Oldham Way Ultra March 18, 2018: The Race that Wasn't

When I first learned that there was an ultra race following the Oldham Way - a 64 km series of linked footpaths roughly following the Oldham Borough boundary - I knew I had to run it.  So I signed up, booked flights, trained and tapered as I would for any ultra.

But the "Beast from the East 2.0" had other ideas. 

The start/finish area at Castleshaw Centre is on the edge of the moors, in a valley just up the hill from Diggle and down from two reservoirs. Anybody who knows the English moors will tell you that there is no trees cover up there and that even in good weather they are dangerous. In fog, heavy winds and snow, you do not want to be out on the moors.

So we had a blizzard for the race start. 

Snow drifts on the lane to the start/finish area of Oldham Way Ultra

Part 1: The Optimistic Runner
So there was a few inches of snow on the ground outside my cousin's house when I looked out at 5 am on race morning.  So what if I could see that the snow was blowing and drifting.  So far no email to say the race was cancelled; I got ready to race.  Taped up my toes, put on my Brooks Calderas, heart rate monitor and Garmin Fenix watch. I wore four layers to start (two marino wool base layers, light jacket, taped rain/wind jacket), two buffs, a hat and gloves, and long fleece lined running tights. In my pack I carried two water bottles with three-hours of mixed Tailwind, two extra layers, rain-pants, hand-warmers, first-aid kit, emergency bivy, headlamp and battery, emergency flashlight and extra batteries, compass, maps of the route, 12 hours of tailwind powder, 1 litre of fresh water, credit card, ID, money and Kahtoola micro-spikes.

Stephanie (my cousin) and I left at 6 am to drive the 8 km to the start line. We had a hard time getting up the hill on the A669 to Lydgate. First try we came to a standstill, wheels spinning and gaining no traction on the snow and ice covered main road. Turning around, Stephanie drove down the hill to the flat, turned around and took a run at the hill. We got further up, but the hill went for at least 1 km. We were making headway, but just inching up the hill. It must have taken 20 minutes to get to Lydgate, but once there is was down hill to Uppermill in the Saddleworth Valley.

Uppermill is as far as we got in the car. Just out of the village, on the A670, we had to stop at Dobcross Rd. Dobcross Rd had too much snow to safely drive on, given the hills. So I put on my Kahtoola micro spikes, said goodbye to Stephanie, put my pack on, and grabbed my finish line drop bag and ran along Dobcross Rd in the snow.  It was 4 km from where Stephanie dropped me and the start/finish line at Castleshaw Centre. But running in the snow was actually quite peaceful. No traffic, so I had the road to myself.

I finally arrived in the village of Delph, and turned right onto the A62, which heads up onto the moors and eventually to Huddersfield. Just as I was passing the Old Bell Inn, I came upon another runner, who told me the race had been cancelled.  I wasn't surprised. I'm not sure I was even disappointed by now as I was starting to wonder how I was going to get over the moors in the these conditions. I decided to continue to the start area anyway.

Conditions got worse. The higher the A62 climbed, the stronger the wind and snow became. The snow started to feel like ice pellets being fired into my face. After about a kilometre I came to Waterworks Rd - a small lane that goes to Castleshaw Centre.  Waterworks Rd was practically impassable. Snow drifts up to my waist snaked across the lane. My progress became a battle against the strong head wind, the continuous barrage of ice pellets and climbing over snow drift after snow drift.  After what seemed an eternity in ice-hell, I made the turn down the drive to Castleshaw Centre, and inside out of the wind and cold.

On the edge of the moors

I was the only runner to make it to the start line, albeit I was five minutes after race start, if the race had been running.  As it was, there were some volunteers and the race director there. Wane, the race director, was concerned because the previous evening 8 runners had set off around 6 or 7 pm to do the "unofficial double" - they were out running the course overnight in reverse. They finally arrived one by one, cold, ice in their beards and shoelaces. The wind and snow had been so bad on the moors, they had to turn around and come around through the villages lower down.

Part 2: Plan B
I spent and hour sitting in the warm race headquarters, making plans for Plan B. I knew if I didn't run today, I would be frustrated all day. I figured that the weather and conditions lower down could not be that bad and the weather would likely improve throughout the day. The blizzard just hit at the worst time - right at the race start. And the race start happened to be in one of the most exposed areas, taking the full brunt of the strong easterly winds and snow. 

The Oldham Way

My plan was to run back to Stephanie's so I could drop my drop-bag there - I really did not want to run long distance carrying that too. Then from there, follow a route across the north part of Oldham out to Chadderton Fold, where I could join the Oldham Way and follow that as far as I could back towards the finish at Castleshaw Centre. It meant I would not be running on the moors, but I would be running much of the route.

Plan in mind, I put my micro spikes back on and ventured out into the blizzard. Going back down the lane was easier with the wind behind me; though a few times it pushed me so hard I almost fell. Kinda like somebody giving you a hard shove in the back. The A62 had been plowed and gritted, so the driving lanes were easy to run on. I took off the micro spikes and ran back down into Delph.  Here I had a choice. I could go back via Uppermill and Lydgate, or I could stay on the A62 and take a shorter route via Platting Rd. The latter would take me over exposed hills and moorland, but the wind was behind me. So I decided to try taking the A62 and Platting Rd route.  Other than some snow drifts on Platting Rd, the trip was uneventful, scenic and fun. I was soon back at Stephanie's and Tony's place.

