Back to Racing

After nearly an 18 month absence from competitive running due the the COVID-19 pandemic, on Sunday 4th July, I returned by running Gerry McCabe’s Legendary Hendon Brook Half-Marathon. The week before was quite a tentative time. As I will explain, mixed emotions and a near miss could nearly have stopped my return in its tracks! Despite this, I definitely feel I made the correct decision about which race to come back with; the challenging half-marathon has highlighted a few of my weaknesses in my current form, which has reignited my passion of training, and even the torrential downpour 10 miles in didn’t take anything away from how beautiful the route can be.

I had decided to break my tradition the week before the race and took some time to rest my legs for a few days. I ran on Monday with a reasonable amount of effort, plus a big hill, and I had an easy 3 mile run just before I watched the England match on Tuesday; I couldn’t avoid cycling to work on Wednesday and Thursday but Friday was limited to walking to the train station and an Italian restaurant – perfect for carbing up! Because of the limited exercise in the week, when I went for an easy jog on Saturday, my legs felt well rested and I felt I was in the best physical shape I could have been for the Sunday race. I think that also gave me a mental edge too; knowing that I’d done everything I could, I knew I was as ready as I could be! What I definitely didn’t plan for or want in the week before was that on Wednesday a family member that I had seen a few days prior was sent home from work with symptoms of COVID-19. I must say, thoughts weren’t instantly about the race, but when it was highlighted that there is 10 day isolation after the meeting, I did become worried about it. Thankfully, the family member had a negative test and was feeling much better by the weekend. At the end of the week, my nerves steadily increased and by Saturday afternoon I had to go for a very easy run to settle me down.

Gerry McCabe’s Legendary Hendon Brook Half-marathon

Before I go into the race itself, here is a little insight into the race and its history. In 1984, Gerry McCabe became headteacher of Hendon Brook School in Nelson, Lancashire. With lacking funding at the school, he launched the Hendon Brook Half-marathon, which is now famed due to both the alluring route over the moorland roads and the demanding eleven climbs totalling more than 2100 feet of climb. In 1985, Gerry founded The Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix: a summer series of local races, which were carefully organised on dates to avoid clashes. The series, now called Pendle & Burnley Grand Prix, has grown and prospered, and in 2017, the newer organisers decided to re-name his original race to honour his legacy.

Back to current day, or more specificity Sunday 4th July 2021 – race day! A lot of races have started with very early start times; thankfully, Hendon Brook isn’t one of those and has a comfortable 11am start time. This meant that I was able to have a reasonably large breakfast and a coffee before we had to set off to the race. I did have a short panic when I woke up at 7.40am, thinking I’d slept through my alarm and would miss the race; I hadn’t and I didn’t! After the panicked wake up, I was exited and rearing to go, but after my breakfast the nerves had kicked in. Every minute closer to the race felt excruciatingly worse than the last, I felt like a rabbit between headlights. It was brilliant to see so many friends at registration, and that helped with the nerves ,but I’m sure it took me ten minutes to pin my number on my vest and I completely forgot how to tie laces.

After all the nerves to get there, the moment I was on the start line, they all melted away; I was excited again! I felt a surge of adrenaline, my heart was racing, my airways were dilated, and my muscles had a rush of oxygen; my god, I’d missed that! That exuberance nearly got me in trouble very quickly, though, as I will explain. The race starts in grounds of Walton Lane Nursery School, previously the site of Hendon Brook School. It then descends at the edge of Marsden housing estate around Pendle Vale College before climbing up Walton Lane back to the start. In the first half mile of a mile and a half loop, I was thinking how fast the start was and how far the leaders had already raced ahead, instead of thinking where I was putting my feet and I missed coming off a pavement into the road and managed to roll my right ankle outwards! For a moment, I thought I’d ended my race prematurely with a sharp pain in my ankle which forced me to limp for a few metres. A few runners around me watched and some slowed to check that I was ok, but I insisted I was fine and to push on. It took a few strides to make sure I was actually fine but I slowed for a few seconds and got my head back in the race; by the time I was back at the start, I was running well again.

