2025 Northern Traverse

Its now been over a year since my last ultra race, the Cheviot Goat in December having been cancelled the night before the race.  Prior to that I entered the Pennine Bridleway 270km last April but only made it about 20 miles into the race before illness forced my retirement.  I therefore have to go back as far as January 2024 (Winter Spine) before reaching anything remotely comparable.

I've long been fascinated with the Coast to Coast route and have in fact done it twice, once in 2008 and the other in 2020.  The former was with a colleague from work where we fast packed in just under 5 days and the latter was with my wife as support where I made as much distance as I could in the day, before stopping somewhere overnight.  I completed the latter in about 86 hours including the stops so it is the benchmark to beat.  I was therefore broadly familiar with the route, albeit there have been changes since and also to the route specifically for this race.

For those less familiar the race is about 185 miles (300 km), starting at St Bees on the Irish Sea, traversing the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, Yorkshire Moors, and then finishing at Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea.  It is a non-stop race, but there are support points for food and occasional access to drop bags for changing clothes or resupply.  The clock continues to tick whilst any sleep is taken, so the name of the game is to take what only is needed.

I decided to travel up the day before the start of the race and park at Robin Hood's Bay, where the organisers then laid on a coach to get to the start of the race at St Bees.  It set off at 3pm and arrived at the venue at a little past 7pm, considerably quicker than the amount of time it will take me to do the route on foot!  Unlike some events the kit check was friendly, pragmatic and quick and I was soon on my way to the Queens Hotel in the village.

Day 1 - St Bees (08.30) to Shap (00.10)

The race started at 8.30 am and although at that time there was still a light chill in the air, it was clear that the race was going to have very warm days, perhaps even hot.  Whilst the forecast was in the high teens, touching twenty degrees, the reality in the direct sunlight was something that was much warmer.  The forecast was to remain like this for the whole event.

Start.

Unlike other events I started a few rows back from the front and was happy to settle in the first section that hugs the coastline.  I steadily worked my way through the field, using my strong marathoning ability to run at ease in those first few hours before settling back into what I call plod mode.  I was joint third for much of this as the route followed the coast before heading inland and across a mix of road, farmland and tracks.  It remained this way as we entered Ennerdale Bridge and getting a quick top up of water before heading onwards to Ennerdale Water and eventually to the first checkpoint at Rosthwaite.  Steadily we gained on second place as we reached Ennerdale Water, but then it pretty much coincided with a technical section which I'm dreadful at, as well as energy levels starting to diminish a bit.  I was therefore fourth from this point onwards but steadily lost positions throughout the day.  This may always look like I am going backwards, especially to those tracking me from afar, but it just reflects that I either have a fast mode or plod mode and little in-between.

Along the St Bees Coast.

My true position during this time became more and more difficult to determine as by now I had caught many of the Lakes Traversers who had started an hour before us at St Bees, where their race would end at Shap.  We often shouted words of encouragement to each other, which just added to the friendliness of the race.

Ennerdale Water ahead.  The track soon became technical and energy levels started to sap.

I slow jogged the steady incline of the track that goes up the valley to the famous Black Sail Hut and then there is the first of the big four Lake District Climbs.  The poles came out for this and it now remained this way for most of the rest of the race.  There is not much to say about these climbs, other than they are slow, perhaps take half an hour or more and in the heat become a bit of a sweat fest, to the extent that I topped up one of my bottles near the peak.  I should also mention that even at this early stage of the race I was having some major issues with my water bottles; one was not dispensing anything and the other leaked a bit.  It later turned out at the checkpoint that the straw had detached from the valve which was easily fixed, whilst the leaking issues were only really an issue when filled to the brim.

Looking back towards Rosthwaite.  Only half way up the climb.

