Le Tour de Helvellyn - A Classic

'Epic' .... 'Awesome' ... 'A Classic'
Le Tour was a great success because of the weather. A last minute dump of snow early on Saturday morning meant getting to the start was impossible for some, and made it difficult for us in several ways. But blue skies prevailed eventually.

First of all a very big 'Well Done' to all those attempted Le Tour, and an even bigger thanks to Stu, Martin, Pete, Dave, John and Linz for making it happen.

But any event can't happen without dedicated and committed athletes and I'm mightily impressed that so many made it to Askham and most completed what is a very tough route. No flat, fast 36 miles here ... you're doing well to maintain 3.5mph in those conditions on that route!

In the weeks before the events I received many emails pleading with me not to cancel it due to bad weather or a bad forecast, and I thank you for that support. For those who have done any of our events before will know that they are never easy and that we have reputation for tough, no nonsense, events.

The snow did make it tough for us; driving down to Glenridding was treacherous and we simply couldn't risk driving around to Thirlemere. Hence, we couldn't support runners at Swirls Car Park, so it was a long way without any drinks other than stream melt water. But everyone took this in their stride (no pun intended) and pushed on.

Sadly we had to withdraw a few people after 4:30pm but with temperatures plummeting to -10 degrees it would be reckless for anyone to venture over Boredale Hause and be committed to another 3-4 hours in such temperatures. Our intention was to offer the tail-enders support in Boredale, but we simply couldn't drive there. Thank you to all those who suffered the cut-off and accepted it with good grace. It's not our usual style but essential at this time of year. I'm sure you'll all get round the full route next year.

Next year? 'Yes' there will definitely be another one!. The feedback has been great, and the format proven to work. A quick analysis of the times reveals they were within our time frame and the biggest issue was a handful of runners starting a bit too late, although this was probably due to the snow delaying their arrival at the start.

Naturally, there are one or two glitches... apart from snow, a frozen sink and non-working main oven, but hey-ho ... The main problem was seemed to be those who didn't find Control no.5 as they were looking in the wrong place and hadn't checked the updated route card.

For 2011 we'll probably move the Greenside/Glenridding/Patterdale control to one central location. We also have more drinks (hot if we can) at Swirls Car Park and may be in Martindale, as well. So, keep an open mind about the exact control sites although the route won't change. The total number of places will be limited and entries will be available on-line via Sport-ident.

Thanks for coming and have fun. Our next event is the Tour de Kentmere, a mere Spring time sprint compared to the 'Le Classic', on Sunday 27th March. We also have a weekend Navigation course suitable for fell and mountain runners and adventure racers, and a 12hour MTB/Run event on Saturday. So, something for everyone with details on www.nav4.co.uk

See you at Bampton?

Joe