Hey all thanks so much for your kind words on here! Here is my report, part 1
Claire Maxted Bob Graham Round Fri 16-Sat 17 May
On Sat 17 May 2013 I completed the Bob Graham Round (66miles, 42 Lake District summits, over 8000m ascent) in 26hours 36mins and I’m very proud to have got round in some pretty horrendous weather conditions! My supporter runners and crew were totally amazing, and made a very hard challenge doable. Here it is in more detail, you may wish to avert your eyes for some sections which are not very pretty!

Leg 1
Off to a great start with a sunny Friday evening at the Moot Hall. Tom and Astrid Gibbs, Sally Ozanne and Aitch Carter were ready to run, and support crew Mum, Dad, Lucy Harris, Rosie Fuller, Al Bruce were ready with cameras and cheering. Ian Mulvey and Emily who I’ve been forcing on plenty of long recces during Feb and March (eg 9 hours in the snow!) also came to see me off, plus Daz the Slug from the FRA Forum with his support crew, as he was setting off 15mins afterwards. James Thurlow (www.howfast.org and www.openadventure.com) had very kindly lent me a tracker so I had already got plenty of excited facebook messages from people glued to their computers all over the country. Really enjoyed this first leg, gaining 17mins on the schedule due to fast descents down Skiddaw, Great Calva and Blencathra with Tom and Astrid, with a smashing skyfull of red sunset behind. Sally even got chance to interview me for a change with her iPhone! Caused my support team some angst by flying straight through transition at Threlkeld, past Mum holding a thermos of hot tea and Rosie displaying a tempting array of pizza and turning left down the wrong side-road! If I was going to make it round within 24hours I was going to need to play to my strengths: downhills, rough terrain, not stopping and a crack support team of elite adventure racing navigators!

Leg 2
After a 5sec detour down that wrong side road I was back on track, crossing the A66 and along the road leading to Clough Head in the dark. I knew my super-fast support team would catch me as soon as I hit the next uphill. Sure enough, Nic Barber was handing me my torch, followed by Alex Pilkington giving me a drink, then Sally Ozanne, Kim Collison and Ali Love caught us on the rapidly steepening flanks of Clough Head - the first wall of grass. Alex very kindly lent me his headtorch as mine was doing a weird flashing thing that was annoying me! And looked after me, tying an extra layer around my waist as he knew I’d need it as soon as we reached the top. He was so right. The weather was rapidly deteriorating, so waterproofs were on at the summit, and soon after, waterproof trousers as we ticked off Great Dodd, Watson Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd and Raise. The fog was right down, the rain fell in fat droplets and the wind slammed it into our faces, but it was no match for my absolutely brilliant navigators. My tactic was driving uphills with poles, then flinging them into the hands of the nearest person, usually poor Kim, so I could let loose on the downs. Getting rockier underfoot, White Side and Helvellyn Lower Man fell next, then one of my fave mountains to get myself lost on, Helvellyn, but this time I had my secret elite athlete weapons leading me confidently all the way to Nethermost Pike and Dollywaggon Pike as if it was broad daylight. Amazing! Some waterproof trouser-ripping bum sliding then got me to Grisedale Tarn in double quick time, where Sally and Ali nipped off to Dunmail to get my food order ready (soup with pasta in, an apple, and grey socks, well done for remembering gals!). It was so, so windy, my ripped waterproof trousers turned into a sail, so heroic Nic lent me his, on the proviso that there’d be no bum-sliding in them! Umm...I’ll get him a new pair... Then Fairfield was, to put it mildly, a right freakin’ slog up what seemed like vertical scree in pitch black with high winds, driving rain and fog, and I was getting cold even on the climb. There was an exciting, wind-blown “Congrats! Keep going!” to Daz the Slug and team as we shot back down, which spurred me on up Seat Sandal. Alex kept shoving bite-sized edibles into my mouth, and Kim kept just behind me, staying with me while Nic went on ahead navigating. I couldn’t wait to get to Dunmail Raise, and Nic ran down with an updated set of needs – a warm car and complete change of clothes, I was completely soaked and freezing cold. There was a quick slither down Seat Sandal into a rain-blurred cluster of bobbing head torches at Dunmail Raise. I felt very rude just leaping straight into the warm car without stopping to talk to my amazing 3am support crew. My poor mum was trying to get me to eat the soup I’d ordered but all I wanted to do was get my soaking clothes off and fight to get my thermal leggings over clammy legs. She managed to get a few chunks of apple in me, but I couldn’t face the massively cheese-pimped pizza me and my AR partner Sara usually devour with glee in races. I took 18mins to get changed and finally slurp down the soup, but was still 10mins up on schedule here.

Continued in next post...