Steve Coates' Bob Graham Round

Category: report

Written by Steve Coates - https://storify.com/Coatesology

First done way back in 1932 by Bob Graham, hotelier of Keswick, Cumberland, at the age of 42, the 42 Peak Round has become a testing ground for the supremely fit. Each summer around 100 of the most highly tuned ultra-distance fell runners will attempt the 27,000 ft of ascent within the allotted 24 hours. Only one in three will return to the Keswick Moot Hall before the clock runs down. Most of the rest will be back again ...!

The Bob Graham 24 Hour Club

The official web site of the The Bob Graham 24 Hour Club
  3. I'd heard a bit about the Bob Graham Round on club pack runs years ago, club mate Jim Rogers held it highly in his impressive list of achievements and at that time this was enough to place it outside the limits of my abilities.
  4. I don't remember when, but at some point I got hold of a copy of "Feet in the clouds" by Richard Askwith, which unravels his personal journey into fell running and ultimately an obsession with the Bob Graham Round. As far as I'm aware this is probably one of, if not the, most compelling books about running ever written. Highly recommended, below links to a video of Richard Askwith speaking at the Live More Lectures in Devon on 5/05/2012. Richard talked about the joys and agonies of a sport that requires not just stamina, speed and agility but also hardiness, resourcefulness and guts - and explained why fell-running is, in his view, far closer to the true spirit of sport than cash-rich, result-obsessed multinational circuses such as the Olympics.
  5. It's worth listening to right through, but at 13 minutes 45 seconds he begins talking about the Bob Graham Round and his passion is obvious and typical of all runners who get a taste for this classic fell running challenge!
  6. Feet in the Clouds by Richard Askwith
     
  7. More recently in I believe 2013, Bill Crowther, a friend from Barracuda Triathlon Club, had attempted 'a round' or 'BGR' as it's sometimes referred to and had finished, but outside the 24 hour limit, due to tough conditions.
  8. Then in 2014 Bill got in touch to ask if I might like to support Stuart Little from Beverley AC on his BGR attempt.
  9. So, on 23rd August 2014 I accompanied Stuart on legs 1 and 2 which traverse Skiddaw, Great Calva and Blencathra from Keswick to Threlkeld; and over the Helvellyn range from Threlkeld to Dunmail Raise. A little matter of 26.3 miles and 11,000 feet of ascent. We set off at 9pm,witnessed by East Hull Harriers own Mike and Bev Jackson who were staying in Keswick at the time on their own personal Lakeland mission of climbing all of the Wainrights, but that's another story! Stuart then went on with others supporting and completed the round in 23:27 triumphantly! A brilliant achievement.
  10. Earlier this year Bill got in touch again, did I fancy supporting his second attempt? There was no question! The chance to assist in this pursuit is relished by many, I've seen posts on the fell runners association forum become flooded with offers of support, simply because it is such a brilliant challenge to be a part of. By this time I'd also thought long about how perhaps this challenge was no longer beyond my capabilities and so I offered to carry food and water for Bill on legs 4 and 5, which run from Wasdale Head to Honistor and then Honistor to Keswick respectively. It was no secret by this time that I had the alterier motive of trying to learn two new sections of the route, the navigational element of the challenge is huge and without good support runners to assist even fewer attempts would succeed than already do. Another successful round and shared joy for all involved to see Bill finish at Moot Hall in the town centre, the official start and finish.
  11. I'd registered to try myself in May, but after 2 months off with plantar fasciitis (foot pain) I put it off. However this meant that I could support another friend, Paul Nelson from Wetherby runners. Paul has some pedigree in endurance running and went on to achieve a sub 20 hour round, which is a brilliant effort and it was again great to play a part in this.
  12. There were a number of other trips across to recce routes; the quickest or easiest way to traverse from one peak to the next; and equally important for a flat-lander from Hull was to spend some hours on the fells to train for long rocky ascents and descents. I found myself studying race routes to see which ones covered the same ground as the BGR. The 10 Peaks race in June was a good recommendation from Paul, which allowed me to familiarise myself with the area that leg 3 covers.
  13. Bob Graham himself was 42 when he completed his round and so I was quite determined to attempt it this year, as I too am 42. Unfortunately I'd stacked a few races towards the Summer months and rescheduling from May was not easy. I decided to gamble on being able to recover from the Lakeland 100 in three weeks. This would be the closest thing to a BGR I'd done and is notoriously tough. A 105 mile tour of the lakes including 6300m ascent, I can tell you it didn't look good for a few days afterwards, but after a week off I got some training in and decided to go through with it.
  14. Before setting off.
    Before setting off.
     