Chadderton Fold
I think Stephanie thought I was crazy to want to run in this weather.  I filled my water up to two litres. Along with my two bottles, that gave me 3.2 litres of water. I figured I could always fill up at a pub along the way if needed.  Then I set off. 

Being used to trail running, most of the first part of the run was on road.  I ran down the A669 to County End. I had to run on the road because the pavements were too full of snow and ice. I could go faster on the road, which were now mostly bare (the main roads at least). I went up Bridge St, Cart Horse Lane to Stamford Rd. I'd picked this route for a reason; my original school Hey St. Johns, used to be on Stamford Rd. The school has gone, but the church is still there. Running past the church, I made a detour down Dowry Lane to Turner Street.  I used to live at 101 Turner Street, so this detour took me past my old home. 

Along the Rochdale Canal

Continuing on Turner St, I turned up Redwood Lane to take me back to Stamford Rd. Continuing up this road, I joined the A62 and turned left. I took a short-cut up through Watersheddings to get me over to the A672 (Ripponden Rd). This road was exposed and I got the full force of the wind as I climbed up to Moorside. Turning on Wilkes Rd, a short way down I came to my Uncle and Aunt's house. I intended to stop and say hello, but there was no answer.  From here, I ran across the valley to Heyside, then through Royton on the B6195.  When I got to the flyover for the A627(M) I knew I was close to Chadderton Fold, so it was time to stop and look at my map.

I sheltered from the wind and snow under the motorway, and looked at my map and plotted a route to the Oldham Way.

The Canal
I successfully joined the Oldham Way at Chadderton Fold as planned, and the route was surprisingly easy to follow.  The first part was on footpath alongside a farm field, then it turned and followed the towpath for the Rochdale Canal.  The towpath was mostly clear of snow and easy to run on. This part of the canal was quite pleasant - across the canal, houses backed onto the waterway, many with docks, or decks.  Further down, the canal went through more industrial setting. In a couple of places alongside old brick repurposed cotton mills and in others alongside some more modern industry. The route was generally down hill, with a series of locks taking the water level down a surprising elevation change. The path briefly left the canal to climb and cross the M60 before returning to the side of the canal.

My first navigation error was turning off the towpath too soon.  I had with me the Ordnance Survey map provided by the race to help guide me. But without street signs on the canal, it was hard to know where I was exactly. When I exited on the street, the route that I thought I was supposed to go didn't seem to be there. Then I remembered I had loaded the route on my watch but had not activated it. So I activated the route and then saw my error. Back to the tow path.  I had turned off about 400 metres too soon. 

Medlock Valley
 After a short run though a park, I came out into the Medlock Valley. But not before another wrong turn.  I was feeling pretty good, though even with the GPX map on the watch, I managed to make a wrong turn finding the Medlock Valley trail. I ended up in a backyard, wondering how to get over the fence and why there were no route markers or stiles. Back on the road I found the correct driveway - a big sign "Medlock Valley Carpark" - no idea how I missed that.

Medlock Valley

Once in the Medlock Valley I was back on trails and felt more at home. Though the trails were supremely muddy and slippery. While the Calderas were a good choice due to the distance and amount of hard packed or pavement running, they did not perform well in mud. But then, I'm not sure any trail shoe would do well in that stuff.

The Medlock Valley was a beautiful run.  A bridge across a small creek was completely destroyed and impossible to use, so I had to find a way across the creek further up. I did find a few stones to step on. It wasn't the water I was afraid of, it was the mud underneath the water. I had no idea how deep it was and I imagined losing my shoe in it. 

Medlock Valley

On single track now, I spent my time running when the trail would let me and walking when it was too muddy or icy to run. The trial climbed up the bank and I ran along there for a while, climbing stiles into farm fields and then back into the valley. Then on a towpath alongside a disused canal before crossing back over the M60 and into Daisy Nook Country Park.

At Daisy Nook I stopped at the tearoom to mix more tailwind and reload my water.  I also bought a cheese and onion toasted sandwich here and walked while eating that. 

Back on single track, the trail now led through Oldham Country Park winding along the side of the valley in trees.  It took me to Park Bridge, site of the remains of an 18th century ironworks, and also the remains of a viaduct that used to take trains between Oldham and Tameside.  It's an area that I've always liked.  From here it was on mostly double track to the B6194 (Abbey Hills Rd).

Hartshead Pike
I had to go to the Pike.  Hartshead Pike is a round tower on top of a hill that can be seen from all over Oldham and the surrounding area.  I used to go up there frequently when I lived in Oldham, so I had to go up there now.  The weather was looking pretty good, so I decided to try going up to Hartshead Pike, which is on the Oldham Way route anyway. Crossing Lees New Road, I joined the footpath, crossed Dark Clough and the across farm fields towards the Pike. The footpaths are undefined; it's a matter of going from stile to stile, or following the vague general direction pointed by the footpath sign - if one exists. All else fails, follow your map. In this case, because there was snow on the field, I could follow the footprints. 

