Attempts 27/28/29 July

well that was a trip! a brief report from me. Nicky set off at 4.00am with Simon Cox and Neil Talbott in what was supposed to be light winds and a few showers. The rain came down 3-4 times quite hard with low clag, Yiannis taking his role on the parachute. they made up about 17 minutes on the 3.27 scedule which was a shock. I was on leg 2 with Digby and joined mid leg by Neil bringing hot drinks. Nickys pace was astonishing and we were pushed hard in a strong wind. we had a really bad storm come through at Dollywagon. DW to fair field in 32 minutes and the full leg in 3.30! still 17-18 minutes up, 2 minutes rest and she was off with Tim Whittaker(Nicky's devils spine partner) and Joe Mann( using his recent fittnes on his munro round). I lost touch then but Yiannis rejoined at Rossett and IanF had a rope at Broad Stand I think Nicky had lost only a few minutes despite thick clag and rain wind

the conditions had got much worse as has been said earlier. Neil and myself drove round to Honister(after a brief trip to the pub for a carb top up) and walked in with hot drinks for the team Neil went to Black Sail and I went to Windy gap where Yiannis turned up out of the thick clag just after Borrowdales finest had passed by on a reccie.

I was worried the wet rock and clag would slow Nicky down, Ha! virtually to the predicted minute Iheard loose rocks above and Nicky turned up with support Tim, Dave Sykes, Olly Stephenson and Neil.

Nicky left Honister pretty much on time and continued through picking up Keith Holmes, Helen Elmore, Joe and Tim again(3 legs!) more heavy rain/clag etc.

Nick Cable joined in to lead off from Robinson.

Quite a big crowd awaited Nicky at Moothall including the support of Wil Spain and Sarah



Amanda Heading from Racekit once again masterminded Nickys round.

A flawless effort from a strong support for a remarkable woman.....

Nicky you know what your support thought......words just aren't enough. Well done.....

It was a fantastic day with Nicky breaking the record in the most testing of conditions, an immense performance... but I think you are forgetting to report a particularly unpleasant sight at the end of the round when a certain Wicked Winterburn, a man of notoriously viscous and intemperate disposition, was seen stealing women's and children's chips...

There were various other callous acts of Wicked Winterburn eating other peoples food... you have been warned! ;-)

Cheers,

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Originally Posted by simon cox

It was a fantastic day with Nicky breaking the record in the most testing of conditions, an immense performance... but I think you are forgetting to report a particularly unpleasant sight at the end of the round when a certain Wicked Winterburn, a man of notoriously viscous and intemperate disposition, was seen stealing women's and children's chips...

There were various other callous acts of Wicked Winterburn eating other peoples food... you have been warned! ;-)

Cheers,

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I'm innocent!!! they were just left waiting to be hoovered up. Thank Andrea for the Champers

Fantastic! Well done Nicky. We met some of her support crew in the car park at Wasdale. Really glad she not only made it but broke the record as well. In the conditions, that's amazing.

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Originally Posted by ydt

Nicky Spinks: 18:12, a new record. Yiannis

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Cheers for posting this Martyn. It took me twenty minutes to post the first update on my phone from the campsite and after I texted everyone with updates, I got sidetracked by food and sleep :) Great to meet you and Mark. Hope Jack got safely back to Honister. Despite Stolly not being able to complete his round, it was a brilliant weekend. Running in the lakes with like-minded people, what's not to like? Looking forward to the next attempt, whenever that will be!

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Originally Posted by Martyn P

I'm sorry to say that Stolly was forced to pull out on leg 3 at Esk Pike. We were caught in a sudden spell of very bad weather and it all got a bit nasty. We retreated down to Styhead and into Wasdale via the pass and Hes brought Mark and myself back to Dunmail. Stolly is probably fast asleep in his tent outside Keswick right now, I'm sure he'll pass on the full story later on. Brave attempt and disappointing for him, there were patches of blue sky above when we were going up Steel Fell and we all thought it was going to be a good day weather-wise.

It was the Lingmell Dash in Wasdale today, they all seemed to come in OK - you could see the Lingmell summit clearly, so maybe that was one top that escaped it.

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Nicky looked remarkably fresh when finishing, with nice weather sub-18 was on the cards!

