Newcastle AC’s, Mark King along with Ricky Hanna, David Bell & Clarke Browne (all Mourne Runners) travelled to Keswick on Saturday 28th May, to take part in one of the Lake District’s classic fell races – “Helvellyn and the Dodds”.
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Newcastle AC’s Mark King along with the Mourne Runners trio of Ricky Hanna, David Bell & Clarke Browne before the start of the race
The race starts at the stunning grounds of Keswick Cricket Club. This location is significant in so far as it marks the end of Leg 1 & start of Leg 2 of the “Bob Graham Round”. The race includes several of the BGR peaks and has an official distance of 14.9 miles & 4,386ft of elevation over an out & back course.
This years edition had 135 competitors and with firm, dry ground, low wind and great visibility it had all the components for a great days racing.
After a fast half mile start along a narrow tarmac road the course enters the initial climb to the summit of “Clough Head”. This climb covers almost 2,000 ft and was a shock to the system! From there the race is over a well-defined grassy track – picking off “Little Dodd” & “Great Dodd” along the way. This is relatively flat & fast section of the course and whilst navigating the criss-cross of ramblers tracks would be difficult on a misty day there was no such problem – blue skies made “following the leader” easy. Continue reading