News
Welcome to our news & blog page, this is all that’s going on in our little world. We’ll let you know what we’ve been up to, what kit we’ve been using and how it did! We’ll also keep you posted on events and running group meeting dates.
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Sunday 29th January 2012
This Sunday’s run is simple. 10 miles. 3 hills. Fremington (normal route) down via Castle Hill Farm, Calver down to Healaugh, across the stepping stones and up High Harker Hill.
It’s going to be a tough one but there are plenty of ‘escape routes’ if you’ve had enough of climbing, so come along and lets give it a go together!
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23rd January 2012.
2012 will be the OMM’s 44th Event. Although the location is a secret we know it will be set in a different area from last year to avoid people reccying the course. We think it may be set outside the lakes…..so it could well be set in the northern dales….it could even be Swaledale!
So keep the last week-end in October free! (27th and 28th 2012). As usual it will present challenges for everyone who takes part. It is still, internationally the largest and most prestigious Mountain Marathon event. THE OMM tests teamwork, self-reliance, endurance, outdoor and navigational skills.
If you are up for it, we will SPONSOR one team to take part in the event, drop us an email if you’d like to be considered.
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22nd January 2012.
Another good run around Marrick, Helwith, Washfold and Hurst returning via Fremington Edge. We had a good turnout despite the wind and as usual it turned out nice again 
Total Distance: 12.02 miles.
Ascent: 1010 ft (2.08 miles of climbing).
Map & Route Detail:
A GPX file of this route can be downloaded for use on your GPS device by clicking ‘View Full’ or ‘View Elevation’ on the map below, then clicking ‘Export Map Data’.
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Fairfield Horseshoe, Lake District Friday 13th January.
It’s not often we get out of Swaledale but when we do we like to run or climb! After a day of meetings with Merrell & Montane looking at next winters amazing new products we had a days running. On the advice of Helen from Merrell we decided to run the Fairfield Horseshoe……it turned out to be one of those days we’ll remember for a long time!
We started and finished in Grasmere giving us a nice run in and run out. The classic horseshoe is 10 miles but the Grasmere extensions added 3 miles in each direction, which was a perfect warm up/cool down. The Horseshoe is best run in an anti-clockwise direction giving a more constant ascent gradient. The sky was azure blue, there was a spectacular cloud inversion oven in the Eden Valley and there was just a little snow remaining from a cornice around the rim.
It was one of those runs we didn’t want to finish!
Lightweight kit sometimes makes it hard to stay in contact with the ground!
Windermere & Ambleside in the distance.
Heading back down.
It has to be said it was almost as beautiful as Swaledale!
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New Years Day Run
A great run if a little cold and windy (but what did we expect). Considering the fact the weather was a bit rough we had a good turnout and a great run up to Nine Standards. ‘Sealskinz’ socks were worth their weight in gold for the 3 hour round trip. Unfortunately we missed the Fell racers coming up from Kirkby Stephen as we were a little early but we made it down for tea and cake at Kearton.
If a picture speaks a thousand words the first three would be cold, boggy & grim!
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New Years Day Run
We’ll be running on New Years Day! Committed or daft, whatever you think we’ll be going for a run up to Nine Standards Rigg. The plan is to meet at the shop at 10am and we’ll drive up to Ravenseat before going up to Nine Standards. There’s the annual fell race from Kirkby Stephen starting at midday so hopefully we’ll make it to the top just before them and give them a bit of encouragement! We’ll make a circular run out of it and aim for around 10 miles.
IMPORTANT: Bring something warm it’s very exposed, very boggy and it’s high!
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UPDATE: Christmas Drinks
We have a table booked for a The Bridge in Grinton for 8pm Thursday 29th. Everyone welcome but please drop me a line or give me a call if you’d like to eat so we can ensure we have enough seats. If you’d like to just come along for a drinks, no worries, everyone’s welcome.
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UPDATE: Post Turkey Stumble – Tuesday 27th December
A great way to run off the Turkey, we had a Fantastic run if a little ‘soft’ (read boggy as hell) underfoot. We managed managed to stumble on for 12 miles over the top of Fremington towards Helwith Bridge, before running along the bottom along a steep sided valley (Shaw Beck) towards Prys lead mine before coming back over Fremington Edge. We were joined by Patrick from Durham Fell Runners, we’ll look forward to returning the gesture and getting out for a run with those guys in Hamsterley some time in the future.
