I had a really wonderful experience at Bamford a couple of years ago and was so excited to be lucky enough to join in again this time and to see people at their first experience enjoy it so much 
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Scene surveyance
As part of the ladies V40 team, we travelled up together and arrived to start the 45 minute walk together to the event field – really exciting walk there, around 45 minutes through slippery fields, past beautiful pastel cottages, with everyone else – a lovely sense of camaraderie – we could start to see the beautiful, looming fells and lovely to learn which ones we’d be going up and our fab team mates on the other legs. Our one was shrouded so then you start to worry, excitedly, about what could be behind the cloak?
– I remember loving this at Cross Country races – all the bags and fiddlery, relaxing after, nerves before, but it’s OK, because we’re all in the blessed shelter together!
.And then, the excitement of seeing the Leg 1 runner returning! I said to Barrie Thomason, what leg are you on Barrie? He said he’d finished!! How on earth can you look like you’ve not started at the end of that! Loved the advice from Emma, Chris, Barrie and Anne Marie – it’s greasy out there! :-0
. Joe and I enjoyed chatting to the Mow Cop guys, Geoff was off at sea
and so they were there holding up the blessed fort – enjoyed seeing them at the beer q after
A fun mass start for our leg, really lovely to hear our Macc team cheering us on – Jo had been brilliant at explaining our route and what we could expect and so we set about Climb 1 of 3 – a false summit – everyone together and then on up to the undulations – misty and determined along the tops, great checkpoints with lots of encouragement, then on to climb 2, hands and knees, Jo and I laughing wondering how it would look to see the front runners on these :-0 – cheering others on as we went up, then again along the tops – we knew the big guy – climb 3 was coming :-0 – we had some time to relax then and enjoy the stunning scenery – you could see the beautiful descent and raise and the hardworking ants in a trail together – we can do it! A fern dragging descent to the river, more kind marshals encouraging us to the final climb – a fence to hold on to, everyone pushing each other on – lovely to see Pennine gents wanting their afternoon tea (missing Digby) – then the top! we could see the race field! We were really excited – we thought, yeh! we can do it!!! a shambles of a descent to great encouragement from the marshals – the crabs hitting the Atlantic – in a pickled stew, but I got my Macc! … then the final push, we were so happy and proud we had made it!!! we slogged along the last field, cheering on the leg 4 runners and then said we had to do a final push in the last field – guns blazin, grazing,.. we came through the field, so happy to hear our lovely team members cheer us on and Jo clapped the fab Anna off, sprinting down the field
The aftermath
After arriving back, was lovely to see the other leg runners, fresh as daisies, tea and beer in hand – great atmosphere in the food tent, everyone delighted at their team’s brilliant achievements and the chance to run in such stunning scenery. While getting changed in the portaloo, the happy compere rang out -‘ look at those 2 ladies finishing, hand in hand, pulling each other to the end, looking so happy, this is why I love fell running, this is what it is, fell running is an amazing sport!!!!’ I felt a shiver up on already frozen spine – a very happy queue at the beer and tea stalls – then more expert fiddling with tent riggings.
The walk back to the carpark was very relaxed – everybody feeling that lovely sense of camaradirie again, enjoying chatting to people you mightn’t have the chance to other times -In the carpark, I loved seeing the fabulous Wioleta and Glossopdale Harrier ladies in the portaloo q – first met Wioleta on the ascent to Shuts on a random, wet and freezing Sat morning and that’s where our luck and love of the fell begins – GO ON MACC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!