Wil and Sarah finished within 2mins of each other, Sarah powering past Wil just before Portinscale, refusing to believe myself and RachFR telling her that we were OK on time. Wil was very relaxed.

pretty green support team, with only 2 having experience supporting before, but a great weekend - only one big mistake where we found 'Dollywaggon 2' during a slight detour - clag down from clough head to grizledale tarn made for a long night!

Well done everyone who got around this weekend only down side we all have to wait till next year for dinner to here everyones stories,be worth it though I am going to get slighty drunk

Bad luck Stolly, it's all training for a successful third time lucky though:)
Well done Nicky:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Hes

Cheers for posting this Martyn. It took me twenty minutes to post the first update on my phone from the campsite and after I texted everyone with updates, I got sidetracked by food and sleep :) Great to meet you and Mark. Hope Jack got safely back to Honister. Despite Stolly not being able to complete his round, it was a brilliant weekend. Running in the lakes with like-minded people, what's not to like? Looking forward to the next attempt, whenever that will be!

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Hello Hes,

Got back to honister and warmed up on the way. Thanks for the warm car, and thanks to Kelly for the cups of tea. Stolly, I'm happy to help out on your next attempt if you need it.

Jack.

Just a quick note to say that it was a fantastic run and I'm just sorry that my legs just forgot to turn up for it :). Maybe I just didn't taper enough or maybe the thrashing I gave them at Ingleborough (especially the nutter sprint all the way down) last week was still in them - either way I was already struggling a little on the long but gradual climb from Clough Head to Great Dodd so just what, 16 miles in, I knew I was in for a tough day. (My legs had perversely been brilliantly strong after full on 50 miles on my previous weather halted attempt, just 4 weeks ago!!)

I was down (on my 23 hour schedule) by 15 minutes at the top of Blencathra, due mainly to pissing rain and poor visibility on Skiddaw, 10 at Threlkeld after throwing myself off the side of Doddick in misty drizzle and thick fog and, even though I struggled along much of the Helvellyn ridgeline and we took a dodgy line off of Nethermost Pike, just 4 minutes by Dunmail. To to be honest though, I'd expected to be half an hour up by then. I wasn't firing on all cylinders and things got gradually worse from Calf Crag, losing a couple of minutes here and there. It was raining on and off most of the time and foggy on the tops but, after getting through the Langdales, a complete and utter monsoon set in which reached horrendous proportions by Bowfell, with a heck of a wind chill thrown in. I'd lost some more time by then, down 23 minutes, (but more positively still 37 up on a 24 hour schedule) but had, at least for the moment, managed to stop the rot. But now the weather had chosen to go mental too in what quite frankly couldn't have been a worse place!

My legs (my quads specifically) were feeling really ropey and after marching on the best we could striving against the elements it was plain that the weather was becoming borderline dangerous. We were all drenched through and shivering pretty badly and we still had all the boulder scrambling and fannying about to do over Scafell Pike and Scafell before we could drop out of the weather. My quads weren't getting better any time soon anyway and we were all freezing cold so I called it a day. Regardless of my legs I think it was the right decision as it still took us a good while struggling through a continual deluge to get down to Wasdale via Esk Haus and Sty Head and we had to run most of the time regardless of my legs just to keep warm.

Eventually I turned up like a drowned rat at the Wasdale Head Inn and scrounged an immediate pint on a tab whilst Martyn, Mark and Lucas went to tell the support crew what had happened.

Thanks to all my helpers and pacers - Hes, Gav and Lee leg 1, Mark (mk1) and Adrian leg 2, Martyn, Mark (mk2) and Lucas leg 3 and unused Jack leg 4 and Kelly (ground support and leg 5). Martyn and Mark were both hoping to do leg 4 too and Hes leg 5 but it would have taken some sort of bottle in those conditions to want to carry on! And not forgetting Harry and Wallace on leg 3 who mostly loved it too, although both of them were shivering with the cold and driving rain on Bowfell. Top team.

Oh and a fantastic memory of a shooting star just as we started climbing the reverse slope of Blencathra (a gap in the clouds!) and the sun did try and burst through briefly too...

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5729/p7280018.jpg



And awesome Nicky Spinks!

Fantastic pic Stolly!