The descent to Honister Hause and then into Rosthwaite were all pretty uneventful other than it getting hotter and hotter and I arrived into the checkpoint only really wanting drinks although I did manage a handful of fizzy cola bottles.  I tried to crack on and only stayed for perhaps 5 mins before getting straight into the next big climb of the day towards Grasmere.  Sections that were runnable earlier in the day were now walked and people on the Northern Traverse continued to pass me, but I was still going fast enough to pass some of those on the Lakes Traverse.  It was a mixture of lack of energy, but also just not being great at dealing with the heat as well as most.  The track steadily got steeper to the point that pretty much everyone had to walk, before hitting a section that was on the verge of being a scramble in places.  What comes up must come down, but again the technical sections prevented my progress being as good as others as I took the descent very cautiously.  I eventually got to Grasmere at 4.30pm and one further climb awaiting before reaching the checkpoint (and drop bags) at Patterdale.

Coming up to the A491 to cross Grasmere.  Facing the next climb ahead.

Grisedale Tarn - Amazing scenery.

There is little to say about the climb up to Grisedale Tarn other than by this point in the race I had noticed that the steeper it got, the better progress I made relative to others and often caught and passed people in the process.  The technical parts of the descent were a mixed bag, as I occasionally passed others but at other times they went flying past me too.  There was then just a relatively gentle 5km or so into Patterdale and the checkpoint which I reached at 6.40pm.  I was offered a plate of chips which was gratefully accepted and I then had a onion bhaji wrap, of which I managed to eat about half.  It was then just a case of top up what needed to be topped up and I took the decision to wear my winter hooded mid layer as the heat of the day had now passed and the temperature was rapidly cooling.  It meant that my normal mid layer could be accessed in addition if needed.  It turned out to be an excellent decision.  I left the checkpoint at 7.10pm.

Not sure where this was taken.  Judging by the background it was probably somewhere in the Lake District.

The fourth and final steep ascent of the Lake District lay ahead and also happens to be the highest point of the whole route, Kidsty Pike at 780 metres.  There is not much anyone can do here other than walk, and again the steeper it got the better progress I made.  I had an internal target to get to Kidsty Pike before last light, but in the end I admitted defeat and at 8.40pm I switched the headtorch on.  Looking behind me was amazing seeing a stream of headtorches all heading in my direction.  Although I didn't quite hit my target I reached Kidsty Pike just 15 minutes later.  By now it was very windy and I was very glad to have my warm jacket on.

Angle Tarn - Less than 30 minutes before headtorch was needed.

The descent down to Haweswater is a mix of easier and then more technical sections, occasionally using hands for support on the steeper rocky bits.  I'd sometimes work with others around me, but at this stage of the race it was all very transient in nature.  Some people would come flying past, some I'd pass, whilst others it would ebb and flow depending on the ground conditions.  I made a small mistake hitting the path onto Haweswater itself, instead opting to follow a headtorch which happened to have nothing to do with the race.  It was only a 90 second or so mistake, before following the ups and downs of the lake.  At this point I had hooked up with others in the final section of the Lakes Traverse, but eventually I had to let them go ahead as they put in their final effort before the finish, whilst I was still under a third of the way through!

Day 2 - Shap (00.10) to Richmond (8.25pm)

It was then just a case of following some further relatively benign farmland before I entered the Shap checkpoint at 00.10.  I only ended up staying for 25 minutes, having availed myself of some veg chilli and rice and topped with cheese.  I was told that the next section was 25 km to Kirkby Stephen where there was the opportunity to reach into my drop bag, but it turned out 25km was really 33km.  It really did hack me off a bit at the time as I had measured my effort based on the 25km and then end up being disappointed when it was much further.  Again, at the start of the leg quite a few people passed me and by now the Plantar Fasciitis that I've had for best part of the year was really hurting.  It felt like I was falling way down the field, but I had no idea to what extent, nor did I particularly care if I'm honest.  I run shuffled bits I could and walked where I needed to either because the terrain dictated that I had to, or because simply the energy levels were not there to do much else.  In the latter part of this leg another small group went past me, but I eventually managed to arrest the rot and slowly caught them back up and managed to tag along for much of the second half of the leg into the checkpoint.  That said, I did enter the checkpoint alone as I simply couldn't manage their speed on the flat and the Plantar Fasciitis on the tarmac was too painful to go fast.  I reached Kirkby Stephen at 6.50am.

