Outrunning the Rain: Ben Rowe
Myself and Bob began from Cod Beck car park at 0409hrs, intending to finish in around 14 hours.
The morning was clear and bright with a steady southerly breeze We reached Lion Inn after around 7 hours, we didn’t go in, just stopped for a snack by the road and continued.
On the turn off from the Rosedale road (Boggy Section) we found the ground pleasantly firm and spongy. Our soles were getting hot at this point so we removed our shoes and had a happy half hour cooling our feet and enjoying the occasional fresh foot baths bubbling up through our toes.
Refreshed, we went slightly wrong crossing the road after leaving Hamer. A gate with ‘Lyke Wake’ and an arrow, was open, leading us along a stone wall for a while until we realised and yomped cross moor to the correct path.
The wheel date section was sparse and difficult, compounded by the rain showers that dampened us occasionally.
Bob began struggling with muscle cramps, so we slowed the pace slightly. At Fylingdales, half a mile in to the section after Eller Bridge, his legs locked, so he took the decision to return to the road and hitch a lift to Scarborough.
I continued on my own as the weather closed in. At Lilla Cross, driving horizontal rain and fog reduced the visibility to 50m. I ran most of the downhill as the rain got heavier. The final section, over the Whitby Road to the finish, was daunting, with burial mounds looming out of the mist. I ran as much as I could of this whole section. I caught sight of the radio mast only as I stepped on to the road at the finish.
A exhilarating experience that I will repeat. The 12:33hrs moving/ 13:40 overall time flew by.
Ben Rowe (Hong Kong, but from Osmotherley)