BGR 2014 roundup

[Derby Tup]

Hill-reps? You track runners!

How about running up Gt Whernside on Thursday evening? And then running down.

I reckon walking up and sledging down would be good BG training. I seem to remember someone was looking to ski the round

[nutkey]

Bob said:
> I don't have the historical data to do the splits for anything but the last three years.

Hi Bob, assuming that the detailed data you have when I click on an individual year is correct (where it shows, for each round, whether it was cw/acw), then here's a graph of the results. It's a stacked line graph - so the green lines shows the total, and the red is the number of CW rounds.
http://home.arachsys.com/~jbb/graph.png


There's a clear shift in 2005 when 12/48 rounds were cw - after which no one looks back.

Bob, I don't know how long you've been running your website, but can I suggest that since http://bobwightman.co.uk/run/bob_graham.php shows a clockwise route, you might be influencing the stats quite significantly

[Bob]

The clockwise/anticlockwise data there is a mess! In part it depends on how I copied the existing block and modified it (it reads from a javascript array) I know some/most are wrong, in fact someone emailed me the other day to correct a few entries.

My site has been running since 2003 or so. I needed a "default" for things like the calculator and chose clockwise as that was how I was looking at attempting the round. Maybe folk don't realise that you can modify that!

[Stolly]

Having had two anti-clockwise (albeit weather well and truly dumped on) failures and finally succeeding clockwise, I think I can add a bit of an insight to the problems going a/c. The first two legs a/c are fantastic - getting to Honister is easy and the stretch to Wasdale isn't too bad either, with a fabulous descent off of Red Pike and a pretty fun decent off Yewbarrow too.

But the climb up Scarfell is tough right at the start of leg 3 and all of leg 3 a/c seems harder than the other way round - most of the descents are steep and rocky and most of the climbs are tussocky grass, exactly the opposite of what you'd choose.

The Dunmail to Threlkeld leg starts with three extremely nasty back to back climbs (Seat Sandel, Fairfield and then Dollywaggon) which just seem to take ages but without actually eating up many miles on the ground and, from a psychological point of view they can be really draining. After Dollywaggon though its not too bad (although on both of my attempts we were in completely dreadful weather in the dark by this point).

Leg 5 in reverse is really really great fun - Halls Fell as a climb is Route One, no messing, and the descents of Blencathra, Great Calva and Skiddaw are brilliant. That said I didn't ever get to try leg 5 a/c in my attempts as in the first the weather forced us to bail at Nethermost Pike and in the second we were frozen cold and drenched at Threlkeld and only had 3 hours 20 max to complete in (with 4 hours 30 in the conditions realistically needed).

Anyway all being well me and Gav are anti-clockwising again this May and hopefully it will all going swimmingly

[Mark Smith]

I think the 'going the way Bob went' is probably quite a strong reason for many people going c/w. It's why I did and many others that I've supported. Doesn't make it any more right or valid but it's a very simple explanation for a number of people's decisions to go that way.

[ydt]

Some years ago Paddy Buckley gathered the available data and showed that the average completion time ccw was longer than that cw.

[IWCharters]

Having done an a/c round and supported c/w rounds I think the c/w is easier but I am not suggesting it is easy. Legs 3 & 4 a/c each become more runnable in the second half when you are likely to be tiring but a/c has some significant benefits.

The road section is out of the way early and the Northern Fells provide a much better finish - it is enormously satisfying being on Skiddaw looking down on the lights of Keswick knowing all you have to do is run down to them when you have plenty of time (it is less fun chasing the clock though).

The direction as with start time and schedule is a highly personal decision and while most things make a c/w attempt more attractive it would great loss if a/c rounds weren't attempted.

The most important thing, and one of the hardest to remember on the day, is to enjoy it.

[GeoffB]

Bob - I've just noticed the 'Successful Rounds' list. You don't have a time for me (Geoff Briggs - number 1354). If you want to add it, I finished in 22hrs 47mins.

Geoff

[Bob]

Geoff, I only put times up on the successful rounds page on my site if they are publicly available elsewhere, such as the person's blog or club website, I don't lift the data from the club records. I try to keep the two separate.

Since you've publicised it I'll add it

[GeoffB]

No problem - mine just looked like an obvious gap in the middle of all the others around me that had times entered.

Geoff