Lamb's Longer Leg 5k+ fell race. 13/01/2013.

Race 1 of 9 in the 2013 Hayfield Championship series.

"Strange name", I hear you say. I can explain the 'Lamb' part - the race begins near The Lamb Inn above Hayfield, but the 'Longer Leg' part has me a bit baffled. This is the first race of nine in the Hayfield Championships (next up Kinder Trial in two weeks' time).

This was the second year on the trot for me and second year when I cycled for an hour uphill to get there. My quads were already suffering from DOMS AOMS (Advanced Onset Muscle Soreness) even before the tough beasting began on the fells.

We started off uphill on a concrete track, which soon veered left onto a grass track and steepened. The steepening set the tone for the duration as we slogged up and down field and fell, lungs bursting, vision blinkered, every part of our being concentrating on placing our next footsteps as quickly as our cardiovascular system would allow (at least that's how it is for me).

The weather this year was very similar to how it was last year - bright and cold with the ground mostly frozen, which was fortuitous. I'd seen the forecast and expected a photogenic day, so I had my camera with me for the first time in a good while. I was glad I did. The day was superb.

After finishing we lounged, recovered and chatted on the sun-soaked finishing field while watching the runners continue to trickle in, some of them sprinting each other to the line (how DO they do that?).

When the cold began to bite, The Lamb Inn provided the perfect retreat for a pint, a leg-of-lamb roast dinner (naturally), rhubarb crumble and custard and a pot of tea, before the (mostly) downhill high speed blast back home. I slept well and contentedly that night, savouring a third PB of the year (by nearly 2 minutes).

Here are the pictures.