LAKE DISTRICT MOUNTAIN TRIAL RU good enough for the Trial?
Helene Whitaker asks ‘Do you think you’re good enough? Go on, do you?’ (with apologies to Arnie). For the Lake District Mountain Trial that is.
s I get older and the need to go in the right direction first time becomes essential rather than desirable, I have turned to honing what navigation skills I possess. The ultimate test of mountain navigation has always been the Mountain Trial. Established in 1952, well before orienteering was a sport in the UK, it boasts a veritable Who’s Who of fell running history in its previous winners. My first encounter with the trial was in 1989 when I navigated by looking over my shoulder to see where Wendy Dodds was.
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The resulting crick in my neck and flea in my ear, “Helene you could be a good fell runner if you could actually navigate”, was, as ever, directly to the point. I took note and spent time going adrift on various races. After all, what would we talk about in the pub after fell races if it wasn’t for misplacing ourselves?
I persevered at orienteering events and found to my shock that orienteers simply discussed splits. The notion of “misplacement” was mine alone. A particularly nasty experience in the
Stuart Pitches (above) was one of eight Ilkley Harriers who competed in the 2010 Lake District Mountain Trial, finishing 57th (5hr49) with Hector Haines coming 2nd (4hr13) and Helene Whitaker 35th (5hr18) in the Open event (17 miles, 7300ft). Outi Kamarainen was 19th (5hr40) and Sarah Fuller 23rd (6hr11) in the Women’s event (13 miles, 7000ft). Peter Haines was 5th (3hr4), Graham Arthur 9th (3hr23) and Chloe Haines 27th (3hr52) in the Short event (10 miles, 3400ft).
20 ILKLEY HARRIERS NEWSLETTER • APRIL–JUNE 2011
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