OUCCC Preseason Training Camp, 2022

Boys (+Belinda) at the top of Pen-y-Ghent

On Sunday 18th September OUCCC members descended on the Stainforth Bunk Barn in the depths of the Yorkshire Dales. With a maze of rooms filled with enough bunk beds for 50 people and 3 different sitting rooms, there was plenty of space for us all. The only drawback was the lack of internet connection or dishwasher, which just added to the charm of the place (most of the time!).

No sooner had we arrived, different groups headed out up into the hills on 8km loops to explore the beautiful countryside. Once the several Tesco orders had arrived with enough rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes and naan bread to feed a whole army, preparations of the two curry options began. With everyone well fed, a post-dinner game of hats gave freshers a good introduction to some of the inside jokes and names of OUCCC members before we all turned in for the night.

Anika and Jared cooking dinner

Our first session was scheduled for Monday afternoon, which left the morning to chat, play card games, go for a walk or watch the Queen’s funeral. After lunch, everyone met on the grassy field for the session: 2 x 6 min, 2 x 4 min, 2 x 2 min with an extra 2 x 3 min for those still feeling fresh enough after the tempo reps :) Afterwards we all tucked into the supply of baked goods, which were looking considerably less abundant by the evening. A highly enjoyable game of mafia conducted by Twood was the perfect end to our first full day of camp.

After Monday’s session an easy run was on the cards to make sure we were recovered for our next session, but somewhere along the way in the route planning, ‘easy run’ became ‘running up one of the 3 Yorkshire peaks’. And so mid-morning we set off in packed cars to Horton-in-Ribblesdale where we would be starting the long climb up Pen-y-Ghent.

The fairly gentle road section to start the run was only short lived, and we quickly found ourselves on a steep grassy (and often rocky) slope with enough flights of steps to easily reach any watch’s stair climbing goal. As we climbed further up, the optimistic pace set at the start slowed to a jog before many of us gave into walking, producing some kilometre splits that made the more strava-stat-conscious members of the group less happy. After about half an hour of climbing (including some actual climbing and scrambling near the summit), we made it to the top of Pen-y-Ghent, where we were greeted by the wonderful view of fog. Undeterred, we spent some time at the top taking photos and resting before setting off again. Here we split into groups so everyone could choose how much further they wanted to run or walk.

Girls and the top of Pen-y-Ghent

In the 13k group we greatly welcomed the immediate downhill, despite the fact it was so steep the only option was to keep going whether you wanted to or not. Having been led to believe the uphill was now over, the sight of another ascent in the distance had us questioning our life choices but the incredible view of the valleys below once we were at the top made up for it now that the fog had cleared. The rest of the run was mostly an undulating stretch on spongy grass which made the run feel a bit more like an easy run again (if you pretended we hadn’t just done over 500m of elevation!).

Immediately after finishing we crammed back into the cars for a quick trip to the Ribblehead viaduct, where the very sight of a cargo train going over it got Renshaw incredibly excited. Finally we made it back to the bunkhouse for a well deserved late lunch, before some of the group rushed off to carry out an outreach session. Before a pub dinner in Settle, many of us walked to the village where we camped out at the Ye Olde Naked Man Cafe. Here we tried a variety of baked goods from tasty shortbread to the slightly less tasty japonaise cake picked by Rhiannon. Despite a mishap with the booking of Craven Heifers, a successful pub dinner brought us to the end of a busy day. Many extended the evening in the rival village pub, with the rest of us undertaking a starry walk back to the bunkhouse.

With Wednesday came our second session of the week. Having cashed the previous day’s outreach session in for all access rights to the local school’s cross country course, we met there for an 11:00 start. On the menu was a hilly fartlek session of one minute on, one minute off. The number of reps varied from a highly commendable zero to a full twenty reps for those who actually found Tuesday’s ‘easy’ run easy. The majority of the group did twelve. With the session complete and Many Miles Jack beginning to feel the effects of his many miles we returned to the Bunk Barn for a much needed lunch.

Training Camp Outreach

In the afternoon we used our free time to the full. Activities included country walks, baking cookies (always appreciated!), pizza and a Cafe crawl through Settle. Jack and Matt, however, didn’t see the appeal of any of those, so instead chose to do an eight mile run to top up their increasingly impressive (or stupid?) mileage. For dinner we had a brilliant chilli con carne which was perfectly complemented by our never ending supply of naan bread. With our energy restored, we moved into the neighbouring barn for some competitive table football and slightly broken air hockey. After contributions from the whole club we finally got answers to the most hotly debated questions of OUCCC as we played Food for Thought - please see our new meme account for more. As the short life of our only table tennis ball came to an end, so too did another successful day at camp.

Thursday marked an early start for most, in the hope that we would all be able to finish a long run before the rain forecast later on in the day. We divided into several groups covering a different distances and terrains, which meant everyone could run at a pace they were comfortable with. In the largest of the groups, the journey started with a steep climb that would eventually reward us with panoramic views of the Yorkshire Dales at the top – or presumably at least, if there wasn’t quite so much fog! At John and Matt’s recommendation, following their “more than lovers” reunion run on Monday, we made a quick trip into Jubilee Cave.

Along the way, we stopped frequently to admire the view, regroup, and, though some might not be keen to admit it, check that we were still headed in the desired direction. We passed and herded many cows and at times the trail turned into a bit of a brown minefield underfoot… At the halfway point we paused to take some photos and split up with the runners who wanted to explore Malham Cove further down the track (which, according to Charlotte, was one of the few locations privileged to be one of her GCSE Geography case studies). We continued on the second half of the circular loop getting amazing views down the valley towards Settle. We also got excited about spotting another cave slightly off the beaten track, but upon further investigation were unfortunately disappointed when it turned out to be little more than a shadow cast on the rocks.

Taking in the view of Settle for one last time, we descended down the hill back towards the bunkhouse and Josh got to show off his finesse for running down hills at very scary speeds. Once we got back to the barn, we were treated to what was left of the flapjacks and brownies - both being recommended items on the kit list along with similar essentials like sleeping bags and shoes.

View of Settle on long run

After a delicious dinner of vegetable pasta (with or without pepper) and Savoy cabbage (courtesy of Tesco’s substitution service), the day was capped off with a quiz, organised by the social secretaries Charlie and Catherine. The quiz was great fun, with rounds ranging from a fierce general knowledge section hosted by Jared, to filling in the gaps on the club “family tree”. The final live-action round saw bets placed on people’s arm wrestling skills. After accent bonus points were added, a decider of best Renshaw impressions was required to separate the Scottish and Texan teams: Robin’s winning act can be found on the aforementioned meme page.

Overall, it was a great way to end the day and round off training camp, which had been a resounding success.