Fellsman 28th April 2012

Overview of 2012 running events ( a bit late)

Very late to write this up, as I never wrote any entries on my Blog for 2012. So as a catch up I am writing, in brief the runs I entered in 2012. The aim is to get back on track and keep up to date with this years running. With one race already run (write up to follow), the list includes; the Fellsman, Montane 50, and the UTMB. So some good races for 2013.

Back to 2012.

The training continued throughout winter until I went to Australia for a month, which did include some nice runs in the warmth on the suburbs or Melbourne and some runs along the coastal paths near Sorrento, Port Phillip Bay.

Once back in the UK I only had 2 weeks to get myself back ready for this years Fellsman (2012).

The big mistake I made was having a massage the day before the race, this was going to come evident on race day!

Race day

Once at Ingleton community centre there was a mass of runners gathering and sheltering from the very cold, raw wind. Once the race started, me and Dave stayed near the front to miss the bottle neck out on to Ingleton High street and up past the old Police station on to the start of Fell lane to Ingleborough and the first of many checkpoints.
Everything seemed to be OK and we were soon in Chapel-le-Dale and on to climb up on to Whernside when I started to have engine failure and the muscles were hurting form the massage. Then after the Whernside checkpoint I tripped descending the ridge and my calf muscle completely tightened up and I was left on the floor in a heap unable to straighten my leg. Game over I thought!
I hobbled off and re joined Dave at the style and managed to descend OK to Kingsdale, but my legs felt crap. Once up on to Gragareth and on our way to Great Coum.
At this point I told Dave to go and run his own race, it was obvious I was slowing him down,  I was going to call it a day at Dent. Once there, I was surprised to pass a few runners on my way to the Dent checkpoint. The food was good here (sausage and beans), it just the lift I needed!

Descending to Redshaw

Plodding on, which I seemed to be able to do. I carried on and started knocking off the checkpoints one by one. Stonehouse another good feed of Pasta and tomato sauce, and the best to come was the Hot dogs at Redshaw.
Onwards and moving in a slow trot,  I just made Fleet moss before 19:00 and was allowed to continue with out been grouped up. I ended up leading a small group across to Middle Tongue and on to Hells Gap at this point the weather really did take a turn for the worse. Very cold wind chill with snow, sleet, and rain. It was really cold and I had put all my layers on. A gentle jog down to the Cray checkpoint and now we were an official group of 4. Cathy, Hester and Paul. The climb on to the summit was windy and cold, and we had to wait near the summit for Paul to catch up and it was really cold. Unfortunately we made too a slow progress due to walking and not running, only Cathy was up for running. We just had to keep pushing on,  to get off the foul top and down to Top mere and to Park Rash. Just one last ascent, Great Whernside, which was slow work and even more so the path to Capplestone gate where we were informed by the Marshall's that the race had be cancelled due to the weather conditions. Onwards and unsure if we would count as finishers we past Yarnbury and at last managed a trot down to the Finish at Threshfield school. Not the finish I was expecting of 18:17 but after all I was going to bin the race at Dent and still managed it with knackard muscles, so I must not grumble and the good news was that I was classed as a finisher as we had past the last road side checkpoint well before the race was cancelled. There were a few cases of wind blindness and hypothermia. One competitor ended up in hospital. Even my Mountain Rescue team (UWFRA) were called out in the early hours to assist a competitor off the hill from Capplestone Gate. I lost the feeling in my toes for about 4 weeks before I got the full feeling back and also minus 4 toe nails..

Me & Dave at the start

Bring on Fellsman 2013 where I will be better prepared and certainly wont be having my legs massaged the day before the race. How we learn by our mistakes.


Moving on through the summer of 2012 the training runs went well with no leg problems. The damaged calf muscle was fixed and a good summer was had. Round the corner was the next race and my first race abroad. After not making the lottery for the UTMB,  knowing that I had 7 points for 2013  I was guaranteed registration for the UTMB 2013. So I entered the Mountainman in Switzerland a 81km race with 5000 meters of ascent. you could say half a UTMB and a good start to trail running in the mountains or Europe.

Mountainman  - 18th August 2012 - Titlis - Hasliberg - Pilatus

I carried on the training in the lakes etc much like my Bob Graham training, plenty of hill work some distance work and I used some of the bridleways like Mastiles lane to use my trail shoes and get used to more hard packed type tracks.

In Switzerland I arrived 3 days before the race start, after much planning and thanks to Rachel's friend Kerry who put us up in Zurich,  I got a look at the area and to see if I could drive up to any of the course where it passed some road stops. I did manage to find one of the checkpoints after a drive up into the mountains to about 1500 meters. The weather was OK about 18 degrees and low cloud which I thought would be great running conditions. Unfortunately the temperature started to rise steeply on the Thursday and Friday before the start.
We stayed in a hotel in Engelberg the night before the race. It is where the race started from, well via a cable car ride.

The Start line Mountainman 2012

Race day

An early start, but only a 5 minute walk to the cable car station in the cool darkness to get a lift with the rest of the competitors up to the start line at Trubsee at about 1800 meters. The start was at 06:30 and it was now light and slowly the mountain air was warming. We were treated to some sounds and the start was sounded by huge firework that shot into the sky. I did here that it came back down and hit a competitor on the shoulder!
The pace soon settled down on the wide track before the first ascent was met up a single track to the first checkpoint (Jochpass) the highest point of the race at around 2400 meters. The next few checkpoints were passed with no problems up reasonable climbs and descents until we landed at the Kaserstatt checkpoint just under 2000 meters before the great descent down to Brunig, about 9km of downhill running, dropping down to the lowest part of the race at just under 1000 meters. In this race what goes down goes back up.

A fine view while running on one of many fine trails

Here I had a race bag with spare supplies in and extra drink powder. The start of this section was the big climb of just short of 10km back up to 2100 meters. The temperatures were ridiculous, up to 37 degrees with no cool air blowing in the mountains at all. The race was very well organised; the full trail was marked all the way and there was food and energy drinks at the checkpoints along with cold water showers to cool off underneath. I hit a bad patch in the middle section,  slowing down due to the intense heat and when I was at the Horweli checkpoint (14km from the finish), I had only 30 minutes to make the next checkpoint and the cut off time. About 7km of my fastest pace of the day saw me make the cut off with 5 minutes spare, this was a great time to get a much needed injection of adrenaline. The last 6km of the race did have 900m of climbing, I kept digging deep and to my surprise passed about 8 to 12 runners on my way to the finish to complete in 15 hours 20 Min's.

