Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay.
Patterdale, Lake District.
5th October 2024
In Tring Running Club’s official history book, the fell running section discusses the fantastic achievements of this southern club in the fells, driven by the encouragement of Rick Ansell. However, the future of Tring’s fell running was questioned, with fewer Tring runners seen on the fells. Well, Rick, hopefully this answers that question.
Tring Running Club has been sending 8 intrepid runners to Patterdale for the Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay since 2008. This is one of the most prestigious team fell events of the year, bringing the best fell runners together in highly competitive club teams. An event Tring Running Club feel very privileged to be invited to and always put in a good show of spirit and determination (even if things don’t always go to plan) in hills much bigger than Incombe Hole.
After a couple years of mishaps, on the 6th October 2021 Simon Barnett posed the ‘Patterdale Project’ which aimed to get us back on track and to break the top 20 and to go under 4 hours 30 minutes (with top 20 likely needing 4 hours 22 minutes that year). In 2023, this was achieved with an 18th place finish in a time of 4:25:19. But, could this ever be beaten?
This year there was a special air of excitement but with it expectation. We had a strong squad which balanced experience, youth, new energy, and talent. We even had the luxury of a travelling reserve in Tom Crouch (legend!). After our 2023 efforts the northern clubs could sense our rise and the organisers moved the traditional race day from Sunday to Saturday which removed the annual recce opportunity, and added a slight variation to the end of leg 3, start of leg 4. We would not be thwarted, we were committed. Annual leave was booked and we were there on Friday (this also meant an extra day in the fells which we were very happy about).
Team camaraderie was high. Friday night we gathered at Ambleside YHA for a team dinner expertly prepared by Rich Bedlow, followed by a crumble made by Zoe Langley (not Ross), and spent 90 minutes working out which cars could be used, who needed to be where and when, and ensuring no one was left behind.
Race day
Following the plans made over dinner, we assembled at the King George V playing fields in Patterdale at 8:15. The weather forecast looked better than expected with a slight chill and some cloud on top. We registered and perused the Pete Bland van of running gear whilst Ross and Tate got themselves ready. For this race you are required to carry certain emergency kit. This requires a small bag or bumbag. Ross however had a bum bag big enough for all our gear. Would it slow him down?
Game faces on for Team 66 as the clock approached 9.30.
Leg 1 – Ross Langley and Tate Eldred
By Ross Langley
Leg 1 is the shortest leg at only 4.5 miles, with the simplest terrain and easiest navigation, but it is fast and demands 100% effort from the start.
The race director addressed the assembly of 142 leg 1 runners, all carefully grouped in pairs, before stepping to the side of the football pitch/start line.
“We start in one minute” he declared. An excited murmur rose. Runners exchange glances. A couple of friendly lads enquire about the whereabouts of Tring. Supporters move into position around the playing fields.
“30 Seconds…” I can feel my heart thumping as the adrenaline hits.
“10,9,8….”Tate and I pump fists and turn to face forward, shoulder square.
“GO!” The race is on. We launch towards the field exit and out onto the road.
During our warm up, Tate and I had discussed tactics and I shared my observations from the previous days recce with Matt W.
The first mile is mostly flat along road/farm track and then the fellside. We must be fast here.
Mile two provides a steady climb to 500m, most of which could be run. We must focus here.
Mile three is a bumpy, tussocky, fell top. We can attack here.
The last section provides a steep grassy descent before hitting a track which leads to the changeover. Just give it everything we have left.
The first mile goes to plan. We hit the farm track well up the field and Tate starts to pull away from me. By the time we get to the farm there’s a noticeable gap. We reach the fellside and two pairs have come between us. Tate is going well and I’m pushing hard to keep up.
During the second mile the pace settles as the ascent progresses. I remind myself of my obligation to my teammates to keep running and focus on the task in hand. Tate is continuing to lead the way but I’m on the back of his group now and settling into a groove. We’ve been slowly overtaken by a couple of teams but we’re still in the hunt.