Total Distance: 12 miles.
Total Ascent: 1312 ft.
Map & Route Detail:
A GPX file of this route can be downloaded for use on your GPS device by clicking ‘View Full’ or ‘View Elevation’ on the map below, then clicking ‘Export Map Data’.
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Christmas Drinks
It seems we’ve finally managed to find a date for a bit of a shindig. We’ll be meeting on Thursday 29th for a few drinks and maybe something to eat….not sure what the plan is yet…… it’s taken months to decide the date so watch this space for more info. Everyone is welcome and bring partners if you need someone to drive you home!
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Post Turkey Stumble – Tuesday 27th December
We won’t be running on Christmas day unless the turkey escapes. But we will be getting out on Tuesday 27th (day after boxing day). We’re going to meet at the shop at the usual time and will aim for our usual 10 miles, we’ll re-run one of our most popular runs from recent months or if people demand something more challenging we might venture up Great Shunner………mince pie and cups of tea when we get back to base.
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Run in the Sun: Sunday 18th December
Only a few of us were lucky enough to wake up without a cold or a hangover (it’s that time of year) on Sunday and make it out for a run. We were rewarded with crystal clear skies, superb views and good solid (frozen) ground. We visited Jabz Cave (SE 05110 99785) and then ran along the Fremington Shelf, a route none of us had ran before, before heading up and over to Hurst and returning to the shop.
Even if you don’t follow us on Facebook you can view pictures of the run here. PICTURES.
Total Distance: 7.45 miles* (I forgot to start GPS again actual distance was 9 miles)
Map & Route Detail:
A GPX file of this route can be downloaded for use on your GPS device by clicking ‘View Full’ or ‘View Elevation’ on the map below, then clicking ‘Export Map Data’.
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Next ‘Drop & Run’ Sunday 4th December
Sunday 4th December is ‘Drop & Run’ day. No excuses, whatever the weather we’ll be getting dropped off in some far flung corner of Swaledale and running back to the shop via some random never seen before route!
It’ll be 12 miles (+) so make sure you bring some warm/emergency kit, you never know when you’ll need it!
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Sunday 27th November: Harkerside, up the Swale and back over the hills.
A suprisingly cold wind had us putting on additional layers at the start but the skies cleared to give us great views of the valley. We kept todays run simple and short as a few people are carrying injuries and next week is the monthly ‘Drop & Run’, so no doubt it’ll be a little longer than usual but not sure where it’ll be yet.
Total Distance: 7.39 miles (although I forgot to start GPS so add 1 mile)
Ascent: 627 ft (2.08 miles of climbing).
Map & Route Detail:
A GPX file of this route can be downloaded for use on your GPS device by clicking ‘View Full’ or ‘View Elevation’ on the map below, then clicking ‘Export Map Data’.
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24th November: Classic Swaledale Run:
This is one of the clasic routes out of Reeth and one we have done many times with different variations. It takes in the summits of Great Pinseat and Calver offering sectacular views over much of the northern Dales. It makes a great run (2 hr15 mins – 2 hrs 50 mins) or a good days walking, theres a good mix of terrain from grass, to heather, trail and open moorland (often boggy), so there’s something for everyone.
Total Distance: 12.8 miles
Ascent: 1250 ft (5.92 miles of climbing).
Map & Route Detail:
A GPX file of this route can be downloaded for use on your GPS device by clicking ‘View Full’ or ‘View Elevation’ on the map below, then clicking ‘Export Map Data’.
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Swaledale Map: Overground not Underground although there’s plenty of that too!
Please don’t use this map!
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NO RUNNING GROUP ON SUNDAY 16TH OCTOBER
There won’t be a run from the shop on the 16th as most people are doing the Richmond ‘Hilly’, so if you fancy a run get yourself along to that. It kicks off at 11am.
Normal service will resume on October 23rd. 10am @ shop.
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‘Drop & Run’ from Keld 9th October 2011
Small but perfectly formed was the group that ran from Keld to Reeth today. It was much wetter up the valley, but we were heading in the right direction all the way back with the wind giving us a little gentle encourangement when needed. After almost being licked to death by a very friendly puppy in Keld we headed off, down accross the river and up towards Crack Pot Hall on the C2C route.