I had never planned to sleep this early.  I know from previous Spine Races that I can do roughly 36 hours before it ever becomes an issue and have even managed to get to 48 hours before things start to hang on a thread.  For some reason though I was much more tired (maybe caused by the pain in my foot?) and I made a mistake in thinking what lay ahead.  I knew it was 33km to the Dales Bike Centre at Reeth, but in my drop bag I had written a note that stated it was 53 km to Richmond.  I then added the two together and concluded it was therefore 86km to the next proper checkpoint.  Had I been thinking more logically it was obvious that its not 53km between Reeth and Richmond.  What I had in fact done, but forgot due to the fog of being awake for 24 hours, was that the Dales Bike Centre may not be fully open if I did not reach it between 9am - 5pm, in which case the only facility was a tap.  If this was the case then it was 53km between Kirkby Stephen and Richmond.  This ended up influencing my thinking at the time and I then concluded there was no way I could get to Richmond in my present condition without a sleep.  I went to the outside tent and after 40 minutes lying there awake realising nothing was going to happen I decided to leave.  The rest would not have been a total waste of time, but nor was it restorative.  I ended up spending a total of 1h 20 mins at the checkpoint, with best part of 40 minutes wasted and left at 8am.

As often seems to be the way when leaving checkpoints I tend to dawdle as muscles stiffen up and of course the pain in my foot being constant.  It was clear that this was going to be another warm day ahead so I took off my warm jacket half way up Nine Standard Rigg, one of the biggest climbs outside of the Lake District.  However, further up the ascent it started to get windier so the jacket went on for a bit longer until the warmth of the day won through.  The descent of Nine Standards is known to be boggy, but with the C2C path being upgraded to national status in 2026 there was a lot of work laying flagstones.  Some of this aided progress but 90% of the time the piles of slabs were still waiting to be laid.  It ultimately didn't make a huge amount of difference as by now I realised that the ground was extremely dry for any time of the year, let alone April.  I can now begin to understand why there have been wildfire warnings in the run up to the event, thinking it was being over egged a bit, but now I can genuinely understand why.  At Keld or more specifically Ravenseat Farm I did pass pretty much all of the well known Owen family (Channel 5 farming series) who were tending to various issues of the day.

Coming off Nine Standards sometime before 10am.  I had taken the jacket off halfway up the climb before a cold wind appeared so back on it went.

As the heat of the day started to bear through the Dales Traversers started to pass me at a rapid rate of knots, having started at 10am.  Again, much encouragement was passed, but now I started to feel quite down.  Even at run shuffle mode I was occasionally passed by the odd dog walker, such was the slow pace I was going at.  I was also getting the occasional stone in my shoe which was annoying to the point that I was having to stop to resolve.  My ankle brace was also causing irritation to the extent that in the last section to the Dales Bike Centre I took it off, which was a huge gamble for me to make.  Although Dales Traversers were passing me at a rapid rate of knots, the same could not be said of the Northern Traversers, in fact I had even overtaken one, but I ended up convincing myself I was not being passed because I was so far down the field (note in reality I was 20th out of 215 starters at this point).  Still, at least by now I had done the maths and realised it was 33km to the Bike Centre and then a further 18km or so to Richmond, not a total of eighty something km which cheered me up a bit.

Again, not sure where this was taken. Probably Dales based on background of a nearby photo taken.

I reached the Dales Bike Centre just before 4pm very hot and down about everything.  My foot was off the charts sore, I now had blisters and I was dehydrated.  I just told myself to get the next 10 or so miles done and then reassess once I got to Richmond.  If I'm honest, the other factor that was preventing serious consideration of dropping out was that my car was parked at Robin Hood's Bay and that its a pain to get to by public transport!  I passed on the free coffee and cake on offer (having arrived before it closed) and just topped up on cold fluids before pressing on after a 20 minute rest and airing of my feet (including the taping of really bad patches).

As the day started to cool, things began to improve again and I was generally able to hold my own against others (mostly Dales Traversers) in the vicinity.  This section was relatively benign and although there were some lumps and bumps it really is part of the transitional stage until the Yorkshire Moors start at Ingleby Cross.  I think there is always extra motivation as well when you know you are close to getting to a proper checkpoint, can access your drop bag and have some food and rest.  I arrived into Richmond at 7.20pm.

