"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Night Sugar Fell Race - November 2023 - Abergavenny

It took me a while to fully recover and get race-fit again after tackling the Black Mountains Fell Race without sufficient training or conditioning, but once I'd built things back up a bit I scanned the race calendar looking for more chances to get out on the hills and trails. With weekends pretty packed (by the New World of Peace concerts among other things) the only opportunity within the next couple of weeks was going to be the Night Sugar. I'd run on the fells in darkness before, but never in a race, so this was going to be another New Experience which is always a good thing! Well, usually always..

I decided to pitch up early from Bristol so I could park near the start and make a quick getaway afterwards - Abergavenny is only an hour or so away but with lots going on at work I wasn't keen to make a late night of it - especially as I sometimes struggle to get to sleep with my body buzzing from the exertion of a race. Even arriving nearly an hour and a half before the start I was greeted by a marshal showing people where to park, which also reassured the early arrivals that they had found the right patch of hard standing on the side of the mountain. Slowly more people arrived and picked up numbers (with timing chips) from the back of a van decked out in christmas lights. The sky lit up with stars - despite the lights of Abergavenny and the dual carriageway below us being close by, this was a great Dark Sky area and I was able to see a the fields of stars that are usually hidden by light pollution.

I warmed up in my new Mudclaws with a few reps up and down the approach to the finish, then after a brief briefing on the slopes above the car park we were off into the night, a sea of swaying head torches, with ninety six runners starting the race. First came a steep ramp of an ascent which I tackled at a steady jog, then things smoothed out and we ran on an easy trail of lush grass between dark patches of bracken. It was a wide course and marked intermittently with reflective posts, so there was no need at any stage to reach for a map or compass. I was running in a windstopper baselayer and my Marathon Team tee shirt, with light winter tights too, as the temperature was in the low single digits. A few runners passed me early on and I found myself hanging on to a pack with some of the leading women, probably about a quarter or a third of the way down the field. Ahead I heard splashing and the route descended to a stream crossing that I couldn't see until it was only a few metres ahead - I had been wondering how wide or deep it would be. That's one of the features of night racing - the inability to see very far ahead so you are never certain what's coming. Guess it makes you more In The Moment. The runner ahead splashed through the water, but I took the more foolish option of jumping deftly on to a stepping stone, but it stayed stable under my foot and I was over, shoes dryer and lighter than they would have been.

In some ways it was like a regular hill race, but the darkness made it feel very intense and solitary despite running in a bunch. After a left turn marked by a reflective arrow the main climb began and I found it almost all runnable - hardly any need to get the hands on the knees and hike it. The stars were blocked out to my left by the looming bulk of the summit ridge, while ahead of me a succession of pools of light marked the presence of each runner. I was part of a chain of lights encircling the mountain, each one a runner giving it their all, islands in a sea of darkness.

After the ridge came the steep descent, which my new shoes made easier than usual and the darkness made more challenging. Overall I was overtaken less than I usually am on the way down, so the shoes were definitely helping - that deeper grip giving a sense of security with each footfall. I kept my stride short nonetheless to keep control and soon I was on a flattish section, wondering what the course would bring next. The lights ahead all disappeared one by one until all had vanished from sight and I took that to mean another steep step down, which it was - a second and more severe slope which again was very runnable and easier than the first now I was confident in my descending.

There were more streams and more short climbs and descents as the course slowly reeled in the whole mountain. I found myself spent, but no more so than the runners around me and I managed to hold my place in the race as the miles passed. The final descent was a shallow slope so I was able to stride out and run, eyes on the ground in my little zone of torchlight to make sure I didn't trip or twist an ankle. The car park wasn't in view until it was almost upon us, so I suddenly found myself at the finish, facing my number to the scanner to make sure I got recorded. I was 25th out of the 96 and 3rd out of the 11 in my category. That earned me the satisfaction of a place on the results - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DDVevc2Qg0vgMgJD_WWSlIjuLoiRXxlU/view

I can't remember the last time I placed in category on the hills so that does mark a return to form..... with the caveat that the organisers were pleased to see it wasn't just the usual suspects who do every fell race who had registered. It certainly felt good to be out there on the hills, racing, trying something totally new.

 Sacred Steps Home