  15. It's a number of weeks before a BGR attempt that most plans must be laid down. This is because the commitment of your supporters is so extensive, as to support a single leg of a round requires at least half a day, or night, in order to be ready and in the right place at the right time. The pay off of being organised and gaining good supporters is being able to switch off during the challenge. I had guys taking off my wet and muddy shoes and socks to clean my feet and put clean kit on at 12:30am in the rain after leg 1 and already, only three and a half hours in, I felt humbled by their commitment to me. Something I'll not easily forget!
  16. At this point I must thank those who supported my round, without whom there is no way that I could have attempted the challenge, let alone complete it!
  17. Road support: Dave Anderson and Mike Vinegrad.
  18. Leg 1 (Keswick to Threlkeld): Stuart Little, Paul Nelson, Chris Swanepoel and Andrew Walsh.
  19. Leg 2 (Threlkeld to Dunmail Raise): Adrian Kamis, Howard Seal and Paul Tierney.
  20. Leg 3 (Dunmail Raise to Wasdale Head): Raj Mahapatra and Jim Rogers.
  21. Leg 4 (Wasdale Head to Honistor): Bill Crowther, Kevin Easley and Mike Vinegrad.
  22. Leg 5 (Honistor to Keswick): Rupert Bonington, Bill Crowther, Kevin Easley and Dave Troman.
  23. A special mention too to Mountain Fuel who were like the 12th man, although there's actually already 15 listed above! Obviously nutrition is vital to a challenge of this nature and their energy products provided a sustained supply of energy and nutrients that are optimal and vital in meeting such a challenge. mountainfuel.co.uk/
  24. Thumbnail for Mountain FuelMountain Fuel
    AdventureFuel #CyclingFuel #FeelGoodFuel #FellRunningFuel #IronManFuel # MarathonFuel #Mountain Fuel #MountainFuel #MountainFueled #MountainFueler #MountainFuelled #ObstacleCourseRacingFuel #OCRFuel # PBFuel #RunningFuel #SportiveFuel # ThisIsWhyWeRun #TrailRunning #TrailRunningFuel #TriFuel #UltraFuel #UltraRunningFuel Adventure Sport Andrew Slattery Boxing Dave Troman Duathlon Energy Fuel Iron Man Kayaking Kick Boxing MKGEMMA Night Fuel Obstacle Course Events Obstacle Course Racing OCR Paul Jeffrey Recovery Fuel slider Trail Running Triathlon Ultra Runner Ultra Running Ultra Running Nutrition Ultra training
  25. There are countless others who have offered advice and support who all deserve my thanks too and I look forward to seeing them and thanking them.
  26. The preparation I put into this will probably change the way I prepare, train, race and recover in the future, such is the magnitude of what was involved. The pictures below give you some idea of just kit and food.
  27. When it comes to foot problems, prevention is the best cure!
    When it comes to foot problems, prevention is the best cure!
     
  28.  
  29. Pancakes and gels made using Mountain Fuel.
    Pancakes and gels made using Mountain Fuel.
     
  30. Supporter's fuel.
    Supporter's fuel.
     
  31. Leg 1 was tough, after a short run out of Keswick the first climb begins up Skiddaw which, although only the 6th highest mountain in the lakes and England, is the longest continuous ascent on the route. Not a bad one to get out of the way really! It took 79 minutes, but before that 1st hour had passed it was raining quite heavily and continued throughout most of leg 1, over Great Calva and Blencathra. Not ideal conditions for a night run in the mountains, but by no mean untypical of this challenge. 3 hours 43 minutes, 13 minutes over schedule.
  32. Threlkeld, quarter to one in the morning, leg 1 done!
    Threlkeld, quarter to one in the morning, leg 1 done!
     
  33. Leg 2 was also tough, I think I'll stop stating the obvious here, clearly it wasn't going to get easier as we went on! A long ascent on to Clough Head gains you 2382 feet of height and a bit like on a roller coaster this leg goes up and down, but you don't lose all of that height again until the end. This section has some good "runnable" trails and includes the Helvellyn range and 12 of the 42 peaks. At the end you descend to the road at Dunmail Raise and as we did so at about 5:30am we had witnessed the dawn over the peaks yet to come.
  34. BGR Leg 2 fly by.
  35. Leg 3 saw me in the experienced hands of Raj Mahapatra and Jim Rogers, I was already 50 minutes behind my schedule, but this was probably an ambitious one and the main goal was always to break the all important 24 hour mark and gain membership of the illustrious Bob Graham Club. So for the next six and a half hours we continued on to Wasdale Head, ticking off the peaks as we went, including Steel Fell, Calf Crag, Sergaent Man, High Raise, Thunacar Knot, Harrison Stickle, Pike O'Stickle, Rosset Pike, Bow Fell, Esk Pike, Great End, Ill Crag, Broad Crag, Scafell pike and Scafell. I was in good spirits and admitted to having tried to write an acrostic, a poem based on the first letters of the peaks in correct order, as an aid to memory really. Raj and Jim were clearly disappointed when I also admitted to being unable to remember the poem. I hadn't slept since the previous afternoon and hadn't stopped moving for any more than 15 minutes in the previous 12 hours, in my defense. However, as a tribute to their dedication and dare I say it, Alfred Wainright, here is the verse for leg 3.
  36. Sunlight Calmly Soothes Home Truths Hearts Pine Roses Bow Embers Glow Igneous Breaks Scaffolding Shakes
  37. You don't need to say anything when you see me next, I know, words sometimes fail me too....!
  39. Leg 3 to Leg 4 was not as smooth a transition as it might have been!
    Leg 3 to Leg 4 was not as smooth a transition as it might have been!
     