Swinner Gill was spectacular and very muddy and slippery. The track over the moor below Rogans Seat is exposed and we endured a battering from the wind and near horizontal rain but we were soon over and heading down Lownathwaite Mea (I’d never been on this track before). The trail was a tight, twisting singletrack descent into Gunnerside Gill south of Blakethwaite lead mines, one of the best little sections I’ve been on.
We then headed SE and followed the Gill climbing up towards Winterings and round by Barf End before eventually joining the Swaledale Marathon route into Blades. No sign of Jackie here with tea and cake so we pressed on via Gallows Top and Hil Top before crossing Barney Beck and dropping down through a very autumnal Birk Park woods and into Healaugh and back to Reeth.
Thanks Robbie for driving us all up to Keld!
Another great run. Officially 11.7 miles…although Steve Brown managed to do 13 miles by running around like a man possesed.
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Inov-8 Roclite 295′s come out on top in TGO’s Gear Review
Click to BUY NOW
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Running Group Meet:
Following a fantastic run last week (personally I thought it was the best so far) we’ll be meeting at the shop on the 3rd & 10th July. We wil be trying to arrange transport for one of the dates so we can be dropped at Keld to run back. Otherwise we’ll be doing a circular route around 8-10 miles. Spread the word!
Meet at Swaledale Outdoors Shop @ 10am.
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Running Group Meet:
Our next outing will be SUNDAY 19TH JUNE. Following the Swaledale Marathon we’ll be taking a gentle 6- 8 mile run to get our legs back into it. We’ll see how everyone is on the morning but we may choose a route up towards Calver Hill. Also we can discus future runs/races and put together a bit of a plan for the rest of the summer.
Meet at Swaledale Outdoors Shop @ 10am.
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Swaledale Marathon
Congratulations to all those who took part. It was a fantastic day, the weather was favourable for runners, although walkers coming in after 5.30hrs may have got a bit wet! It was our (Sarah & I) first Swaledale Marathon so we were a little nervous but we were so busy moving house and with the shop we hardly had a moment to think about it. Next thing we knew it was all over! We managed to get round in 4.37hrs, so we are very pleased and already looking forward to doing it again next year and improving our times.
Click here for full Swaledale Marathon Results in Pdf format.
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Running Group Meet:
Our next outing will be SUNDAY 5TH JUNE. Due to the Swaledale Marathon taking place on the following Saturday it’ll be a gentle run 6- 8 miles. Assuming the longer training runs have been done this is an opportunity for an easy run before the big event. Lets hope the sun is shining!
Meet at Swaledale Outdoors Shop @ 10am.
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22nd May 2011
The running group met for a very windy training run this morning. After some initial sunshine gave us the encouragement to venture onto Fremington Edge the weather changed as we climbed out of Marrick. It was cold and very, very wet. Still it was good to get out, we cut short the planned run and headed back to Reeth after descending the Frem Edge to Storthwiate Hall (7.8 miles). A gentle if still a little wet run took us back to Reeth. Total distance 10.2 miles. Time 2.10hrs.
Next run 2 weeks today.
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24th March 2011
Trail Magazine reviews ‘Multi-Activity’ rucksacks and the Inov-8 Race Pro 30 wins BEST IN TEST.
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23rd March 2011
Smartwool Socks are the best……according to Country Walking Magazine, and we tend to agree.
Click to read: Smartwool Reveiw Country Walking
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22nd March 2011
The Montane Sabretooth Jacket is a double winner. It is now the owner of a ‘TGO Best Buy’ award (February 2011) which sits nicely alongside the ‘Trail Best in Test’ award it received back in August. The Sabretooth is fast becoming a classic mountain softshell.
Montane Sabretooth: We currently have limited stock of this new classic but you can see it here and if you’re lucky we might have one left!
To read the full review click here
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22nd March 2011
Inov-8 just keep getting better and better, we love their shoes and having used them for a number of years now and having worked our way to a more natural running style offered by a 2 arrow shoe (X-Talon 212), we are really starting to feel the benefits Inov-8 can offer. If trail or off trail running is something you are new to or perhaps you have a heavier running style then they also offer shoes with a little more cushioning to enable an easier (less injury prone) transition to a more natural style.
See the link below for a review on the womens Inov-8 275 GTX (4 arrow).
Click to view: Health & Fitness Review: Waterproof Trail Shoes.