The race was very well organised with good distance between food and water stops. I didn't like the taste of Sponser energy drink, but their fuel bars were very tasty, just glad i had some of my own energy tablets to put in the water.
Thanks for Rachel and Kerry supporting me at some of the stages where there was car access for them to park. It was avery good lift to see them and hear them cheer me on. Quite hard running a race when you have no one to run with and chat, well anyone who speaks English.


After Switzerland I decided to enter this years High Peak 40 ultra, which was only 4 weeks after the Mountainman. i decided to do this to see how well my legs had recovered or not!
Not much time to get much running in especially has my legs were still recovering after Switzerland.

High Peak 40 Race Buxton 15th September 2012

Race day
The hardest thing about this race for me is the amount of tarmac bashing, about 35% tarmac and tracks. But still I did enjoy it the year before and It was a test to see how my body had recovered.

Me at the Start

After registration its a short walk to the start of the race and there is only a field of about 250 - 300 runners in this race. It was good to see Cathy Bradley in this race, she had a good result at the end.

The start was good and I managed to be at the front. After crossing a few main roads the race turns down a lane before it climbs its first path for a good off road section to the first checkpoint. After this the tracks were good but I started to have knee pain in my left leg. Some pain killers at the next checkpoint and onwards. My legs started to feel tired now and the after effects of Switzerland were evident. I kept plodding along the course knocking off the checkpoints which have a good selection of cakes etc and plenty to drink. I made a good pace but could feel my tired legs. The day was good weather, not too hot but clear with patchy blue skies. The last long road section was harder this year and my legs felt heavy. Once I had my first view of Buxton, I knew the finish was near. Once nearer I managed to up the pace to the finish to complete the race 1 minute slower than 2011 in 8:22. The selection of warm pies and plenty of brews afterwards and the use of the schools showers make this a very friendly race and well organised. I don't think i'll be entering 2013 due to it been only 2 weeks after the UTMB, and I think my legs will be still a little tired.

Coming into the Finish

Omm 2012 - October- The Howgills

Just a quick mention of this event.
Unfortunately Rachel had to pull out with her knee issue. So Paul Aitken stepped in and we decided to take part in the Medium Score.
The weather on the day was glorious but the wind chill was very very cold.
After our start we made quick progress of knocking off the checkpoints that we had decided to go for in the 6 hours time limit on day 1. The scree was solid on the downhills due to the cold, which made it heavy work on the legs.

Me and Paul at the first road crossing Day 1

We decided to go for one of the further checkpoints that was worth 40 points which turned out to be fairly easy to get to. The day was spent climbing, descending, climbing descending, etc etc. We were both full of cold and I could feel it on my chest making it really hard work. Down to a road crossing, we past Rachel and Tom on their marshaling post. On to the next part of the course we managed another checkpoint, but we missed one and had to make it to the Day 1 finish without incurring a penalty.We did, just, with only 8 seconds spare.
After most teams were in we found out we were in 12th Place. We managed to find a good camping spot and got in the tent to get out of the savage wind. The camp site filled up as this year all classes were using just the one camp site, with about 1500 tents. Some good food was eaten and as it got darker it got colder and the tent was the best place to be.

Day 2 Weather

Day 2

 We woke to typical OMM weather; rain, wind and low cloud. We were up early as were in the chasing start, off at 07:25 we made our way on to the course with only 5 hours to get our points, game on. The first part of the course was hard going with bogs and long tussocks which made hard work running. The weather didn't help either! Back down to a road crossing and we briefly saw Tom and Rachel at another road crossing marshal post. Back on to better running ground, the time was ticking away and we made good progress bagging some more controls with a fine fast descent to the finish with about 8 minutes spare. Once the times and competitors were in we managed 11th Place overall.

Me and Paul, 2nd Road crossing Day 2

It was hard work been full of cold but was an enjoyable event and was great to be out with Paul who is an exceptional navigator, a top job Mr Aitken.

2013 Running Starts Here

The year started with some good runs in the lakes at home, here in the Dales.

This included an extended Kentmere round, going as far as Whether Hill and down to Haweswater to Mardale head back on to Harter fell to complete the round. A good run with Dave Dixon of about 37km and 1900m of ascent.

Dave Dixon running on High Street

The week after we were out in the snowy Dales and  did a loop up on to Threshfield Moor and towards  Malham Tarn and the Monks path to Arncliffe over to Kettlewell back via the Dalesway path. 36km and about 930m of climbing with Dave Dixon.

My first big event of the year was a new race called the Dark Mountains. This race was everything a traditional 2 day Mountain marathon thrown into one winters night. The brain child of Shane Ohly.

Dark Mountains MM January 26th 2013- Muncaster Castle

The wait was over and we were now at the event centre, which was Muncaster castle, at the foot of the Ulpha fells, the southern fells of the Lake district. Our Race start time was 20:00 the first team out in the A- class which myself and Dave had entered.

The weather forecast was poor and the weather running up to the event wasn't good with plenty of snow been thrown down onto the course.

On the night it was windy and light rain at the start. After a walk to the start we waited for our time by some trees sheltering from the very cold wind. Kit I was wearing was; Skins with running tights over the top, thick winter thermal top and Sealskinz socks and gloves with full lightweight waterproofs which stayed on from the start to the finish.

Off we set at 20:00 and we navigated well to the first couple of checkpoints and the weather didn't seem too bad, the rain was very light ( had we missed the bad forecast). Just as we arrived at the 3rd checkpoint there was a very bright flash that lit the whole sky up followed by a very loud rumble! Well that was the start of Armageddon. The night had; strong gale force winds, sleet, rain, and hail. The terrain had ankle to knee deep snow, knee deep slushy bogs full of freezing melt water. It was going to be a very good navigational and mental and physical challenge!

One piece of kit that was invaluable was the Sunto altimeter watch, which as long as I kept up with re-calibration of it at known heights,  allowing us to navigate successful with the use of the map and compass combination. Onwards and on some parts of the course it was were very hard work, deep snow and toe numbing bogs, with melt water, and at one point a waist deep stream crossing which really chilled me to the core. At this point I felt extremely cold and I was struggling to re-warm, hypothermia was evident. Pushing on we managed to navigate to our control points and there was no time to stop until we were against a wall looking for our next checkpoint when we decided we had to stop to get our extra layers on and try eat some food. Fortunately for me I had some spare gloves which was a great idea for me. The Sealskinz gloves were hopeless on taking them off earlier for a pee, all the lining got bunched up and I couldn't get the glove back on properly and I was running round looking like Dr No! and my hands were getting very cold now.

