Goyts Moss Fell Race   26th July 2000
6.2 miles    1100ft climb

I was a little apprehensive about running this mid-week race since it was only the previous Saturday that I'd run my first race for months, this being the Turnslack and also because I had in mind the possibility of the Holme Moss race on the Sunday coming.   Nevertheless and regardless,  like a real trooper,  I decided to run.   I hadn't done the race before and it looked interesting, a good one to do.    It was a very warm summer's evening but not too warm  to run.

On the way down to the registration  point I was surprised to see Vaughan,  I don't really know why but didn't expect to see him in a mid-week fell race somewhat off the beaten track.   Two more blue and orange shirts were at the registration worn by Gerry Moss and Jackie Purvis thus making up quite a Glossopdale contingent in the circumstances, these being that the tour  was in full swing although I did wonder if one or two of the hardier Glossopdale lads might do this race as a bit of a trainer since,  being Wednesday,  they had the day off.

After a bit of warm up it was a 500 metre run on the tarmac lane to the start point and shortly after we were away down the same lane,  this was down hill and at a fair  pace.  Despite wearing trainers I was content to take it  just a little easy not just because of the tarmac but because I knew there was a steep climb in the next 5-10 minutes.   Vaughan was soon twenty metres ahead and Gerry about ten/fifteen metres when after about half a mile  we took a path off left into the  plantation which is on the right if your are coming up this one-way lane from Errwood Reservoir.    The steep climb is up from the plantation to the track that comes up from Errwood Reservoir, passes Shining Tor on the right and finishes at the Cat & Fiddle.   Gerry had got about twenty metres ahead by this time but had slowed on the climb,  I passed him and whilst finding it hard work, sweating heavily, I got to the top without slowing to a walk.   I had run up this bank before but never in a race and clearly,  because of the pace, its a lot harder than climbing in  your own time.   I'll never forget the first time I really noticed this (pretty obvious, really) difference, it was not long after I moved  to Glossop and I had,  I thought,  got the hang of "Lightside" to a certain extent but this was only at my pace and when I came to run it in Nev's Race, it presented much more of challenge.

Feeling cautiously pleased with my performance so far,  I was a little disappointed to find a tallish bloke in blue right behind me as I got over the stile at the top.   I'm  not a fast runner and I knew that the next stage was the long descent to Errwood Gardens, (just above the Reservoir) and that I would find it hard work to keep my position .    I managed this but nearing the bottom,  I was passed by a tall bloke in brown, taking great lolloping strides and thought "how come it took him so long to catch me".   Soon after,  Gerry passed me and that was that,  I had to do something about this.   We took a path off to the left which descended quite quickly down to a stream and having taken Gerry,  I didn't let up but kept going fairly strongly.   Before very long, after a series small steps and gradients,  I could see the tall bloke in brown about 150 metres ahead and thought he was slowing due to the slight climb we were now on.  This gave me the encouragement to try a bit harder and  I passed him to see, again about 150 metres ahead,  another two runners which I guessed I must by closing on.    Suffice it to say that I got passed the female of these two runners and just after we crossed the lane,  got passed the other who,  wearing a heart monitor strapped to his chest,  made me think maybe he was taking it a bit easy.

The final climb was testing for me, I'd got about 30 metres in front of the the bloke behind and thought that I'd just have to keep going steady and would be in with a chance of maintaining my position.  About half-way up, I thought he was getting a little closer and I put a bit more effort into it.   Getting nearer to the  top I realized he was far too close for comfort and as we reached the top he was right there with me and thanking me for pulling him along ! ! !     I didn't like to say it  wasn't what I'd intended and merely agreed when he suggested that we work together to keep in front of the runners behind on the final stony descent to the finish.   It was the bloke with the heart monitor and he finished 50 metres ahead with me feeling pleased that I'd got down to the finish without injury on a track which had all the properties of a dried up mountain river bed.

I didn't see Vaughan again until the finish and this isn't surprising since he had a terrific run finishing 28th and 1st MV45.

I thoroughly enjoyed the race and, as Vaughan commented afterwards, it was too good to run,  meaning that the views were too good to miss by running at race speed.

I didn't hang around for the results because of the millions upon millions upon millions of midges that had turned  out to greet and feed off weary runners.

Brian Shelmerdine    26th July 2000

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