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The next few miles were sensible running for me; the route follows Town House road before climbing up Barkerhouse road, locally known as ‘shooters,’ because of the Shooters Arms pub , which sits at the top of the hill. From the top of the hill, it turns south on Southfield Lane for the first water station two and a half miles in. This is the point where you get a glimpse of the beauty that is coming up: a landscape of rolling hills, drystone walls and dotted with remote farmhouses. Following Southfield Lane, it drops down into the valley where it meets Catlow Brook, and a picturesque cobbled ford with stepping stones for those trying to keep dry toes. The road changes to Robin House Lane at the ford and changes pace quickly, as it starts to climb steeply and continues steadily for three quarters of a mile; this is where I found out how difficult this was going to be and it slowed me down to a walk. At this point, I had to ‘have a word’ with myself, as the words of my coach, John Roche, sounded in my head. I shortened my stride and got going running again.

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What comes next is my favourite part of the race and, in my opinion, the most stunning landscapes in Lancashire, nay, the world! Robin House Lane finishes onto Halifax Road where it has a short flat recovery before more steady incline for just short of a mile, where the route takes Ridehalgh Lane. Running down Ridehalgh Lane, I struggled to believe that anyone could dislike this; on my immediate left, there were the green pastures that make up the hill I was running down and on my right, I had a two hundred degree horizon of moorland, only disrupted by sheep, trees and gullies, that carry the bubbling brooks. I might be romanticising this a little but those views were going to get me round the next part of the race. After dropping into Thursden Valley, Ridehalgh Lane starts climbing back out of the valley and has a hairpin bend like a rollercoaster, a dip, and a steep climb out to leave you on Back Lane: the point of highest elevation in the race.

I always find the next stint of the race fairly uneventful: running Back Lane between Upper and Lower Coldwell Reservoirs, Sheffield Road and Burnley Road to Trawden is a two and a half mile distance with an aggregate decent and only adds two hundred foot on the total climb. This year’s race was no different; I was able to put a few good paced miles in while I recovered from the difficult climbs in the first half of the race. I soaked in the scenery; the one I always enjoy is after passing Coldwell, where I could see a stream of runners and supporters in front of me. On Burnley Road, I passed the eight and a half mile point and did some calculations in my head; knowing the remaining distance, I was confident that I was able to hit my target finish time of one hour and forty minutes, as long as I had no disasters on the last three substantial hills. I was reassured with my calculations after I had turned onto Colne Road in Trawden and paced the hill up to Mire Ridge with perfection. I did however make a mistake by joining with another Clayton-le-Moors Harrier running down Mire Ridge and Coal Pitt Lane at an uncomfortable pace. The quicker pace downhill made running up Carry Lane, the second of the three remaining hills, very difficult indeed – it became more of a trudge and a walk than a run, I must admit.

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The next mile is the most urban part of the race, using Keighley Road, Newtown Street, West Street, Colne Lane, and Mill Green to traverse the top of Colne to The Admiral Lord Rodney, where my fan club were ready to cheer me up the last monster hill. ‘Lenches’ is the infamous last ascent in the race; it is just short of a mile. including four hundred foot of elevation and starts from the lowest point of the route back onto the moors. ‘Lenches’ is actually made up of Lenches Road and Knotts Lane, which puts you back on Southfield Lane. In most opinions, this is the hardest, steepest, and most challenging part of the race – right when everyone is flagging! This year, I had the added pleasure of attempting to run up ‘Lenches’ just when the heavens opened. I didn’t manage to run all the way this year (despite shouts of encouragement from my family!); it was more like an interval session. After the trial of ‘Lenches,’ the almost flat mile on Southfield Lane, the decent on Barkerhouse Lane, and the half a mile on Town House Road felt a breeze. I had a very small wobble on Town House Road when I slowed, but with a check of my watch, I summoned all of my remaining energy to strive to the finish in exactly my target time of one hour and forty minutes. This was by no means a personal best for me but after the year we’ve had, I can safely say that I enjoyed it all: the buzz at the start line, the support around the course, the level to which I pushed myself, and the feeling of camaraderie with other runners. This winning combination is something you just can’t get anywhere else.

So, am I glad to be back to racing? Absolutely! Can I promise that I won’t be nervous on 14th July when I tackle Widdop Fell Race? Absolutely not! Will I be on the start line for Hendon Brook in 2022? I wouldn’t miss it!

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