UPS AND DOWNS
RW’S Kerry Mccarthy digs in for the Kendal Mountain Festival Trail 10K, part of a four-day outdoors jamboree
FOR THE PAST 17 years the biggest brands in trail running, climbing, hiking, Nordic walking and mountain biking, as well as ruddy-cheeked outdoor enthusiasts from around the UK, have descended upon Kendal, Cumbria, for a four-day orgy of speakers, athlete demonstrations, inspiring films, craft-beer supping, kit testing and food tasting.
It’s brilliantly organised and the boisterous atmosphere owes a lot to the locals who have wholeheartedly embraced the event. The middle day (a Saturday) features a tricky little blighter of a 10K race that probably sits somewhere between trail and fell in its classification. The town centre start and finish – unusual for a trail race – was a nice idea, ensuring maximum atmosphere bookended what was otherwise a voyage into the wilderness of the Cumbrian countryside. From the town we were immediately confronted by a brute of a climb called Beast Banks, which stretched out the field within the first kilometre. From there we ran in a rough anticlockwise direction to the 235m-high Scout Scar and along the snow-covered escarpment looking down on the Lyth Valley and the Lakeland Fells.
The second half of the race was a thigh-wrecking weave back down to the town, the local mountain goats bounding fearlessly ahead in the distance in their singlets and short shorts while the majority of us – cloaked in multiple layers and a sense of overwhelming inadequacy – picked our way gingerly between the rocks down towards civilisation.
Throughout, the ear-freezing wind was cruel, the regular switchbacks ruined any sense of rhythm, the terrain was more varied than a chameleon with an identity crisis…and I loved every second of it. It was one of those races that (schmaltzy cliché alert) really does make you feel alive, especially if you spend most of your time being part of the urban rat race. As we re-entered Kendal, a tricky cobbled slope sent runners slithering ungracefully round the final corner – to the dry amusement of the 200 or so watching locals – and over the finish line, where all the seasoned fell runners had waited around to congratulate less-experienced participants and clap every runner home. It was lovely to see and entirely fitting for a race (and a festival) that’s less about finishing times and more about feeling part of something wonderful. Run it: This year’s Kendal Mountain Festival is from November 16-19 and the 10K is on November 18. Visit mountainfest.co.uk and openadventure.com