THE BOB GRAHAM ROUND - Part Two

Leg 2

 

Support crew: Andrew McCracken navigator, Dave Swift, Yiannis Tridimas

 

Leg two starts at Threlkeld and heads south up Clough Head, followed by Great Dodd, Watsons Dodd, Stybarrow Dodd, Whiteside, Raise, Lower Man, Helvellyn, Nethermost Pike, Dollywagon Pike, Fairfield, Seat Sandal then down to Dunmail Raise.

On the way up the road I had a pep talk from Andrew; he told me how much I was behind schedule by and that he was going to work towards making the time up.  His plan would include a strict eating regime; was I okay with this?......Yep; bring it on please!

 We took the gentle route up Clough Head along the western shoulder.  The climb didn’t seem half as bad as I was expecting but we did lose another 4 minutes so I was still running slow.  The traverse and climb to Great Dodd was completed to the scheduled time, so no more time lost but none gained….but Andrew’s feeding regime was beginning to work.  For the rest of the route we steadily gained time at each peak, and as we went I gained strength and enthusiasm. 

 Dave kept me entertained with tales of a life gone past and his running adventures in Scotland.  I’d been looking forward to hearing about Andrew’s fun at the Lanzarote Ironman but somehow he escaped saying much about this; was this modesty or did I forget to ask?!  Yiannis was tucked in behind us and I suspect was busy plotting his next adventure, it was enough to know that he was there sharing in what was a beautiful morning in one of my favourite parts of the fells.

The temperature went from rather warm to uncomfortably hot in the bowl between Dollywaggon Pike, Fairfield and Seat Sandal, where we were skirting around Grisedale Tarn….it must be nearing mid day me thinks:  The conversation went something like this:

Me:  ’Roughly what time of day is it now?’

 Dave: ’7:30 a.m’

Me ’OMG is that all?  It’s going to be hot later!’

Andrew: ’It’ll be hot in Wasdale but breezy on the tops; you’ll be okay’

After this, Andrew ran through what was needed at Dunmail Raise and for leg three so that he could hand over to the road crew and the leg three team.  He was checking what rations I had available and worked out what food and water I would need for the next stage.

We continued to progress well, and on the way up Fairfield we crossed paths with a couple of lads from Durham who were attempting a paired round with no hill support.  They were walking and looked to be struggling.  We caught up with one of them at the foot of Seat Sandal as we arrived at Dunmail Raise.

 At Dunmail, Livi and Ian were ready for me and I was handed a hot cup of tea.  My food choice was another tub of rice pudding which was produced by a young lad, who I later learned was Livi’s son.  As you can see in the photograph, I was in high spirits and was enjoying myself.  I was 8 minutes ahead of my schedule so I'd gained 18 minutes.

 

Splits:

Threlkeld                             04:12

Clough Head                       05:08

Great Dodd                         05:38

Watsons Dodd                    05:45

Stybarrow Dodd                 05:53

Raise                                     06:10

Whiteside                            06:17

Helvellyn Lower Man        06:32

Helvellyn                              06:37

Nethermost Pike                06:47

Dollywaggon Pike              06:59

Fairfield                          07:38

Seat Sandal                         08:01

Dunmail Raise                     08:17