Pendle Cloughs - A Tale Of Three Gels...
...or Remind Me To Not Go Racing More Often
It was a lovely morning as I made my way over to the picturesque Pendleside village of Downham in a heady, Tiger Balm haze. Yes the sun was shining but as I knew from walking the dogs earlier there was a cutting north easterly breeze and it would be one of those tricky, what to wear days. If you haven’t been to Downham for a while I can recommend a visit, if for no other reason than to check out the unique toilets in an old shippon, at the delightful car park. Yes that’s right, the words delightful and car park in the same sentence.
After a low key registration I bumped into Dave Croll’s wife’s sister’s husband Pete, a Wharfdale runner who had volunteered to marshal; at least one familiar face. Back at the car I found that another Pete, Pete Booth had parked alongside me and we discussed how his fellow Claytoners had got on at the Fellsman. Ah the Fellsman, was it really only a week ago?
At the start, by the bridge in the centre of Downham, Andy the race organiser stood atop the parapet to deliver his pre-race briefing, explaining that he’d had to cut back on the prizes this year due to the low numbers entering last year. One of the older vets, who was obviously odds-on to win his category, asked for his money back, causing a good deal of amusement in the assembled ranks.
At the off we headed down the “quiet lane” to Mearley, and the serious guys intent on doing serious business left their scorch marks in the tarmac. For me this was a steady run out on both old and new terrain. I’d not done this race before and was looking forward to something different. I also wanted to make sure I warmed up the duff leg, so steady it was. We turned off the lane onto the track and then on to the fell. It was quickly steep and we were reduced to the characteristic crouched, fast walk. Most went straight up; I decide to go right. I’m not sure whether or not this paid-off as on rejoining the others I couldn’t see any of those I was following before.
A short section of contouring brought us to checkpoint 1 where we clipped our cards as proof of being there and continued on to tackle the first serious climb. If you know the Full Tour, this climb reverses its penultimate descent, but in a steeper spot. At the top we followed the wall towards Ogden Clough and to checkpoint 2 at a boundary stone just off to the right. More off-piste allowed us to join the path up the Clough and I found myself needing to pass a couple of guys, so took the opportunity when it arose. A quick mental self-check revealed that I was enjoying myself. Nice.
Through the stile we hit the flags (yes Nic, flags of the stone variety) and I decided that a gel would be in order. Mmm, citrus with caffeine. We skirted the summit and made for the top of the main path at the big end. From here it was free-fall straight down the wall-side and, glad of the Mudclaws, there was a bit more passing before reaching the clip at the marshalled checkpoint 3. A trod along the wall-side led to a photographer and thence to the bottom of the miners’ track which was, yes you guessed it, ascended. Where the wall comes near to the track I took a trod heading for Deep Clough. This dropped nicely through old delphs to a small ridge where checkpoint 4’s flag and clipper were to be found.
What followed was shaley contouring on ground so steep that the only way to deal with it was to keep moving fast; a bit like trying to outrun an avalanche. Easier ground led to the familiar four-way gate and it was straight down the wall side to the upper Ogden reservoir dam. For anyone who has done the Stan Bradshaw, this section was the reverse of that. On the climb beyond I despatched another gel, this time summer fruits, which saw me to the crest and some very pleasant running on a good path. The cracking descent down the shoulder, still on the Stan, delivered me to the stream crossing and checkpoint 5.
A well defined line through last year’s bracken, initially wall side, led up the hillside but became less distinct after a while and the going was tough, however the crest and a wall crossing were soon reached. From here the route choice was not as obvious and being less au fait with this part of Pendle I opted for the low-risk line around the top of Deerstones; all good running. I could see others crossing the fell lower down than I but had no idea whether they were making better progress. Through the wall at the stile and following the path beyond led to the main track from the Nick. The next checkpoint was somewhere in the clough ahead but I needed to commit to a line in order to get a view on it. As it happened the line was good and led to a most acceptable stream crossing, just a little higher in the clough than my target.
The marshals at checkpoint 6 were very encouraging and after the customary thanks I followed the trod upstream, breaking away after a while to head for Ogden and checkpoint 7 in Boar Clough. On the approach gel 3 had its moment of glory. Banana blast was a first for me that I’d been putting off for 4 years (yes it was that old). It could have gone either way but I was pleasantly surprised.
After the earlier climbs Boar Clough didn’t offer much resistance and I was chuffed to keep it going all the way to the stile at the top of the big end, passing a few along the way. Checkpoint 8 at the spring was soon behind me and it was time to decide when to break away from the main path and head directly down for the stile in the distance. Initially steep ground led to some “yeeha” running on what turned out to be a great line, if I say so myself. More photography; smile for the camera!
On reaching the stile I glanced round to see what was going on behind and it suddenly occurred to me that at some point Mr Casual Day Out had slipped into race mode and I was having a great time. I couldn’t see anyone ahead but there were a few coming down the hill, giving chase. More descending brought checkpoint 9 and the road crossing into farmland. From here the run in to Dowham was cracking. The pasture was greener than green and well-drained and although I wasn’t passed I’m sure I eased off to enjoy it. Back at the car park Pete Booth was already getting changed. Blimey, was that my slow start or was he on fire? Maybe a bit of both.
Pendle Cloughs is a great race and I’d encourage anyone who likes bashing around the fells to do it. It’s a mixture of on and off-piste running and you can take whatever route you like between checkpoints. Although some of the climbing is tough, the race doesn’t have the futility feel of that other, slightly longer race on Pendle. Give it a go, you’ll not be disappointed.