It was here where I needed to make a decision.  Whilst having some soup, followed by chips and a double helping of pizza, I decided to crack on as although tired I just wasn't sleepy enough to warrant lying down in a tent.  I felt that I could probably manage with a nap or two on the course to see me through.  What I hadn't foreseen was just how cold this night was going to be!  I ended up leaving Richmond at 8.25pm, spending just 65 minutes at the checkpoint.  This ended up bumping up my race position (not that I had any idea what position I was at the time) relative to others as most opted to rest.

Leaving Richmond just as it was getting dark.

Day Two Overnight - Richmond (20.25) to Robin Hood's Bay

As often seemed to be the case during this race I departed by myself.  I knew someone had left 15 mins or so before me and no-one seemed to be getting ready to leave behind me so it could be a long old night by myself.  I actually don't mind this and enjoy my own company, but at the same time its sometimes useful to work with others for reasons that soon became apparent.

The first few km out of Richmond were taken cautiously as I often do when in ultras at night.  I eventually started to muster the energy to turn a walk into a trot.  It was becoming clear that tonight was far colder than the previous night and at the same time I was starting to feel very sleepy despite having only departed Richmond a couple or so hours earlier.  I decided to try and run a bit as I knew it can sometimes offer respite from the sleep monsters, but it also generated some body warmth in the very cold night.  Soon enough, I was moving at a cracking pace and I was having one of my best sections of the whole race.  I eventually could see a headtorch in the distance that I soon caught.  About 50 metres away I could see something was odd with the way in which the runner was moving.  As I got even closer it was clear that he was swaying, almost staggering across the road, to the extent that I shouted whether everything was ok?  I asked whether he would like to work with me to get to Danby Wiske where I knew there would be some park benches and we could take a breather.  I was happy to go a bit slower as I knew my current pace couldn't last forever, but also talking was a slightly selfish tactic to keep the sleep monsters away.

At Danby Wiske we arrived around midnight and had a five minute stop where I now put my waterproof trousers on and also my waterproof top as its was now getting even colder and a hard frost had begun to develop.  About 20 minutes or so later I could see another headtorch in the distance and I agreed with my fellow Traverser that I would try to catch her up and see whether we could then work as a group of three.  It turned out that the headtorch was a bit further away than I had initially thought and did wonder whether he would be able to stay within touching distance of me.  Upon making the catch, I introduced myself and enquired whether she would like to work as a group, at which point the runner I was with earlier managed to join us.  I think we were all glad of each others company as by now sleep issues were starting to affect us all.

We were quite effective as a group as often there is the danger that you go at the pace of the slowest, but in this case on the odd occasion once of us jogged the others would make an effort to keep up.  We eventually managed to catch someone else up and we became a group of four.  We were all talking about getting to the A19 where it is well know there is a 24 hour petrol station open where we could get a hot drink and have a rest.  With about 8km to the services I was now really struggling to stay away and was having to talk to myself.  With about 5km to go I took some caffeine tablets (I was probably too far gone for them to have any effect at this stage).  Unfortunately for me we all collectively decided at 4km to the services we would have a 10 minute nap.  I was grateful for the rest and readily agreed.  We just lay down next to a randomly grassy section by a farmhouse.  Had anyone come across us, apart from getting an almighty fright, it probably would have look like a massacre had happened the way we were sprawled out!

It was here where a miscommunication happened.  I said that I would set my alarm on the watch for 10 mins time.  I didn't intend this to mean that I was acting as watch keeper for the whole group and had assumed others were going to do likewise.  Because the caffeine tablets were now taking affect I just couldn't nod off.  After 7 minutes like this lying on the bitterly cold frosty grass I decided I'd had enough and decided to move on, leaving the others snoring.  I had later found out that they had expected me to act as timekeeper.  No harm was done as they were woken by two others that had caught our group a couple of minutes later.  It was one of those classic miscommunications between very sleep deprived individuals.  Even if I had stayed until my 10 minute alarm had passed, I would never have woken the others unless they had expressly asked me to in advance of us having a nap.

