Bob Graham Leg 1 recce
So my Bob Graham preparations have begun in earnest. I've earmarked the summer of 2020 for my attempt and I'm doing all I can between now and then to make sure the attempt is a successful one. I've broadly broken the training down into two halves; being 'Bob Graham' fit - that is, being able to run 66 miles and 27,000ft in under twenty-four hours - and being familiar enough with each leg of the route so that navigation is as straightforward as it can possibly be on the attempt itself. The first is a little easier as I have enough hills and challenging terrain around me in Kent to get my fitness to where it needs to be. The second is a little harder as it's not as if I can nip up to the Lakes every weekend to recce each leg. What I can do however is aim to recce each of the five legs each time we visit the Lakes, which is typically four times a year.
Mid-February; Abigail and I are up in the Lakes for a few days. I messaged my friend Steve to see if he would be interested in running with me as I recced Leg 1. Steve is not only a highly accomplished (and record-breaking) fell runner, he has superb navigational skills too and I was thrilled when he said yes. We earmarked the Sunday morning for the run and sorted out some logistics about where to pick Steve up from and what time Abigail should collect us from Threlkeld.
We got off to a bit of a false start as I managed to ground our car en route to Steve's house. It turned out I'd taken the wrong route along a bumpy farm track. Anyway, no harm done as we were soon at our starting point near Briar Rigg in Keswick. The real starting point for the BGR is Moot Hall in Keswick, but I'm fairly confident I can navigate Keswick's streets on the day!
Steve and I followed the Cumbria way, over the A66 and towards Latrigg. The sun was shining and I was surprised at how warm it was for mid-February. The Cumbria Way climbs gently, allowing us to break into a steady pace before the real work begins up the Skiddaw path. Passing the Latrigg/Skiddaw car park, the route heads north up the unrelenting but relatively runable Skiddaw path. As the path grew steeper my run turned into a trot and then into a hands-on-knees fast walk. One of the things I love about fell running is the way that the landscape determines the way you run it. In road running most people tend to aim for steady splits and maintain a consistent pace over the route. In fell running, there's no shame in slowing down to a trot, safe in the knowledge that you'll regain some time on the downhill later.
Skirting around Skiddaw Little Man, the gradient eased enough for us to break into a run again. I was pleased to be reaching a clear Skiddaw summit as my previous trips had always been in the clag. I stopped to take on a little water on the summit; I was wearing a thick base layer and a windproof jacket and because of the unseasonable weather I was sweating more than I'd expected to.
Shortly after the Skiddaw summit, we headed north-east over a little stile and over Blake Hill. I was so pleased to be with Steve as he knows this area like the back of his hand. I made a mental note that the stile might be hard to find in the dark (as my 2020 attempt is likely to begin at 11pm-12pm). We lost a fair bit of height as we descended onto the boggy ground near Dead Beck, however, as soon as we'd lost it, we started gaining it again on the climb up to Great Calva.
Great Calva was a new Wainwright for me. I've done a lot of the northern fells, however there's a couple in the middle that I haven't done, so it was nice to tick this one off. Coming off Great Calva we followed a steep path along the fence line. Again, I made a mental note that the fence was a useful navigational aid - particularly in the dark. We eventually crossed the fence and headed south-east through the tussocks alongside Wiley Gill. The ground was very saturated and some of the bogs were shin deep.
We then crossed the River Caldew. Steve was ahead of me and I couldn't help smiling as, without hesitation, he waded knee-deep into the river. Normally I'd be looking around for rocks to jump across, but clearly Steve's tried and tested technique was better. The water was pretty cold; still, it cleaned my shoes nicely.
What followed, for me, was the hardest part of the run; the relentless climb up onto Mungrisdale Common. It's a steep climb and I could feel the previous day's Jarrett's Jaunt in my legs, plus the 20 miler I'd put in on the Friday. Still, I plodded on. I felt guilty that I was starting to lag as Steve was moving really well. Steve's a good egg though as he happily waited as I necked a bit more water.
What was interesting at this stage was that I had no idea how I was doing in terms of the bigger picture. I think we were on for a 3hr leg 1 at this stage, which Steve assured me was very good.
Anyway, after Mungrisdale Common came the final slog up to Blencathra. I really benefitted from Steve's experience here as he knew all of the good lines up to the summit, avoiding the scree at Blue Screes. We corkscrewed to the west and bypassed the scree nicely - another one to take a mental note of. Soon we were up on the fourth and final summit of leg 1. I love Blencathra, the views are superb...not today however as the clouds were rolling in.
Steve turned to me and asked which route I'd planned to descend. I'd plotted a route down Halls Fell and this seemed like the quickest and most direct route down. The descent down off Halls Fell ridge was fast and I could see Steve's experience and skill kicking in; he danced down the rocky crag like a mountain goat. I held back a little as I was, by this point, knackered and didn't fancy letting a tired leg trip me up and fall head first.
Still, we made excellent time coming down off Halls Fell and it was a relief when the gradient started to ease as we passed over the beck at Gategill. After a gentle jog back into Threlkeld we waited at the Sally Inn for Abigail to collect us. It was 3 hrs 1 minute in moving time, which is pretty good for a first attempt. I had a such a great time running with Steve; it was great to see how someone of his experience tackles the different gradients and to watch his running style as he descended off Blencathra. A great morning's running!
Things to remember...
