Berghaus Trail Running Team Selection 2014

Berghaus Trail Running Team Selection 2014

(Lake District – Hellvelyn)

After a very busy couple of weeks for myself, the arrival of my new baby boy and getting informed i had been selected to represent the North East region at upcoming Fellrunning national inter counties champs. I needed some time for myself and an excuse to just get out in the mountains and enjoy running again, without the stress of racing and no sleep.

Me and My Son (Ethan David Beech – Future Fellrunning Champ)

So it was of to the Berghaus Trail Running Team Selection, Arriving the YHA Hellvelyn gave me a chance to see area of the Lakes that i have never ran or been to in the past, so I was itching to get out on the hills and run like an excited puppy dog, but first the main reason I was here.

*All pictures courtesy of the Trail Running Team Facebook Page 

YHA Hellvelyn

The trail running weekend ran by Freestack and Berghaus, its a get together of like minded people all hoping to learn new skills and meet new people, with the added bonus of possibly being selected to go to Chamonix, in the Alps, for a trail running training camp with the Berghaus and Freestak team, something I feel would be an excellent opportunity and a great chance to get some quality training in.

The weekend was planned out as follows:

Day 1

• Introductions – Very witty and easy to get on with guy from Freestack (Simon) this immediately put me at ease, as I sensed a similar sense of humour as myself, i.e always trying to be funny but failing and a similar height to me 😉
• TORQ Presentation – Nutritional advice from a scientific type fellow, I found this very, very useful information as i always seem to struggle post 2 hours running, for some excellent info on TORQ products follow the link http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/
• Berghaus Presentation – David Coombes, who i have recently had some communication with and it was nice to put a face to the name and some Berghaus athletes going over some super lightweight products, follow the link for more info http://store.berghaus.com/search/vapourlight
• Run – A nice easy run out to Red tarn and back with the group, was fun and managed to stretch the legs a bit, more of a social run out.
• Inspirational Talks – Steve Birkenshaw (all time hero) and Helene Whittacker
•  Another Run – More fun and a good chance to see Hellvelyn with a good group of runners.

Day 2

•  Med Distance Run – This was more like it and a chance to test out the TORQ Nutrition, more information to follow on this.

Introductions 

After a brief chat we all piled into a small room and had our pictures taken, and the intro began with some excellent information from Simon (Freestak) and more about last years training camp. This got me very excited at the thought of going to the Alps, as its always been a dream of mine. I especially like the style of running that i call “where climbing and running gets confused”, basically i like to run up mountains where some people may want to climb, the more risky the better. So to get a chance to see the Alps and where some of the greats from the mountain running world have been, would be a dream come true.

Presentation – Steve Birkenshaw

The weekend was planned out with the obvious excitement in the air and i began to think how i could get selected, as no obvious method to score or win was apparent, this confused me ha-ha. Sooooo, i just decided to let be what will be and enjoy myself in one of my favorite places in the world, the Lakes.

TORQ Presentation

This was a area where i felt i could learn the most, as I’ve only been running for a 2 year period and my very quick move from road to mountains and a dabble with Ultrarunning, i always struggle when the distance increases. My method of a sandwich before and then run until i blow up doesn’t seem to be the trend with all the successful runners.

We where shown data demonstrating the best methods to take on fuel during running and when to take it, all a huge eye opener to me, the idea of taking a energy supplement every 20 mins was crazy to me, but the science proved it worked. Some excellent gel and drink products were available with some very interesting choices, this i was keen to try as in past i could never stomach any gel, as a recent race is evidence, i went from 2nd place after 8 miles to 7th at 13 miles all because a gel made me vomit.

For more information follow the link: http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/

Berghaus Presentation

Introduction by David Coombes who I’ve harassed in the past via email for support on ideas and running, some great background surrounding the recent Ultimate Trail Project by Philippe and Anna Gatta and the Himalayas adventure.

The Ultimate Trail – Himalayas Trail Run

A truly inspiring adventure of risk and danger, this got me thinking, hmmmm maybe i could have a go at this is Berghaus felt like helping… We then had a superb talk about the new Berghuas product available after this adventure and how the design was fit for purpose. I also like kit to be light as it enables me to carry less and run faster over exposed mountain areas or have a longer period out running. The vapour light series was something i really liked and when handling the equipment, it was excellent.

Vapour Smock

Vapour Hyper Therm Jacket

Kit Packed Down

The new Berghaus kit is excellent and will be a new purchase for me soon, and i can see the benefits already with weight and reliability but still high performance. It also goes hand in hand with my view on mountain running, as many summits as possible as fast as possible in all weathers….

Running

We now met and went for a short run, which was up to Red Tarn in the Hellvelyn horseshoe, some good trails and uphill sections soon spread everyone out and it was nice to get into smaller groups and chat.  Everyone had a varied knowledge when it came to mountain running and some people experiencing this type of running for the first time, so it was nice to pass on tips and hints about ascending and descending. I managed to naturally find myself out front and running with Steve, which brought some memories back from a fell race where me and Steve were racing at the sharp end and i managed to pip him on the last 100m to win, i was wondering if he remembered me, but i decided on not mentioning if i wanted any chance of getting selected for the team.

