Comments from my Round

[AlanB]

Hi folks,
Have searched back to find a thread on "Round Notes" but couldn't find one, so I'll clutter this place up with another thread !
Thought I'd add my two'penneth in on general and specific notes from my 23h round the weekend just gone.

* The Bob Graham Round is (despite what anyone says / thinks) a major serious undertaking in any Fell Runners Life. Yes, some people train on stair cases in London for it, some travel from overseas and run it on spec being dragged round - WHATEVER - if someone gets round this then they deserve serious recognition. It was harder than I expected.
* This forum is great for finding inspiration, support and knowledge. We should be proud of what we've got here. Hey - when are we going to get a Paddy Buckley Section like this BGR one anyway ! (not that I'm planning next year already ?)
* When the Lakes has good weather, it's probably one of the best places in the world to run. Leg 4 for me was run late afternoon / early evening with a cloud inversion out to see and perfect blue skies, then sunset. It was probably one of the best sections of running I've ever had and to experience this midway through a BGR completion is something I will always remember.

* Leg 1 - Pea soup to about 5m. Pretty shocking, maybe losing me 15-30 mins. Lost trod off Skiddaw which I thought would be a doddle to find. Picked it up then lost it around Hare Crag ! Doddick was fine - we were careful not to overshoot the turnoff down right above the tarn (scale tarn?). 4h
* Leg 2 - Poor visibility with few mistakes. The descent off Seat Sandal was dreadful though. I'd not reccied this and regretted it. Very tussocky. IS THERE A LINE HERE ? 4h
* Leg 3 - Great claggy running that cleared up around Harrison stickle then deteriorated in time for Bowfell. Our approach to Bowfell (BB's rake) took us too far right meaning even more very slippery rocks to cross twice. Did not enjoy any of this until Esk Pike when it became less slippy. Reckon we lost 15-30 mins around Bowfell. Broad Stand in the wet was fun to say the least. Climbing ettiquette was out the window with someone pushing me up, someone pulling me up and both my knees out too. I think at one point I was going to use my nose as an additional point of contact ! The crags above Broad Stand were so wet and slippy too. We lost loads of time here (3 of us went up on rope) but hey - I wanted to do it that way and thankfully it didn't jeopardise anything but my time. 7h
* Leg 4 - Awesome. No missed lines, concentration levels were good and we took the main path from Great Gable to Green Gable without any problems in twilight. No got my splits, but I think about 5h
* Leg 5 - Took the road as pitch black and I didn't want to concentrate on the map at all. Legs starting to fade up Dale Head! 3h

Overall, so so pleased, but it still hasn't really sunk in.

[Mark L]

Well done Alan B, BG completer.

[Stolly]

* Leg 2 - Poor visibility with few mistakes. The descent off Seat Sandal was dreadful though. I'd not reccied this and regretted it. Very tussocky. IS THERE A LINE HERE ? 4h

Yes there is Alan. You head slightly north of west from the top and eventually pick up a trod after 200 or 300 metres (needless to say we missed it on Saturday morning and had to fanny about a while before picking it up). Really well done though. I have to say I was kind of pleased (in a non-smug way ) that we beat you lot going up Broad Stand by using the Lord's Rake/West Wall traverse . That said, having now done lord's Rake, I think Foxes Tarn is better. Broad Stand probably works best when only a couple of you have to go up it or better still with a witness for Scafell already up there.

Silly mistake edited

[The Navigator]

[QUOTE=AlanB;501770]Hi folks,
* Leg 2 - Poor visibility with few mistakes. The descent off Seat Sandal was dreadful though. I'd not reccied this and regretted it. Very tussocky. IS THERE A LINE HERE ? 4h
QUOTE]

Yes there is - a good path through the bracken right down the nose of Seat Sandal - but it is very easy to miss the start of it in poor visibility.

And well done Alan B!

[DrPatrickBarry]

Alans and Stolly's comments are scaring me. I got spoil doing the 3 legs with AndyGib in perfect conditions. Things that were straight forward for us on a clear night are so much more difficult in less than ideal conditions. Even on our clear night we got caught out by the dip before the summit of Skiddaw and thought we had missed the summit. Just Ben with his GPS was convinced we had not.

[keswicksimon]

Well done Alan. Good effort in difficult conditions.
Welcome to the club.
I hope you don't mind me asking but I have a few questions.
Is it correct you had set off on a 20hr schedule?
In retrospect, what do you think of that now and would you plan it differently if you did it again?
How tired were you getting after Wasdale as you look good coming off Scafell?
As for Seat Sandal. Head to the west top, skirt it just to the right and you're on the trod straight away.
Having done Lords Rake/WWT many times I definitely prefer this way (preferably without dogs) and on my round did peak to peak in 32mins.

[AlanB]

Cheers Simon !
Yes, 20h schedule which was and I think is achievable for me with caveats. I did Legs 3-5 in May with full pack inc camping gear on 19h30 schedule with no problems (being lead around). Adding another 8hours on the front of that though DID take more out of my feet more than anything and yes, more than I anticipated. To get 20h I would need 4 hours more light for a start off. I wanted to get it done this year, and clearly September wouldn't be my first choice. I think May / June has about 4h more light which makes massive difference as you know. I'd planned 24h pace to Threlkeld (which I hit) then 19h30 pace on other legs giving 20h.
After Wasdale - I had no energy issues at all thankfully. Legs felt great all day until leg 5 which was a pleasant surprise. Think we did Yewbarrow in 45-50mins I'll have to check. Sadly, my pacers had issues up Yewbarrow so I had to wait 15 mins at the bottom of Red Pike for them to 'regroup' with me as I had run out of water by then. I've done masses of hard cycling training which with hindsight has made my quads stronger than fell running would alone.
Annoyed I missed Seat Sandal - thanks all for the tip offs.
My times across the scafells will be laughable but pleased I did it that way. I'll need to research LR / WWT.
Nice to have met you.

[protodoc]

Cheers Simon !
Yes, 20h schedule which was and I think is achievable for me with caveats. I did Legs 3-5 in May with full pack inc camping gear on 19h30 schedule with no problems (being lead around). Adding another 8hours on the front of that though DID take more out of my feet more than anything and yes, more than I anticipated. To get 20h I would need 4 hours more light for a start off. I wanted to get it done this year, and clearly September wouldn't be my first choice. I think May / June has about 4h more light which makes massive difference as you know. I'd planned 24h pace to Threlkeld (which I hit) then 19h30 pace on other legs giving 20h.
After Wasdale - I had no energy issues at all thankfully. Legs felt great all day until leg 5 which was a pleasant surprise. Think we did Yewbarrow in 45-50mins I'll have to check. Sadly, my pacers had issues up Yewbarrow so I had to wait 15 mins at the bottom of Red Pike for them to 'regroup' with me as I had run out of water by then. I've done masses of hard cycling training which with hindsight has made my quads stronger than fell running would alone.
Annoyed I missed Seat Sandal - thanks all for the tip offs.
My times across the scafells will be laughable but pleased I did it that way. I'll need to research LR / WWT.
Nice to have met you.

Was good to meet you albeit briefly as you descended Scafell Alan, thanks for stopping to chat to Stolly and I, that was very sporting of you, you were looking strong!