1. Don't start off too fast - the path by Latrigg is gentle but it gets steeper and I'd rather not pay for it later.
2. Remember the little stile on the right shortly after Skiddaw summit.
3. Keep to the left of the fence when descending Great Calva.
4. When crossing the River Caldew...just wade right through it.
5. It's a slog to Mungrisdale and that's not going to change.
6. Be careful coming down off Blencathra...it's steep and it'll be dark.
7. It'll be worth doing a nighttime recce of leg 1 too.
Mid-February; Abigail and I are up in the Lakes for a few days. I messaged my friend Steve to see if he would be interested in running with me as I recced Leg 1. Steve is not only a highly accomplished (and record-breaking) fell runner, he has superb navigational skills too and I was thrilled when he said yes. We earmarked the Sunday morning for the run and sorted out some logistics about where to pick Steve up from and what time Abigail should collect us from Threlkeld.
We got off to a bit of a false start as I managed to ground our car en route to Steve's house. It turned out I'd taken the wrong route along a bumpy farm track. Anyway, no harm done as we were soon at our starting point near Briar Rigg in Keswick. The real starting point for the BGR is Moot Hall in Keswick, but I'm fairly confident I can navigate Keswick's streets on the day!
Steve and I followed the Cumbria way, over the A66 and towards Latrigg. The sun was shining and I was surprised at how warm it was for mid-February. The Cumbria Way climbs gently, allowing us to break into a steady pace before the real work begins up the Skiddaw path. Passing the Latrigg/Skiddaw car park, the route heads north up the unrelenting but relatively runable Skiddaw path. As the path grew steeper my run turned into a trot and then into a hands-on-knees fast walk. One of the things I love about fell running is the way that the landscape determines the way you run it. In road running most people tend to aim for steady splits and maintain a consistent pace over the route. In fell running, there's no shame in slowing down to a trot, safe in the knowledge that you'll regain some time on the downhill later.
Skirting around Skiddaw Little Man, the gradient eased enough for us to break into a run again. I was pleased to be reaching a clear Skiddaw summit as my previous trips had always been in the clag. I stopped to take on a little water on the summit; I was wearing a thick base layer and a windproof jacket and because of the unseasonable weather I was sweating more than I'd expected to.
Shortly after the Skiddaw summit, we headed north-east over a little stile and over Blake Hill. I was so pleased to be with Steve as he knows this area like the back of his hand. I made a mental note that the stile might be hard to find in the dark (as my 2020 attempt is likely to begin at 11pm-12pm). We lost a fair bit of height as we descended onto the boggy ground near Dead Beck, however, as soon as we'd lost it, we started gaining it again on the climb up to Great Calva.
Great Calva was a new Wainwright for me. I've done a lot of the northern fells, however there's a couple in the middle that I haven't done, so it was nice to tick this one off. Coming off Great Calva we followed a steep path along the fence line. Again, I made a mental note that the fence was a useful navigational aid - particularly in the dark. We eventually crossed the fence and headed south-east through the tussocks alongside Wiley Gill. The ground was very saturated and some of the bogs were shin deep.
We then crossed the River Caldew. Steve was ahead of me and I couldn't help smiling as, without hesitation, he waded knee-deep into the river. Normally I'd be looking around for rocks to jump across, but clearly Steve's tried and tested technique was better. The water was pretty cold; still, it cleaned my shoes nicely.
What followed, for me, was the hardest part of the run; the relentless climb up onto Mungrisdale Common. It's a steep climb and I could feel the previous day's Jarrett's Jaunt in my legs, plus the 20 miler I'd put in on the Friday. Still, I plodded on. I felt guilty that I was starting to lag as Steve was moving really well. Steve's a good egg though as he happily waited as I necked a bit more water.
What was interesting at this stage was that I had no idea how I was doing in terms of the bigger picture. I think we were on for a 3hr leg 1 at this stage, which Steve assured me was very good.
Anyway, after Mungrisdale Common came the final slog up to Blencathra. I really benefitted from Steve's experience here as he knew all of the good lines up to the summit, avoiding the scree at Blue Screes. We corkscrewed to the west and bypassed the scree nicely - another one to take a mental note of. Soon we were up on the fourth and final summit of leg 1. I love Blencathra, the views are superb...not today however as the clouds were rolling in.
Steve turned to me and asked which route I'd planned to descend. I'd plotted a route down Halls Fell and this seemed like the quickest and most direct route down. The descent down off Halls Fell ridge was fast and I could see Steve's experience and skill kicking in; he danced down the rocky crag like a mountain goat. I held back a little as I was, by this point, knackered and didn't fancy letting a tired leg trip me up and fall head first.
Still, we made excellent time coming down off Halls Fell and it was a relief when the gradient started to ease as we passed over the beck at Gategill. After a gentle jog back into Threlkeld we waited at the Sally Inn for Abigail to collect us. It was 3 hrs 1 minute in moving time, which is pretty good for a first attempt. I had a such a great time running with Steve; it was great to see how someone of his experience tackles the different gradients and to watch his running style as he descended off Blencathra. A great morning's running!
Things to remember...
1. Don't start off too fast - the path by Latrigg is gentle but it gets steeper and I'd rather not pay for it later.
2. Remember the little stile on the right shortly after Skiddaw summit.
3. Keep to the left of the fence when descending Great Calva.
4. When crossing the River Caldew...just wade right through it.
5. It's a slog to Mungrisdale and that's not going to change.
6. Be careful coming down off Blencathra...it's steep and it'll be dark.
7. It'll be worth doing a nighttime recce of leg 1 too.
