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Day 2 and we are working our way back across the ground we covered on Saturday. Starting with a detour to pick up some extra points, we are soon climbing across the fells above Haweswater.
After a couple of valleys the rain hits us and we have fairly grim climb to the 4th control point with heavy rain driving across us.
At the control point we decide to head East, down a steep valley and up a narrow ridge on the other side. Leaving the crocodile behind, our spirits lift as we get into some glorious Lakeland countryside.
The Autumn colours make the Lakes stunning at this time of year. It is a great challenge to get David to stop for 30s to take a photo but I manage to curb his enthusiasm for a minute and get some shots.
As so often in this race the ability to take pictures wanes as the going gets tougher. After the ridge pictured above we make a steep and slippery descent before crossing the valley and climbing a steep hillside to the next checkpoint before an even steeper climb up to the high ground to rejoin the bulk of the runners.
A steady descent together with a few Lakeland bogs gets us another 3 checkpoints before we race over the finish line. With 45 minutes to spare we have done enough. A rather grim free meal get a bit of calories and warmth back into the body before we change and head back south to warm baths and comfortable beds.
In 30th place we have done better than ever before. Now I think we should do an Alpine race next year...
The profiles below show our routes on day one and day two. On the first day we cover 34.4 km and 1338m of ascent. This works out at 5.86kph which is hardly sprinting - it does show how much the long uphill sections slow you down. The highest point on day 1 is Leadpot Hill and, apart from the slog up to the checkpoint at the end of Haweswater, most of the climbing is pretty steady.
On day 2 we cover 22.8km and 1132m of ascent. Althogether a much shorter but steeper route as can be seen from the profile. This tells in an average speed of only 4.93kph. Most notable here is the steep climbing between 16k and 18k - as we climb the ridge above Ullswater (top of map on left) - and which nearly kills us!
This is the last ever KIMM as next year it becomes the OMM. No more Karrimor, we will miss you.
