Hi folks
Bill’s prompt to think about ‘summer’ routes is useful because it gives us time to review what we do. British Summer Time begins on 31st March so around that time we would be able to make the switch from the winter routes in and close to Skipton to routes which take us out of town.
For the summer routes, the framework within which we have operated is:
* To have five directions in which we head
* To have a set of predominantly off road and a set of mixed surface routes
& that where possible these routes at least start off in the same direction (for cohesiveness)
& that there is a choice of distances for each ‘surface’ (mileages: 3-4-ish; 4-5-ish; & 6-8)
(But this doesn’t necessarily mean that we need 6 distinct routes each evening!)
As we know there are pros and cons to having set routes and a rota but the pros (having a plan, knowing the distances, people able to be self-sufficient, knowing where other people should be, knowing the hazards so the route can be varied due to circumstances, etc) tend to outweigh the cons (e.g. boredom when you’ve done the routes loads of times!).
I attach the route descriptions and rota which is what we have been using for the past few years. Rick kindly put this together and there have been a few tweaks to the routes and to the order in which we have done things.
It would be good if a group of people could meet fairly soon to look at what we have been doing for the last few years and to devise a set of routes and a rota which we can use until the ‘nights draw in’ again next September (tempus fugit & all that!). Maybe just tweak the existing routes & rota; maybe something more.
Like we did in September, we can use the first few weeks when the evenings are light enough to ensure that people know the routes. If there are new routes devised then the people who devise them can teach us where to go.
Since Wednesdays are a non-club running night how about 6th March or 13th March? This would give people time to think of routes in advance.
Let me know via p.d.norman@leeds.ac.uk (rather than emailing the whole list) if you want to do this and which of the dates you can make. Or any other suggestions, of course!
Best wishes
Paul
P.S. Bill’s suggestion of a regular Tough 10 run could be built into the rota and could be paralleled by a long off road run in a similar direction since the ridge above Carleton Park (route E) extends further and you can then drop down via Cononley and come back on the river bank as Richard has pointed out.