Bob Graham for a novice.

[markt]

Just been looking at Bob Wightmans Site , A very good site and it has a section for walkers, but I cannot get my head round it. Imagine setting off from the moot hall running and and keep looking over your shoulder and a man or woman is walking along beside you, It would be very discouraging. Surely they must be running bits of it.

[Bob]

Even the "runners" doing the round don't actually run that much of it. My pacers were under instruction of "if it's going uphill - we walk!". At a guess, I probably ran about 6 miles; jogged about 10 and walked the rest.

I don't know how many "walkers" have done the BG as opposed to "runners", by this I mean someone who would go for a walk in the fells rather than a run. However most races are over and done with in a couple of hours, maybe three or four for the tail end of the field - hardly good training for a day out that may be 23 hours long. When I lived in the Lakes and walked a lot, 8 - 12 hours out on the fells was fairly normal. Getting up to 23 would have been much less of a problem.

[XRunner]

I probably ran about 6 miles; jogged about 10 and walked the rest.

I can run 6 miles and jog about 10 miles....its the rest that I find most difficult.

[notafellrunner]

Thanks again everyone for the input.
Been putting the hours in training to get a good base level of fitness so I can see how that translates to the fells.
I agree with what Bob was saying about time on the hills. I know that I can run OK over moderate distances but the problem I will have will be slowing down and extending my endurance (not so much covering the distance in training but finding the time to do it) but if I want to give it a go then I will have to find the time I suppose.
Thanks Markt for the offer of help and recces, maybe we should try doing it together?? We will see how it pans out, I think the next couple of months will be crucial to see if its going to come together.
Thanks again, I had a feeling that you fell runners were a friendly bunch, but I am genuinely surprised at the level of help and support that people have offered.

[molehill]

I have 'walked' a couple of ldwa events over the years (due to running injury). ok. I power walk them, in other words really push the walking , but I can average not far short of 4mph over rough and hilly terrain (SSC and Reservoir roundabout). But I'm pretty knackered at 25 miles, but then I don't train for walking!

The only observation I would make is that I lost out on the flat and downhill, but when the inclines came, I had the energy there to really attack them and made up ground again on runners. I could also eat and drink more consistently when walking.

I have a theory that Billy Blands comment 'It's just a walk' is very possibly not far short of the truth - if you trained for hard walking and had the mindset you could do it. I would like to see it done by someone, but I'm a bit old and knackered for that sort of thing .

[dan]

According to http://www.bobgrahamround.co.uk/statistics.htm, the youngest person to complete the BGR was 13. If this doesn't act like a kick up the backside... nothing will. I think you should go for it, but give your self a good few years build up.

During 2008, I'm planning on running/fast walking all the 2000ft+ mountains in the Lake District including about 18 runs between about 5miles and 20 miles long with daily climbs up to 6000ft. (NOTE: will include a lot of walking and deep breathing). This would be a good solid build up to the BGR, giving you a solid endurance foundation and providing the mental confidence to take on the monster itself.

If anybody is interested in tagging along on these runs as training outings, just message me.

[Baggins]

I have a theory that Billy Blands comment 'It's just a walk' is very possibly not far short of the truth - if you trained for hard walking and had the mindset you could do it. I would like to see it done by someone, but I'm a bit old and knackered for that sort of thing .

This is a bit of a red herring, the only people I know who have "walked" round the BGR are Billy and Gavin Bland both top fellrunners in their day and still one and two in the all time rankings for the Lakeland classics.

Most folk will have to run on the downhills as they will not have the uphill "walking pace" of a top fellrunner.

[markt]

I noticed in a fell race i was running the uphill and was and totally knackered, and thought sod this and started to walk briskly, the two people in front of me kept on running it was still about a mile to the top and I just about kept up not far behind. I got to the checkpoint, thinking stick just behind this bloke and get a reasonable time, I then learnt something else about fell running you need to be brave to run down hill at the speed he was going. I only had a couple of mile to go and he finished about 15 mins in front of me, it was amazing he ran down the hill like a gazelle.
My Brother entered the same race a year later and tripped over the fence with about 300 metres to go and gathered himself up and tried a sprint finish and just about lost out.
I think there is a good photo of him on the NFR site in last years windy gyle running in a saltwell vest just after the aforementioned fall.
I am in the LDWA and on social walks they average approx 3 mph and stop for bait two or three times as well. on challenge walks I sometimes run the down hills and normally cover 25 mile in about 6 hours on rough terrain and I just cannot keep on running up the hills, If I ever try the BGR walking all the ups will definitly be a must

[andy k]

running / walking don't really matter
its a journey of the mind - the will and drive to finish, the ability to suffer and carry on - not that I've done it, yet...

28000 feet of climb is not the issue
28000 feet of descent - thats the issue
its the downhill that does the real damage to your legs.
running downhill to compensate for walking uphill will simply further reduce your ability to go uphill, or downhill, or flat.

sometime soon.....

[markt]

No doubt about it abdy k, its going to hurt been on loads of walks in the hills and some of the lakeland descents are killers, going up is just hard work, coming down is painfull. To be honest when I get about halfway down the big ones I allways mutter to myself "I wish I was going up".
Going to try the fellsman in may and if I survive that in a reasonable time I might possibily try a BGR june 2009, Planning, recceing and helping this year, and get as many fell races in as possible also walk as many LDWA events as I can fit in. Dont know when I am going to fit the family, house and garden in .