Hartshead Pike

 Once up at Hartshead Pike I was back in the strong bitterly cold easterly wind.  At the Pike, I sat on the ledge that runs around the bottom of it, on the lee side to shelter from the wind and enjoy the view; though with the low cloud I couldn't see much.

There's a lot of history to Hartshead Pike. The Pike (the hill, not the tower) has been used since Roman times as a signaling hill.  A series of beacons exist up and down England and the next can be seen from another. This allowed a signal to be sent all up the country in times of unrest. Some of the local tracks, including the footpath I just came up, were used by the Romans to access the Roman roads in the area.  Hartshead Pike (the tower) was built in 1863 to commemorate the marriage of HRH Albert Edward to Princess Alexandra.  It actually replaces a tower that had been there since 1751.  The tower used to house a candy shop in the 1930s.  It's bricked up now but is a Grade II listed building.

Dovestones
Leaving Hartshead Pike I had a nice down hill run, with strong almost hurricane force winds pushing me from the right side.  Once on Hartshead Lane I ran into waist high snow drifts again. Luckily they didn't last too long and I was soon through them and running down the lane. At the bottom the route turns right onto Thornley Lane. This lane is barely one car wide but takes me through the south part of Grotton, and then onto the footpaths across the fields of Lydgate Hill and down to Mossley. As I'm fighting the winds and climbing over Lydgate Hill, I thought it ironic that below me is an abandoned train tunnel that used to take trains from Oldham to the Saddleworth valley.  The view of the sun reflecting off the snow covered moors in the distance was amazing to see. Once up the hill, I loved the free feeling of running through the fields down the hill. No path to follow. Just a large field to run across. It was so beautiful. 

View of Dovestones and the moors from Lydgate Hill

After crossing a few farms I was down in Mossley and starting the climb up towards Chew Valley. The footpath ventured onto the lower parts of the moors and ran around Alphin Pike and Horstone Edge into Chew Valley. An Oldham Way sign confused me. Where the footpath joined the lane, the Oldham Way sign pointed west, whereas my map and my watch both indicated the route was east. I went east. The sunken lane was full of waist high snow drifts as far as I could see.  Great, this will take a while. Then I got smart, and climbed up onto the moor along side the lane and that was much easier to walk along.

The footpath ran though a copse of trees. The wind was coming down the valley from my left, so the trees provided a nice relief from the wind. I took advantage of this to replace the Go Pro camera battery. Continuing on, there was a section with a lot of trees down and the only way around was to go off trail through the trees.  At this point a tree snagged my rain jacket, putting a 2 cm rip in it. I used a piece of duct tape to seal it from the inside and prevent the rip from expanding.

Once through the trees I was in Chew Valley.  The Dovestones Reservoir area and Chew Valley are one of the most scenic areas in the world. It's hard to explain, but the raw openness of the moors, the scale and dimensions of the valley and surrounding moorlands makes it all stunningly gorgeous. If the weather had been nicer, I could have sat for a long time enjoy the scenery. 

I joined the Chew footpath that took me down to the dam for the Dovestones Reservoir and ended my run there.  The race route after Dovestones climbed up on to the moors at Pots and Pans, over Saddleworth Moor to Diggle, then up over Standedge Moor to Castleshaw Centre. Given the weather and that I had an hour of daylight, I didn't think it was a good idea to go up on the moors (tough I was carrying lights). So I decided to finish my run at Dovestones and go and find a pub. It's England, there has to be a pub close by somewhere around here....

Crossing farm fields on the Oldham Way - near Mossley

Part 3: The Pub
Sitting in the The Wellington pub, having Steak Pudding and Chips, a couple of pints and Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard for dessert (yeah I know, but I burned over 5,000 calories today) I reflected on my day. With 4 km to the start, 8 km back to Stephanie and Tony's from the start, 45 km "race" and 4 km walk from the pub back to Stephanie's and Tony's still to do, I had a grand total of 61 km for the day. 

I really enjoyed sitting in the pub, a fire burning in the hearth, a couple of dogs lying at the feet of their owners and people just enjoying a quiet pint at the end of the day.

Despite the race being cancelled, I had had an enjoyable day. The weather made it an adventure.  Those moors and weather defeated me.  While I'm used to running in mountains in adverse weather, I would never ever underestimate the moors. I think I made the right decision to not try venture on the moors that day.  They will be there for when I return. And I will return and do the Oldham Way Ultra or the White Rose Ultra in another year.

Thanks to Wane and the volunteers at the Castle Shaw event centre.  I know you're as disappointed as the racers for having to cancel, but you made the right decision in those weather conditions. Sorry I cannot come back and run it on the rescheduled day of April 22, 2018.  But I will be back....

Tomorrow - Hadrian's Wall

Solid ice on my shoe laces - I had to wait for it to melt, could not break the ice.