With new dry gloves on I felt much better, and once we had our extra warm layers on we found the next control and made progress to the manned control post. We now just had to keep going not letting the terrible weather beat us. The next control post took a long time to find in the bad visibility and driving rain. After some great navigation on finding the next checkpoint, there was a lift in our spirits. We were now nearing day light and was met with a raging stream in our path, which we had to travel a fair way up stream to find a safe place to cross. With daylight now here we had only 3 control points to find. The first one was easy but the next checkpoint, I made a small navigational error which I blamed on being tired, which cost us at least half and hour before we got the last control post, which took us on the taped and marked path to the finish line to be met with 3 smiling Marshals and hot tea and biscuits, oh yes what a nice sight that was. All we had now was about 1.5 mile walk back to the event centre and the download and a very welcomed full breakfast and more hot steaming tea. Once at the down load we pleasantly surprised to find we were in 2nd Place in the A class, well pleased with that result especially with the very testing conditions. finishing in 13:50 hrs. 

Me and Dave Dixon at the Start line 20:00

Post Dark Mountains, I had suffered bad with Frost nip in my feet a re-occurrence of last years Fellsman. Even after 5 weeks after the Dark mountains the ends of my big toes are still numb to the touch!

Dalesway Run in under 24 hours

Dalesway 1.3.13

I came up with this idea last year, and even bought the Harvey 1:40000 map that covers the whole route. The problem was when and where I was going to fit it in and at what time of year. 

So far for 2013, I had the Dark Mountains, Fellsman, Montane 50, and UTMB scheduled for the year. The only real gap and to use it as useful training was going to be end of February, beginning of March, to give a good recovery period before the Fellsman. 

The Dalesway route approx. 81/82 miles in length 

This run was planned just for myself and Dave Dixon with some planned stops for water and food. 

From the start at Ilkley we would run to Grassington, with a water top in-between. Then Grassington to Beckermonds, with a water top up. Beckermonds to Dent, with a water top up. Dent to above Kendal A6 crossing, with a water stop in-between. Then the last leg A6 crossing to Bowness finish, again with a water top up in-between. The maximum time I was allowing at the main stops was 10 minutes, with just a few minutes to take on water, or top water bottles up.

Depending on which information you read the Dalesway seems to be between 81 to 84 miles. So I worked out a schedule that was a 4 mph pace on average for the whole route.

Only thing to do now, was to wait for the day to arrive and some half descent weather, especially after the Dark Mountains race!

Me and Dave at the start in Ilkley minutes before set off

Race Day ( well not actual a race)

Arriving at Ilkley forty minutes before the 12:00 start gave us plenty of time to take on the day ahead.

Dave's mum was there for the set off and was going to drive the car to the first water stop. As the clock turned 12:00 we were off on the first leg which follows the river Wharfe all the way to Grassington. Here the trick was to settle into a nice steady rhythm  and not get carried away, and ensure we didn't divert off the route over the wrong style, as they were plenty of them. The weather was perfect, cloudy and dry and not too cold. I was happy to hear my first Curlew this year, a sign of spring was round the corner. Time past without any problems and Addingham seem to come and go before  we were running under the A59 on to the old stone bridge and on the Bolton Abbey Estate. Passing the Abbey and over the footbridge back on to good solid paths to the Cavendish Pavilion and back on to the left hand side of the Wharfe and in to Strid woods. From the start  I was surprised at the amount of walkers about on a Friday afternoon, quite busy. Past the Strid which looked quite tame for the good dry spell that we have had a while. Crossing the Wharfe again over the stone bridge we were in sight of Barden bridge and a planned water stop and top up. A quick stop at the bridge and me and Dave had settled nicely into what so far was all runnable from the start. The next part went great, passing Howgill and turning back onto the Wharfe towards Appletreewick. The paths so far were surprisingly dry which made great running. We were soon at Burnsall and crossing the Wharfe again to run past the Red lion pub and back along the left hand side of the Wharfe passing Loup Scar an Impressive outcrop of Limestone.

Me on the move by Loup Scar

The weather had improved and in places there was blue sky and the Sun was threatening to join us.

The running was steady and good and Im sure we were managing to put the world to rights as we travelled, oh and gat and style counting!  Soon we were over the suspension bridge and Grassington wasn't far away at all, this leg seemed allot shorter than it did on paper. Linton Falls and our first view of Grassington bridge. Up through the houses and up on to Chapel Street, and our support crew would hopefully be waiting at the start of Back lane. Met By a very enthusiastic Sid and Sandra and Daves mum we had our first warm brew and sandwich.

Our first stop at Grassington

We were up 40 minutes from my Schedule estimate, and we both felt good after doing the first 16-17 miles. Only problem was that Cathy Bradley was going to run with us from Grassington, but were early. Once fuelled we were off on our leg 2 and we were joined with Sid. We had our first proper climb of the day so far up onto Lea Green, which is easily runnable with fresh legs, and the nice gentle path that traverses this section quite away from the River Wharfe. Now we were above Conistone on past the well named Conistone Pie to very good running until we dropped down past Scargill House on to a small tarmac section. Which we stayed on all the way to Kettlewell, to meet the support crew in the car park and also to meet up with Cathy, who was going to run with us to Dent. A quick top up and we were off back over the wharf and to follow the river on the Left had side all the way to Buckden. In the valley floor we were treated to around 30 - 40 Oyster Catchers which was nice to see on the 1st March. This section was full of wildlife as we spotted a couple of young Deer  not far from us just to the side and then there were more dear, and little further on more running towards Firth Gill. I think we counted nine in total. Passing through Buckden the sky was starting to fade and the night sky wasnt' far away. Fortunately we asked the support crew to meet us at Yockenthwaite, which was a good call as we needed our head torches to get us to the official stop, at Beckermonds. Back over the wharfe and on towards Deep dale which took us back over the wharfe on to the left hand side of the wharfe up the top end of Langstrothdale (one of my favourite areas of the dales). In front we could see  the lights of Beckermonds and our foot bridge to finally leave the Wharfe behind for good to the end of leg 2. Food stop number two and around 29- 30 miles of running completed. This is where we said good bye to Sid for is company all the way from Grassington.
 The next section saw the start of a climb up out of Oughtershaw to the track that leads past Nethergill and Swarthgill  up to Cam Houses, including a very spooky looking end cottage which at night didn't look inviting and spurred us on to quickly do the last climb on to the Cam High road and the Highest part of the Dalesway route. Good running now on the track. The stars above  were amazing, not a cloud in the sky and it was easy to make out the shapes of Penyghent and Ingleborough in the distance. The track led us towards Ribblehead, the train station with it Christmas lights on, well thats what they looked like. Up to Gearstones and a quick top up with water from our support crew and we were climbing up Winshaw and traversing over to the Black Rake road to join the tarmac road down to Dent Viaduct. The road was icy in places which made the descent interesting!

