It was touch and go as to whether the Holme Moss Fell Race would go ahead. Lack of rain, meant that the moors were at a high risk of catching fire. It would just need one idiot to go out there with a disposable barbeque or drop a cigarette butt and ...
Thanks to rain late in the week, the race was given the go ahead by the park authorities. My first fell race since Lad's Leap in March. Couldn't wait to feel the peat beneath my feet instead of the all too boring tarmac.
Quick check of the weather forecast and a cloudy, overcast morning with a 20% chance of rain.
That'll do nicely I thought.
Walk with Tan early morning, the sky full of interesting cloud. Patches of blue, interspersed with white and grey formations. Visualised the same at my snapping point near to Black Hill.
According to Jean Shotter, the runners would be at the road crossing around 11:35. With a journey time of around 20 minutes, I could leave home at 11:00 and still have time to spare.
What about parking?
Would there be enough space?
Being a bit OCD, I set off an hour earlier.
Skies darkened on the journey along the A628, the patches of blue were disappearing before my very eyes. Stay positive Mozzie, even light is no bad thing in sports' photography.
Only 10:20 and I had difficulty finding a parking spot.
Why are so many people parked up?
Are the occupants all connected to the race?
Squeezed in between two cars that could have parked a little bit better.
Parking isn't my forte, but I managed to avoid bumpers and lights.
Image from the Crowden Horseshoe 2019 - windy ... or preparing for a fall
I'd visualised the runners climbing over the nearby stile and speeding away, capturing them at this point might have made a decent image.
Scrap that.
The wooden stile was knackered, 100 plus runners adding their weight to the already flimsy structure wouldn't be a good idea. Gleaming in the sunlight was a large, metal gate next to the stile. This would be left ajar for the runners to gain access to the moor, as they made their way towards Tooleyshaw Moor.
Coffee in hand, I strolled towards the slope heading down in that direction. Great view down to Crowden. What about them hurtling down the hill with a shot of the rolling hills in the background?
Maybe?
Back to the car and still an age before the runners would appear.
I wondered what the landscape looked like on the other side of the road. Time for a sneaky peek.
Marshals were busy taping off the approach to the road and there before my eyes ... an almost empty car park. If only I'd known, a much later arrival would have been possible. Park there next year Mozzie, if I'm still kicking about.
Wow, that's some backdrop. An ideal opportunity to ring the changes for this race. Maybe someone up there loves me and directed me towards a far better composition.
Willow?
Setting the rucksack down, I spent a few minutes moving from one spot to another. How far up the hill would I need to stand; would they move through the frame one at a time? If they did, that would be ideal.
A marshal took up his position by the gate. He very kindly removed his fluorescent jacket.
It would have stood out a mile against the landscape. Nice one.
About 15 minutes before they were due to arrive, more and more people decided that standing by the gate was the best spot to observe the runners' progress.
Oh yes, then another photographer turned up as well.
Sean Doyle did an amazing job, flitting from one place to another, capturing as many runners as he could. Luckily, I wasn't in his way and vice-versa.
Little by little, a crowd developed around the gate. Ah well, it didn't spoil the composition too much.
The rain began to fall and I decided to put on my waterproof over trousers. With over 150 entries, my brain began to split into two frames of mind.
"Move now and get yourself to Black Hill."
"There's plenty of time to capture everyone before you set off, stay calm."
I'd snapped around thirty runners, far too few. The decision to move was something that I regretted later on. The rain was increasing in severity, but at least it was at my back. If only I'd known what was to come weather wise, I would have stayed there and completed the task of capturing every runner.
Back to the car and home for just after noon. But ... Black Hill called out to me.
It was a good job I hadn't tried to take shots of them running towards Tooleyshaw, the rain would have been hitting the lens straight on. At least one decision worked out.
Loved the run out to Black Hill, even though the rain was more than I'd expected from the weather forecast. Passed Jon Burdon and his tent set-up at the trig point. He'd be out for hours and hours, what a guy.
The above image shows the composition I was hoping for.
Hopefully, there would be a number of runners spaced out along the flagstones to create THE image of the day.
Thankfully, I was helped out by a couple out for a run. Position had changed to show the runners in the centre of the frame. Crouching down had meant that many of the flagstones were now obscured, the previous composition redundant.
The rain was incessant; it was time to find some shelter and devour the sarnie I'd brought along. Why I'd left the previous snapping point when I did, I'll never know. Huddling behind a low bank, I felt a bit of an idiot.
What was the point of getting p*ss wet through Mozzie?
The winner will be home in under 3 hours while the back marker would take well over 5.
No way can I stay out for two hours in this.
I should have stayed at the first point and then gone home.
Composition out of the window and just happy to get a least one image to take home.
The rain lashing down from the left meant that I had to stand and protect the camera from the worst of it. With the viewfinder steaming up and drops of rain hindering my ability to actually see what was in front of me, I had to make a decision.
Probably the best shot of the day in my opinion. The camera actually managed to focus on the runner, while the rain appears to blur the background.
Why did I stop? Unable to focus on the runners, the camera appears to be focussing on the rain. Time to pack in and go home. Holme Valley Mountain Rescue don't want to be called out to bring home a photographer.
Camera away, waterproofs still on, I needed to make my way to the road crossing and the shelter of the car.
Nobody in sight, GO!
My expectation was that I'd be overtaken by one runner after another.
But I wasn't.
Where are they?
It's about a mile and a half to the crossing, why on earth am I still on my own?
About 400m from the stile, I was overtaken by one runner and then Andy Davies from HHRC.
Felt elated that I'd stayed ahead for so long.
Running on the wild moors is SO good for the soul.
Disappointing to say the least. Bad decisions made but you have to take it on the chin. Think that's the first DNF of my photographic career. Hopefully, the weather at the Crowden Horseshoe won't be as bad. Have I missed the race this year or is it some time in August?
Well done to all the togs who managed to come back with photographic memories for the runners.
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