Trail Running

It was a nice warm up leading upto the tarn, and seeing the great Hellvelyn again got me excited to do some ridge-line running, one of my favorite runs is to run the grade 2 scramble along the striding edge to the summit then the fast edgey descent down the grade 1 scramble of swirral edge. We were waiting round for the rest of the team to catch up and true to form, the great Steve Birkenshaw decided to lead a charge into the tarn, of course, not to follow may give the wrong impression, so in i went. Now, me being a bit smaller then most, i was a bit wary of going in deep, but unknown to me there was a ledge and drop off, and my intention of just going waist deep soon fell apart and in i went and under completely. Obviously, i gave the impression it was all planned and once i managed to catch my breathe, i was straight out, freeeeeezing.

Mid Run Dip

After a nice descent back down to the YHA, and me and Steve having a bit of a feel of each others downhill technique, this could of turned into a race i feel but i think Steve was polite and held back… I however let go and decided to enjoy myself, not getting much of a chance to be in the mountains i was determined to enjoy it as much as possible.

We then had a bit of a debrief and then Steve was keen for another run, i was finding it hard to hide my excitement and off we went, now… this is where my excitement got the better of me and the intended route Steve wanted to go on soon changed, as i set off and decided to just go for it and enjoy the running and not really think too much about the whole selection thing… i just wanted to run ha-ha. Before i knew it i was out on my own and a excellent ascending path, winding its way up the hill, head down and ensuring my hill climbing technique was tight… my hips straight and square, no slumping or dumping and short and sharp steps in time with my breathing, then just focus on step by step and work hard. Before i knew i was at the top and checking behind me i was alone, time to wait and see where everyone was, soon the group caught up and we decided head out in the direction of Helvellyn, and off we went…  A nice ascent up-to a undulating wide ridge-line, i just enjoyed the views and ran, some off-trail running soon popped up and the fells opened up and a nice windy exposed climb gave some amazing views of Hellvelyn. I was again out on my own but the momentum soon grew and i was back doing what i do best, running the mountains as fast as i possiblE, ensuring every step i take is the fastest i am capable of at that moment, I’ve never understood the whole pacing thing and slowing yourself down to hit a target time, i just run as hard as i can for as long as i can and see what happens, running should be as fast as you can to enjoy the speed and pain.

Day 2 – Run 

We all met for 9am the following morning and another long run was planned, a possible 3 hours out in the mountains, this i was looking forward too. We headed back up-to Red Tarn, and then a quick jaunt up Swirall edge, i love this style of running, so once again, off i went out front and enjoyed the running. It was also nice to see people enjoying the mountain running as some trail or road runners were present and it was a first, i could hear the excitement as all got a exposure to what i feel mountain running is about… I have have my own style that id like to share and i call it “where climbing and running gets confused”, i love to run where most people would say its safe to climb or scramble with ropes or protection, i really like the freedom of running something very technical and overcoming that attitude of “you cant run that”. We had a slight taste of that today and it was a huge kick for me to seeing people enjoying it, hmmmm got me thinking, would be nice to share my other favorite running route of “Pinnacle Ridge”.

We headed out over Hellvelyn again and ran well over towards a section of the Bob Graham Round, something on my list to tick off this year, so it was nice to run it with Steve and see where and what trails he takes, making mental notes for future reference. One thing i did notice from Steve and something i will take away with me, that’s where i use the already in place trails, SB takes the most direct route down, whether that’s grass, fell or heavy going, he heads straight down, this i feel saves time when going for a fast BGR.

A few more headed back via the valley leading to Patterdale, whilst we all headed up-to St Sunday Carg, i was looking forward to this descent as its long and a nice trail, with the odd tricky section, it was now while i was following SB across some off-trail running i turned my ankle, from previous experience, i knew what the best thing to do was, and that’s just keep running, stopping just allows it too stiffen. Running off the niggle, we started the descent, and i was trying hold back, not wanting people thinking that i was trying to race to front to show im a fairly good runner, but i do find it harder to run slow downhill, so i had to let go, i soon forgot about everyone else once i was enjoying the descent, the jumps, and skips and speed, the usual walkers moving out the way as you race past and you hear them say “nutter”.

Once back at the YHA, we all had a dip in the stream to cool down and it allowed my ankle to stop the swelling, it was then that Steve came up, i got a chance to shake his hand and say “thankyou,” and he said “no thankyou, you have pushed me on both the runs”, unknown to him, this is the greatest complement i have been given by anyone to date, as i look upto SB and his current project of running the Wainwrights in record time has relight a fire inside me to go out and seek a tough challenge myself. I have had a sense since when small child that i would one day be the first person to do something, so i am always looking for new challenges.

Berghaus Athlete Steve Birkenshaw (left) Dave Beech – Me (right)

For more information on Steve’s upcoming challenge, click the link and follow the address: http://stevebirkinshaw-wainwright2014.blogspot.co.uk/

A huge thank-you to Berghaus, Freestack, TORQ, and all the guys and girls involved with the event, a superb experience.