The Anniversary Waltz

It was a hard decision, but I'm glad it was made: to take part in one of Lakeland's fell racing classics, the Anniversary Waltz. My partners in crime in the running club had egged me on to do it, but being double the length (and more importantly, height gain), of any previous race I had done, I naturally shied away from this heavyweight icon of all that is mad in the fell racing world.
Pen and I took an amble round the 11 mile course a week ago, and it brought out quite a repertoire of swearing over the three and a bit hours it took to complete. The day itself dawned with just enough cloud-base excitement for us to wonder whether there would be visibility or not, but all was clear, thankfully. What a race. Fantastic views, blustering winds, and horrified onlookers. In between squashing down jelly babies (which is strangely problematic in high winds, with a mouth like a glue pot), I had time for a laugh with the other fell runners, who to a man (or woman) seemed to come out with cracking one liners. A fantastic experience. And all over in 2 hours and 43 minutes.