Saturday 6th July 2002
A day of surprises!
I class this as one of the toughest events I do. Even when I was actively running, the Chevy Chase was up there with the South Shields 20 and the Hamsterley Marathon. The event wasn't held last year due to Foot and Mouth and my entry from that year had been held over for 2002.
I knew two of this year's participants. My cousin Anne was coming up from Leeds for the weekend and John from the Nottingham branch of the LDWA was also making the long journey north to take part.
Conditions were good - very good. As far as I'm concerned, the colder the better, given that in July, you're not going to get really cold weather. The temperature was pleasantly cool, with a headwind on the way out and some rain which wasn't ever a real problem.
I didn't expect to see much of Anne during the race. She had entered the run section, which set off an hour after the walk (the fast pack setting off half an hour after that), rather than the walk which John and I were doing. John had expressed interest in us walking together, however my experience at the Cleveland Survival had led me to think he would do better to go off at his own pace, as I thought he had a real chance of being among the prize winners at the finish. However, John reiterated that he was perfectly happy to walk with me, the company being more important than his time!
We got off to a brisk start - a surprisingly brisk start. I think both John and I were surprised at how fast I was able to go. I don't do a lot of walking, and I've had a fairly stressful past few months, with full time work putting paid to the best of training intentions. My arthritis has been very painful lately and I feel as though I've been living on a diet of junk food and painkillers, with - dare I say it - the odd cigarette thrown in to combat stress. Quite frankly, I hadn't expected to feel so fit. I do a lot of swimming, which I had hoped would give me a good base of general fitness, but it's never quite the same as doing specific training for the event you plan to take part in.
As we approached the long climb up Cheviot, John began to lag behind a little. We'd expected this, as John claims to be slow going up hills, while I'm rather good at it. However, I'm hopeless coming down, and we fully expected that once we were on level ground again, John would easily catch up.
Eventually, I reached the Cheviot plateau. This has been paved across to the trig point in recent months, as the path was suffering from severe erosion and had become, frankly, dangerous, with up to 15 feet of peat bog to sink into. One of the photos at the top of the page shows a previous walk up Cheviot in boggy conditions - note how essential the wire fence has become as a means of progress (not very good for the fence I'm sure, but the only way to traverse the plateau!).
After the checkpoint on the top, I began the steep descent down the side of Cheviot. This for me, is the worst part of the race, the time when I ask myself why the hell I decided to enter! I'm incredibly slow coming down and I feel as though half the race passes me en route to the Harthope valley. The last time I did the Chevy, I almost slid on top of an adder basking in the sun - not an experience I wanted to repeat! I take a direct route from the top of Cheviot to the top of Hedgehope, which isn't the easiest way and includes a tough crossing of several ravines and crevasses, but at the Hedgehope checkpoint I'm ahead of those people who passed me on the way down and have opted for the easier, but less direct route up.
At that point, I had no idea whether John was in front or behind me and could only continue. The race becomes fairly fragmented with people choosing their own route down Cheviot and up Hedgehope. I carried on to Langlee Crags (the next checkpoint), hoping John would appear. From here on, runners come past at frequent intervals. The path becomes increasingly indistinct, particularly around the Brands Corner checkpoint, which is private ground so not walked very often. I think the paths were even worse this year, probably due to the lack of walking in 2001.
It's always good to reach the Carey Burn bridge. It's not a checkpoint, but is a refreshment stop and a good chance to drink as much water as you want, and eat some of the flapjack always on offer. Then comes what is probably the most scenic part of the race, a delightful walk through a valley alongside the Carey Burn. However, by this stage you're not looking at the scenery and the deteriorating path means you have to constantly watch where you put your feet.
The last checkpoint, and from now on, it's retracing steps back to the finish, still some 3 miles off. Still no sign of John, but my time was looking very good and there was a real chance of finishing under 6 hours, something I've only done twice before, in the days when I was running marathons.
Eventually I was back on the road to the Youth Hostel. This part can be a bit deceptive. You feel as though you're nearly finished, however I always forget that the start is 5 minutes walk from the Youth Hostel, whereas the finish is the Youth Hostel itself. You have to allow another 5 minutes onto the time you took to walk along the road at the beginning of the race.
I completed the course in 5 hrs 53 mins - a very satisfying time. True, conditions were good, and the paved area across the Cheviot plateau undoubtedly saves a lot of time. But still, very pleasing. Anne completed the run in 5 hrs 50 mins - well within the 6 hours allowed for the run section. Still no sign of John!
The atmosphere at the finish is absolutely brilliant! There's as much tea and cake and sandwiches as you could want, and people are so friendly. For me, it's the best part - eating, drinking endless cups of tea and talking to people who've all shared a common experience. I was looking forward to a shower - the water was the temperature of a swimming pool, but at least I was getting clean. Standing under the shower shampooing my hair, I suddenly realised I'd forgotten my towel and had to dry myself (and my hair!) on bits of sweaty clothing I'd just taken off - all part of the fun!
Anne and I watched the presentation and eventually John appeared, over an hour behind me, finishing in around 7 hours. This somewhat unexpected turn of events has made me wonder whether I should amend the words I wrote for the Cleveland article where I stated "John is a much faster walker than me"!
Overall impressions? An absolutely fantastic day, heartfelt thanks to Lawrence from the YHA for all the hard work he puts into organising this event year after year. I'll certainly be entering next year. However, next year I shall enter the run, even though I will be basically walking. There are two main reasons for this. One is that Anne has expressed interest in doing it again, and she prefers the option of running the easy bits, while walking the rest. It's more convenient if we have the same start time and I think I can make the 6 hour cut off time, especially as I'll be able to do some jogging. The second reason is that in the walk, I no longer feel I'm competing on a level playing field. The walk (at least the women's race) has become ever more competitive since I first entered 7 years ago and some competitors have no qualms about bending the rules in their quest for a trophy. At the beginning of the walk, 3 of us saw 3 of the lead women jog a few steps every so often in order to keep up with the group of lead men they were walking with. Not surprisingly, we soon lost sight of 2 of them. I have difficulty getting my head round what these cheats actually get out of the event. I would feel no personal satisfaction in knowing I hadn't really walked the time I was being credited with.
Maybe the time has come to stop awarding prizes in the walking section. The original idea was to provide some reward and incentive for those people incapable of running the route. Barely any older ladies participated. These days, the women's walking race tends to be won outright by a lady vet, who is usually a member of a running club - presumably entering the walk because she has more chance of winning a prize or a trophy than in the run.
And a final postscript? Next year I'll try to remember my walking poles! (and my towel). I must have fallen over at least 5 times, having become a bit too reliant on the poles to provide balance.
17th July 2002