Now for the run along the longest tarmac section of the route and passing a very inviting Sportsman Inn and  the front door was open beckoning us inside. But onwards through the next section which zig zags through fields.  Cathy did a great job with the map over this complicated section, with a few missing way markers. We crossed over the river Dee, where we saw some deep water in a limestone trench which had a beautiful blue tint to it. Onwards and was Dent ever going to arrive. The section from the Viaduct to the village seem to take forever and I am sure someone was moving Dent towards Sedbergh! Following round the North East side of Dent after a few hundred meters, we met the road and it was the end of this long leg. Leg 3 complete, with around 46 miles in total and over  half way. This is where Rachel was to take over the support duties from Sandra and Dave's mum What a great job they did in keeping us fueled up. This is where Cathy left us and what a fantastic job she did at keeping us going and some great map work too.

Me, Dave and Cathy in Dent over 46 miles so far

The night  air was getting colder and it was noticeable more colder down by the rivers. Running down the next few fields we were greeted with a couple of flashes, as Rachel had pulled over to take some photos where we crossed the road back on to the river bank. It was a good job Rachel stopped here, my hands were freezing and my warmer windstopper gloves were needed.

Me and Dave back on the path NW of Gawthrop

Onwards and soon back on Tarmac, until we turned off back over the river and the climb up and over towards Milithrop. With good clear views of  Silhouettes of Crook and Winder and the lights of Sedbergh below. We quickly turned to follow the river Rawthey to skirt Sedbergh before turning up towards Lincolns Inn Bridge and a water top up stop. We arrived and saw a sleeping Rachel in the car. A quick top up and we were away not wanting to cool down in this very chilly winters air. North following the river Lune up to the Crook of Lune bridge and turning, running south, parallel to the M6 motorway. Just over 1km and we crossed the M6 and back to more field and style hopping we crossed the railway line with the start of a Diversion on the Dalesway due to a footbridge at Thursgill that had been washed away last year. This meant over 2 miles of tarmac bashing but it only probably added a few hundred meters to the overall distance. It had now just gone 06:00 and there was light sky slowly appearing behind us. Great I had managed to do the night section without using a Caffeine gel.
We  dropped down a track with the A6 in front, and as we got towards the end of the track and we could see Rachel's car parked up. This time she saw our lights and greeted us at the end of this long leg and now we had completed around 65 miles and now we could get some food down, and for me the need to get  some extra layers on, it was very cold.

Last fuel stop, Extra layers on and scoffing pizza

Off we went over the A6 to pick up a track and now we had left the head torches behind and day light was getting brighter. It was a  cracking morning, clear blue skies and very frozen ground which didn't make running easy on the frozen divots. Good ankle strengthen exercise. Closing in on us was a very large smoking factory north of Burneside and we now picked up the River Kent to follow it all the way to Stavely. On to the road towards Stavely we turned off and under the railway track to the bridge that crosses the A591 and meet up with Rachel for our last water top up before the last few miles towards the finish at Bowness.

Dave Pushing upwards, a cracking morning nearing Bowness

 The last few miles wern't going to let us get to the finish easily, the path climbed and turned left  then right etc etc and Bowness just didn't seem to arrive quickly at all. The cloud was building quite quickly and we were lucky early on to get the best weather of the day. The ground was still very hard and the air was cold after the last few styles and more path turning. Lake Windermere was getting closer then next we seem to be running parallel with the lake and then, eventually we turned back towards the lake.  Rachel met us 200m from the finish and followed us to, at last, the finish of the Dalesway and a very inviting stone bench..

Me and Dave on the last 200m of running to the finish

Well what an outing, great company and we were lucky with the weather. It did feel very cold towards dawn but some fatigue and tiredness will have added to the lowering of our body core temperatures.
I used a Garmin Fenix watch to track the full route and it was set on 'UltraTrac' setting which laid down a GPS point every 1 minute, so there will be a percentage loss in the full distance recorded.
The statistics for this were 129km with 1697m of ascent.  about 80.1 miles and 5566 feet of ascent our average pace was 6km/hour in a total time of 21:50 and with knocking the stops off 20:50 running time.

The end of the Dalesway and a well earned sit down

Dave suffered with a groin problem which worsened towards the last 10 miles or so, I decided to play football with a large rock which caused a very sore toe and impressive blood blister. I also had problems with swollen tendons to my right lower shin area, but this didn't really come on until I stopped running. The Salomon S Lab XA Skin  packs were really good, with excellent weight distribution and comfort. It was nice to have no rub point from a running pack.
A big thanks Dave for an excellent run and for Rachel, Sandra, Cathy, Dave's Mum, and Sid for all there support and help which without there help we wouldn't have been able to complete without carrying everything for the whole route.

December 30th 2011- Kentmere Horseshoe

A good way to end the years running and no better than running with Paul. The weather was a bit damp and it was fine rain when we left the car at the Church in Kentmere. Once at the top of Garburn pass we noticed some light snow on the ground. As we climbed up the path towards Yoke the ground turned more snowy until we were in a few inches of snow and the rain had turned from sleet to full on snow. The next section was quite slippy especially on the down hills. We passed lll Bell and Foswick and then decided to contour round towards because of the worsening conditions towards Mardale lll Bell. This was interesting as we passed some deep filled gulley's that couldn't always hold your weight. Here the snow turned to sleet and hail and the wind made running painful and cold. We stopped briefly at the shelter at Nan Bield pass before climbing up towards the summit of Harter Fell before contouring round and making fast progress to Kentmere Pike and the very fast run down to Hallow Bank. the snow had gone and the terrain was now very wet rock and grass. It was a good end to the year and not so good conditions and to be back to the car in under 3 hours in the conditions was great and it was good for me and Paul to reflect from the years running and us both Successfully completing the Bob Graham Challenge on our first attempts.

Top year Paul looking forward to 2012

Post Bob Graham 3

Just a note really we got some snow the weekend before Xmas which was enough for us to Ski from Park Rash up to the summit of Buckden Pike. I was surprised to see snow as high as the wall tops. Fantastic ski tour with clear views of the Howgills. A fun ski back with plenty of wipe outs from me. about 5 miles and managed to skin all the way to the summit with out walking. Top day out.

Photo- Me and Matt Richardson with Great Whernside in the back ground

Post BOB Graham news 2 HIGH PEAK 40 CHALLENGE

The High Peak 40 Mile Challenge - 17th September 2011

There were two reasons that I decided to enter this race, one was to see how I would cope having done the Bob Graham back in June. Two probably the main reason was to gain 1 point from this race enabling for me to enter the UTMB 2012. Needing 5 points and already gaining 4 points from my Bob Graham.

Reading the information on this race it looked to me that it was a shorter version of the Fellsman Race.

