Tour de Helvellyn

Check point 3 with Stu Smith (photo from Nav4)

A great wee event organised by Joe Faulkner of Nav4 and now in it's second year, this 38 mile trail race with 2000m of ascent was the perfect preparation for a busy Christmas. Yet again the weather was ideal with plenty of challenging conditions underfoot but dry and cold with a fresh wind. Inov-8's Kim Collison had a storming run winning in an amazing time of 6:05. For the rest of us it was a great day out in the snow with the final runners coming in a just over 12 hours. The route starts in Askham before climbing over the moor to Howtown and onwards to Patterdale via Boredale Hause. The run then circumnavigates Helvellyn via Sticks Pass, Swirls, Dunmail Raise and Grisedale before retracing your steps to Askham. 95 runners enjoyed the experience and I bimbled round in 9:43 despite one rather large route choice error. (I took the description of a trail run rather literally from Patterdale ignoring the obvious large road which led to the next checkpoint!)