What's the impact of the trod/path out the back o' Skiddaw? Not a flippant question; I'm genuinely not clear on what its negative environmental impact is. To my mind that's the only really significant track caused by the round, and even then only in the lower sections across the wetter sections of ground. Yeah, you can see the thin trod heading up to the Skiddaw summit ridge, but it's hardly an eyesore. Also, maybe half-way down there's a little trod breaking off to the left which I'm pretty sure isn't related to the round (bad route choice if it is!). If this is the case, then at least some of the footfall higher up must come from other 'users' taking the trod down from the fence before heading left.

The trod off Seat Sandal and up Steel Fell is pretty minimal really. I guess higher up on Steel Fell it's getting a bit loose, but, unless I'm missing something, I don't see what the big problem is. The Seat Sandal trod, like the ones up to Rossett Pike and under Black Crag on Pillar, is used by walkers as well BG aspirants. Isn't this just the way it goes? People use the hills and paths/trods develop.

It would seem sensible for the club to ask all contenders to be mindful of their impact on the environment, but against the background of general use the Lakeland hills experience I reckon it amounts to very little.

For what it's worth, if the club did want to actively encourage less footfall on the route, I think advocating minimal recces would be far more beneficial than smaller scale attempts. On the day, there ain't much difference between two/three/four pairs of feet, but the same lines being recced over and over again probably does account for the majority of BG impact on trods and paths.