left - Dave and YC
right - George and Andrew finish leg 1 at Hartsop for NFR
The Ian Hodgson Relay is a 4 stage mountain marathon in the Lake District. Each leg is run in pairs. YC ran leg 3 for NFR with Dave Johnson. This leg starts at the Kirkstone Pass with a near vertical ascent of Red Screes. We took a direct line up which involved some interesting gully scrambling. The weather was dreich, with low cloud and rain. So with navigation at a premium, we settled on a steady run following the fence most of the way to Dove Crag. From there a steep grassy descent took us to the leg 3 finish in Dovedale.
Although there were 68 teams, we ran most of the way in splendid isolation. The best part was running off Red Screes and popping out of the clouds to feel we had the Lakes to ourselves. The worst part was the final slog up Dove Crag in zero visibility, during which Dave debated giving his race number to a sheep which he reckoned was running faster than him (readers will be relieved to hear it wasn't, and he didn't).
NFR finished 31st out 68 starters. We were helped by a storming last leg from Will & Tom who made up 12 places, and brought us home ahead of local rivals Tynedale to great delight all round (at least in the NFR camp).
more photos
further report on the NFR website