Wolf’s Pit Race Report by Team Accelerate Athlete Will Burton
Wolf’s Pit is known as a tough race, taking in 450m of climbing over its 9.6km duration. Most of this elevation comes in the first climb but the course takes in two other climbs in the second half of the race, the last one particularly short and sharp as you pick your way through the trees back onto the main path. The course concludes with a dash back down the hill, a river crossing (which has been known to claim a few tired runners!) and a final chase across a field to the finish line. It is the first fixture in the Gritstone Series, supported this year by Accelerate and Scott, and after spectating the race a few years ago I decided to give it a go myself.
I was initially quite nervous about the race as I hadn’t done any fell races since 2019. Living in Manchester as a student, most of my training is orientated around faster track and road running. However, in recent months I have been increasing my mileage and travelling over to the peak district every few weeks for long runs in the hills. I also came second at the Wooler Trail half marathon back in November, with other members of Team Accelerate Scott completing the podium. Wooler wasn’t exactly a fell race but gave me the confidence I could race well on the hills and mud.
In terms of gear for the race I ran in the Scott Supertrac RC 2. I tend to do all my off-road running in these shoes and feel they worked well for the most part. However, on reflection I think a more aggressive shoe like the Scott Supertrac Speed RC might have been better for the fast, muddy downhill sections of the race. It was particularly muddy on the day of the race after lots of rain in the week. I think the downhill sections are where I lost some time, but I think more regular training on the fells will make me better at negotiating more tricky terrain. Hopefully it will be a lot drier for the summer races too, but you never know!
Overall, the race went really well. I set out at a fast but controlled pace, hitting the start of the climb in around 10th place. I was able to pick off 3 or 4 people on the climb up to the summit, making sure I was moving at a strong pace but not burning too many matches too early. I find this is the key to fell running, running at a pace you know you can sustain with just enough energy to press on at the top of the climb. After the first ascent I was able to put some time into the runners behind me, cruising around the flatter top section of the race. I lost a bit of time on the downhill towards the hairpin bend but was able to move forward again on the second climb.
I was by myself for most of the race so it would be nice to latch onto some slightly faster runners and stay with them. This is something I will work on for the summer season. I finished the race in 6th place with a comfortable gap over the runners behind me. I think with a bit more mileage, strength and conditioning, and more fell specific training I could do well in the summer Gritstone Series races. I will be focusing more on road racing over the next few months but am really looking forward to races like Edale and Hope fell race in the Summer.
With 5 more races still to go, you can still be apart of the Gritstone Series. You can enter the series Here
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