With 75% of the climb completed, Tate drops back slightly and we are reunited as a pair. I take over the lead and reassure him that we can recover on the next flat section. Angle Tarn appears before us.
We descend briefly to the peninsula where the checkpoint is found. It’s an out and back so I can see the condition of the teams ahead of us and sense an opportunity to advance.
We dib and head back to the rocky path as the third mile begins. Digging deep now, Tate starts to shout out at himself, trying to maintain forward motion. In stark contrast, a “YouTuber” is stood beside the track documenting the occasion. We trot past as she gently calls out “It’s so cute to see people running together”. She’s probably right and we press on, side by side.
The rocky track gives way to a grassy path. I try to reassure Tate that it’s all downhill from here whilst taking the opportunity to restate our obligation to our team mates. I’m not sure the message lands. We chase the three teams ahead of us to the top of the final descent. Applying the lessons learnt from Friday’s recce, we hold the left line, and bridge the gap. We take care to keep control, recognising this is where Rich broke his ankle three years ago.
We emerge from the bracken covered hillside and turn left to find the next checkpoint. Four miles completed and the last short section is upon us. Racing back down a tarmac track, we fight hard to hold our position before handing over to Matt and Matt for Leg 2.
A quiet tap of hands marks the end of my contribution to the best race of the year.
Tate quickly recovered and by the time we got to the parking field he was off doing his own thing. He produced a blood and thunder performance to make the team proud.
We handed over in 14th place, having taken 40mins 32secs. We had set the tone for what was to follow.
Leg 2 – Matt Wade and Matt Switzer
By Matt Wade
Watching Ross and Tate tear up on to the fell side around the top 10 really got the adrenaline going. A quick drive down the road is required to get ready for Leg 2. A quick warm up, followed by some toilet queue jumping ensured we were ready. I was secretly quite worried about this leg for two reasons. Firstly, I’ve seen Matt S on the Wendover Woods hills and if I can’t keep up with him there, what hope do I have here. Secondly, the clag added to the pressure and my bold claims of ‘I know where I’m going’.
We raced out of Hartstop along the gravel track without so much as a ‘GO, GO, GO’ from Ross. A quick glance at the time on my watch, I think they broke that leg’s record. Anyway, keep up with Matt. This leg is more or less constantly uphill for the first 5km. The 2km on what seems to be a runnable track but it is steep and uneven. It then switches to a steep grassy fell. At this point a couple teams had caught and passed us. ‘We are at the top end, these are proper mountain runners’ I was telling myself as Matt S was making light work of the hill. I was digging deep but knew I had to be careful not to blow up, there were 7 others depending on me.
We rounded The Knott where it levels slightly and I found I could run and we really pushed on here. The final climb to High Street takes you right, to then go left. The recce with Ross on Friday confirmed this is still the line we take. We were with Dark Peak Vets team who stayed right. Confident discussion with Matt, we went left and into the clag. The trig point check point appeared and suddenly from the right so did Dark Peak.
The two teams raced off of High Street, where Matt had a slight fall but thankfully was unhurt. Thornthwaite Crag presents an opportunity to contour around, avoiding extra climb and distance. But, there is no clear line and in the clag is difficult. ‘Matt’, I shout, ‘Right, now’. We peel off from behind Dark Peak and Matt follows my confident line. ‘Over the path, right at the wall’ I’m thinking. Path…. Wall…. Right. Slightly out of the clag I can see water ahead of me, that’s not right. I look to my left and see the hill we want. A quick adjustment and we are back on line. Dark Peak had followed at this point. A study of the map afterwards has told me there is another wall, I’d just never found it before.
The next climb towards Caudale Moor starts with the rocky ascent up Stoney Cove Pike and is hands on knees. We were both pushing hard here. I was very conscious of the time and knew this was the last big climb. Once over the top there is a real risk of going walkabouts in the clag. And the clag was down. There is a slight trod to hit, and we nailed it. Suddenly another team appeared from the clag and went across us. Confidently, ‘No, this trod’ we headed straight for the checkpoint. Nav nailed.
