My Bob Graham Round
In 1932, Bob Graham ran over 42 Lakeland summits (the number representing his age), covering 72 miles and 26,000 feet, in under 24 hours. He did his Round wearing tennis shoes, shorts and a pyjama top.
The Bob Graham Round (BGR) has been described as one of the most demanding tests of physical and mental stamina, due to the nature of terrain, the changeable Lakeland weather, the distance and the climbs involved. The accepted practice is to start from Moot Hall in Keswick and run in either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction. Pacers help navigate and carry your water/food/clothing, and a support car meets you at the road crossings to give you additional sustenance/clothing/first aid etc.
I became interested in the challenge after a number of years recce-ing the route with other 'contenders', running in some of the classic Lakeland races (eg Ennerdale) and various Mountain Marathons, as well as acting as support for contenders on their BGR attempts with Dark Peak running club. Over time, this gave me better experience of the fells - terrain, ascents & descents, navigation, weather and the relentless pace that was necessary to conquer the Round in under 24 hours. I'd run a number of non-stop 100-mile ultras as well as 7-day stage races, but in all of these, there was time to rest & recuperate if things weren't going to plan, and still complete the race. Not so the BGR - the clock never stops.
My first attempt was in 2007: the weather was not good and the tents at our base at Thirlspot were being flattened by wind and heavy rain. We abandoned before Dunmail.
The next year or so was marred by injury, but I continued to get some good solid training under my belt: the Fellsman, High Peak Marathon, Tanky's & Wadsworth Trogs as well as mountain marathons and overseas ultras. During a 3-day training session in the Lakes, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to join him on his attempt in May 2010. This was very generous, as attempts can be very personal - you want to keep things simple. However, Mark Pearce and I had done a number of races and training sessions together and knew each other well. It was a big decision as I wanted to be sure I was fit enough for the challenge, both for me but also so I didn't mess up Mark's attempt.
On Friday 28th May we left Moot Hall at 5.45pm running clockwise. Initially the weather was good and we were both running well. Perhaps too well, as the pace was probably too quick for me and I paid the price later on. My stomach started to rebel and after 15 hours I started to be sick on Bowfell. The weather turned in the early hours, and, like my stomach, didn't recover. The rock was slick, slowing my progress, and I couldn't keep any food down. Mark kindly waited for me but it was obvious he had to push on. The section between Wasdale to Honister was painfully slow and I decided to pull out at the Slate Mine - I only had two hours to complete the final three summits and it was painfully obvious I wouldn't make it.
But I wasn't going to be beaten. Friends convinced me to have another go, and fellow runners from White Peak and Penistone clubs encouraged me to put another date in the diary asap. I decided to go for my third attempt a month later, which would give me enough time to recover but not lose fitness.
On 26th June 2010, I left Keswick's Moot Hall at 8am, this time running the route anti-clockwise. The start time is important in order to run the night section over the Dodds, seen as the 'easiest' leg on the Round. This time, everything went to plan. The weather was hot and dry, perfect for me, and I ran in my favourite kit (Raidlight shorts and zip-top) throughout. I was very careful with my food and liquid intake - I think I took too much food and electrolyte on too early in my previous attempt and this, along with the weather, hadn't agreed with me. I only took electrolytes (Elete drops) after Wasdale and I didn't eat too much at the road-crossings. I'd be told time and again to run/walk steadily and not use all my alloted rest time at the road-crossings if I didn't need to. This allowed me to make up extra time on the schedule and from Wasdale onwards, I was 45-55 minutes up on the planned 23-and-a-half-hour schedule.
We used a rope to descend Broad Stand - a bit of scrambling was a welcome relief to running and that helped save a good 10 minutes compared to going via the alternative routes of Fox's Tarn or Lord's Rake. Andy P. met us on Stakes Pass with a very welcome flask of tea and Andrew took some great photos on the Wasdale to Dunmail section.
The ascent from Dunmail up Seat Sandal wasn't too bad and I was jollied along by Martin and Neil. I didn't have to use my Black Diamond Spot headtorch until after Dollywaggon Pike. It was breezy but not too cold and I only needed a headband and windproof. Dave and Shane met us on Sticks Pass with more tea (I've never drunk so much tea!) and all five of us teamed up for the long descent off Clough Head into Threlkeld. The midges were out in force during our five-minute refuel at the road crossing, so we were glad of the famous Avon 'Skin So Soft' cream.
I scrambled up Hall's Fell to reach the summit of Blencathra a few minutes down on schedule, accompanied by 6 supporters including Gary and Rob who had fixed the rope earlier on Broad Stand. For some reason I lost a lot of time on the descent across Mungrisdale Common and was cajoled along (ie shouted at) by Dave and Andrew. After what seemed like ages of heather bashing up to Great Calva, the effort took its toll and I was comically and noisily sick running off the summit. With only Skiddaw to go, I was not going to fail at this point, but I was secretly dreading more heather-bashing up to Skiddaw. To my surprise and relief, there is now a wide trod from Great Calva all the way to the fence below Skiddaw (testament to the number of BG recces and attempts over the recent few years) and I got up to the summit 15 minutes quicker than the scheduled time. There were murmerings among my supporters that they were aiming to get me in under 23 hours, which prompted a minor strop along the lines of "Isn't it enough to get in under 24 hours?". After a few seconds, my next words were "OK then, lets go!" and we flew down Skiddaw and into Keswick. Careering through the town centre, I almost head-bashed Moot Hall, arriving 22 hours and 53 minutes after I started the previous day.
My god, had I worked hard! Without doubt, this was the toughest challenge I'd set myself (definitely harder than the Reunion ultra) but I have to say that it was due in large part to my support - Marianne, my super-organised car support driver, and the small army of White Peak, Penistone and Dark Peak runners who accompanied me on the hill. As well as the sheer delight at achieving this long-held ambition, my BGR made me realise that you're part of a very special community of support, who really want you to succeed. In turn, you want to succeed as much for them, as yourself (well, almost!).
