Osprey Run – Malthouse At The Double!

Photos: Clorroe Com and Del Stevyn

Stunning black skies filled with a beaming full moon lay overhead as the first Osprey Run took place at Kielder last night.  The end result was a Malthouse double as both Rachel and Graham took the overall wins.  I wonder what the topic of conversation was on the way home!  The Osprey Run was race 2 of the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series which gave runners the unique opportunity to run on trails normally reserved exclusively for mountain bikers.  The Osprey Trail in particular is a long blue graded trail that sweeps along the north side of the reservoir and in daylight hours offers spectacular views of the area.  Ran at night it gives you 15 miles of fast, action packed trail running which can be attacked as you see fit.

The weather played on everyone’s mind on the day of the event.  I went up super early to mark the course with Ben the dog and as I drove over the high ground the snow started falling heavily but luckily this became confined to the coastal areas.  I heard several runners say that they were building a snow man a few hours before setting off and were relieved that no such weather had hit Kielder.  It was however extremely cold.  Minus four at the car park and dipping down to minus seven at points, everyone was very grateful the winds were kept nice and low.  A lot of races had been called off due to icy conditions but this one is set out as a tough winter running race so unless something extreme happened then it was going ahead.  The kind of runner who enters the Shadowlands is well equipped to be handling weather adversity.

Marking the course took way longer than I thought, finishing about the time registration was set up.  I had a little stress about the finish not being obvious but with a little help from David Pass from the Forestry and Keith Fawcett it all got sorted.  Joanne, Yvonne, Adrian and Del all arrived and runners were soon in the sign up area.  Ben Sandall had arrived early and he was telling me all about how much he loved the Goat course this year and how easy it was.  Or maybe he mentioned how each step was like quicksand and he was out there for 23 hours.  Love it.  Clorroe Com, Mart Mortimore, Maddie Langdon, Joe Kemp, Andy Clark, Kat, Sophia, Bella and Weston Langdon all arrived alongside the medical team and now it was all systems go for the race.

Adrian revelled in his role of pre race speech as he morphs into a coffee pulling version of Lazarus Lake.  He already has the beard.  At 6pm the runners were unleashed, slipped out of the walking track and onto the Forest Drive and within 200m were into their first bit of mountain bike trail known as Spooky Well.  This gave maximum twisting and turning without much elevation so by now runners will know what to expect and whether both their bodies and equipment are up to the task.  I feel like this is an appropriate time to mention Andrew Dancer who rocked up without a head torch to a night run – just saying.

Rider Keith Fawcett pointed runners into that first trail and then had the unenviable task of cycling the next 6km flat out to try and get to marshal point one ahead of the lead runners.  Said runners were almost melting the ground they stepped on because the were so hot on the pace.  We lost our first runner here due to injury and they made their way back to the start.  Everyone else set off up to Hill 361 and Rikkies Run for a long stretch of single track that popped them out on the shelf above the reservoir.  It was here the true majesty of the evening shone through as those of us in the forest could see people passing through under an almost sun-like moon with the rippling waters of the reservoir reflecting the stars and distant horizons in view.  Runners could probably only see what was in front of them but rest assured us marshals got a real treat.

As the runners approached the photographer it was here when a lesson was learned by myself.  On Monday I’d cycled the exact course.  On the day of the run I marked out the same exact course.  In between I’d made that gpx available of Mondays ride via Strava but when it was downloaded by runners it had changed in two areas by using some kind of “snap to” feature.  This is when the gpx will automatically go to the nearest public route like a bridleway or pathway, instead of where you actually put it.  So where Del the photographer was and later where the viaduct was, the gpx differed from the signs.  Luckily however there was no real advantage and they both ended up on the correct track after the diversion.  Three runners diverted the first time and one over the viaduct.  A lesson to keep in mind for next time for me.

Joe offered out water at around two thirds race point but as usual most people were focussed and pressed on.  The view of runners working their way down to the Lakeside way was magical.  Headtorch lights flickered between trees, facing one way and then rounding a berm and facing the other.  There was a little kicker after Fam’s bridge but after that it was all gravy down to Maddie and Weston waiting on the Lakeside Way.  The leaders shot through and set off on the four mile stretch of Lakeside Way back to Kielder which for most mortals is a bit of a slog.  Later runners could relax a bit more and might have had a chance to look up at the constellations that were screaming for attention above their heads.

