Last edited by fiddlers elbow; 13-01-2011 at 03:52 PM.
Cheers fiddlers elbow. Im gonna go to snowdon next week and do the pyg path - gonna see how much off it i can run up , be fun trying, doubt i'll do it all but give it my best.
just had look on you tube, tricky climb - looks tough an scary in parts not best with heights! looked at scaffell pike an that looks easy compared to that.
What's a tricky climb? The Pyg track?!?!
As others have said before, and I'll repeat again, if you want to seriously contemplate the BG, then you must, MUST get out there on the route soon and see what it's all about, particularly if you're not good with heights and think the Pyg track looks a tough climb.
There are decisions you have to make based on what suits you and what you can put up. I'm not going to spell them all out here, go and find them for yourself, but here are a few hints;
i) If heights are not your thing. go and check which way to come off Blencathra
ii) Again, if tricky climbs and heights are not your forte, go up and down Pike O Stickle a few times, until it's in your head and you don't even notice the drops around you
iii) Which way from the Pike to Scafell? Here's a clue - one way is very scary, one is mildly so, one isn't at all. Guess which is the quickest and which is the slowest!
iv) Go and make sure you've got the trot out to Steeple in your head if you're not great with heights.
Really, there's plenty you can learn on here from folk, but there is only one way to learn and plan your own round....and that's to get out there on the fells you'll be running(walking!) on. Forget Snowdon for the day, it'll take not much longer to get to the Lakes, go there instead.
I'd agree with MR1470, Best bet is to do a 3 day hostel trip around the full route then pick out the bits you need to recce more.
It'slooking a bit wild for this weekend but we'll be up having fun on Legs 1+2 tomorrow leg 3 Sunday. best get the water wings out.
I'm with Mr 1470 above. For you to stand even a slim chance forget Three Peaks fell race, forget the London, forget the Fellsman. Get up to the lakes and have a look at what you're taking on. It is so much harder than you will ever imagine until you've seen it. Two legs at pace (c 25mile / 12,000ft) is a big undertaking for mid-pack fellrunners
Poacher turned game-keeper
The whole of the pyg track is pretty much runnable and its only having to get past fat arsed walkers that slows you down to a walk . It also starts pretty much half way up in the first place. I don't get to run in Snowdonia much but the route I like the best up Snowdon is the Watkin Path and then coming down most of the way on the opposite ridge (which undoubtedly will have a stupid name with lots of l's and b's in it).
Got to agree with the sentiments of the posts above. I'm planning a BGR in late May and my training is all geared around getting up to the Lakes as much as possible to tackle the type of terrain that comes with the round. Long days too. Even knowing the Lakes pretty well it was an eye-opener for me in August to walk legs 3 and 4 (c/w) in their entirety and think what it must be like doing them at pace, along with the other three legs. Tough stuff.
Geoff Clarke
any one got a gps track of the Parachute route. Might have a look tomorrow
I'd echo what others have said about the frigging lake district to. Lets say you run 10 miles on flatish roads at say a steady eddy pace of 7 miles and hour. That same distance but over the Yorkshire Dales might translate to I dunno 5 miles an hour. In the lakes it could be as low as 4 miles an hour. Then ratchet up the distance 6.6 fold and try and beat a time limit too.... and the weather.... and the navigation.
My average speed for the fellsman last year equates to 3.3 miles per hour. To complete a BGR in 24 hours, assuming you go the right way all the way, just needs an average speed of 2.75 miles per hour...... Easy peasy <cough>
Last edited by Stolly; 14-01-2011 at 12:57 PM.