LONG WAY IS THE WRONG WAY
TOUR OF PENDLE
So the big question then... has this old goat still got any long distance potential?
No. Not the answer I was looking for, but a definitive answer nonetheless. The Tour of Pendle is a tough bugger of a fell race and certainly as tough a fixture as it gets inside the boundaries of Lancashire's moderate precipitations. A satisfactory effort here would give the green light to training towards another bash at the Yorkshire Three Peaks Race next Spring. But with about three and a half miles remaining off the top of Mearley Clough, the lights turned to red and I knew there and then that I am done with this distance stuff.
It was all about the knees and how far could I go before they inevitably buckled. I'd been moving along fine until reaching the cairn at the top of Ashendean Clough - the first of three tough climbs squished in to the final six or so miles. Stiffness was just starting to creep up on my leg bending mechanisms, but even at the top of the next climb along upon Mearley, I was still feeling positive and only just outside the top thirty with some energy levels still in reserve. However the following plateau towards 'Big End' became a big struggle and then descending to the next checkpoint at the bottom of the hillside there... well that was just a complete joke. My knees didn't want to play any more, my right knee in particular was giving me a good bit of discomfort. Unable to flex either with any sort of efficiency, technique went out of the window and so did my chances of salvaging a respectable finish.
Dragging along dysfunctional leg parts, I tried several times to just press on through it as if mind over matter could magic a temporary reprieve. But in the end I finished a forlorn figure, hobbling hopelessly and losing over forty places. Pain and suffering is par for the course in fell racing, but the key to the pointlessness of me engaging in any future attempts at long distance is that I was never really competitive in this race. Up until twelve miles I had cut the balance quite well of running cautiously whilst keeping in touch with potential rivals. But then at the business end, when I wanted to get stuck in and have a go, a fired up engine proved useless when the wheels were knackered.
I shared the journey to base camp Barley with John Horrocks and ironically we were in each other's pockets for much of the race until those latter stages. Johnners probably thinks I'm hard on myself and refuses to believe that my shelf life for longer races has expired. Well he would do, he's heard me spitting my dummy about packing in altogether before now. But genuinely, the game is surely up for anything much beyond twelve miles. I could pick holes in my race preparations, but who couldn't? The bottom line is that even during long training runs - of which there probably weren't enough - my knees have protested at being asked to work beyond the two hour mark.
It's time to focus on what I still can do, rather than try and keep some slippery grip on what I clearly can't. Such an outlook would be beneficial towards the broader spectre of my life in general as well! My only conceivable hope of long distance again would be a big lottery win to buffer the time and finance required for treatment and to train and recover like a professional athlete... so ridiculous pie in the sky aside and to the scientific reality of mathematics and gerontology; I've just turned 45 and as such, the art of simply listening to the body is the best tool in my box right now. That's the tool being selected when I say I'm done with distance.
Out on the course, previous winners of this race were duly scattered both as spectators and competitors. John's Dad Mark Horrocks, winner in 1996, was all over the course supporting his lad. Winner in 1989 and 1994, Shaun Livesey was present to give his Ribble Valley club mates a shout. Winner in 2003 and 2004, the well known figure of Andrew 'Scoffer' Schofield is still batting hard. The Borrowdale man was blowing heavily when I was near him five miles in, but that proved deceptive as he climbed through the pack to finish 19th and easily take the V50 prize. Last year's winner Chris Holdsworth repeated his success, beating 2016 victor Jack Wood to second. Another defending champion on the course to retain her ladies crown was Vic Wilkinson. She's so good, only the very top end men can get the better of her. I feel a mention for the first placed veteran is also in order, which was Julian Goudge who now runs for Horwich. Julian was briefly a rival of mine on his way up. He's a triathlete first and foremost, but when he dips his hand in to the sole discipline of running - and on any terrain - it's normally with success. He finished a superb 13th here. Iain Duncan-Smith's political career may have been riddled with talking twaddle at times, but when he said ''never underestimate the quite man'', it would turn out that in Julian's case those would be very sage words indeed.
The Tour of Pendle is an illustrious race with a great history. In the hands of Kieran Carr, the race is organised by an old school fellsman who keeps things wonderfully plain and simple. Prior to race day, my most recent sighting of this multiple veteran fell champion was of him zipping down the A59 on a training run. At 74, Kieran's running form is that of a man more than half his age. It was incredible to see.
Post-race, Barley Village Hall's busy little kitchen is banging out soup, brews, cakes and scones. Johnners and I take a well earned pew and are joined at our cosy four-seater table by... Charmian Heaton no less, Fell Runners Association Chair and chief conspirator of the lobby to get the club status of Ribble Valley Harriers expunged. I kept a lid on things somehow. Part of me regrets not challenging her and finding out exactly what her beef is. The other part says I did right, that she's not worth raising my blood pressure over. More to the point, it isn't really my own personal battle to fight no matter how much I disagree with her.
Initially, I was desperately disappointed about how the race panned out. Lady Charmian's close proximity at the dining table sort of summed up the day, really. I even thought I could plant a seed in Darren Fishwick's fiercely loyalist Chorley head to take a turn towards Ribble Valley, but he wasn't having any of it - then I discover it looks like he's very chummy with Charmian, so I really was on a hiding to nothing there it would seem. Epic fails on all fronts, but I still think Daz is missing a trick.
On the bright side though, part of me feels a huge sense of relief that chasing the Three Peaks is now out of bounds. I need to get back to just doing what I was doing, geared towards trying to stay sharp for the middle and shorter distances. The crumpled remains of my legs right now may beg to differ, but prior to the Tour I really had been going quite well, feeling strong and just enjoying my running. With a Podium 5K on the calendar in early December, an opportunity perhaps to prove to myself that everything's not lost.

Saturday 17th December 2018
TOUR OF PENDLE   16.8m/4830ft   Barley Village, East Lancs.
Ist Man - Chris Holdsworth (Ribble Valley Harriers) 2.15:08
Ist Lady - Vic Wilkinson (Bingley Harriers) 2.29:08
My Stats - 2.57:46   76/461
    
FOR THE RECORD...
This was my fifth and final (probably) Tour of Pendle. As such, I decided to dig out the stats of my previous four appearances. 
2010 - 2.45:52   8/310   Innocence was bliss on my debut. Ran strong off the top of 'Big End' and took two notable scalps out near the finish of Mark Russell and Tim Edward to claim a very lofty 8th place.
2011 - 2.40:18   16/363   A little further down the field, but another strong finish and over five minutes quicker. In retrospect one of my best efforts in a longer distance fell race.
2013 - 2.56:07   107/421   If ever a case of piss poor preparation makes for piss poor performance, this was it. I thought I could blag it, but the back three climbs hung me out to dry. 
2014 - 2.56:05   56/372   The wheels came off unceremoniously once again. It would be another four years of licking my wounds before having another go at this race, only to open them all up again last Saturday with an even slower time!