Hope continues good form at Pendle
Rob Hope
At the Stan Bradshaw Pendle Round there was a good quality field for this excellent 10 mile race which takes in Scout Cairn, Calf Hill and Pendle, with 3-time British Fell Champ Rob Hope taking the win from Lloyd Taggart…
According to his report below Hope was strong in this one and took the course record on the way to the win, and put some top-class runners behind him (3rd Carl Bell, 4th Ian Holmes, 5th Tom Brunt).
Great to see that the Pudsey and Bramley man appears to be heading back to something like the form he had between 2008 and 2010 when he took those three British crowns.
We’re still awaiting full results and images, but thought our readers would like to hear how it panned out at the sharp end from the man himself, Rob Hope:
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Had a really good run out in typical conditions of recent times with rain, snow blizzards on the tops, strong winds and mist. This is only the 3rd running of this course as a replacement for the classic half Pendle race, which had to be changed primarily as a result of erosion issues.
Consequently the route is still evolving somewhat and there was much discussion pre-race regarding optimal lines and navigation worries.
Carl set off at a pace (as usual!) but I reeled him in on the first big climb up Pendle’s big end (I’ll just make it clear that Pendle is a hill) and got a gap at the top. Lloyd closed me back on the plateau, shortly followed by Carl, and we disappeared further into the mist.
Fortunately, we’d all reccied parts of the course in the lead up to the race so we had a vague idea. The course then took a tricky line across open no man’s land and we were relieved to get across (in a round about way) to some more obvious vantage points in clearing mist.
I thought the lads then started to drop too low and I decided to gamble on my own route to the next check (3) thinking I knew better. Number 1 mistake, I’m a Pudsey runner, why would I be an expert at route choice on Pendle!!
Consequently I ended up 10-20secs adrift and having to play catch up for a good section of the back course. Fortunately still feeling good I caught them back and tucked in for a while before pushing away on the first of 2 tough little climbs before the run in to the finish. The only other mishap was slipping big time onto my back on a super smooth but rather hard piece of flagstone when crossing Upper Ogden Dam. My back is pretty sore this morning.
The course record was well beaten and I think there will be scope for further reductions with refinements of the best navigation lines and better weather conditions although it was reasonably firm underfoot. Salomon Fellcross were perfect for the largely grassy course with lots of fast running.
Another well organised race with many thanks as usual to the organisers, and marshalls out there braving the elements. Great tea and cake in the village hall afterwards.
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