Now for the fun. About 3km down hill. If we want the record, we have 15 minutes. I’m not sure we can do it. Time to empty the tank. We were racing Dark Peak and Wharfedale and I was determined to be at the front. Using trods I’d seen the day before, I tried to stay off the rock as much as I could and hoped Matt didn’t fall over again. ‘Matt, 6 minutes’.One final slight rise to the final check point. ‘4 minutes’. The descent to Kirkstone Pass. ‘Tring? Where’s that?’ I heard as we raced across the road. Safely handing over to Simon and Rich.
The club record on this leg has stood since 2012 at 1 hour 17 minutes 33 seconds. Only once since then has a pair gone under 1 hour 20 minutes. Matt and I had just run 1 hour 16 minutes 41 seconds. Handing over to Simon and Rich still in 14th place. This was very much on.
Leg 3 – Simon Barnett and Rich Bedlow
By Simon Barnett
And so to Leg 3, which had a familiar air about it. Firstly, it was cold and windy waiting at Kirkstone Pass. Secondly, I like to think I own this Leg, and had been paired with another aspiring runner, this time Rich. Thirdly, I had a recurrence of the same calf injury that had plagued me 12 months previously. Finally, there was the usual commotion with clothes being ripped off and Rich having to be located once a positive ID of the incoming runners had been made.
For the second year in a row, this aspiring Tring team were well up after two legs, coming in 14th amongst a clutch of exceptional fell-running clubs. The pressure was on. The whole team was there for the changeover. Except for Tate, who was off doing his own thing.
Rich and I clambered over the tape into the start box with milliseconds to spare and the dibber passed on.
Within 30 seconds Rich established the status-quo and walked strongly up Red Screes as I ran large sections, unable to keep up. A couple of teams were overtaken through the mist and the summit checkpoint was easily gained.
A new line off Red Screes, recced the previous day, quickly became a calamity as Tring and other teams missed it and some unnecessary running through tussocks slowed the progress towards Scandale Pass. The familiar trod was regained, but only after around 4 teams had run past on the descent.
Good progress was made on the next climb and following contour, now back in the mist, around Dove Crag to the pile of stones and a friendly shout from a Pennine marshal. Tom’s friendly face popped up with some words of encouragement ahead of a descent which saw teams spread across the hillside trying to find the most efficient line. Despite racing this leg 8 times previously and recceing numerous times, I am yet to determine this line.
Safe progress was made to the valley floor, albeit with Rich allowing me to lead for pretty much the first time once he spotted a gate ahead that needed opening. There was a new finish for Leg 3 involving a 950m mainly flat run in. Time seemed to stand still as Rich eased away and I regretted never attending Monday’s track sessions. Both Rich and I were gobsmacked some hours later when it became apparent that Tring were 12th fastest overall on the 950m run-in.
At the finish I recovered and sat on a rock as Rich celebrated taking Ross’ leg record with everyone except Tate, Hugh and Mark. Hugh and Mark were off in hot pursuit of the 16 teams now in front. Tate was off doing his own thing.
Leg 4 – Hugh Chatfield and Mark Innocenti
By Hugh Chatfield
Never before had a Tring duo hurtled towards the cow barn at the 3/4 changeover like Barnett and Bedlow did – positioned in the top 20, grimacing, focussed. Hurtling is the right word; post-match analysis reveals a final kilometre in 3 minutes and change from the pair as Bedlow transformed his heavy right foot on the M6 into a weapon on the fells.
Langley sat, king of the castle vibe, high up in a fallen tree surveying the valley, far above the milling spectators and with a single straight raised arm signalling the Tring team’s arrival to Innocenti and Chatfield – the leg 4 pairing. A few hamstring stretches, a last-minute removal of base layers (which local northern clubs had been giggling about behind our backs it later turned out), some pacing strategy refinements (“easy-ish to the stile… right?”) and they were off for the anchor leg.
