Welcome to the Mammothon
It is a surprising county is Shropshire.
There are things here you just wouldn’t really know about, unless of course, you do happen to be interested in and already know about those things.
We tend to think of it as being fairly flat. Whenever we see Shropshire in the news it is most likely to be because a town like Shrewsbury has once again been flooded by the River Severn. Images of large fields full of wheat and barley also spring to mind, for it is a county known by countryside folk to be one where large-scale agriculture makes its mark upon the land.
We don’t think about things like Romans, Katherine of Aragon, volcanoes, or that England’s original parliament building was here; and we certainly don’t think about ice ages, or that Wooly Mammoths once roamed here.
Yet here we are, at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre, Craven Arms, which has, as its centrepiece, a replica of an almost complete Mammoth skeleton which was discovered by a woman walking her dog in a disused gravel quarry nearby.
The actual skeleton is one of the most complete ever found in Britain, and now resides at London’s Natural History Museum. The discovery centre itself is run by a local charity, Grow Cook Learn, who use locally produced food to run courses that help vulnerable adults learn cooking skills from scratch and on a budget. They are also passionate about promoting wellbeing through connection to the local history and landscape. It is lovely from a personal point of view to be able to support a charity like this, just by participating in one of their events.
The headline act is the Shropshire Way 80k (50 miles), but for those of us not quite up to the challenge, there are the slightly more palatable options of a half-marathon (13.1 miles), or my own challenge for the day, the (roughly) 26.2 mile “Mammothon”.
I say “roughly”, because on a course like this, you have to do a bit of self-navigation to get round. How good or bad you are at that can have a significant impact on the length of race you actually run. All marathons are not created equal.
I am including, in red, some of the organiser’s navigation instructions, to try and give you a feel for the event and the beautiful route it took us on through Shropshire’s surprisingly significant hills.
Well I’ve already told you about the Discovery Centre’s theme. We go through meadows and past rural homes that tell of a place a bit more peaceful than a town dissected by a very busy A49. We cross a little brook and emerge into a field of cows grazing peacefully on lush green grass, then leave the town by a quiet country lane. The farm dog comes out almost oblivious to everyone passing, but it looks at me and I give it a little scratch.
3. ... Between the two tracks is a stile leading into a narrow passageway by the side of a house. BE CAREFUL NOT TO MISS THIS. Go over the stile.
You can imagine the panic it raises in participants when little more than a mile into a run, they are already under threat of getting lost.
5. Cross the river via the footbridge and turn right, now with the river on your right. Continue through three more fields to reach a gate leading into a track…
We have passed through pastures and patches of woodland, crisscrossing the little brook over little wooden footbridges, each with a unique sound. You start to notice these things as the stresses of day to day life get washed away by the simplicity of what you’re doing; putting one foot in-front of the other in a very nice place to be.
6. … take the wide, un-signposted path (a bridleway) on your right. At the cross track in 400m, continue ahead on a bearing of 70 degrees and stay on this bearing all the way to the ridge path.
A bearing? How many of us in this day and age can hand on heart say we would be able to reach into our bag, pull out a compass, and be equipped with the knowledge of how to use it to help us find our way? For those who can’t, the other clue there is in the description of the path. The ridge path. We are going to be going uphill.
7. At the top, the path levels and then joins the main path leading along the top of Wenlock Edge. Turn left along this main path for 200m until you reach a junction at GR453 855…
GR. Grid reference. They’re really serious about this navigation stuff. OS map 217, where are you my friend?
We live in the age of technology. Everyone, it seems, around me, is navigating via an app they’ve installed on their phone, or multiple apps in some cases, a GPX file with the course loaded onto a phone, follow that; the OS maps app; with the directions stored electronically on their device, they can follow that; can’t they?
Signals aren’t very good when there’s ridges and thick cover from the trees. Everybody’s maps are going haywire, spinning round and round, leaving the tech dependent modern mammothoners without a clue of where they are.
If you can use them, the old ways are still, quite often, the best.
8. Take the track on the right bearing 140 degrees… follow the blue arrow saying “Flounders’ Folly Steep Route”
They’re not having you on. The climb up through the woodland here has everyone with hands on thighs, using every limb to try and generate enough power to get them up the slope. There are a couple of people with walking poles; seems to be a good situation in which to be using them.