Rachel and I drove down on the Friday night and stayed in a Travel lodge allowing me to get a good nights sleep with a small drive to Buxton to register ready for the 08:00 start.

After reading and studying the maps I had set my self a target of completing it in 10 hours. The race was about 45% Track and Trail and 35% road, so this was certainly going to be a challenge for me. Not a big fan of running long distances on roads. The route was a circular one from Buxton round Chapel -en -le -Frith and over Mam Tor to Castleton over the tops towards Tideswell and back to Buxton.

After the registration I walked down to the start with the other 300 runners. Rachel was going to meet me at some of the check points with any food, drink or kit I needed. Fortunately there was food and water etc at the checkpoints and they ranged from 3 to 4.5 miles apart. This certainly meant I wouldn't need to carry a bladder full of drink and just use a 500 ml bottle.

I made good and steady progress on the run and sometimes ran with other runners on route chatting. The food was great consisting from half's of Banana, cakes, flapjack etc and plenty of Orange juice and water. I spent only a couple of minutes at each stop taking on fuel and water etc and I certainly did better than I did on the Bob G with eating. Allot of the runners on this were Trail and cross country runners which was noticeable when I descended Mam Tor passing many runners. There was only about 40 minutes of heavy rain after the half way mark which fortunately stopped until the finish. I was very pleased with my progress especially on the long tarmac sections which I really felt on my knees and ankles through my fell shoes. towards the end was a run across a field to drop down a very steep limestone path into Deep dale. Here again the fell runner in me was noticeable as I passed about 12 to 15 runners as they walked down the path. Running down gave me good momentum to climb the other side to the last check point at 37.8 miles. Rachel did another good job of passing me some mixed nuts and fruit which i nibbled on the last section of the run towards Buxton. Passing more runners I came into the school gates and still had enough in my legs to blast to the finish in a time of 8 hours 20 minutes. Allot faster than I expected and better still I had no knee problem.

I took advantage of free drinks and hot pies before hitting the school showers to have some runners comment ' Are you that mad bastard that run down the steep path to Deep Dale'
More tea and some stretching and we were leaving Buxton when I though I'd be still running.

This race was a good event and the organisation and support was fantastic from start to finish with good amounts of food and drink on route limiting how much you need to carry, cutting down on weight.

I came in in 86th Place and as I had entered as FRA I was 2nd in the mixed team :)

I would definitely run this again and recommend it to anyone

Oh and I got my 1 point

p.s the Photo is me only 2.8 miles from the finish still running

Post BOB Graham Round news

Six weeks after my round I supported another runner on Leg 3. This was a strange time for me leaving Dunmail Raise at 3:30 ish in the morning and having to use a head torch until the final few hundred meters to Sergent Man. This leg went well for me a nice steady pace until descending from Scafell Pike when my knee problem from my round started to flair up. Richard wasn't confident on Rock climbs so Decided to go via Lords Rake and the West wall traverse to summit Scafell. The descent was hard on my knee but Richards pace was slow enough for me to make do. It was a good run and good test to see how tired would be only six weeks after my Bob Graham.

I continued my running through the Summer months in the dales and some nice runs in the Lakes with no noticeable problems with my knee. Was it finally sorted??

My Bob Graham Round 11th June 2011

Well all the training and planning was over; the day was finally here, it sure crept up quick. The day was a mixture of thinking about the Bob G and thinking even more about the Bob G! Someone said to me that it sure can get inside your head and boy does it; especially the last few hours before the start. The day was spent getting the food and clothing together into some order for the different stops etc.

All day I only managed about 2 hours sleep and come 10 pm it was time to leave Heysham with Rachel at the wheel.

We stopped at Threlkeld to meet and pick up Martin Holroyd and we were soon having a brew inside his camper while watching some lights coming down Halls Fell ridge, (busy all ready!) Paul and Scott arrived and after leaving vehicles there we were off to Keswick. We arrived at the car park and was met by Rhys, Gibbi, and Tom. The banter had already started as I kitted up and past my supplies etc to my first pacers. Through the ginnel into the market square we were met by a good number of Friday night drunks wanting in on the excitement and photo's and also a crowd of more Bob G runners. Actually there were two runners and their pacers getting ready for a mid night start also. Hmm I thought; "its going to be busy up there tonight". After a few pictures and clock watching; the time was approaching for me to put all the hard training into practice. Paul called time (00.00) and we set off on leg 1.

LEG1- with Paul Aitken, Scott Newburn, & Martin Holroyd + Sam and Nel (Paul and Martins dogs)

We set off up hill into station road, I am sure this confused the other two groups. (Rachel: it sure did...they were all mighty confused at your choice of route and asked if you were doing a different race, ha). A quick detour through the leisure centre and we were crossing the footbridge over the A66 and on to the ascent of Skiddaw. Not far behind were all the lights of the other two groups. On the last few metres of the ascent of Skiddaw we found ourselves in low cloud and the first summit was reached 3 minutes up on schedule. Only another 41 Peaks to go!!
Descending along the well marked trod, the other groups in tow had caught us up and we all reached Great Calva together and as we dropped down to Wiley Gill to follow the trod to the River Caldew crossing which was refreshing. One set of lights had dropped behind us and for some reason one group had cut straight across the moor from Great Calva and seem to drop well back. Not what I'd call a short cut as we had followed a good path. All we now had to do was the long ascent over on to Mungrisdale Common and once it leveled off Paul navigated us on to the path; now back in low cloud we started ascending Foule Crag onto the top where we then followed the path to the summit of Blencathra. Now came the descent of Hall's Fell ridge; something I was wanting smoothly out of the way in the Dark. Fortunately the rock was bone dry and grip was good. Paul's Navigation was spot on and the dogs were showing us how to descend it. Looking behind there were no lights! Then looking sidewards we saw lights; the other two groups were descending directly down onto Gate Gill! We were making good progress, we then noticed that the other groups lights were falling further behind. Looks like there choice of route wasn't quicker at all.
Down to the road, we passed a load of support vehicles for the other two groups. We got a good pace going down to the main road to be met by my support crew cheering me across the road into the car park for my 10 minutes stop. Fortunately, my pacers Martin and Paul did a good job of feeding me on leg 1 and Scott supplied me with plenty of fluid. A quick sock and top change; some hot tea, toast and marmalade (Rachel says: who i have Rhys to thank for helping me make them) and half a boiled egg butty (this was going to be the most I hate in the whole of my Bob G). Also assisting Rachel at the stop was as mentioned Rhys and Gibbi and Tom. That was the quickest 10 minutes off my life and no sooner had i sat down i was back up again and we were off for the start of leg 2.

