https://connect.garmin.com/app/activity/22321066046
I’d been looking at the Roof of England (ROE) route for some weeks but still had some sections to recce. *Newsflash Ourea events goes under* and I hear that the C2C race may still go ahead for those who can muster a crew – one such fellow being our Hacienda (if you know you know) pal Martin ‘Hollywood’ Wilson who was more than a little pissed at the loss of his £800 entry fee. I’d booked annual leave that weekend and could cover him for crew/support but with ROE nearly 190miles it would be problematic to finish in time and I’d have not been much good to him when I showed up. Plus I already had a few runners already lined up to help me. I messaged Chris (Cadence) Bird saying “I might drop this run and we go all out to get Martin through the C2C….Thoughts?” …….
Chris responded immediately with “ I knew you’d be thing that, how about we have a crack that that Teesdale way Thursday night/Friday instead? It’s only approx. 100 miles (is not that far 😉) and then support Martin Sunday, it runs past my house, looks like gradual descent all the way once you’re up on High cup Nick” -
He was wrong about that gradual descent mind, this route does not run like it looks…. but the seed was planted and we committed to the change via the Hacienda WhatsApp Chat.
We managed a few Recces pre attempt day so had it figured out until Hurston on Tees and would work the rest out on the day, Nee boshh!!!
Attempt day arrived and both our jobs had been crazy for the pair of us so no sleep before the night start. Not ideal but the only way we could make it work with Northern Traverse support Sunday onwards so needed to get done by Friday night for recovery purposes.
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We set off following a car drop off at Dufton at 2151hrs from Chris’s wife Liz and two of his lad’s George and Lewis. It was cold, raining and windy but always a nice way to start with encouragement from the Bird Clan.
Steady progress was made up to High Cup Nick. Despite having been up there multiple times we got turned around in the clag, but once over and down into a slippy/tricky Cauldron Snout descent things cleared up and got warmer. Much was to be seen on this section through to Eggleston with a welcome appearance from Mr Badger (he was rapid – could have done with some of his fast twitch fibres) and the call of the Curlews heralded our arrival into Middleton In Teesdale. Beauty start to the run as we crept into one of Chris’s customers gardens in Eggleston for our previously stashed and much needed resupply.
Eggleston to Gainford
Both our digestions were still in fine fettle so I hoofed down soy and curry covered sushi rolls, a haribo/mintrels shitmix and chugged down water. This kind of stomach abuse wouldn’t last but you gotta make hay while the sun shines.
Liz’s Shop at Barnard Castle was our next stop not far from Eggleston but allowed us to get something warm (Noodles and Salty Soy broth) and change clothes following the wet night. Her security cameras showed a generally lackadaisical pair cruise in and faff
about before leaving still under the cover of darkness. We tidied up before we left, - I think ???
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We hit the trail again, headlamps hardly necessary anymore with legs tiring and sore but a couple of Paracetamol goes a long, long way. It works a treat if you don’t pop em too often and time began to disappear. Before we knew it, we were coming up on signposts for Gainford, Chris place and almost halfway.
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Door bell footage of the Bird residence caught me saluting his son George. We arrived as all three lads were off to school which made for some good banter. Liz sorted us out with some hot soup, noodles and coffee. A quick change into shorts, fresh baselayer and socks(talc’d feet) for the oncoming heat of the day was a winner decision.
Leaving Chris’s street, one of his neighbours shouted “keep it going Chris” and “Well done support runner” to me which made us laugh. As we rounded the corner past a bus stop we also saw Chris’s eldest Joseph waiting with his pals for the school bus, I think Chris shout something like ‘Oi’ to embarrass him a bit in front of his friends, apparently after we’d gone they said “how far is your dad running?” , “100miles I think” to which his pals responded with “Dickhead” haha. Nice to see the youth of today still have an edge or two.
We were amped moving out of Gainford, this part of the route is fast and we’d reccied it the week before so it was fresh in my mind, the miles drifting by at a rapid rate of Knots. I love these annual leave days out running when everyone else is at work, feels like you’re cheating the system, its magic, especially when you are on a longer ‘journey run’ like we were doing.
Despite my increased pace (still not quite Chris’s cadence) I nearly came a cropper at Blackwell, he was like ‘hurry the f@ck up’ as I sauntered across the carriageway and this woman blasted round the roundabout on almost two wheels and received some choice words from the pair of us. It was a sharp reminder to focus.