As we got closer and closer to the services on the A19 I struggled more and more and started to drift behind the others a bit before catching up again.  When at the services I got a cup of tea and an egg mayo sandwich.  I only managed to eat about half of it as my mouth was so dry in the cold air.  It was at this point that the six of us splintered, some opting to stay at the services for a touch longer whilst others went off ahead.

It was now just the final section to Lordstones and although the break had initially helped to keen the sleep issues at bay it was soon back with a vengeance.  Over the last 10km or so to Lordstones I had to stop three times.  Each time I set my watch for 10 minutes or so and on each occasion I just couldn't fall asleep.  It felt like I was losing time hand over fist, but the reality was that overall I had probably lost about half an hour.  I can't describe the feeling very easily, but trying to fight the natural urge of the body to sleep is so difficult to resist.  I eventually rocked into Lordstones just after 7am.  I had a quick bite to eat (hash browns and beans), but could only manage half.  It was time to sleep.

I decided to have an hour and see how I felt.  I fell asleep fairly easily and upon awakening I felt it was probably enough.  It was then just the final two sections, the first to Glaisdale and then onto Robin Hood's Bay.  I was on my way at 9am, having no idea of my absolute race position, but knowing relative to others I had probably had some catching up to do, partly due to the sleep issues on the way to Lordstones and then having had a sleep when others may have instead taken their nap earlier at Richmond.

Leaving Lordstones - still a chill in the air but it soon became the hottest day.

Initially I made good progress, but boy it was going to be even hotter than the previous two days.  After the initial climbs I managed to find a good shuffle run pace along the disused railway line that runs for several miles.  On the way I was joined by a young lad who was on his bike who clearly had developed an interest in the race.  We chatted for quite a while and it helped to pass the time.  I was also holding my position so knew my pace must be good.  The problem with the railway line though is that it is so runnable there is no respite whatsoever.  I eventually got to the the Lion Inn at 12.30pm and by now I was thinking about the possible finish times at Robin Hood's Bay.  I felt an 8.30pm finish (i.e. sub 60 hours) was theoretically plausible but unlikely, but I would give it a crack.  The problem though was that the heat of the day sapped any strength and I just had to ease off a touch.  I still ran what I could though.

The remaining section to Glaisdale I remember three things, the first was how hot it was, the sun radiating off the white (limestone?) track surface, having to really manage water consumption and thirdly how dry it was up there.  There were no opportunities to top up bottles, not even the ability to dampen my running top for a cooling effect.  After several kilometres I contemplated urinating on my running top but thought that was a bit extreme.  I did eventually find a small ditch that had some tadpoles in them where I filled my water bottle and chucked it over my top.  During all of this the stones in my shoe were getting worse and I now realised what was causing this.  It turned out there was an inch long tear in the shoe where the toe connects to the foot.  There was also a similar gash on the other side.  It was a similar issue on the other shoe as well, so clearly a design issue of some sort.  It also explained the larger size of the stones I was having to remove as normally its just a piece of small grit that causes an irritation.  In this case these were small pebbles.  The net effect was that with no barrier, all sorts of bits were getting into the shoe and ended up causing me blisters.

Towards Glaisdale in the heat of the day.  Coming into view was the North Sea for the first time.

I arrived at Glaisdale at 3pm with still about 32km to go, so I knew that the 8.30pm was still looking unlikely.  I decided to air my feet whilst getting my water bottles topped up at which point a medic walked past.  She really insisted on getting my blisters treated and feet taped.  I could have said no, but this time I agreed.  Any chance of an 8.30pm finish was now over.  The taping took about 30 minutes and there was particular concern over one of the blisters that was now raw and the foot was very red around.  The medics were concerned about infection and even cellulitis.  I was less concerned and felt that it was more likely as a result of the hot temperatures, sweaty feet and swelling inside the shoe.  It was agreed that another look would be taken at the finish.  I eventually left the checkpoint at 3.45pm.

