The plan for this weekend’s Bob Graham recce had been to run legs 3 and 4 over two days, but having damaged the ligmanets above my ankle mid march the recce was taken at a much steadier pace. If the BG attempt in May is to go ahead I will need to be able to train hard in the next few months, so the injury is a big concern and a considerable setback. Coming to the lakes did, however provide an opportunity for me to test my ankles recovery and get to know some new members of my support team and familiarise them with the route.
Friday - Leg 3 ish
James Charlton, Scott Gibson (both Nurthumberland Fell Runners) and I met at Dunmail Raise on Good Friday morning, the plan being to walk from there along Leg 3 as far as time allowed; I had anticipated a 6-8 hour walk heading back via an appropriate route to finish at Seathwaite where Rosie would pick us up.
On the climb up Steel Fell it was evident that my ankle would hold up ok on the climbs and we made good time. Scott will be supporting Leg 3 of my attempt and he was keen to understand my preferred route and learn from my previous experience and recces. The navigation over to Calf Crag was easy enough, following the trods to the last fence post before heading off on a bearing to the summit. Although I was walking briskly I could not run without significant pain in my ankle so we stuck to a fast walk. Scott had previously taken the Raise to Sergeant Man option, but as my preference is to take Sergeant Man first we followed that route - covering this section proved worthwhile as twice we ventured slightly off course and agreed on the more efficient line to Sergeant Man and then up to Raise.
The pikes were straightforward – taking the direct line off Harrison Sickle confirmed that taking the grassier route to the right is the easier line, which I had used on previous runs. We followed a good runable line cutting up round the north side of Rossett Pike before taking out Bow Fell. Despite only walking these legs we managed to beat my target 22hr BG splits which was reassuring, however, the rockier ground from there on proved too uncomfortable for my ankle and we continued more slowly as far as Great End before heading back to Esk Hause and down to Seathwaite.
Saturday – Leg 4 ish
James, Andrew Burton, Andrew’s girlfriend Sarah and I met at Seathwaite to do a loop over sty head and into Wasdale to recce some of leg 4 and get another 4 to 5 hours out in the hills. My ankle wasn’t too sore after yesterday’s walk so I we set off at a brisk walk again, hoping that a similar intensity would not push my luck.
The walk up over into Wasdale gave good views of the hills around, with the cloud above the summits and a dry start to the day. It was difficult not to be frustrated at having to take it easy, but a few short sections jogging on flat grass reminded me that my ankle was far from right and I satisfied myself with pushing out a fast march up the climb onto black sail pass.
From the pass we followed the BG route, taking a scrambley line right of the shoulder up Kirk Fell. On the climbs I was feeling strong and managed to comfortably meet the BG splits, which is understandable given that they take into account the fact that I will have been on the go for 18 hours by this point on an attempt.
As with yesterday I struggled on the downhills, particularly the rocky descent of Great Gable. Andrew managed the “test of man” and ran from windy gap to the top of Green Gable, I wasn’t far behind having marched hard all the way up.
I took care on the descent from the back off base brown having fallen there a few weeks ago - every downhill this weekend made me realise that it is not the 8500m of climb that was concerning me about the BG, but the 8500m of descent. Descending at a walk is certainly much harder on the quads and knees than running down at a relaxed pace.
Friday - Leg 3 ish
James Charlton, Scott Gibson (both Nurthumberland Fell Runners) and I met at Dunmail Raise on Good Friday morning, the plan being to walk from there along Leg 3 as far as time allowed; I had anticipated a 6-8 hour walk heading back via an appropriate route to finish at Seathwaite where Rosie would pick us up.On the climb up Steel Fell it was evident that my ankle would hold up ok on the climbs and we made good time. Scott will be supporting Leg 3 of my attempt and he was keen to understand my preferred route and learn from my previous experience and recces. The navigation over to Calf Crag was easy enough, following the trods to the last fence post before heading off on a bearing to the summit. Although I was walking briskly I could not run without significant pain in my ankle so we stuck to a fast walk. Scott had previously taken the Raise to Sergeant Man option, but as my preference is to take Sergeant Man first we followed that route - covering this section proved worthwhile as twice we ventured slightly off course and agreed on the more efficient line to Sergeant Man and then up to Raise.
The pikes were straightforward – taking the direct line off Harrison Sickle confirmed that taking the grassier route to the right is the easier line, which I had used on previous runs. We followed a good runable line cutting up round the north side of Rossett Pike before taking out Bow Fell. Despite only walking these legs we managed to beat my target 22hr BG splits which was reassuring, however, the rockier ground from there on proved too uncomfortable for my ankle and we continued more slowly as far as Great End before heading back to Esk Hause and down to Seathwaite.
Saturday – Leg 4 ish
James, Andrew Burton, Andrew’s girlfriend Sarah and I met at Seathwaite to do a loop over sty head and into Wasdale to recce some of leg 4 and get another 4 to 5 hours out in the hills. My ankle wasn’t too sore after yesterday’s walk so I we set off at a brisk walk again, hoping that a similar intensity would not push my luck.The walk up over into Wasdale gave good views of the hills around, with the cloud above the summits and a dry start to the day. It was difficult not to be frustrated at having to take it easy, but a few short sections jogging on flat grass reminded me that my ankle was far from right and I satisfied myself with pushing out a fast march up the climb onto black sail pass.
From the pass we followed the BG route, taking a scrambley line right of the shoulder up Kirk Fell. On the climbs I was feeling strong and managed to comfortably meet the BG splits, which is understandable given that they take into account the fact that I will have been on the go for 18 hours by this point on an attempt.
As with yesterday I struggled on the downhills, particularly the rocky descent of Great Gable. Andrew managed the “test of man” and ran from windy gap to the top of Green Gable, I wasn’t far behind having marched hard all the way up.
I took care on the descent from the back off base brown having fallen there a few weeks ago - every downhill this weekend made me realise that it is not the 8500m of climb that was concerning me about the BG, but the 8500m of descent. Descending at a walk is certainly much harder on the quads and knees than running down at a relaxed pace.
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