Flounders’ Folly is one of the highlights of the course; a viewing tower they have opened specially for us today, it is usually open just once a month. It would be rude not to climb the 78 steps up to the top and take a minute or three to drink in the views. Couldn’t see it today, but when the light is good, and according to the friendly volunteer wintertime is best, you can see as far as Cadair Idris (near Dolgellau) to the west, the Wrekin dominates the view to the north, and to the east, you can see what was once the only part of the united kingdom that was actually above water – Titterstone Clee.
Such is the geological diversity of Shropshire, that the Wrekin, just that one single hill, is formed of more different types of rock than the entire Lake District has to offer.
Told you it’s a county of surprises.
9. Follow this path for 2.6km, which will feel like a lot further, and stay on this path all the way to the signpost and self-clip at CP1 (GR 472 873)
The run through the woodland on the Wenlock Edge was peaceful and calm. For taking the time to visit the top of the tower, I had managed to get that pathway entirely to myself. Yes it makes you wonder about your navigation, but you trust in what you’re doing and you just run a little while. There is always a moment you arrive at where you know that you’ve gone wrong. That moment never came, but the expected self-clip did.
This is how the organisers check you didn’t take shortcuts anywhere; you have a card you have to punch at a series of checkpoints on the route, each clip leaving a slightly different mark on the card to all the others so you can’t just punch all the squares at one checkpoint either. It’s a simple system, but it has worked on navigation races for years.
17. … After 200m, go over another stile then head slight left, down to a gap in the hedge and another stile. Over this stile then turn half right to climb steeply to another stile which leads onto Ragleth Hill. Go over this stile and climb steeply for 500m and the self-clip at Ragleth summit, CP2 452 917
Ragleth! I have climbed Ragleth Hill a few times and it still catches me out, how steep it actually is. As a fell runner, we talk about running, but we also spend a lot of our time slowed down to a walk. It would be an athlete of inhuman ability that could actually run up here. Even though you’re working hard, take your time on these up bits to appreciate the views, then let the brakes off and enjoy yourself on the way down.
Down off Ragleth, we go into Little Stretton and find a feed station ready to fill us up with a bizarre mix of chunks of cheese, crisps, vegetarian sausages, and slices of orange, watermelon or banana. Tea or coffee if you want it, water or orange squash. COVID risk is managed by asking us to all bring our own mug. It’s the first time I’ve carried a cup round an event with me, but it actually worked really well. I hope with the plastic problem like it is, this is something that will stay.
3. … Continue ahead through the next field to another stile, continue ahead to cross the stream via a footbridge in 100m. Continue ahead now with the stream on your left and continue following this path for 4km. There are no path splits or junctions, just a couple of stream crossings, but just continue to follow the stream.
Stiles start to have an effect on the legs as the distances get longer, but we’re not at that point yet. This route up to the top of the Long Mynd was new to me. I have looked down on it from the top and wondered if there might be a path there; well, there is, and the beauty of it was the absolute highlight of the whole route for me. Carding Mill Valley is a stunningly beautiful spot, but it is spoiled by the presence of car parks and, some days, more people than you get in your average Sainsbury’s. This path had everything. I’ll not be sharing how you get to it, for it to be ruined by the presence of too many people, so if you want it, you’re going to have to discover that for yourselves.
(Carding Mill Valley in the picture)
5. … Follow this track for 300m to a crossroads at the ridgeline and turn left to follow the main path to the summit. This is a self-clip CP4, Pole Bank summit GR 415 944
I pause near the trig point at Pole Bank; across the valley I can see the rock formations on the Stiperstones ridge. My thoughts turn to Molly, her favourite place in the world to be is over there and looking right back at me. She grew up over there. I do a quick video for her, because I know she would love to be gazing upon it now, but it is me with that privilege today.
Molly, and a couple of my friends, are participating in the half Mammothon; they did get to Flounders’ Folly, but 13 miles isn’t enough to be able to make it over here.
I also have 4 other friends in the 80k. we all had a brief but pleasant meet up before our respective starts, and I managed to see 2 of them at the feed station in Little Stretton. Right now, our routes are travelling in opposite directions, Mammothoners are running towards the Glider Club from Pole Bank, 80k’ers are going the other way. They will get to go and see the devil on his chair.
Section 3 CP5, Midland Gliding Club- CP7, Bottom of Wart Hill 10.34km. Total distance 36.56km
I know right?! It’s mesmerizing how they launch these days; no more getting a tow off a Sezner and being cut loose high up in the air; a bogey running along a rail on the ground whizzes along the floor, the speed lifts the plane, there’s a little bumping sound and the plane is set free; tow rope drops back to the floor.
