Over The Contours

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 b...

On an unseasonably mild Saturday in February I parked up in Wath Brow, just beside the River Ehen. I followed a stream of runners to the race HQ; a horsebox at the side of road. Two friendly chaps gave me my race number and took my £4 entry fee. Jarrett's Jaunt is a handicap race; the handicap having been worked out in the weeks prior and based on performance in recent fell races. For me this was tricky as this was my first fell race and so my handicap was calculated based on my parkrun times. Writing my start time on the back of my hand, I realised I was in the final few batches of runners... no pressure then. After a short warm-up run, I made my way to the race start. The race start was wonderfully unceremonious; due to the handicap, myself and two other runners waiting for the clock to reach 1.11pm and 30 seconds and off we went. The route climbs quickly along Nannycatch Road and then up onto Flat Fell. It's a climb of around 750ft over about a mile. I took it st...

This was something of an undertaking; I’d been planning a long fell run for months and had selected the far eastern fells as a good location as I’d be able to ridge-run whilst hoovering up a collection of new Wainwrights. After a long-ish drive, I parked near The Coombs at Howtown. There was a fine rain in the air and visibility wasn’t great. My route started with a quick dart up Hallin Fell. Standing at 388 metres, I should have had a good view over Ullswater…I didn’t. The only moderately impressive aspect was the large cairn. Anyway, onwards. Re-crossing the road near where I parked, I followed the path to the right of the church before heading up the steep and rough path over Steel Knotts and Pikeawassa. After Pikeawassa I had ended up getting soaked by dense bracken as I followed the wall towards Brownthwaite Crag. At this point I took a left and passed the remains of an old hunting lodge overlooking Ullswater. The cloud was clearing a little, so I was took in some views. ...

Looking down into Ennerdale whilst descending from Starling Dodd. A bit of unfinished business this one. I'd intended to run Great Borne and Starling Dodd earlier this week as part of my loop around Mellbreak and Hen Comb. As I mentioned, the tail end of Storm Brian was still lingering and it made for quite a challenging run, hence why it was cut short. So, with much improved weather conditions, I re-plotted the route and headed out early to bag another two Wainwrights. Parking at the National Trust car park beneath Bowness Knott at Ennerdale Water, I ran briefly up the road before taking a sharp right and heading up the steep path to the Knott and Rake Beck. The path is relatively comfortable to run, minus a few steep sections where I had to slow down to avoid large patches of mud and/or bog. At 230m I reached Brown How, where the path takes a sharp left and becomes unrelentingly steep and considerably more challenging. I followed the path over the narrow contours, keeping...

I've long been fascinated by the outlying and less frequented Wainwrights. I fancied doing a run that didn't require a long drive early in the morning and one that was a little more forgiving given that my legs were still suffering after the previous day's activities. Fellbarrow and Low Fell stand alone next to Loweswater. To me they've always looked a bit geographically isolated and not as attractive as their larger cousins across Lorton Vale. Nonetheless, they're there to be climbed/run. I parked the car at Waterend at the head of Loweswater. There's a decent little car park by the roadside there. Immediately opposite the car park I began my run heading up Grange Lane, a little tarmac road leading to a public bridleway. I headed north on the bridleway. The bridleway is flat and relatively mud-free for the time of year. After approximately a mile, I took a sharp right to the east, following a steep, but clear path up Smithy Fell. The path gets a little lost...

Mellbreak - photo by Michael Graham This was a tricky and frustrating bugger of a run. I'd originally planned to run over Mellbreak, up to Starling Dodd, along to Great Borne and then down and over Hen Comb. Annoyingly, the arse end of Storm Brian was still loitering and the visibility was quite poor. The journey started badly as I hit a rock the size of a football and dragged it beneath the car. In the dark and pissing rain, I used the torch on my phone to check for damage underneath the car. All looked OK, but it still put me in a bad mood. I parked in Loweswater next to a farm gate at Church Bridge. Following a cobbled track south, I was soon heading up Raven Crag and White Crag. The wind was a shock to the system, taking my breath a few times. In fact, as the path up Raven Crag became narrower and steeper, and the gusts got stronger, I did wonder about aborting. I carried on and the ascent soon became easier as the path flattened and the northern summit of Mellbreak app...