TOTAL LEG 1 TIME: 03:48, 5 minutes up on my schedule.

LEG 2-with Matt Richardson and Mark Rowley

Setting off and leaving the camera flashes and cheers behind we were on the road making our way towards Newsham, no need for Head torches at this time of day now. Once past the old railway carriage we were crossing Old Coach Road and over the style for the ascent up onto Clough Head which was free of cloud. We could see another Bob G group well in front and the other 2 groups behind us had fallen behind. Clough Head was reached in good time and the way ahead looked great with clear views. A good pace was set and the Dodds were past easily, now being 8 minutes up on Schedule. Running down to Sticks Pass and the ascent up to Raise; the summit was finally reached giving us some fantastic views of the Langdales and the rest of my route in the day ahead!
Passing Whiteside and on the ascent to Helvellyn lower man I starting to feel my first feelings of tiredness, not in my legs but just from the lack of sleep. So I took a SIS gel that contained a high dose of caffeine as well as some well needed carbs. Ding......in an instant; literally as fast as you are read this I felt alert and awake again. The trig point at the summit of Helvellyn was reached and past and then we were off on our way on down towards Nethermost Pike and a fine view of Ingleborough was noted. In the distance I could see the last peak of this Leg; Seat Sandal and not thinking about the ascent onto Fairfield too much as we still had Dollywaggon to reach. Again with no problems I was 12 minutes up on schedule. I kept to the same route as in my training; heading down towards Grisedale tarn via the zig - zag path. On descending I started with a shooting pain in my left knee...not good. I thought once we reached the bottom of the path by the outlet of Grisedale tarn it might ease so once there I gave my muscles a massage and took some Ibuprofen.
We took the path up towards Cofa pike and noticed that the other two groups were going the other way round. The knee was less painful on the ascents and I knew the loose scree of Fairfield would be kinder to my knee. At the summit of Fairfield I was now 14 minutes up on schedule. On the descent we passed the other two groups on their ascent, who had fallen further behind by now. One good thing was one of the runners had picked up my Buff which I dropped somewhere around the Dodd section. A few exchanges of 'Go on lads, keep pushing' and we were flying off down the scree with not much pressure on my knee. Down at Grisedale Hause we ran past a pile of rucksacks left by the other group and pushed on up Seat Sandal.
This was an easy ascent and I had a good shot of adrenalin pushing me on now knowing the end of the leg was very near. Once at the summit it was head down for the easy descent down to Dunmail Raise and I could taste the bacon butties waiting for me by now. Keeping to the well worn trod that has now developed due to vast numbers of Bob G recce's and attempts; we were on the descent down to Dunmail and our first sight of the road. The steeper path was greasy and there were a few slips and slides on the descent. Looking down there must have been 20 plus cars parked at the side of the road waiting for groups of runners. The group that were well in front were now not that far in front. Nearing the cars I was welcomed by shouting and cheering and it was nice to see some good friends down there cheering me in to my stop at Dunmail and a scrummy bacon and egg butty. I had made good time on my schedule, increasing it to 33 minutes. Another sock change, a quick massage to my calf and I managed to eat the sandwich as I hadn't eaten on leg 2 as I just couldn't get anything down. A couple of brews and my 15 minute stop was nearly over. I was over whelmed with the support here at the stop. Rachel again in full flow running round like a headless chicken, Val and Kev cooking the wonderful bacon and lots of brews. Gibbi and Tom was there and once again Rhys was there assisting with my sock change. It was good to see Paul and Martin had come through from Threlkeld to see me into Dunmail also.

LEG 2 TIME- 07-57, 33 minutes up on schedule

LEG 3- with Ken Robinson, Ian Harland, Ed Poulter

Ken set off 10 minutes before me to get his legs warmed up. The rest of us crossed the style to make the steep ascent out of Dunmail and up the gulley to the flat path that took us on to Steel Fell. The views ahead were good and not far in front was another Bob G group. I was starting to feel very tired and low at this point and was still getting pain from my knee. Ken started a word game of naming ports from the letters of the Alphabet. This helped to take my mind off the task ahead and passed the time as we were soon passing Calf Crag and I was now overall 21 minutes up on my schedule. We were now ascending the side of Mere beck when the group in front turned right to make the climb to High Raise first. We continued up and across to Sergeant Man and the summit was reached still keeping my 21 minutes, up on schedule. We set off across to High Raise when we noticed the other group were coming along the path leading from the other small cairn north east of High Raise! Hmmm. We were now on our way to Thunacar and I tried a slice of pizza which had now lost its appeal to me. I also had another Gel with caffeine to give me a much needed kick. Thunacar passed quickly and the group in front were moving off into the distance. Harrison Sickle came and somehow I was still 20 minutes up on schedule. A fine run down and then the ascent up to Pike 'o' Sickle. Ken and Ian went on the path below and waited for Ed and I to arrive from the summit. More drinks were passed to me ready for the run across to Rossett Crag. We follwed the direction of the Langdale fell race trod and on the descent to Stake Gill we had once again caught the other group up. My knee was certainly feeling the descents and having to put the pain to the back of my mind was barely working. On the path up towards Rossett Crag we over took the other group by the summit and I was now 17 minutes up on my schedule. Now we were on the descent to Rossett Gill to meet Alan Stockdale with some supplies for the next section. Katie had also walked up to meet us at this point and cheer us on. Fortunately Alan had brought some rice pudding and I managed to down one of these and drink a half litre of water and get another 1.5 litres of liquid as I had drunk the other 1.5 litres. I was certainly getting the fluid down me on Leg 3. Katie had a good look at m leg and was happy there was no ligament damage but more like swelling to the ligaments maybe caused by a tight calf muscles. This stop took 10 minutes off my schedule but it was much needed and I was really glad Alan had come on the day and brought plenty off stuff for me and my support. It was really shame I couldn't get the butties down my neck as they looked really nice. Now for the ascent by Hanging knotts to Bowfell. No sign now of the other group ahead but near the top Ken and Ian saw the other group had gone too far right instead of upwards. Just me and Ed ran to the summit of Bowfell as the others waited for us. Once past all the masses of walkers and sticks around the summit I was still 17 minutes up on schedule. On making our way down towards the others, the other group appeared over the lip off the path. At this point I realised we hadn't seen the other 2 groups that set off at the same time as me from the moot hall. Esk Pike was passed and we were making good progress now to Great End now 22 minutes up on my schedule. I had come out of my bad spell and wasn't thinking about my knee, Katie left us now to return to Langdale. As we made our way to Ill Crag Ken decided to push on to see Alan at broad stand and give him heads up we were getting near. Ill crag was passed and a scramble over boulders back to the path and the climb up onto Broad crag; we had to climb amongst the large boulders to get to the summit still being 22 minutes up on schedule. As we dropped down we had to again pick our way through the masses of walkers when another very fast moving Bob Graham threesome passed us and they were actually running up to Scafell Pike. It turned out later that this lad (not sure of his name) completed the round in 14 hours 59 minutes- the fourth ever fastest time, good effort. Back to earth and the top of England was reached 21 minutes up on schedule. Just the descent to do, passing the Mountain rescue box to hear shouts of encouragement from Alan and Ken. What a cracking job Alan Scowcroft had done with the rigging up Broad Stand and we were soon up it. I was a bit slimmey in places thanks to the previous weeks rain but was passed without problem. Just Scafell left on this leg and once reached I was 26 minutes up on schedule. The descent wasn't good for me; the stress on my knee and the knife like pains piercing through me kept making me stop. I thought this knee problem was going to stop me from completing my round. Just in time the scree had arrived and I could now ski down taking the pressure off my Ligaments. We were now on the bottom section of Brown tongue and crossing the river to take the track ready to be met by a large crowd cheering me on at my next stop. I saw some familiar faces and I shouted 'I'm going straight to the stream, get my stuff down to me' so i ran passed the cars and I was over the fence and in the icy water, thank god for cold mountain water. Amazingly I was still 24 minutes up on schedule. Rhys soon arrived with tea and flap jack and amazingly I got it down my neck. The tea tasted good. I spent a while in the water as the rest of my team started to arrive including Watto with my pasta. Out of the water on a rock I drank more tea and tried to eat the pasta as Watto and Rhys removed my foot ware and socks. The next set of pacers were being loaded up with Leg 4's food, drink and the much needed gels by Rachel and co. More Ibuprofen down my neck and the 20 minutes were nearly up.