The checkpoint and feed station here was great. Fidget pie is a local thing, ham, potato, apple and cheese sauce, all held together in a pastry. I’d have liked to try it, but probably a bit too heavy in the stomach for a man definitely doing more running in this half of the event than in the first half. There were plenty of alternatives to fuel me on for the rest of the run.
4. Continue along this path, ignoring the right-hand turn and continuing in the same direction, heading down hill, through another gate and over a cattle grid to reach a road.
5. At the road, turn sharp left, over the cattle grid and continue for 400m to join the main road.
6. Continue along the main road for 300m and then CROSS WITH GREAT CARE and turn left into the lane to cross the river Onny.
Lost!
The directions have so far been great. I missed one very slight diversion off the Shropshire Way, on the entrance to the gliding club. It mattered not. I have done a walking event here with Molly a couple of years back, in the opposite direction, I know the path from then. It was a diversion of no more than 50 yards and it still took me straight (ish) to the checkpoint.
This is different though. I continued along the main road like it said. There was no lane on the left; and if there was it would not lead to the river; it would go back up onto the hill I’ve just come down.
I go the other way on the main road. This time, I find a lane, but it is nothing more than the driveway to a house. I must have veered off course. Retrace my steps. No; I was right until I met this main road. I meet a woman that is having the same problem. We manage to navigate better as a pair than as individuals and get ourselves back on course.
I am irritated slightly that this one error of judgement on my part has put me back behind the four people I overtook on my way down to here, not for any reason other than I know that one of those fellas didn’t like it when I coasted past him, I could hear him start puffing and panting and working hard to try to race me.
I don’t really do that in events. I never have. I just run my own race, do my own thing. I don’t really care if other people are quicker than me or slower than me or stronger on the ups or have feet that are more dexterous on the downs. I don’t care. I do care though, about being sociable on events like this. I start at the back because from there, I get to meet more people, have a conversation, if only brief, as I pass, or chill out and just run or walk with someone for a while.
I take exception to it when someone responds to me being sociable as I pass as if I have insulted them. When I hear them turn it up a notch and try to reel me back in, I react to it like it is some form of anti-social behaviour. My irritation is because I know that, on this occasion, I will not be the one with the wry smile at the finish; that fella with the tight black lycra shorts is going to be looking out for me as I come rolling in after him.
He was close enough at that main road to shout to me that I had gone the wrong way. But he didn’t. He didn’t because he couldn’t bear the thought of being beaten by a fairly casually turned out bloke with one very obviously injured leg who just happens to be a bit quicker downhill. I wouldn’t do that to other people. It’s a bit pathetic really too, that beating someone would become so important to a person that they would let their competitor get lost.
Anyways, as it turned out, I had a very pleasant quarter hour or so chatting with my navigation partner. When the trail turned steeply upwards I was much faster than her and we parted for a while. She was worried about the next DO NOT MISS THIS! in the directions, which was a narrow cutting through a hedge, so I waited at the top of the hill, making sure she didn’t miss the turn. She’d said the couple behind had been using a GPX file on their phone to find their way, but their phone battery had died, so we waited for them to get up the hill too and see that they were safely on the right track. Nice Irish couple they were, and powering up the hills with their use of walking poles.
12. … At the fork go right and continue to climb steeply for 100m to the trig point at the summit. This is the self-clip CP6, Wart Hill Summit (GR 400 847) PLEASE NOTE, YOU WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR REFRESHMENTS AT CP7 UNTIL YOU HAVE CLIPPED AT THE SUMMIT CP6. You may think it rather perverse to drag you up this hill and back down again, but I needed to gain a few hundred metres to get up to the full marathon distance, and also, I think it’s such a lovely spot, that I just had to share it with you.
I think that particular set of directions, more than any other, sums up the beauty of this type of event more than other. It didn’t need to have this hill in it, but it’s nice there, so go take a look.
That is everything that these things are about. Discovery. Adventure. Finding something out that you never knew about before.
It’s why, after thinking I would have a go at doing a marathon one time in my life, I am still doing them now, 13 years after that first one, and with the answer to the question “how many have you done now?” genuinely being “I don’t know”. I mean, I could look it up and get the answer, but that’s the thing; I’m not doing them for numbers, not in any way shape or form, I’m doing them for experiences, and I am far from finished with those.
Section 4 CP 7, Wart Hill Base to Discovery Centre (Finish) 5.51km. Total distance, 42.07km.
8. … and then right into the Discovery Centre. The finish is at the main front entrance to the building. Congratulations!
Not too shabby Shropshire, not too shabby at all.