Haweswater

Forrest got into running at the end of last summer but we only managed to run one fell race together before we were both struck down by injury. Today was the first chance we've had to race each other since. When Forrest discovered that the Lowther Lakeland Fell & Trail Run had been given permission to go ahead he suggested we enter. It's not a race that has ever been on my radar. When I discovered it was organised by an old mate of mine, Martin Stone, the deal was sealed. 

During lockdown, Forrest has been pushing me to go faster than I've run in recent years. I've been pushing him to go further. Not having any races until now has meant that we've kept progress steady and we've both managed to avoid picking up any serious niggles.

Covid protocols were in place, runners being set off in individual channels, no more than six at a time, every five minutes. Forrest and I ran together for about a mile before I had no choice but to let him go. The route of 13 miles and 1,400 ft of climb from Lowther Castle was beautiful, going over hills I'd never travelled before. We both blew up in the last 2 miles, possibly lacking one more hard training run at close to distance, but it was lovely to be racing again, even it was rather lonely at times. 

For the record, Forrest was 60th in 1.55.21. I was 103rd in 2.06.43. 234 runners finished. Forrest is well and truly hooked.

As the racing was serious I didn't take the camera with me. Afterwards, I was so busy chatting that I forgot to get a post-race shot of the two of us. This was taken later in the afternoon, introducing Forrest to the sights, before finding a lovely quiet campsite at Croft House, Rosgill. It's great to be able to trust to the flow and find the perfect place by chance. It was a day to celebrate.

Finally, many thanks to Martin for being bold enough to jump through all the hoops necessary to make this event happen. Much respect.