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Originally Posted by ba-ba

Nicky looked remarkably fresh when finishing, with nice weather sub-18 was on the cards!

Wil and Sarah finished within 2mins of each other, Sarah powering past Wil just before Portinscale, refusing to believe myself and RachFR telling her that we were OK on time. Wil was very relaxed.

pretty green support team, with only 2 having experience supporting before, but a great weekend - only one big mistake where we found 'Dollywaggon 2' during a slight detour - clag down from clough head to grizledale tarn made for a long night!

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Started planning one yet....

Thanks to everyone that supported me on Saturday from 4am to 10.12pm - 18hours and 12 minutes. I owe a lot to everyone that came out on the hill and also to those backstage especially Amanda Heading of www.racekit.co.uk as they made a record BG round possible in those conditions.

I always advocate not doing rounds in bad weather but the forecast was showers (same as for the Wasdale race which actually turned out perfect running weather) and so I went for it. Leg 1 was blustery and Skiddaw rather foul. Then the skies lifted and across Helvellyn we had views across to Scafell which looked promising. I managed to gain a bit of time on my 18 hour schedule until Great End where slippery rocks did slow me down a bit. Ill Crag and Broad Crag were horrid and the Scafell's lethal. After Broad Stand I needed two minutes just to calm the nerves and then the rock slabs up to the plateau were scary. Running into Wasdale once again the sun came out and although I could see clag on Gable there was no way I was dropping out then with only two legs to go.

Leg 4 started promising but a glitch in my schedule to Red Pike unnerved me, then I didn't eat, then my stomach packed up on me. Forcing a rice pudding down was a "make or break" and it did work by Green Gable although I had lost more time fighting it and the rocks by then. The hail and wind on Brandreth was the absolute pits and I was so glad to be getting off the hills to Honister.

The last leg was time to push it; my stomach had settled helped by soup at Honister, and I didn't have to worry too much about energy. I could picture the finish and even the road felt good as I didn't have to pick my way across rocks and could stretch out. What a feeling to sprint up deserted Keswick streets and touch the Moot Hall!!!!

And yes planning has started.....

Having been up on Leg 3 on with Stolly a few hours before you and almost getting hypothermia on Bowfell, yours is an astonishing achievement! Seriously well done Nicky and team, awesome fell skills and stamina.

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Originally Posted by Nicky

Thanks to everyone that supported me on Saturday from 4am to 10.12pm - 18hours and 12 minutes. I owe a lot to everyone that came out on the hill and also to those backstage especially Amanda Heading of www.racekit.co.uk as they made a record BG round possible in those conditions.

I always advocate not doing rounds in bad weather but the forecast was showers (same as for the Wasdale race which actually turned out perfect running weather) and so I went for it. Leg 1 was blustery and Skiddaw rather foul. Then the skies lifted and across Helvellyn we had views across to Scafell which looked promising. I managed to gain a bit of time on my 18 hour schedule until Great End where slippery rocks did slow me down a bit. Ill Crag and Broad Crag were horrid and the Scafell's lethal. After Broad Stand I needed two minutes just to calm the nerves and then the rock slabs up to the plateau were scary. Running into Wasdale once again the sun came out and although I could see clag on Gable there was no way I was dropping out then with only two legs to go.

Leg 4 started promising but a glitch in my schedule to Red Pike unnerved me, then I didn't eat, then my stomach packed up on me. Forcing a rice pudding down was a "make or break" and it did work by Green Gable although I had lost more time fighting it and the rocks by then. The hail and wind on Brandreth was the absolute pits and I was so glad to be getting off the hills to Honister.

The last leg was time to push it; my stomach had settled helped by soup at Honister, and I didn't have to worry too much about energy. I could picture the finish and even the road felt good as I didn't have to pick my way across rocks and could stretch out. What a feeling to sprint up deserted Keswick streets and touch the Moot Hall!!!!

And yes planning has started.....

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Originally Posted by Stolly

Just a quick note to say that it was a fantastic run and I'm just sorry that my legs just forgot to turn up for it :). Maybe I just didn't taper enough or maybe the thrashing I gave them at Ingleborough (especially the nutter sprint all the way down) last week was still in them - either way I was already struggling a little on the long but gradual climb from Clough Head to Great Dodd so just what, 16 miles in, I knew I was in for a tough day. (My legs had perversely been brilliantly strong after full on 50 miles on my previous weather halted attempt, just 4 weeks ago!!)

