Had the great pleasure of doing the Whittle Pike race on Wednesday evening. Whilst it’s not a towering Lakeland peak, it’s a classic fell race, incorporating the most formiddable steep climbs and descents you could manage on a relatively small Rossendale hill. There was a good field and a had a really good race - finishing thirteenth out of 112. I lost a couple of places after a nasty ankle twisting incident before a crucial ‘brakes off’ descent near the finish, but I’d done a great run and was really pleased with how fast I went. My fitness is still there even though I’m about four pounds heavier than twelve months ago.