already recced this section. With 20+ miles and 4 hours of running already behind me there was little more to do than to hike up and down as fast as I could and run the short distances between the hills. This tough section takes a lot out of the legs and there was a reality check of what I had taken on when it struck home that I was only half way. Nevertheless it was such a help to have run this section before and it was great that the guys were there again to say Hi at Lord Stones and help me stretch my now intermittently cramping calves (thankfully the knees didn't get any worse). Despite the battering, it is impossible not to be uplifted by the beauty here and I focused on the knowledge that Osmotherley would be reached very soon after the hilly torture subsided where it would be possible to eat, drink and regroup.
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| Not this blogpost you mean! - A bit of ultra encouragement |
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| Off again, leaving Lordstones checkpoint |
Entering the Village Hall at Osmotherley (32 miles) I was immediately handed my drop bag by one of the young volunteers there and took a seat. There were a few tired bodies and glum faces around and I resolved to be in and out of there sharpish. I wasn't massively hungry but I wanted to try to eat. I had decided to experiment with falafel as a nice savoury fuel, I popped one in my mouth and immediately realised my mistake. What little moisture was left in my mouth immediately disappeared and I was left parched, trying to swallow what felt like a small garlicky birds nest. I soon gave up on falafel. I glugged down some coke, refilled the bottles, grabbed some Clif Blocks, and was out and on my way again all within 4 minutes or so.
Some of the chat around this race was that the hard work is all done before Osmotherley so i was looking forward to some easy running now, however this was not to be. The next few miles are hard work as you regain height. Rachel and Bobby met me coming the other way at Square Corner and were surprised at how soon I had arrived. With some much needed words of encouragement I headed on uphill alone with a few spots of rain starting to fall, with grey clouds now darkening overhead and my mood doing the same. It was starting to get hard and I wasn't really prepared mentally for this climb. It was the toughest part of the day.
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| Starting the lonely climb to Whitestones |
I dug in and waited for the low to pass. Thankfully the summit of Whitestones was soon reached and the long awaited descent appeared. It was a relief to get some momentum and my mood lifted immenseley. I felt like I was flying all the way to the next checkpoint at High Paradise Farm (39.5 miles) even though in reality i was probably only running 10 minute miles. It's amazing how lows can be so quickly followed by highs in these events. I stopped briefly for a gob full of jelly babies and another bottle refill. From here I was on home turf as I knew the route. I was going to get this thing done now, it was just a matter of time. I felt great and said so when I bumped into the folks next near Sneck Yate where I stopped briefly for a glug of coke and a chat. The view from here was breathtaking as the grey sky broke briefly for shafts of late afternoon sunshine to light up the Vale of York. From here I knew there must only be 15 miles or so to Helmsley and most of my climbing was now behind me.
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| Sunshine at last! - Near Sneck Yate |
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| Feeling good and some fatherly words of wisdom! |
It wasn't all plain sailing though, the steep descent to the final check point at White Horse (45 miles) was torture on my now trashed legs. Far worse in fact than the much feared steps back up to Sutton Bank. Turning away from Sutton Bank I caught up with a fella struggling a little with route finding near the busy road. We chatted for a while and I was amused to find he was from Messingham only a few miles from where I was brought up. We ran and chatted together for a while as the evening started to draw in. He stopped for a call of nature and I cracked on descending to Rievaulx. I strapped on the headtorch for the last few miles as it was getting increasingly difficult to be sure of safe footing, then started my final push for the finish line, through the tiny hamlet, up the hill and into the woods.
A few minutes later, I was emerging out of the black with the lights of Helmsley twinkling not far away. The spectacular ruined Castle all lit up and beckoning me to the finish. Emerging onto the streets of Helmsley I even found some energy to kick for the last few hundred yards to the finish at the Town Hall. I had done it. Two and a bit off road marathons and twice the height of Ben Nevis in 10hrs and 22 minutes.
The race had been won in a mind blowing 7hrs and 39 mins by 2014 British Athletics ultra trail champ Kim Collison.
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| A little battle scarred but still smiling |
As we headed home in the car, we saw twinkling headtorches making their way along Sutton Bank. My adventure was over and I felt a little jealous of the runners still out there with a large chapter of their story still to be written. Great job by everyone who finished this tough race from first to last.
Thanks to the Hardmoors family for putting together a brilliant event, I'll definitely be back for some more hilly punishment. Just let me get my legs working again first! Thanks too to my amazing family for supporting me all the way to the finish.
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| In a shocking twist of fate Hardmoors ultramarathons turn out to be hard. |
Knowledge of this route from recce runs and walks with Bobby helped me
so much mentally and enabled me to keep my spirits up when the going got
tough. As a result, I have decided to make the long journey down to
Brighton to recce the second half of my next big race.
Next up, a few shorter races, not least the North Lincolnshire Half Marathon with a load of my old muckers and the Trail 26 race in the Howgills. Really though, everything from here is geared towards the mighty South Downs Way 100 in June.
Thanks to Rach and dad for use of the photos!