I was down (on my 23 hour schedule) by 15 minutes at the top of Blencathra, due mainly to pissing rain and poor visibility on Skiddaw, 10 at Threlkeld after throwing myself off the side of Doddick in misty drizzle and thick fog and, even though I struggled along much of the Helvellyn ridgeline and we took a dodgy line off of Nethermost Pike, just 4 minutes by Dunmail. To to be honest though, I'd expected to be half an hour up by then. I wasn't firing on all cylinders and things got gradually worse from Calf Crag, losing a couple of minutes here and there. It was raining on and off most of the time and foggy on the tops but, after getting through the Langdales, a complete and utter monsoon set in which reached horrendous proportions by Bowfell, with a heck of a wind chill thrown in. I'd lost some more time by then, down 23 minutes, (but more positively still 37 up on a 24 hour schedule) but had, at least for the moment, managed to stop the rot. But now the weather had chosen to go mental too in what quite frankly couldn't have been a worse place!

My legs (my quads specifically) were feeling really ropey and after marching on the best we could striving against the elements it was plain that the weather was becoming borderline dangerous. We were all drenched through and shivering pretty badly and we still had all the boulder scrambling and fannying about to do over Scafell Pike and Scafell before we could drop out of the weather. My quads weren't getting better any time soon anyway and we were all freezing cold so I called it a day. Regardless of my legs I think it was the right decision as it still took us a good while struggling through a continual deluge to get down to Wasdale via Esk Haus and Sty Head and we had to run most of the time regardless of my legs just to keep warm.

Eventually I turned up like a drowned rat at the Wasdale Head Inn and scrounged an immediate pint on a tab whilst Martyn, Mark and Lucas went to tell the support crew what had happened.

Thanks to all my helpers and pacers - Hes, Gav and Lee leg 1, Mark (mk1) and Adrian leg 2, Martyn, Mark (mk2) and Lucas leg 3 and unused Jack leg 4 and Kelly (ground support and leg 5). Martyn and Mark were both hoping to do leg 4 too and Hes leg 5 but it would have taken some sort of bottle in those conditions to want to carry on! And not forgetting Harry and Wallace on leg 3 who mostly loved it too, although both of them were shivering with the cold and driving rain on Bowfell. Top team.

Oh and a fantastic memory of a shooting star just as we started climbing the reverse slope of Blencathra (a gap in the clouds!) and the sun did try and burst through briefly too...

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5729/p7280018.jpg



And awesome Nicky Spinks!

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A quick update to this - I've just got back from the doctor's because I have a blotchy rash all over my thighs and to a lesser extent my shins and calves. The rash co-incidentally started to appear while I was running at the weekend and has now become quite red and prickly. Its also remarkable in that it is only where my legs were exposed (above my socks and below my shorts) and nowhere else. The doc reckons its highly likely that its a contact allergic reaction to something I ran through and, given that its thigh high, that could only have been the ferns coming off of the bottom of Doddick or perhaps the long grass and/or a big patch of cotton grass that we waded through before starting the ascent of Clough Head. The BGR is pretty much all short grass and rocks after that. Its probably a co-incidence but I began to feel rough and weak and woolly pretty much from the top of Clough Head onwards. Protodoc could some kind of allergic reaction do that?

Anyway its not pretty to look at.....

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/6513/p7310022x.jpg

Yes it could, although I would have expected the rash to appear sooner if you were symptomatic quickly. The kid of contact allergic reactions that make you feel unwell typically cause marked swelling of the area affected with heat, redness and itching. More serious cases have airway involvement. Could deffo have been a contributory factor though along with the driving rain bullets, wind and slippery rocks.
BTW I think I left my posh Camelbak insulated water bottle in Kelly's car, did you spot it?:o

Yep. Hes has your water bottle and I also have someone's OMM woolly hat :)

:oThat could be mine too,I'll check tonight:o

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Originally Posted by protodoc

:oThat could be mine too,I'll check tonight:o

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It'll be yours mate, I haven't got one and I saw you wearing an OMM beanie in the pub.

