Race Date: Saturday 16th November 2024

Tour of Pendle 2: Electric Boogaloo

So here we are again. I ended last year’s race with nothing left and I probably swore I’d never re run the experience. As you might know, the Tour of Pendle is 27km with 1400m over 6 pretty brutal climbs, setting off from the village of Barley, all for the now increased price of £14 (Starmer’s Britain, eh!)

For this year’s effort we doubled the number of Striders, with the addition of Nick Burns, who had the honour of driving me to the start line. The rain absolutely hammered it down on the way over the Snake Pass but as we closed in to Pendle Hill the skies cleared and the sun threatened to shine.

I panic bought a map of the route for the reported kit check that never happened and it subsequently spent the duration of the route in my bag (£6 well spent), next to a little handful of fucks (literally) that felt essential from last time (a prize from the 2023 Striders Xmas Do, see my previous report for more context! https://www.steelcitystriders.co.uk/2023/tour-of-pendle-fell-race-results-report/). After counting the racers through into a holding pen prior to an indeed brief race briefing we were off up the road.

According to the font of all knowledge (wikipedia), “The name “Pendle Hill” combines the words for hill from three different languages (as does Bredon Hill in Worcestershire). In the 13th century it was called Pennul or Penhul, apparently from the Cumbric pen and Old English hyll, both meaning “hill”. The modern English “hill” was appended later, after the original meaning of Pendle had become opaque.”

All this is to say, running a hill race on Hillhill Hill ends up quite hilly. The first climb from Barley village hall to the trig is around 4km and 320m of ascent underfoot – after a stretch of tarmac through Buttocks Plantation, steep grass fields and hard rocky ground we reach the trig. The following 8km is one of the only sections of easier running in the whole race. Although I was struggling to get going with a really tight lower back that persisted throughout the initial climb and stuck around for a little longer across the top of the hill. The descent was punctuated with spates of peat bog but before long we were at the bottom, ready to climb again.

Hugging some boundary walls, a line of determined stompers (the pace had slowed somewhat for those around my cohort of runners) climbed the southern section of the hill from Churn Clough over the brow for a period to the roughly 47% gradient 200m plunge to the stream and a river crossing. Geronimo as it’s locally known requires quick feet, wild windmilling arms and the occasional stint sliding on the arse to navigate the drop to the bottom with a quick dip across a river. So once again at the bottom of this hill we followed the clough up for climb numero trés.

The shallowest of the six inclines, we follow the stream up, before having to cross it again and a steep short pull to bring us back along the plateau of the hill to the north west. And the last “half” of the tour begins. 10km consisting of the final 3 climbs before the longer winding bosh off the hill.

All three of the last climbs are pretty similar. Around 20% incline all with about 200m of ascent and absolutely killer on the calves and lungs. The aim is to get to the top without being too fucked to keep running to the next. I failed this on the second (or fifth) climb, trying to push just a little too hard and ended up really blowing when I reached a section that would normally resemble runnable, but I was not capable of doing so.

I recouped, rallied and with aid of a handful of sweaty skittles from my pocket and 3 jelly babies from the marshalls at the bottom of the very last climb I made it to the top and the trig. I caught a few people on the way back to Geronimo iIncluding Ollie, who I completed the Full Wild Peaks Round with earlier in the year who was suffering from cramp and stretching out his calves, and then on the tarmac road past the reservoirs and to the finish. . My time was about 7 minutes quicker than last year and I had bundles of fucks left in the tank, clearly the jar I was issued with at the Christmas do worked wonders.

The Tour is an excellent race and for 82p/mile including a technical tee it’s an absolute bargain. Although with cuttoffs of around 5:30 it could prove a little tight for some runners, it is really a rewarding experience to finish.

First male finisher Doni Clarke 2:19:53 (Course Record)

First female finisher Cat Taylor 2:51:20

Striders Results