Race Report: Lyke Wake Challenge 09/07/2016

So why do an ultra-marathon on the opposite side of the country that most people haven’t even heard of? I blame beer and Craig Edwards! We were sat in the bar on the eve on my first ever ultra-marathon (Dig Deep Intro Ultra) listening to runner extraordinaire Shelli Gordon talking about her many amazing achievements and she mentioned the Lyke Wake Challenge. I had heard my mum talking about walking the Lyke Wake route which she had done as a 24-hour challenge many years previously. I therefore decided that it was a race I had to do.

The Start

The route is a 40 mile crossing of The North York Moors starting near Osmotherley and finishing near Ravenscar overlooking Robin Hoods Bay. It was conceived in 1955 when an open challenge was published in the Dalesman to cross the moors on foot from West to East within 24 hours. This was completed a few months later by a group of 11 walkers who formed the Lyke Wake Club. Its name (“lyke” means corpse and “wake” is the act of watching over it) comes from the ancient people who inhabited the area who used to carry their dead across the moors to the burial grounds there. The club has been going strong since then with up to 10,000 successful crossings each year. Once a year the route is open as a race with the Quaker’s Running Club taking over the organisation for the last couple of years.

Lee at the top of the First "Sister"

Although I knew it was going to be a tough race the seriousness of the challenge only sank in when I noticed that one of the runners that was starting at the same time as us had a tattoo of the Lyke Wake Club Badge (a coffin) on his calf. The start was handicapped based on our predicted finish time. As we had predicted 10 hours, Craig, Lee and Trisha and me set off at 6:20 along the road before joining the Cleveland Way. After a few miles we had the option of going over the “Three sisters” which include Wainstones or taking the much flatter (and slightly longer) path which skirts around them. We obviously chose to go over the Three Sisters and were rewarded with amazing views across the moors. Each of the Sister has a tough but thankfully short ascent followed by a technical, steep descent. After about 12 miles the route leaves the Cleveland Way to join a dismantled railway line that runs to the Lion Pub at Blakey. Up to this point (18 miles) we were running on stone paths and apart from them being somewhat slippy the conditions were great. As we approached the Lion the rain and fog descended.

Trisha and Fran

After refuelling on tea and cake we set off again. There was a brief section on the road before the route went right and for 10 miles we followed the boundary stones across a peat bog. Due to the recent rainfall the underfoot / ankle / knee conditions were very wet. Some of our slips / falls were spectacular and when Lee went in up to his thighs we had to physically pull him out. Once out of the bog we ran down to cross Wheeldale Beck on the stepping stones and then across the North York Moors Railway line and up towards the RAF Early Warning Centre. Once we had passed Lilla Cross it was just 4 miles to the final checkpoint on the A171. We could see the Radio Mast that was the top of the final hill and then it was a pleasant jog down the road to finish in the grounds of the Raven Hall Hotel. I finished in 9 hours 39 mins although the satisfaction definitely came from completing the challenge as opposed to the finish time.

Lee "stuck in the bog" 

The Lyke Wake Challenge is an amazing ultra-marathon. The conditions this year definitely ensured it was a challenge although a number of the seasoned Lyke Wake Runners assured me that the underfoot conditions were not usually this bad. The terrain and views were amazing and the army of marshals that manned each of the 6 checkpoints in the fog and rain were brilliant. Every runner was clapped into each checkpoint and greeted by the race director with a handshake at the finish line. When I found the going tough, Craig, Lee and Trisha were a fantastic support and ensured it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. Overall, I would highly recommend this race to my fellow Striders.

The Finish