Hi guys, Protodoc, I've got your waterbottle in my car. We decided that I'm most likely to be in your neck of thewoods sometime soon. I'll get your hat from Stolly & drop both in some time soon unless you are anywhere near Masham, in which case give me a ring.

Stolly, that rash does look pretty:w00t: hope it goes away soon. I reckon it was the bracken...its dodgy stuff.:)

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Originally Posted by Hes

Hi

Stolly, that rash does look pretty:w00t: hope it goes away soon. I reckon it was the bracken...its dodgy stuff.:)

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Haha the rash actually looks much worse than the picture Hes - the flash on my camera has whited out a lot of the blotches. I think it was going through an area of tall wispy grass myself

My money is on the bracken. There are a few legitimate reports on the health implications of contact with bracken and they mention that some people get severe rashes. Its also carcinogenic to animals which is why a lot of money gets spent on eradicating it in certain areas. The spores are carcinogenic too, not that that is relevant at this time of year but it could be the grass. Another suggestion is the insects that live in the bracken may have caused it.

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Originally Posted by Stolly

Haha the rash actually looks much worse than the picture Hes - the flash on my camera has whited out a lot of the blotches. I think it was going through an area of tall wispy grass myself

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Just remember to wear leggings for legs 1 and 2 next time Stolly:wink:

There's a video interview with Nicky by Trail Running magazine here - http://t.co/5o0D3Fou just after she finished.

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Originally Posted by protodoc

Just remember to wear leggings for legs 1 and 2 next time Stolly:wink:

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Full waterproofs in bad weather my help next time Stolly.
I do hope you get round, but you may have to plan a little better with your pre event races.

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Originally Posted by Stagger

Full waterproofs in bad weather my help next time Stolly.

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Don't worry I had full waterproofs (and spares) :)

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Originally Posted by Hes

My money is on the bracken. There are a few legitimate reports on the health implications of contact with bracken and they mention that some people get severe rashes. Its also carcinogenic to animals which is why a lot of money gets spent on eradicating it in certain areas. The spores are carcinogenic too, not that that is relevant at this time of year but it could be the grass. Another suggestion is the insects that live in the bracken may have caused it.

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Doesn't surprise me, ran through some bracken at weekend and the smell was rank!
Hope you get sorted with the rash Stolly:)

Hi Stolly,
I get a similar rash when running through long grasses, the sort of stuff you find in the bottom of hedgerows such as meadow grasses, nettles, hemlock, etc and also wheat and oilseed rape fields. I can react really badly and the rash I get appears more intense (for want of a better word) than your photo. This all came to a head last summer when a 10 mile run passing through fields of rape and wheat resulted in anaphylactic shock.
The sort of grasses on the fells, reeds, bracken and Heather don't appear to affect me at all, so tend to run in the peak or Lakes whenever possible during the summer months and try to avoid running off road in my local area unless my legs are covered.

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Originally Posted by fellgazelle

Hi Stolly,
I get a similar rash when running through long grasses, the sort of stuff you find in the bottom of hedgerows such as meadow grasses, nettles, hemlock, etc and also wheat and oilseed rape fields. I can react really badly and the rash I get appears more intense (for want of a better word) than your photo. This all came to a head last summer when a 10 mile run passing through fields of rape and wheat resulted in anaphylactic shock.
The sort of grasses on the fells, reeds, bracken and Heather don't appear to affect me at all, so tend to run in the peak or Lakes whenever possible during the summer months and try to avoid running off road in my local area unless my legs are covered.

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Thanks fellgazelle. My doctor mentioned the possibility of anaphylactic shock when I saw him too but luckily I didn't suffer from that. My rash is starting to recede now (I think) but it was really weird at the time. I do recall my legs feeling prickly (like stinger nettle stings) from the bottom of Clough Head having run through a big patch of very tall wispy grass but to be honest my legs usually take a battering from thorns and heather so the prickliness wasn't something particularly out of the ordinary. And while I was running I didn't notice a rash at all (I was wearing baggy running shorts and wouldn't have been able to see much any way) but when I changed into my running tights in the pub at Wasdale it was kind of worrying to see the blotches, although even then my total knackeredness took my mind off it at the time. I didn't then change out of my running tights until Sunday afternoon (haha, we were camping :) ) and the rash by then had reached beubonic plague like proportions (well almost).