Upon leaving the checkpoint I instantly felt terrible, easily the worst of the whole race.  I knew I had heatstroke for certain, my taped feet were now throbbing and had half wished the blisters had been left alone (it did improve after time but the initial pain was bad) and I just felt pretty ill.  Between Glaisdale and Grosmont I just dawdled and I seriously considered dropping out as I just couldn't see how I could continue like this.  I somehow just managed to hold things together, but it was an effort and the 25% - 33% gradient on the long road section coming out of Grosmont was hell.  At about 6pm the heat of the day started to pass a little and I tried to shuffle run again, as much as anything as I wanted to just get it all over and done with.  Bit by bit my pace started to improve a little and once in the forest section past Littlebeck I started to move a bit more like my normal run shuffle pace.

Whitby in the distance.  I could see better than the camera managed to picture.  Either way, I narrowly failed to get to the coast before last light.

There was now only about 20km to go.  Despite my poor pace coming out of Glaisdale I saw someone ahead of me which gave me the motivation to go and chase.  Neither of us were running at this point due to the climb out of Falling Foss but it was nice to just have a bit of pace again.  It turned out to be one of the group I had run much of the previous night with between Danby Wiske and the A19 services.  We stuck together for about 20 mins, but eventually a switch happened in me and I tried to run.  This time it wasn't a run shuffle, but an actual run.  I was now flying and tried to make it a mini goal to get to the coast line by last light.  I failed, but I was getting faster and faster.  I even ran the steep gradients and now there was very little I walked.  It was now just the last few km in the dark along the coast and then the steep descent into Robin Hood's Bay.  I even managed to overtake someone with just 2km to go!  I soon hit the outskirts of Robin Hood's and I was determined to run as fast as my legs could take me using the steep downhill gradient to my advantage.  I ran this bit so hard that I went past the finish line, couldn't put the brakes on, ended up running down the cobbled slipway and about 50 metres onto the beach.  I could hear shouts of 'Stop!' in the background.  Thankfully the sea was out and I played it cool by ensuring my foot touched one of the puddles on the beach.  I finished in a time of 60.56 in 15th place.

Legging it to Robin Hood's Bay.  Little did I know that I would struggle to stop at the finishing line and ended up about 50 metres down the beach!

I think had I not lost half an hour at Glaisdale getting my feet repaired, it still would have been a difficult ask to have gone under 60 hours.  I had lost 30 minutes there and then time on top between Glaisdale and Littlebeck when I was feeling ill.  I think about 60.10 was achievable, but then you don't know whether if I had run straight out of Glaisdale what effect it would have had on my pace in that final 10 miles.   I did what I could and I'm still happy with my time, the goal of 60 hours was not absolute, it just became a goal on that final day once I realised it was theoretically achievable.  Before the race started I would have been happy with a sub-midnight finish and I easily achieved this.  It turns out my pace was so fast from Falling Foss to the finish, that I went 6 minutes quick than the winner over this section, who in turn beat the previous course record by several hours.  That strong finish is something I'm really proud of and shows I couldn't have done much more.

Upon arriving back at the event centre my feet were looked at again and treated properly.  Concern remained over the state of my feet and I constantly apologised about it as I was rather embarrassed about the attention I was getting.  It was obviously down to the shoes (Scott Supertrac 3) so not much I could have done about it.  Those shoes were nearly new as well, so there really was no reason for them to have fallen apart the way they did.  The result it that I'm now on antibiotics for a week as a precaution as my feet are in bits.  I have no doubt that this was down to the shoes as even when I did the Marathon des Sables in much more extreme conditions I never had an issue, nor did I at any of the Spine Races.  At least I got a complimentary bed and shower for the night at the Youth Hostel rather than having to sleep in my car!

Tear in my Scott Supertrac 3.  Also a tear on the other side.  Similar on the other shoe as well...

...Which caused this to my feet where the stones entered the shoe.

Overall it was an event I really enjoyed.  It was exceptionally well organised, the route is one of those that is genuinely iconic.  There is something magical traversing three very different National Parks and then seeing the North Sea for the first time in the distance before skirting the coast and into Robin Hood's Bay.  Despite the underfoot conditions being very dry, I struggled with the heat in the day but I would choose this any day over wet and windy so I can't complain too much.

Next up the plan is to recover as its amazing the toll long distance ultras take on the body.  After that I have the Tahoe 200 in California in June.  That should be pretty epic as well!