Chatfield led out setting a stiff pace up the climb as the diesel engine Innocenti slotted into an unrelenting gear of which southerners on the fells typically fall short. They held position on the climb to Hart crag, nailed the lines in the thick mist over Fairfield onto the nifty scree-skiing descent. And skirted cofa pike on a “Tring special” traversing trod which takes in a prominent waymarker, lovingly named “pride rock” far above teams that had traverse too far below and far below fools to take the ridge. Chatfield heckled some northern clubs for not knowing their lines well enough as they gained on the pack in front and picked off another team. A similar thing happened last year in the same spot – you’d think living in the fells these northern clubs would know where they are meant to be going?
From here began the last drag up St Sunday where the crosswind’s strength was memorable and led to a stumbly kind of stuttery, zebra-like trot. This would have been annoying, but the conditions were the same for all and the team yo-yoed with the pennine pair on the climb. Careful shoe choice following the previous day’s recce allowed a precise and clean descent including skirting knolls on grassy trods to avoid trickier bits of the route. Entering the Patterdale playing field the pair kept the pace high and hurtled past the timing clock with a leg record* and a significant club overall record bagged with a marshall, unaware of the history unfolding in front of her complemented the pairs’ dashing, vertical striped vests.
*Keen statisticians will note that even with a convincing leg record, the route was slightly shorter and that Wade still holds a faster descent than Innocenti could manage under the pressure of Chatfield’s shouts.
Patterdale Project. Completed it…
Whilst Hugh and Mark were racing around leg 4, the rest of us headed for the King George V playing fields. Tom Crouch was seen racing along the road having been out on the hill spectating. And we found Tate who after his heroics on leg 1 went off to do his own thing fitting in his Sunday run in the hills due to having to race back down the M6 that night. He looked broken! Top effort.
As we supported the local Primary School fundraising attempts by purchasing huge amounts of cake, bacon rolls and tea and coffee, the anticipation was building. Calculations at the end of leg 3 suggested we were way up, with our strongest pair out running. But this is fell running, anything can happen. Never have a group of men stared so intensely at a small gap behind a van at the gate where leg 4 enters the playing field. A team in blue gave us false hope. When Hugh and Mark did appear, we couldn’t quite believe it.
The target had been set in 2021. That was achieved in 2023. We dreamt of beating it in 2024. Tring Running Club finished in 15th place out of 71 teams in a club record time of 4 hours 12 minutes 11 seconds. In doing so, beating the previous record by 13 minutes 8 seconds and producing Tring’s highest finishing position by 3 places. Up to and including 2023, only once since 2011 have we had a top 20 finish on an individual leg. This weekend, all legs finished in the top 20.
Not only this, but records were also broken on:
- Leg 1: 40 minutes 32 seconds
- Leg 2: 1 hour 16 minutes 41 seconds
- Leg 3: 1 hour 44 seconds
- Leg 4: 1 hour 14 minutes 14 seconds
For those that like stats, here are some comparisons:
As we enjoyed extra large burgers and a beer or two on table 66 (our team number, it was meant to be) we dissected the day’s adventure and the years that have come before. With this in mind, it would be remiss of me to finish this without a sincere and heartfelt thanks to all those that have represented Tring Running Club at the Hodgson Brothers Mountain Relay (and other fell events), without whom this group of brilliant guys would not have had one of the best days racing in the fells. Particular thanks goes to Rick Ansell.
This blue and white zebra print vest wearing southern club mixed it with the best fell running teams there are and we are hungry for more. The Patterdale Project continues. 4 hours 10? Top 10? Sub-4 hours? Whatever is achieved next, Tring Running Club is well and truly on the map.
Map courtesy of Andrew Shipley – Top 20 finishing teams