Fetch Fell Runners

159 watchers

Derby Tup Sep 2020 9:02pm, 24 Sep 2020 46,610 posts	0 Derby Tup Fair points NE
Paul N Sep 2020 5:12pm, 27 Sep 2020 1,674 posts	0 Paul N Couple of "action" shots from yesterday's Slieve Donard Race. Out in 48 and home in 28 for a finish time of 1:16. Reasonably happy overall but a lot of room for improvement on the decent. Dropped a lot of places on the way down (the guy behind me in the first pic ended up beating me home by 7 minutes).
Derby Tup Sep 2020 5:34pm, 27 Sep 2020 46,700 posts	0 Derby Tup Great pics What are those shoes? Salomon?
Rosehip Sep 2020 5:38pm, 27 Sep 2020 17,901 posts	0 Rosehip (the guy behind you looks like he had more er momentum to carry him downhill) Fab pics nice to see normality
Paul N Sep 2020 6:00pm, 27 Sep 2020 1,675 posts	0 Paul N Salomon Asama. Fine for the trail, found wanting on the open mountain. Hopefully just the want of experience that is costing me going down. There's a straightforward fix for that.
Derby Tup Sep 2020 6:15pm, 27 Sep 2020 46,705 posts	0 Derby Tup If you want to get quicker uphill then losing weight and increased training will help. I’ve lost weight recently and I’m running relatively well uphill by my standards. The good descenders are born like that but experience and practice definitely help. As does a good pair of shoes. I don’t think you can beat Mudclaws tbh
Paul N Sep 2020 6:26pm, 27 Sep 2020 1,676 posts	0 Paul N I'm 5'11 and 11 stone dead. I ain't going lower than that! May break into the piggy bank for a pair of Inov8's though. I've the Mourne Skyline coming up next month, and I expect the ground will be a lot heavier than it is at the moment.
flanker Sep 2020 7:01pm, 27 Sep 2020 19,448 posts	0 flanker Depends if you have mudclaw-shape feet DT! My descending has got far worse over the last year, just from not racing and not being on big hills. Running downhill in training I just don't seem to push as hard (or maybe take the same risks?) and I've found my confidence has therefore decreased, and it's become an ever-decreasing spiral. I've also been trying to finally wear out some of the many pairs of shoes I've got where there's just a bit of stud left (but I'm too tight to throw away) which may also have something to do with it!
rf_fozzy Sep 2020 7:28pm, 27 Sep 2020 11,730 posts	0 rf_fozzy I think racing makes you a much better descender, because you have to do it under pressure and the key thing is confidence going down. Given how many times I've done my ankles, I've no confidence at all going down at the moment. Hence I am currently super slow... But I also think being fitter makes a huge difference too, because the stronger you are going down, the easier it is to control the small wobbles etc.
Northern Exile Sep 2020 7:46pm, 27 Sep 2020 6,875 posts	0 Northern Exile Physical pain slows you going downhill. On a good day I can go down at a decent enough rate, but when it really hurts there is some kind of a sub-conscious switch that prevents it from happening, it's wierd. When my inflammatory arthritis was really bad I was playing all sorts of mind games to keep the pain on the "floor beneath me" but on steep descents all bets were off. I remember doing the Tour of Pendle in 2017 under these conditions and confess that at the end tears were trickling down my cheeks, it wasn't emotion - I was just worn out from trying to deal with it. Things are much better nowadays. That race was my only (ever) experience of another fellrunner being unkind about my illness, openly being disdainful about a) my lack of fortitude and b) the fact that my wife came home well ahead of me. I was not amused.