  40. Leg 4 and I was joined by Bill Crowther, Kevin Easley and Mike Vinegrad; it was the first point that I had a really severe problem getting moving. Following a long steep descent off Scafell and a 15 minute break to change socks and shoes and refuel, I found my legs and hips had stiffened to the point that I couldn't even walk properly, never mind run! My knees were sore and having dropped down to 'lake level' the only way was up and the climb up Yewbarrow is renowned for it's tough and unrelenting gradient. On the plus side there was never any possibility of a fast pace going up there, so it was a case of just keeping moving and chipping away at it. I felt pretty awful, but we reached the top in 46 minutes, only a minute slower than prescribed by the 21:45 schedule that I had originally set myself. Looking back on the recorded data I was climbing at the scheduled pace, but losing time descending and this was frustrating, but a result of not having fully recovered from the Lakeland 100 where I had trashed my quad muscles 3 weeks earlier. I know I said I'd stop mentioning that it was tough, but it's worth noting that leg 4 includes approximately 6500 feet of ascent and descent in 11 miles, which even having done it recently is difficult to comprehend as a flatlander. For comparison the popular Ferriby 10 course from Skidby, near Hull, has about 1300 feet of ascent and descent in it's 10 miles and is thought of as a "hilly" course by many! Worth taking note of for when someone decides to point out: "you only have to average....minutes per mile to do a Bob Graham", be advised to walk away from these people and discard anything they said!
  41. Leg 4 of the Bob Graham Round
  42. By the end of leg 4 I was 2 hours and 5 minutes down on my schedule, which made the whole challenge very much touch and go. 21:45 + 2:05 = 23:50 and most of the time had slipped in the last couple of legs, it definitely wasn't getting any easier! 23:50 provided a slim margin for error and that was if I ran leg 5 on schedule, something I hadn't managed to do on legs 1, 2, 3 or 4! I admit to having some doubts at this point and it was the support of the guys around me that prevented the doubts turning to fear, you can't afford to be afraid to fail with these things, any negative emotions creeping in will certainly increase the chances of failure!
  43. Leg 5 was to be as important as the rest, I'd hoped to have time to spare at this point, but it wasn't to be that way. The team wouldn't allow me the 15 minute break I'd scheduled and instead I changed shoes, drank coffee, ate crisps and chocolate in 10 minutes, so we set off at 6pm with 3 hours to make the 24 hour deadline! I kept Bill Crowther and Kevin Easley with me and we were joined by Rupert Bonington and Dave Troman, local lads with plenty of fell and ultra running experience between them. I'd spent Thursday morning with Rupert making energy pancakes and gels from the Mountain Fuel range of products, recipes can be found on their website and they were well worth the effort!. So easy to get down!
  44. Thumbnail for Morning Fuel Power PancakesMorning Fuel Power Pancakes
    Mix one banana, two eggs, one sachet of morning fuel, teaspoon of cinnamon and some ground ginger to taste. Fry gently in coconut oil bite sized pieces, leave to cool and then bag up in sealable bags.
  45. Fresh legs and spirits were greatly appreciated at this point, Dave and Rupert admitted later to having planned to keep me chatting going up Dalehead, and this worked as a good distraction from the fatigue and negative thoughts creeping in. There's only three peaks on this last leg (Dalehead, Hindscarth and Robinson) and according to the schedule I should have ticked them off in 30, 20 and 25 minutes respectively, leaving an hour and half run in to Keswick from the top of Robinson.
  46. However, the splits actually went 30, 15 and 22 minutes for the peaks, which pulled back 8 minutes, I even had a little sit down on top of Robinson, the 42nd peak.
  47. #truemountainstories @TrueMountainHQ
    #truemountainstories @TrueMountainHQ
  48. Dave navigated us a quick way off the fells and once onto the tracks and roads to Keswick I found my legs and was full of running, all things considered! In fact I was told that we were clipping along at 7:30-8:00 min/mile for much of it and so by the time we reached Portinscale, about one and a half miles from Keswick, it became a bit of a carrot to try and reach Moot Hall under the 23:30 hour mark.
  49. The run in from Robinson ended up taking 1:21, shaving another 9 minutes off the scheduled time for leg 5.
  50. Final climb and run in...job done!
    Final climb and run in...job done!