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British Fell Relays Championship 2021

Posted on 18/10/2021
by Kathleen O’Donnell

Mark Burley did a brilliant job in organising the Macc teams for the British relays this year – there were 4 teams of us, travelling up to Tebay:
Open Men;
V50 men;
Mixed 3+3;
V40 Women.
When I first heard of fell relays and thinking if I could possibly join in, I pictured waiting in a wet, windswept forest in my Macc vest, waiting for my team mate to arrive, proffering a baton of fire. I had many questions concerning the fiddling about with the coat and food, I knew all other facilities needed would be available.

Raring to go!

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 🙂.

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?

Arrival
Arriving was really exciting – there was too cool (for me) music playing and a great compere – we really wanted to see Anne Marie and the other fab Macc runners start – we made it just as they set off – what a start! A plethora of colourful vests, energy and excitement – we then set about finding that delightful purple tent and feel that pride to be part of Macc Harriers 🙂 – 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!

Leg 1 mass start

Pre race delightful faff
One thing I always love about Cross Country and Fell relays (and all races!) is the delightful faff beforehand, everyone in the same boat – we got there and Mark and Nathanael were there – a sense of order, handing out our numbers kindly, seeing everyone was sorted – then the intense faff
 started – all manner of bags opening and closing, things getting stuffed in, things getting
 pulled out – the odd comment – are you taking your rain jacket? what leg are you on? what are you eating? no one gave any certainty and the lovely fiddling continues – really lovely to have that time to consider and prepare 🙂.

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 🙂
 

Into the holding pen :-0
We clapped off the amazing leg 2 nav runners :-0 – me only imagining what it could possibly be like to be let loose up there with an Australian compass and a sodden scroll -the holding pen was delightful fracas of nerves, frenzied on and off with jacket; facilities queues; warming up; peering at the finish line – when could they be arriving??? We were looking at Matt and James and thinking we should be a long time after them :-0 great to clap them off and then Marc and Kerry too 🙂 . 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 🙂

Kathleen and Jo out on leg 3
Stream crossing!
Flying down the fell
The race

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 afterpath

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 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Postscript from Mark Burley
Well done to everyone who competed in the British Fell Relays this weekend – it was a very successful day by all accounts. Particular congratulations to those who hadn’t competed at the event before – hopefully it’s given you the confidence to do some more Lakes races in the future.
In a very competitive field (it was the British championships after all!) the ladies V40 team finished 185th/220 (8th in their category). The mixed team were just ahead in 182nd and were 20th of 30 mixed teams. The men’s V40 team were 115th overall and also 8th in their category – but that one was very tightly fought and they were just 11 minutes away from a podium position – a great achievement. The men’s open team were 47th overall and only 5 minutes outside of last year’s excellent top 30 result.
Standout performances of the day for me were Ann-Marie Jones smashing leg 1 and coming in ahead of the mixed team and less than a minute behind the V50 men, and Dennis Kentrop putting in a magnificent performance on leg 4 to be only a minute behind the men’s open team.
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