The scenery was awesome though this section as quaint village followed quaint village with welcoming pubs frustratingly at arms reach. Chris raised concerns about his knee here… and unfortunately they just got worse despite approx. 20 miles of adjustment to gait/strapping up/pack swaps/shoes changes etc. As we shuffled into Middleton St George he announced he was stopping to avoid overtly damaging himself, it was the right call but really gutting at 65miles or so. He was quick to say “you get away though” and that he and Liz wanted to keep going with crewing. I made sure they weren’t just being polite, they are just all round top people after all. With a quick agreement and thanks, it was back on. 11 miles to Eaglescliffe via Yarm was the next bite of the elephant. I made haste and arrived in relatively good time albeit a little depleted in calories but I could smell the barn now and I had someone to carry my gear to the end which was a gamechanger, Graham (G) Thomas.
Graham tagged in from Eaglescliffe taking all my gear including fluids and food. Rightly or wrongly I ate some fruit, more sushi with some broth, feeling the gut bomb ticking away…we must have been only a few miles into our next section when I pulled to one side in the lovely Bowsfield nature reserve and pressed the eject button on my stomach. I was reintroduced to the last 4 hours worth of food, all black/brown like the salty broth id been drinking from the start. I was pretty loud getting it all out and commented to Graham that “I’m such a f&cking drama queen when im sick , huh” he just laughed and I wiped my chin, rinsed my mouth out with some fresh water and we tootled off.
Relieved now but I still couldn’t stomach even the idea of any solid food and with calories low, I laboured. So, as we came across a Burger King, Graham suggested we stop for a quick reset. The order was pure liquid nutrition to try and build the stomach back up. Large Vanilla milkshake, large coke and an ice cold water. It was just what I needed. I got moving again through Stockton, don’t get me wrong I was rough and looked ridiculous running and sipping on a BK carboard cup but it was manageable.
Stockton and Middlesbrough trail marking and deviations due to building works were very annoying at this stage but it was what it was and the miles were sharp coming to a close. We passed the Tees Barrage and checked in with the crew. We were all in good spirits and keen to get the job done, I made some requests for the next stop and off we trotted.
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After meeting Chris and Liz at the Boro Ground they handed over precious ice cream and Lucozade. We didn’t hang about as time was tight on our target. I left trying to eat a ‘snide’ Mar bar ice cream in tiny bites with guts were saying ‘fuck that’….but you gotta fuel the fire somehow and it stayed down.
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This last push was a bit of a disappointment after the previous 70miles of scenery! I felt as bad as a looked and the trail aesthetics were worse than that. Twas like a scene from Trotter’s Ethnic Tours. Graham showed me the way as we waded through short sections fly tipped rubbish (what’s the matter with people) and at one point a long section of black water a foot deep, quick looks either side showing heavy industry which was more than a little concerning. God knows what was in that shit.
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We got to the Redcar coast as the sun was going down and followed the coastal path into the sand dunes before realising we needed to ‘about turn’ and get back on the paved Teesdale way section past Teesworks. Headtorches went on and we did not have time on our side at this point and picked up the paced considerably – or that’s how it felt, Graham snuck his mobile out his pack and began playing ‘eye of the tiger’ despite how shit I was feeling, we had a chuckle through the background noise of my heavy breaths
The run down to the lighthouse is a little creepy with mobile dwellings littered on both sides of the road, people in parked cars getting up to lord knows what but as we rounded the last corner we were met with Chris and Liz who had final instructions. We were to climb down to the slipway and run to the front of the lighthouse via the rocks. Both of us thought this was a joke and challenged it more than once but indeed it was not a joke….so after contouring the rocks and bumping into some night fisherman, we touched the front of the lighthouse foundations and stopped the watch. 21:38:56
Epilogue: 😉
Shuffling back to the car I thanked the guys and we celebrated a team win coming under the current time 21:48:59 by 10mins approximately in our arithmetic. I was then given the back seat of Chris’s VW to snooze and we headed back via Graham’s parked motor in Eaglescliffe to Chris’ House in Gainford.
Back at the Bird residence, I was welcomed in with a fine cup of tea (Yorkshire tea in this house) by his son George and a cold glass of iced water. They’d even set up their cinema room couch with a duvet and pillows so I could grab a nap before driving home. ‘What a bunch’. An hour or so later I was driving back to Northumberland(home) with Pete Tong on full blast and windows down to keep me awake. I had a quick turn around now and I would be back at Chris’s shortly (36hours) so we’d be ready to get Hollywood though the second half of the C2C…… I couldn’t wait, it even mor