Diablo Ex Machina

[Yorkshire Thug]

Ever since I had a chance encounter with Mike Stroud, I’ve always held Ran Fiennes in a kind of awe. The sheer determination which he has, and the way he uses that determination to overcome the kind of stresses which, let’s face it, most of us don’t even know exist – well it is truly awesome.

So it was a bit sad for me to hear that he didn’t manage to get round a BG. I mean, after some of his earlier exploits, you would think a BG might be a doddle for a man like him, wouldn’t you?

But then, I remembered a conversation I had with a runner on the Long Mynd the other year. He’d done a BG with his club during the previous year, and I was asking him how it left him – and his response surprised me. I expected him to say that his legs were struggling to get the same kind of speed or some thing like that, but he just said that he felt ... bewildered.

You see, his club was one of these clubs that has what they call a BG-machine – a set of keen individuals who turn out at the drop of a hat and provide a kind of one-stop shop for any prospective BG runner in the club. Agree a date and there it was – a well honed team of navigators, rucsack-carriers, foot masseurs and transport drivers – ready to whisk you around the course, point you in the right direction and keep you on course, and (of course) on schedule.

Naturally, you have to do the running yourself – but everything else is done for you. Nappy changing, bottom wiping? – certainly, sir, no problem.

So when I asked my Long Mynd friend which bits of his round that he enjoyed the most, he said he could really only remember the final run into Keswick with any clarity – the rest had been all a bit of a blur, as seen (in his words) through the eyes of a zombie. Even Broad Stand, which he had been dreading (after all the tales he had previously been told) was just a frenzied pass-the-parcel-on-a-rope experience, and now that he’d taken up rock climbing, he just wished he could have savoured the experience a little bit more.

Which is also what he thought about the rest of the round. He told me that he would really like to do it again, on his own, with nobody helping particularly – maybe with a like-minded mate to share the views and provide some company for the inevitable low points.

And I think my friend has a very valid point. I mean, how exactly did Bob Graham himself get around the lakes all those years ago, in his boots and his funny shorts?

And, as for my hero Ran ... perhaps the problem wasn’t so much the challenge, as the lack of it?

[macc ladd]

Isn't this a bit of a dilemma?

If the contender pushed themselves so hard that they ended up in a "zombie" state, surely they were at the limit of their ability and therefore for them it was a challenge.

If this person had gone around without the same level of support and ended up in a similar state would it not be very dangerous?

So I expect if you have the ability to go round unsupported, or with just a mate (as someone from our club did recently) then I expect you are capable of greater rounds if you are willing to be fully supported, and willing to push yourself into that "zombie" zone.

As for Sir Ran? I thought he was ill and shouldn't have tried it?

[daz h]

i think that the BG round has a very magical aura about it, lots of runners come into fellrunning it seems , spend a few years at it , do some big races, serve there apprentiship so to speak and attempt the BG, as for the challenge, well i dont see the problem with so called machines, surely one of the main aims of fellrunning is to help each other out on the fells, if this means putting a bit back by carrying a bag, helping with the route, changing your socks and stuff then long may it continue, at borrowdale one of scoffers last words before the off was for everyone to look after each other.

im sure most of us would like to have a crack at the BG with minimal support or just a couple of you going round but in reality it would be very difficult.
Seems to me in this country we have lost the art of passing on knowledge in the everyday world we live in , i am the last of the time served apprentices at this company, served my time in mid eighties, have passed my knowledge on but nowadays its all gone, what im trying to say is that in fellrunning circles you get this magnificent passion of helping out others, long may it continue.

as for pain i think the mind has a way of putting you in that zombie state
perhaps mr fiennes shouldnt have bothered if he thought the challenge didnt appeal?

[Mark Smith]

One of the aspects i enjoyed the most on my round was the enthusiasm of my supporters, many of whom had never had anything to do with a BG round before. They looked like they were having a great time, and it really made the day for me. It would have been far less fun without them.

I certainly didn;t feel like the sense of having achieved my goal was lessened by the fact i was supported so well by my friends. Even if I had the ability to get round with no or minimal support (unlikely i must add) i'm not sure i would have enjoyed it as much doing it that way.

That's the beauty of the BGR: save for the basic rules you can do it however you like.

[Yorkshire Thug]

It’s not meant as a criticism of anybody’s BG – more a discussion about different approaches.

People need to know what they want to get out of a round before they do it – no point regreting it afterwards, you may not get another chance.

... and I do agree that the selfless way that people do the support is magnificent. And, of course (to echo another thread) it does give a non-BG-runner a chance to experience what it’s all about.

[Mark Smith]

It’s not meant as a criticism of anybody’s BG – more a discussion about different approaches.

THat's how i saw your response, no worries.

I enjoy hearing about the differing ways people did it. Also, the various ways it can be done adds scope for improving yourself. For example, I might now wish to have a go at either a winter round, an unsupported round or a faster round. Or all three?!

[Grouse]

It might be a lacking challenge to many runners, including YT and Sir Ran, but to the rest of us mortals I reckon it is something of a challenge. Certainly was to me. I had fantastic support from my club and it was that which was the best thing about the day, not the completion or even the physical aspect of it - the biggest kick for me has been supporting club mates on their rounds who had supported me. I wiped my own arse by the way; carried my own bog paper in fact (no I didn't carry a trowel). I would also like to do it unsupported but if I'm honest I don't know if I could attain that level of fitness again given the constraints of family and other 'real life' pressures. I bet a lot of BG ers would aspire to 'better' their achievement in some way or at least continue to seek out similar types of challenge. As far as remembering the run with clarity, I made a conscious decision to 'switch on' during the entire round; having read up a bit on sports psychology and visualisation techniques: meant that it hurt like hell, but I remember it incredibly clearly - NLP kind of stuff. Very effective.

[molehill]

I think YT has a very good point. Several sports have changed dramatically over the years, mainly benefitting from better technology, but some from increased knowledge or methods. To the point where there are a percentage of participants who will want to go 'retro' with their sport and take it back to the old ways, and make things comparatively harder for themselves.
Possibly some will go the same way on a challenge such as this, though this is obviously a personal choice and not to detract from any who have succeeded.
I think of a comparison with scaling Everest, would you treat a modern day conquorer (guided party more like)the same as those of the 1950's say? I think not, yet they have all achieved the same thing. Interesting post and I will be enthralled to see where we stand 10 years from now, probably spotting retro-runners attempting a winter round in a pair of leather boots and a duffel coat, wish I was younger

[Grouse]

It is a good point and everyone has to decide how they want to challenge themselves and how to get the best out of themselves to the best of their ability, but even Bob Graham did not do his round in a vacuum - there had long been a tradition of long distance challenges in the lakes; challenges set by individuals with their own criteria.