As to whether the allergy affected my running I will never know. I did feel unexpectedly weary very early into the second leg but that could have been my lack of tapering and previous running coming into play. Either way the weather later on wiped the attempt so its neither here nor there really.

I have had a similar allergic reaction years ago... not running, but walking through I think it was a barley field or some such, similar crop anyway... It made me feel feverish and under the weather tired, as well as causing a violent rash... So would not be at all surprised if you were affected by it, other than the rash...

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Originally Posted by Stolly

I do recall my legs feeling prickly (like stinger nettle stings) from the bottom of Clough Head having run through a big patch of very tall wispy grass but to be honest my legs usually take a battering from thorns and heather so the prickliness wasn't something particularly out of the ordinary. And while I was running I didn't notice a rash at all (I was wearing baggy running shorts and wouldn't have been able to see much any way) but when I changed into my running tights in the pub at Wasdale it was kind of worrying to see the blotches, although even then my total knackeredness took my mind off it at the time. I didn't then change out of my running tights until Sunday afternoon (haha, we were camping :) ) and the rash by then had reached beubonic plague like proportions (well almost).

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Originally Posted by Hanneke

I have had a similar allergic reaction years ago... not running, but walking through I think it was a barley field or some such, similar crop anyway... It made me feel feverish and under the weather tired, as well as causing a violent rash... So would not be at all surprised if you were affected by it, other than the rash...

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Yes I have regularly experienced the same symptoms under similar conditions to both of these. Usually after a few hours the prickliness and soreness of the skin starts to recede, but the rash can still itch in localised spots for a few days. It can take about a week for the spots to fully disappear after prolonged exposure.

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Originally Posted by fellgazelle

It can take about a week for the spots to fully disappear after prolonged exposure.

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My blotches are just starting to disappear now...... so no excuses for Borrowdale tomorrow :)

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Originally Posted by Hes

My money is on the bracken. There are a few legitimate reports on the health implications of contact with bracken and they mention that some people get severe rashes. Its also carcinogenic to animals which is why a lot of money gets spent on eradicating it in certain areas. The spores are carcinogenic too, not that that is relevant at this time of year but it could be the grass. Another suggestion is the insects that live in the bracken may have caused it.

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My legs can itch when I have been out running in fields when its wet. Sometimes it feels like nettle stings but there is no marking or rash present. I reckon the water flattens the hairs on your legs so the grass gets more contact.

"Grass has a serated edge on its blade and makes tiny cuts on your skin. Many of these gives the itching sensation. If you have ever run through a cornfield without a shirt on, you are very familiar with this fact. The main reason though for the itching sensation is the litle "hairs" on the grass. look closly with a magnifying glass on the underside of a blade of grass, it is covered with tiny hairs, at the tip of each is a drop of fluid (too small for the naked eye to see) which contains an irritating substance the grass secretes for protection from herbivores. the serated edge is also meant for the same purpose."

Good detective work Alf! That's really interesting. I've always suffered from what my mum has called 'grass rash' since I was a kid but fortunately it is a lot milder than Stolly's lurgylegs. I just get an itchy rash of tiny red dots where the contact has been and that tends to last about an hour or two and then disappears with no after effects. I did roll down a hill into giant hogweed once when I was about five and the following day my skin came up in massive water blisters all over and none of the other kids would go near me on the school trip:o Haven't done that since, although I do still roll down hills now and again:thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Alf

My legs can itch when I have been out running in fields when its wet. Sometimes it feels like nettle stings but there is no marking or rash present. I reckon the water flattens the hairs on your legs so the grass gets more contact.

"Grass has a serated edge on its blade and makes tiny cuts on your skin. Many of these gives the itching sensation. If you have ever run through a cornfield without a shirt on, you are very familiar with this fact. The main reason though for the itching sensation is the litle "hairs" on the grass. look closly with a magnifying glass on the underside of a blade of grass, it is covered with tiny hairs, at the tip of each is a drop of fluid (too small for the naked eye to see) which contains an irritating substance the grass secretes for protection from herbivores. the serated edge is also meant for the same purpose."

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