When the viaduct came it was a clear sign that the end was nearly in sight.  Andy greeted runners at the road crossing then runners bypassed Kielder village on the other side of the North Tyne before seeing Kat and being sent into the track behind the castle.  As a final present the course went through the pinetum which zig zagged up through the array of tree species before popping out back onto the Forest Drive and back to the finish where they had started.  All runners who got to this pointed were greeted with cheers and enthusiasm for the effort they put in.  The legs must have been feeling all 15 miles of this half marathon (sorry).  Hot chocolate drinks were there to warm the fingers and stomachs then Adrian dished out the trophies for those who had notched up something in their category.

In the female overall category Rachel Malthouse made it a double Shadowlands top spot as she added to last weeks Deadwater Run win with another top spot here at the Osprey Run.  1:59 for 15 miles is a pretty quick pace and this will extend her lead in the series.  Claire Fairbairn followed in behind only 2:37 off the pace to snatch second and last weeks runner up Laura Braunholtz swept home for third.

For FV40 Claire Fairbairn gave us 40-somethings to cheer about by taking first in the category with both Jane Evans and Emma Leigh following behind.  Kudos to Emma Leigh who took the FV40 win at Deadwater and has followed it up with a solid third here to build those points towards the overall series.

Top spot and all points were taken by Helena Gribben who took the FV50 win in a time of 2:53.  This was 7th female and 22nd overall so a mighty shift was put in.

Helen Clark, Eden Isabella Huntley, Georgia Campbell, Emma Leigh, Laura Braunholtz and Rachel Malthouse will have collected solid points towards the overall series given that they have done both events.  It was a great move to get this one under the belt as it was a prime opportunity to score big ahead of next weeks Winter Wipeout that will have a much larger field.  Claire Fairbairn, Jane Evans, Maisie Swindells, Helena Gribbens and Victoria Cutler-Burton picked up their first points towards the series and we loved having you along.

In the male category it was the same three runners from Deadwater that took the spots at the Osprey.  Only this time in a different order.  Andrew Armin’s blistering pace at Deadwater was this time trumped by Graham Malthouse who made it a Malthouse double after Rachel took the female win.  Andrew Dancer swept in behind for the same third place he took last week.

In MV40 Andrew Dancer took the top spot again, Paul Tyrell second and in third was last weeks runner up Simeon Griggs who grabs big points.  Other people scoring big in the series after doing Deadwater were Gavin Francis and Scott Dewhurst.  James Moody picked up his first points on one of the hardest and longest runs of the series – nice way to start!

In MV50 only one person made it back from last week and it was Spencer Booth getting round in 2:34 and finishing 18th overall.  A strong and determined performance that sees him propel to the top of the series standings.  Well deserved after all the injury problems at the back end of last year.

It was nice to have some MV60 runners in the Osprey and they both clocked solid times with Tony Brown in at 2:32 and Derek Esson 2:53.  These are the first MV60 runners in the series so they’ll go one and two overall.

Full race results can be found here:

https://www.racesplitter.com/races/3C3BD62F6?split=1

So a star filled night of excellent racing at the Osprey Run came to an end.  The kit was packed away while people could still feel their fingers and Mart had dutifully cleared the course whilst sweeping on his e-bike.  All the runners who took part are hard as nails as they knew the weather conditions and came and done it anyway.  Whether it was their first Shadowlands run or they are doing the whole series, everyone is welcome no matter if they finish first or last.  It was great to see so many kindred spirits getting out and pushing through the pain barrier to get it done.

Next up is the Winter Wipeout and you can expect a course preview on that soon.  With nearly 1000m of climbing it is both high and exposed so if the weather decides to be naughty then runners will be in for a tough time.  Even if you’re not doing the series it’s a superb one off race based at Ingram cafe.  The remaining races of the Shadowlands series are:

10th Jan – Winter Wipeout – 23km

24th Jan – Lewis Burn Run – 11km

31st Jan – Lonesome Pine Run – 16km

7th Feb – Duergar Run – 15km

Find out more about the Shadowlands Winter Trail Series HERE.

More pictures from Clorroe Com can be found on our Facebook album HERE.

More photos from Del Stevyn HERE.