How hard can it be? Middletown Hill fell race
10 AUGUST 2019
During the summer period, there are a few fell races held midweek all over the country. The Shropshire series has some fantastic races and on Thursday 8th August, a number of runners turn up to the Breiddens Public House near Welshpool to tackle the Middletown Hill fell race - otherwise know as the Boarder Raid. And at 2.8km (1.7 miles), how hard can it be?!
We gather at the pub car park, register and I pin my number to my Mercia vest, then have a catch up with a few club friends prior to the short jog to the field where the race starts.
NO FLAT SECTIONS!!
What looms is Middletown Hill. This hill stands at 400m high.. and the realisation hits that this race has no flat sections what so ever!! Race Director Dave Farrow has a brutal treat in store. The total climb for this race is 440m (ish).
Warming up in the field (which is lumpy at best) I start to look up and decide what is runable and where I should start to hike. Talking to fellow club runners who have done this before , it seems it’s ok until you hit the bracken. I’ll see when I get there.
My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen…
It’s 19:30 and we are all gathered on the race start line. Dave Farrow, in his famous, grand-style, announces ‘MY LORDS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN’, what a start!!
80 starters and, with a ‘GO’……we are off. All nerves and anticipation gone within seconds as the race begins. Between the field and the bracken is a farmer’s gate, which is open….. but only a little so the race is on to get through and not wait in a queue.
To my own surprise I manage to get to the gate without having to walk (I’ve been off injured for a while). Once through the gate the bracken starts.
Single track bracken
We are now into a single track bracken uphill climb - bracken taller than me on both sides! So, if you're behind me, you’re stuffed! I maintain a good hiking pace; it’s claustrophobic and all around is the sound of laboured breath. The uphill path is soft, grainy mud, loose rocks and nettles, but there is not time to be soft and worry; I have to keep up with the runners in front and stop the ones behind getting passed.
After a short while we are out and into the clearing, and the hill kicks again. If this was wet, we’d be on our backsides. We get to the top, greeted by marshals giving encouragement and the Welsh flag flying proudly in the wind.
Not even a mile in yet
With no rest-bite, it’s straight over and down through long grass and towards another path, through the bracken - legs full of lactic - and not even a mile in yet!!!!
Then it happens… I slip for the first time! Luckily, I quickly recover and continue. After a quick descent we then contour round an undulating path, watching my footing, ducking tree branches, and at no point is my heart rate getting any relief. (My Garmin states it hit 191 during the race!!!)
We then start the climb back to the top again, and its just as steep!! This time I trip up the hill, having caught my foot on a tree root, arm covered in mud, but I continue. Thankfully no one passes me and happily I even manage to pass a few. Ive always been better at climbing than descending so I was particularly chuffed at this small accomplishment (mentally high five myself!).
Neck breaking descent
Back to the top and it’s the neck breaking descent down to the start, the same way we initially came up. The first bit you really need to switch your brain off, take the pain and go!! Fast feet are the way to go. Back into the bracken and you can stretch your legs a bit more. After a few minutes and you are back into the field. I open the legs even more and go for the finish. If I do my ankle, tough I want to get a good finish and in 35:04 I cross the finish line, middle of the pack, 41st.
A gem of a race
For a very short race, the Middletown Hill Fell race can only be described in one word - brutal. I don’t think you will find a race that covers just 1.7mile, covering 1250ft climb, and takes longer than a park run to finish. Dave Farrow has got a little gem of a race here and I can’t wait to do it again next year!
I’ll await the agony of the DOMS undoubtedly due tomorrow!