Grizedale 13 - February 2015

On Sunday 8th February 2015 I ran in the Montane Grizedale 13, which was my first trail Half Marathon!

The Race Kit List

I had packed my kit the night before and was feeling slightly stressed about the amount of stuff I had to carry as well as the fact the weather forecast was for severe fog.

I set my alarm for 7.15am.  I awoke with a feeling of both dread and excitement but somehow managed to force down a bowl of porridge and a banana before leaving home at 8am for the 22 mile journey to the race HQ at The Grizedale Visitor Centre.

When we left home it was a fairly clear bright but cold and frosty morning but after travelling a couple of miles the fog had descended!

The roads to Grizedale are fairly narrow with lots of twists and turns so it was a fairly slow journey.  We were delayed slightly by a crash blocking the road but we still made it in plenty of time arriving just after 9am for the 10am start.

We had purposefully arrived early to ensure we got parked in the main car park as there is very limited space and I didn't fancy a 15 minute trek from the overflow car park!

Thankfully we got parked easily in the main car park and made our way to the registration point where I quickly collected my race number, T Shirt and timing chip.  I even managed a visit to the toilet without queuing which is unheard of at races!

We then went back to the car to stay warm!  

It was a very cold, frosty, foggy morning, with temperatures as low as -1C which in my opinion is a little chilly for running!

At around 9.40am I braved getting out the car and removed my outer clothes before heading to the start line. We arrived just as the full marathon race was setting off!

There was supposedly a compulsory safety briefing at 9.50am, however, I arrived early before they opened the starting pens and there definitely wasn't one!  

I was carrying a whistle and all the compulsory safety equipment with no idea what to do if I found myself in an emergency situation alone in the forest! 

Although there was no safety briefing there was a photography session and I have no idea why!



The race was chipped in as far as we wore a timing chip around our ankle but in real terms it wasn't accurately chipped! There was no starting timing mat so everyone's time started from the whistle blowing whether you were at the front or back.

Not realising this at the time I was fairly relaxed starting at the back of the pack.

The race actually started a couple minutes early, after a countdown at 9.56am which I was pleased about as it was freezing cold!

We headed out of the courtyard over a cattle grid (tricky to run over!) and we immediately headed up hill along a very icy track into the forest.  I tiptoed my way along the edge of the track trying to avoid the worst bit not wanting to risk falling at the first hurdle! Going up this first hill a lot of people started to walk so the field soon spread out and I had the space to settle into my pace fairly early on.

As we climbed the fog got denser and my main concern was getting lost!  I was fairly happy whilst on the man-made forest trails but at around the 5 mile mark we headed off onto narrower rougher terrain and as we climber higher the fog got denser and the runners infront of me seemed to break free!  

I felt ever so slightly panic stricken when I realised that I could no longer see anyone in front of me through the fog, but thankfully I could still hear people not too far behind me so I wasn't totally alone!  I could only imagine the spectacular views as the fog was so thick, I was lucky to be able to still see the path! 

My husband had taken the dog for a walk in the forest whilst I was running and they popped up a couple of times to offer me support, which was much appreciated when the going was getting tough!

My support team waiting for me enroute!

The race was described as "a tad hilly" and I would totally agree with this description! This was a truly undulating course, although there did see far more ups then downs!!

I was glad I had taken my own drinks bottle as although the race details said there would be a water station at 5 miles it was in fact at 8.5 miles!  Although I didn't stop for a drink at this point I still had to stop to get checked off the runners list, which was to ensure everyone was safe!

This was the only point on the entire route that I saw a marshall! The only other official people I saw were two photographers!

As I approached mile 13 I was ready for finishing and desperate to see the finishing line!  

I was beginning to feel cold and my legs were tired but the race kept going! I was pleased there were other runners in front of me as I would have been panicking that I had missed a turn. This last section of the race seemed to go on forever and appeared to be all uphill!  I couldn't believe it when my Garmin beeped to register 14 miles and we still hadn't finished!  

Where was the finish?

Eventually there was a nice downhill section, which was very icy and tricky for tired legs to negotiate but this finally took us into the finishing gantry!  

I have never been so relieved to run through a race finishing line - I was absolutely exhausted and felt extremely sorry for those poor souls who were doing the full marathon and had to keep going at this point!! 

My Garmin registered the distance as 14.5 miles which I had covered in 2 hours 27 minutes.

 A little girl congratulated me and handed me my well deserved medal whilst a woman removed my timing chip.  I inquired about why the race was so long and she said they had to alter it due to snow and ice making the original route too treacherous!  It would have been helpful to have been informed of this at the start then I could have prepared myself properly!

I really enjoyed this run despite it being longer than expected but I was absolutely exhausted at the end!  

I think this was probably one of the hardest races I have done!

However, I would still recommend it to others and would like to do it again next year to see the views!!

My T Shirt actually says Grizedale 26 - whoops I must have got the wrong one but it will look impressive in the gym!

The official results give my time as 2.27.07 and put me 140th / 208 runners,  8th in my category and 28th female. 

You can view all the results here and the route on my Garmin here.