Bullock Smithy: Another Recce

Brandside to Cumberland Clough
Brandside to Cumberland Clough

Owing to a couple of cancelled jobs today, I had a few extra hours to get out running. A blessing in the light of a failed alarm-call this morning meaning I didn’t get to run with our group on the annual Mellor March.

After a few changes in plan I decided that I wanted to tackle part of the recce I did a couple of weeks ago. The section was a concern due to the navigation going awry at the time. That said, with a debrief against the map and a discussion with others who have run the Bullock Smithy Hike I at least knew where the errors were.

I didn’t want a long run today. A sore hamstring is suggestive of doing a bit too much of late and making things worse is definitely not on the agenda!

Instead, I parked up at Flash Bar, just down from Brandside where I made the first set of nav errors last time. Unsurprisingly, with the new knowledge, this section was a breeze, first running it in reverse before coming back to Flash Bar in the normal race direction.

It was then off through Knotbury where I took an extended diversion last time. It was only by redoing it *properly* that I discovered just how much of a diversion I’d taken! I got to the waterfall below Three Shires Head so quickly in fact that I decided to carry on to Cumberland Clough before retracing my steps.

Once again, a demonstration that preparation for events is key. It was also another opportunity to test out kit (it rained and hailed heavily)! In addition I trialed my new Decathlon running hydration vest with soft water bottles and found myself wondering why I’d not tried these out long ago.

Here’s the route and the surprising amount of elevation (2000ft of ascent) involved in today’s recce.

Brandside to Cumberland Clough

Brandside to Cumberland Clough

Be the first to comment on "Bullock Smithy: Another Recce"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

error: Content is protected !!