LEG 3 TIME - 14:09 21 minutes up on schedule

LEG 4 with- Rhys Watkins, Peter Keron and Sam Watson

Off we went and I knew at the back of my mind I had the largest ascent of the Bob Graham facing me; Yewbarrow some 500 meters of ascent up to the summit. Before the style I had a pee stop which worried the team below, wondering what i was doing and thinking I'd burnt out before the climb had even started. Up and up and up we went and I remembered trying not to look behind me as this ascent is unforgiving when your tired and after being on your feet 14 plus hours it can mess with your head. Rhys kept drip feeding me with jelly beans and chocolate peanuts what was welcome. Sam kept passing me water and I have to say the lads did a great job of getting me up to the summit of Yewbarrow, now being 24 minutes up on my schedule. Maybe it was the drip feeding by Rhys or his terrible jokes. On to the cairn and we dropped on the trod below stirrup crags and onwards to the start of the climb for Red Pike. This goes on for quite a bit, it's not as vicious on the legs as Yewbarrow but the summit does seem to take its time to arrive. Still 23 minutes up on Schedule we still hadtime to take in the views and beautiful skies. Over Scoat fell and then down and up to Steeple; now 25 minutes up on time and we were back tracking to Scoat fell and after the summit we passed the other group that I had passed at Bowfell. The knee was still reminding me it was there on the descents (ouch), and the team kept thrusting bottles to me in all directions and Rhys kept the nibbles coming. I necked some more Gel just to keep me on top of things as we were now at Pillar summit dropping to 21 minutes up on my schedule. We now noticed there was extensive cloud starting to build up behind us, boo. We were soon down to Black sail pass and the climb up to Kirk fell. I was slowing up on the steep climb but once on the less steep ground, my pace picked up and I was much quicker; we eventually got to the top of Kirk Fell, now only 16 minutes up on my schedule. Not to dwell on time, we were soon making our way off Kirk fell and onto the steep drop down towards Beckhead tarn where Drew was waiting for us with a fresh top up of water and goodies. What a excellent job that was as again i was drinking lots but still not able to eat much. Not to hang around we started the ascent of Great Gable when the heavens decided to open making the top rocky section wet and greasy, undeterred by this the summit of Gable was reached, still 16 minutes up on schedule; this was a good feeling now as this was the last real climb on this leg. Down the rocky path I managed to side step to large boulders coming straight at me that tried to stop my Bob G attempt!!! Down at Wind Gap we were then climbing up to Green Gable in low cloud and I asked for a bearing to be taken for Brandreth as this could have easily be missed meaning a loss of precious time. It wasn't missed and we were there, 18 minutes up on scedule and now easy going, following the fence towards Grey Knotts and the lonely Silhouette of Adam Collinge was met with some extra juice. A quick hello and goodbye and we were on the final descent of this Leg. It was worth noting here that the rain had stopped and the cloud had lifted.
I decided to send Sam off ahead to Honister to tell the support that I was wanted rice pudding and lots of cups of tea again with my inability to eat during the leg. This at first probably worried the support at Honister as the lonely figure of Sam flying down towards them (Rachel adds, it did, we were all stood there wondering where you were and if you were ok. If anyone who knows Sam he does fly on the descents! But not to worry as we were soon on the small rise before the decent down to the cars and we were spotted from below (Rachel add: to great relief to all of the gang who were going...."come on Andy, where are you"). I once again put the pain of me knee behind me, as down at the bottom I was again greeted by large cheers and clapping from my own support and the support teams from the other runners. This was going to be a quick stop and it was good to see everyone once again. Rachel set off on leg 5 a few minutes before I was due to, to get a head start on the ascent. Support here was Gibbi and Tom, Viv and Mick Platt and this was another cracking job done by support keeping me going and my support runners fed and watered me up ready for the final leg and push to the end. My last sock change thanks to Watto and I was ready to leave.

LEG 4 TIME- 19.32 17 minutes up on schedule

LEG 5 with - Paul Aitken, Rhys Watkins, Keith Hill and Rachel Platt :) and Sam the dog

I was really glad Rachel was joining me on my last leg, all I needed to do now was keep going and hope the knee didn't just give up, not fall, or get lost. No pressure then. To say this is the last big ascent, it really is a kind one and the summit of Dale head was met, 12 minutes up on Schedule. Only 2 summits left!
The run was good and towards the summit of Hindscarth the cloud was met again. We returning to the direct trod towards Robinson, spirit was high, liquid and nibbles were been passed to me and the last part of the ascent for Robinson was in low cloud. Sam managed to find Rachel already waiting for us at the summit of Robinson after luckily finding the summit in about 2meter ziv and touch down; I was touching summit 42, my final summit of my attempt. A cheer from my support and a very big smile from me...(Rachel adds: and me and the gang inc Sam).
Some back slapping done and it was then once again, back to reality, we still had to negotiate the rocky section down to little town and the few miles of road that lay ahead. Down we went and the cloud was left behind on the peak to leave open views of the task ahead and a fantastic view down the valley to Keswick in the distance which unfortunatly still looked along way away. Passing the first rocky section which had been affected by the rain as it was quite greasy in places. We passed another Bob G group, unfortunately for them they were 25 hours plus over their time. The last rocky section was passed safely, more smiles from me and we heading along High Snab Bank to the last descent down to the track. My pace seem to pick up as we were now on the tarmac and round the corner we met the support where I downed a quick brew, Rachel and Rhys called it a day and what a job Rhys did on the last 2 legs. He did a great job of trying to feed me and feeding my more with plenty of encouragement. Thanks for Rachel as she had spent the last few hours running here there and everywhere making sure I had everything where I needed it and now got to run Leg 5 with me and share the elation of summiting my last summit. (Rachel adds: I was so pleased to run your final leg with you after such a hectic 20 odd hours making sure you got here alright).

