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BGR... NEARLY!
Date: 07/06/2010 00:00:00
After three years of thinking about it, I finally felt fit enough to give the Bob Graham Round another go. The BGR was established in 1930 when Bob Graham ran 42 of the Lakeland Peaks in under 24 hours (covering a distance of about 72 miles). Many people have since achieved the BGR (and bettered the time or number of Peaks covered), but I would have been happy to do it in 23 hours and 59 minutes!
I knew it would be tough - the toughest run I'd ever done, due to the type of terrain, the unpredictable weather and the time limit. There would be no room for error.
After gathering together a number of support runners and navigators, plus my husband Andrew in the support car to meet me at every road crossing, I finally left Moot Hall in Keswick at 17.30 on Friday 28th May. I was running with Mark Pearce from Penistone, who was also attempting the Round, along with two of his pacers and mine.
It was a warm, sunny evening and the long drag up Skiddaw was full of banter. I was eating and drinking well as we climbed Great Calva and Blencathra, and we were ahead of schedule as we descended off Hall's Fell into Threlkeld. 3 Peaks down, 39 to go.
My stomach started to feel decidedly unhappy after we'd climbed Great Clough and were on the Dodds. However, as we were ahead of schedule, I tried to take things easy & let my stomach settle. After descending into Dunmail in the early hours, I changed clothing & ate some warm food as I watched a number of other contenders (on other schedules) going through. Mark & I set off up Steel Fell but I started to drop behind after High Raise. I then threw up at the base of Bowfell (much to my supporter's disgust at wasting good food!) and was half an hour behind our 23.5 hour schedule when I arrived into Wasdale. It had been raining for about 3 hours and the rock was getting very slippery - this didn't really help, as I'm much better at running in the heat, and it made descending slow. By now, Mark was well on his way through the 4th Leg, on schedule to complete his Round.
Determined to catch up, I managed to get some food in me and set off with three supporters, including my good friend Nicky Spinks. She did a great job in navigating through mist and rain, but I was being sick again. I thought I was running, but it was when another supporter suggested I stop shuffling and run properly, that I knew things were not good.
I descended into Honister at 3.30pm, cold and wet and not really wanting to face up to the fact that I only had 2 hours to complete the final 3 Peaks, which was not enough, given my physical state. I'd hardly eaten since about 6am and most of that hadn't stayed down. I was bitterly disappointed in myself and in letting my supporters down. I really thought I could make it but it was not to be.
Given the miserable weather, I decided not to continue to Keswick and vowed that I'd never try this again. I would go shopping on a Saturday instead, wear high heels and makeup (!) and look a little more presentable than I did at that moment; wet, covered in mud, blistered feet and shivering.
However, it didn't take too long for me to see sense and determine that I was fit enough and pig-headed enough to give it another go. White Peak running club, plus some others from Penistone have pledged their support on the 26th June as I attempt the BGR in an anti-clockwise direction this time. At least the climbs will look different!