Jarrett's Jaunt fell race 2019

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On an unseasonably mild Saturday in February I parked up in Wath Brow, just beside the River Ehen. I followed a stream of runners to the race HQ; a horsebox at the side of road. Two friendly chaps gave me my race number and took my £4 entry fee.

Jarrett's Jaunt is a handicap race; the handicap having been worked out in the weeks prior and based on performance in recent fell races. For me this was tricky as this was my first fell race and so my handicap was calculated based on my parkrun times. Writing my start time on the back of my hand, I realised I was in the final few batches of runners... no pressure then.

After a short warm-up run, I made my way to the race start. The race start was wonderfully unceremonious; due to the handicap, myself and two other runners waiting for the clock to reach 1.11pm and 30 seconds and off we went.

The route climbs quickly along Nannycatch Road and then up onto Flat Fell. It's a climb of around 750ft over about a mile. I took it steady; I ran a parkrun earlier that day and didn't fancy burning out in the first mile. There's a steady climb down off Flat Fell and then an abrupt turn south, following the valley of Nannycatch Beck. I was able to reclaim a bit of time here, despite the strong winds funnelling through the valley.

The real work begins when you cross Nannycatch Beck, beginning the long and unrelenting climb up 'the Chimneys'. The Chimneys form the route up onto Dent, the highest point on the route at 1,199ft. The first section of the Chimneys is un-runable (at least for me); an elevation gain of around 500ft in 0.3 miles. There's some momentary respite before the second section kicks in. The fell was littered with spectators and walkers, many of whom uttered words of encouragement to the runners..namely "nearly there!"... it didn't feel like it as the climb was brutal.

Eventually the course reaches the summit of Dent and then the long steep descent begins. The views out over west Cumbria were great; it was a clear and sunny day and, despite the wind, the conditions were very good. The descent was tooth-shatteringly quick and I had to ignore the 'if I trip I'm going to break something' thoughts and just allowed myself to go with the flow. At one stage I was flying down the fell at parkrun pace.

Coming off the fell, the course joins a forestry road which makes its way back down towards Wath. It's possible to reclaim quite a bit of time on this section. At some point Carl Bell from Keswick AC came flying past me. Soon I saw the welcome sight of the finish funnel and race HQ.  My watch made it 5.8 miles in total, with a time of 49.13. A small crowd of fellow runners had gathered next to the bridge, enjoying a tea and cooling their aching legs in the river. It was a great atmosphere at the end and I really wish I could have hung around a little longer.

Anyway, it turns out I came 23rd out of 107 runners, which I'm really pleased about for my first fell race. Congratulations to Carl Bell on the win and a superb time, and many thanks to Cumberland Fell Runners for organising such a friendly and welcoming race. 

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