Now the last 4 to 5 miles of tarmac laid between me and Keswick and the completion my first ever Bob Graham Round. I didn't change my footware as my feet felt good; surprisingly. It was head down and off we went. Paul kept committing; I was still strong and I felt good until I hit the up hill bits. Its not always a good idea to stop running as it gets harder to get going and back into a rhythm again. But as the cars passed us Tom Hainsworth joined us for the last section to Keswick. We passed the Rachel, Viv and Gibbi as they had stopped to take photos of me passing. Deja -vue Paul? It was getting dark now in the tree sections and I saw a sign post that said Portinscale 1.5 mile.

As we got to Portinscale Paul said "you could make a sub 23 hour time". That's all it took and I was off; down and over the foot bridge, flying to the gate and the long path through the fields which seemed to go on and on and on. Eventually we hit the gate and the turning onto the tarmac and the straight run now for Keswick town centre and the Moot hall. As we got closer the feeling inside was amazing; I knew i could crawl now and I'd make it. Just a few drunken people on their Sat night out to weave in and out of and then there it was; beckoning me on. Suddenly there were loud volumes of cheering from my support and an even from the bigger crowd of other Bob G teams that had congregated round the Moot hall waiting and then in a flash; there i was slamming my hands down on the doors of the Moot Hall. Yes yes yes I did it and under 23 hours. What a feeling as Rachel grabbed me with a fantastic congratulations, followd by Rhys and Paul. What a great feeling that all the time, effort and hard graft that I had put in in the past half a year, surely had just paid off. Afterwards we all stood for about 20 minutes talking about the day, lots of pictures being taken for the future look back it was time for Rachel to drive me home to a welcomed bath and bed.

I didn't eat as i wished i had of done on my round but boy, I sure did drink; I reckon I consummed around 13 - 14 lites of fluid!! I'm sure I over do it. Wish I could just eat when I run after about 5 hours i Just can't, any suggestions would be useful ( NO- i am not stopping running)...what next!!

LEG time and completion of the Bob Graham round 22.49 - 11 minutes up on my 23 hour schedule.

A big thanks to the runners- Paul Aitken, Martin Holroyd, Scott Newburn, Matt Richardson, Mark Rowley, Ken Robinson, Ed Poulter, Ian Harland, Rhys Watkins, Peter Keron, Sam Watson, Keith Hill, Rachel Platt, Katie Bedford, Tom Hainsworth


Support- Ian Watson, Kev & Val Rowan, Mick & Viv Platt and also to Rachel Platt for been at every stop running around and organising and also supporting me through my hard running schedule this year and joining me on runs and providing a very good taxi service. Offering me words of encouragement and sorting out my achey legs in the early parts of the years as I pushed myself outside my comfort zone. Rachel did a fantastic job at all levels.

Gibbi for been at every stop except Wasdale and for giving me lots of useful tips and advice over the 6 months or so, which I took on board and used to its fullest.

Also another big thanks to Paul my running partner on many Bob G recci's this year, some fantastic days out in all weathers a really good mate to have by your side, and it was really nice to be part of his succesful Bob G round back in May, as he was part of my successful round. wooooo:)

Come on Paul we need to get p!$$ed now.

Alan Scowcroft for rigging Broad stand - a job well done the rigging was spot on and to a really high standard ( I wasn't supprised, just pleased). Alan Stockdale for feeding us at Rossett Gill. Drew Holland for much needed extra liquid below Great Gable. Adam Collinge for extra liquid and a friendly face at Grey Knotts.

Thanks to everyone who sent me good luck messages and for congratulating me after wards.

On reflection, Maybe I could have done it quicker if the knee hadn't pack in and maybe I might sort out the inability to eat when running long distance. Not a foot wrong was put, but i was very lucky with the weather. Would I do it again, of course, what a cracking day out on the fell. What next? Wait and see and i'll keep this blog live, it would be nice that any would be Bob Graham first timers read it and use any part of it to assist them on their attempt. What advice could I give? Get to know the route, try different foods and drinks out. Do plenty of stretching and more than anything plan your attempt well in advance and get plenty of mile in't legs.


It as been a humbling experience for me of how much support I have recieved from all levels and from all parts of the Globe. Thanks Simon, Fiona and Wap man (William) for your messages from Oz and I loved the card- cheers guys.

Cheers Andy J ( the very Happy One)

P.S I am now an offical member of the Bob Graham Club :)

I will hopefully up load photos somewhere for you to view, watch this space

A Very happy person :)

This just a quick blog to say that all the hard work and training paid off with me completing the Bob Graham in 22 hours 49 Min's. As I am very tired today (poor excuse) I will write a blog of the full days events as there are so many people to thank.

Update for the Update !!

To see who's doing what and where read the last Blog which I have edited to update the definate's on the legs etc.

The training run finished with me running Leg 2 for Paul on his very successful Round. Setting off at Threlkeld at 04:15 in the morning, dawn had broken the rain had started and the winds were very High. Unfortunately Paul had lost 15 minutes on Leg 1 and then the second pacer with me dropped out before reaching the summit of Clough Head. So carrying on with even heavier bag, we fought the winds which were gusting around 70 mph knocking me off me feet twice climbing towards Lower Helvellyn. At times i felt i was in neutral with these winds. Navigation was very good to say the cloud was well down and I was glad to say we completed the Leg in 4 hours 3 minutes and gain back Paul's lost 15 Min's and increasing his lead by another 15 minutes. The worse bit for me was that I managed to pick up a bug from Gaping Gill and it knocked allot out of me.
I have managed some small runs locally just to keep the legs moving and I hope this cold will be out of my system enough for me to complete the round this weekend

Well done Paul in His 21 hour 24 minutes completion of the Bob G, I was glad to be a part of it- well done mate and see you at the Moot Hall on Friday night