The Steve C guide to making hard events even harder

In spite of cracking a couple of ribs a few weeks ago in a too-giddy-canine-related tripping incident, Steve C shrugged off the pain and has been back in the thick of things this past couple of weekends. First up was the Montane Trail 13 in Grizedale where the ever-changing Lake District weather briefly smiled and allowed competitors some reasonable (for the season) conditions. In spite a very health-interrupted program this past couple of years, and the ribs, Steve was pleased to manage a time within a minute of his efforts in the same event a year ago.

Last weekend saw Steve and a vegan friend (Britta) take on the Anglezarke Amble, a 24 mile LDWA event run across the West Pennine Moors which takes in the well known landmark of Rivington Pike.

The bottom line is: it’s up on the tops and always bleak.

The event was proving typically tough but, as if the cold and exposure wasn’t enough, matters took an unexpected turn when a fellow competitor suffered a heart attack and collapsed in front of our intrepid duo. The unfortunate chap wasn’t breathing and had no pulse so Steve and Britta immediately sprang into action and administered CPR until medics / the mountain rescue helicopter arrived about 20 minutes later.

The man survived but the enforced stop left Steve and Britta nose-diving towards hypothermia. Undeterred, they carried on complete with completely numb extremities, including such fundamentals as feet and – against all odds – successfully made the finish.

Heroic stuff!

How to get even wetter than usual in Manchester

Recent activity has revolved around running, which maybe comes as no surprise given the time of year, except for one notable exception in the form of Steve knows-no-fear C who, in the wake of New Year celebrations, returned to the brain-freezing activity of a mid-winter outdoor swim. The venue was Salford Quays and the distance 250 metres. It may not sound far but immersion time was long enough to witness Steve shivering violently come the point where shrivelled body re-acquainted with dry (or as dry as it ever gets in Manchester) land. Absolutely not one for wimps: or anyone sane.

Thankfully, Steve seems to be getting through health issues that have curtailed his ultra-event activity a bit in the last couple of years and is again aiming for some longer distance events with a target date as soon as March pencilled in for a 50K run. Part of the preparation has been to hit the fells with Len, with a bit of speed work thrown in in the form of the recent Hit the Trail 5-mile multi terrain race.

The Lake District has been Steve’s recent choice for canine-accompanied training fells where persistently wet conditions meant a couple of very trick situations up on the tops including one very swollen crossing of Lingmell Ghyll, which saw even the substantial bulk of Len  needing a bit of assistance to make it through in one piece. Both prevailed though, if slightly bedraggled.

Other members have stayed substantially warmer and drier, if not totally warm and dry. Rosie Wigg raced in round 4 from 5 of the Yorkshire-based PECO cross country series at Golden Acre Park, north Leeds where she had a credible age group and a top-half-of-the-field overall finish whilst others have been hitting parkruns to maintain a bit of top-end fitness. Claire W, Mick W, and Emma S have been out at Pontefract and Nostell and there’s even been a bleary-eyed, post-hibernation appearance by a considerably-larger-than-usual Steve W at Doncaster: the new triathlon season must be approaching.