Xmas Eve

3 Dallam runners 2 dogs

Our plan a few days earlier was to run Inglebrough we cancelled that when the snow came then we would run over Farleton but we had a phone call from Mike M, he had run up Farleton earlier and the snow was very deep making the run almost imposable Walking most of the way. So we decided to do Warton Fell race route having run with Dallam the night before we new the paths would be covered in snow but as most of the route is well walked the snow had be trampled down a little making the running great.

As Helen and I were getting ready Shinny turned up at our house ready for a run we left through the back gate joining the footpath to Churchill Ave to collect Mick's dog. I was glad of the easy start its just about right getting you warmed up ready for the steep climb from Mick's house. We popped out at the top of Crag Rd, this was still covered in snow which we crossed with care and through Ged's Gate,the off road tracks are safer then the roads at the moment. I like running on these snow cover tracks the large stones can be just about seen in the snow and the smaller ones don't matter with all the snow around them. We pressed on up to the summit it seem to appear very quickly but when you are enjoying something it passes quickly we decided that the left hand track would be a nicer descent, this is not the race route but what the heck its Christmas, at this point the two dogs had a few mad moments charging around like headless chickens, as we ran towards the Piggeries the snow was untouched in I just had to run through it getting that Rocky feeling as we ran.

At the top of Summerhouse Hill Helen turn right to take the shorter route home, say she was have trouble breathing in the cold air, leaving Me and Shinny to complete to run. The descent to Leighton Hall is another nice hill to run down with lots of soft snow under foot the road is a different matter with loads of hard packed ice. As we entered Deepdale woods we opted for the Dingle Dell route and its virgin snow not very runnable this time of year but still a nice route and very pictures. We returned to the Village to complete our route glad we had got out and happy with our route choices.

Totals 5.8mile 1500ft Ascent 4.8mph ave speed.