History Lesson, pt. II

I rejoined the Fell Runners Association at the end of 2009. I became a member in 2005 but My Hectic Past meant that a lapse was only a matter of time. Last years resurgence of the running spirit, combined with my newly found competitive urge, made the FRA Race Calender a must have tome.

Membership entitles you to three issues of The Fellrunner - the association magazine compiled by 'active fell runners for active fell runners'. The Spring 2010 edition (surely a sign that good weather is imminent?) crashed through my letterbox yesterday, and with it came a grand supplement to celebrate 40 years of the FRA. 40 pages of great mountain photography, an article by Bill Smith which is a potted history of those 40 years, and a reproduction of the very first issue of the same magazine.

It's this I wanted to mention. I was pleasantly surprised to see, in the Other Results section, two entries that are local to me. It seems that somebody, back in the day, considered a race at Malvern to be suitable for recording in The Fellrunner.

Firstly, for 1970:

"WORCESTER BEACON 1. P.Wood 33.39, 2. R.Cooper 33.44 3. A.Jenkins 35.18"

and for 1971:

"WORCESTER BEACON 1. R.Cooper 33.41 2. E.Hansen 34.14 3. A.Rowlng 34.18 Team: Worcester Y.M.C.A."

Then, further on, at the top of the Provisional Calendar of Events for 1970, the first entry reads:

"Sat. Mar.14 WORCESTERSHIRE BEACON RACE- 6 and 3/4m / 1,369' - from Malvern, Worcs. -Rec 33.24s. - Obvious course - Entries 2/6d ind. 7/6 team - by Mar. 7 to R.Hinds, Y.M.C.A. Henwick Rd. Worcester. Some road."

I would love to know what course this ran over, as the current winners time for the Beacon race 10k is 43.48 (Bill Nock, M40 of Halesowen).

Maybe the 10km course of today is not the same as that run 40+ years ago? What could account for the 10 minutes added to the course record pre-1970? And if so, why has it been changed?

'Some road' may provide a clue.

I feel an investigation coming on. The YMCA (who still have a homeless shelter on Henwick Rd, I believe) organised a hill race? When did that start? Why did it stop?

In the meantime, check out D., Mike and George. I'd like to dedicate this song to the memory of the fallen and to those who are currently falling:

MINUTEMEN

Training

I really need to work on my hill legs. I live in a suburban nightmare and there is greenbelt all around but it has to be said that the state of the countryside footpaths and bridleways leaves a lot to be desired, either being unkempt and overgrown or heavily churned by horse and rider. Consequently, a lot of running has been done on roads in the last six months.

This sucks. Road work leaves you open to all sorts of injury problems - from shin splints to full on road traffic collisions.

So I made my way over to Malvern for a 12 mile long slow distance run. A storm was forecast but never materialized. The wind was blowing into my face for the second half and it was a cold one. My route would take me across the tops from North Quarry car park, over the Worcestershire Beacon (425m) and down to The Cut. From there it was back up to Perseverance Hill (325m), across Third's Land (327m), Pinnacle Hill ((357m). Over the two Black Hills (308m & 270m) and down to Wynds point (236m). Back up to the Herefordshire Beacon (338m), to the turning point at Clutter's Cave. I returned along the same route, throwing Millennium Hill (292m) into the mix.

If I can be bothered I'll work out the total ascent but, in case you don't know, the Malvern range is a wide, rolling ridge-line. The main ascents are really at both ends, in North Malvern at End Hill and at the Hereford road in the south at Midsummer's Hill. Along the range it is a case of dropping down to high saddles between prominent tops. Some of the uphills are steep, such as the climb up Pinnacle Hill, and long - the pull up to the Worcestershire Beacon from Upper Wyche Cutting.

Regular use of the hills reduces the challenge significantly

Time spent OTH was 2 hours and 23 minutes, and incurred a pain penalty of 5 ragged blisters.

Must remember to wear socks next time. Doh...