Ultras & Long Socials
Ultra is anything over marathon length, that’s 26 and a bit miles or 42 km, though some shorter upland runs make the ultra grade.
Archive Ultra pages here
Scroll down for reports
Carnethy social ultra series – reports here
Upcoming runs
Date | Location / Route | Lead |
Saturday 24th Feb
Cancelled |
The plan is we get the train from Waverly to Galashiels. Do a circuit of the stunning Tweed Valley with a café stop midway. Run back to Gala along the Southern Upland Way for a train back to Edinburgh.
The Route Logistics – estimated run time ~7hrs Evening Train to Edinburgh ~16:00 (every 30 mins) Minimum advisory kit: Food and drink for 8 hours.Waterproof jacket and overtrousers, Spare warm clothing including a change for the end, down jacket/fleece, hat, gloves, map, compass, whistle, mobile phone, first aid kit, head torch, foil survival bag. Train/Bus & Drink/Food tokens. If you want to come please sign up using the google sheet below: Any questions let me know. Cheers Lucas |
Lucas Lefevre |
Saturday 23rd March | Lyne Valley Ultra Saturday 23rd March Meeting outside the Post Office at Peebles ready to run at 9:30Logistics – estimated run time ~8hrs 09:30 – Start run from Peebles Post Office X62 bus stop https://www.bordersbuses.co.uk/services/BORD/X62?fbclid=IwAR2MpyZQffNfYzSzVmtIyFxsDoV-mLblf1KxneHGx9KcGCTwjCPWWMuQFyQ – the bus leaves Edinburgh Bus station at 08:05 to get you on time for the run at 09:30. 12:15 – Café stop West Linton (21K). Option for joiners/leavers 101 bus service there: https://www.houstonscoaches.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/101-101A-102-Dumfries-to-Edinburgh-1.pdf 17:30 – Bus to Edinburgh If you are driving you can use the free Kingmeadows car park. (Kingsmeadow Car Park on Google Maps https://maps.app.goo.gl/wjzwhgsJ4NyqAMEeA) Route Details: From West Linton the route crosses farm land to Blyth Bridge before heading up through the forestry plantations to the hills above Broughton. Minimum advisory kit: If you want to come please sign up using the google sheet below: Any questions in the meantime drop me an email. |
Lucas Lefevre |
Ultra reports…
Silva Northern Traverse 6th – 10th April 2024
Wainwright’s 192 mile Coast to Coast (C2C) route traverses 3 of northern England’s national parks: the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors. 3 years ago I ran/walked the C2C self-supported in 6 days and enjoyed the route so much, that once I heard there was a race that covered the same route it sat niggling away in the back of my mind. However, with a few other races on my bucket list to be completed first, it wasn’t until this year that I was able to fit it in. The format is simple: you start in St Bees at 8.30 Sat morning and with the race clock continuously ticking you have until 23:59 Wed evening to run/walk to Robin Hoods Bay via the route on the supplied map. There were 7 support points offering food, drinks and shelter, and at 4 of these you could sleep and access you personal drop bag containing spare kit.
After a very wet winter the ground was extremely muddy and boggy along most of the route, and like many others I was on my arse in the mud within the first couple of miles! It stayed mostly dry, but very windy across the Lakes and I was nearly blown off my feet at least a couple of times. On arriving at the Patterdale support point (44 miles) at 8.30pm, I found out that storm Kathleen was bringing even stronger wind speeds and heavy rain overnight and hence we were being diverted on a longer, but lower route to the far end of Haweswater to avoid the exposed 790m Kidsty Pike (a few of the fastest runners did go over the Kidsty Pike earlier in the day prior to the diversion being enacted). Many runners paired up for safety and because the supplied map did not cover the diversion and like me not everyone was able to download the GPX file onto a watch. I paired up with Dominic and like everyone else we suffered an awful night/morning of extreme weather. I hobbled into Kirby Stephen (82 miles) at 11am Sunday with a sore ankle I’d damaged earlier on the descent to Patterdale, and also felt ill and unable to eat. I seriously thought of pulling out of the race, but after a good rest I was able to eat again, my ankle settled down and I decided to continue.
It was now after 3pm, the sun was out briefly, but still very windy. I was on my own, but I ran as much as I could over the notoriously boggy Nine Standards to avoid sinking into the ground and to catch up with other runners before nightfall. Dan & Mike were good company and we arrived at Reeth after the pubs were shut, but we were still 11 miles short of the Richmond support point and so slept for 15 minutes on the concrete floor of the Dale’s Bike Centre toilets (conveniently left open). Got to Richmond (115 miles) at about 5am and ate a huge bowl of curry and chips before curling up into my sleeping bag. I started out at 10am on Monday, together with Ian from Essex and Karola from Innsbruck – we formed a good team and would stay together all the way to the finish. The sun was out and the wind speed had finally dropped to something normal, so it was easy going across the flat Vale of York and we made good time reaching the Lordstones support point (145 miles) on the North York Moors by 11pm. After 3.5 hours of eating, sleeping and personal admin we were on our way again into a wet and gloomy moon-less night. Taking advantage of a good weather window and run-able ground we reached the last support point (Glaisdale 170 miles) at 10:30am Tuesday. By now we were all having blister problems that needed treating and so the stop was longer than anticipated. The last 20 miles to Robin Hood’s were tough and slow not just because of heavy rain and a cold wind heavy rain, but we always seemed to be either going up and down steep roads or zig-zagging across long stretches of thick mud and swamp. Even on the last flat few miles along the coastal path we were still wading through mud, but it did finally stop raining when we arrived at the finish just before dark around 8pm. As is the custom, I then pulled out of my pack the small pebble I had picked up from the beach at St Bees, and threw it into the sea at Robin Hood’s Bay.
105 started the full race, 69 finished – a significantly lower % than previous years. First male was 47:32 and female 52:42. I finished in 32nd place in 83:30 hours and could not have done it without all the help from the wonderful volunteers at each of the support points (including Eleanor & Fiona Mackenzie).
See here https://www.northerntraverse.com/ for full results and further info about the race and the shorter part-route races on offer
Phil Humphries
Ultra Trail Barcelona 23rd March 2024
With no sign of Spring appearing in Scotland, I decided on a visit to my sister’s Yoga Retreat near Casares in Spain for a week of warm weather training.
Handily the pilot of the Malalga bound flight was happy to make a stop at Barcelona to drop me off for the Ultra Trail Barcelona Races. John Ryan had hitched his way there, and we were lucky to find accommodation in the pretty village of Collbató, underneath the local church. The bell chiming every 15 minutes really didn’t bother us.
The races are held in the Sant Llorenç de Munt Natural Park, in the modestly high (600m) Bages mountain range, an hour from Barcelona. This would be a good test of our fitness levels before the summer racing season, and we chose the longest race of 61km, with 2,100m of ascent/descent.
With a not-too-early start of 7.00am we were running through the cool part of the day on gentle undulating trails through mixed pine forest with smells of rosemary and thyme. The small field of 126 meant I was soon running on my own as the well-marked route threaded its way east up the dry gorge of the Torrent del Gaul through the village of Talamanca. John had gone off with a fast group of around eight, and I finally caught up with them around the 27km mark, after a quick chat I eased past the group one by one, only to lose the markers and stop before someone spotted the turn I had missed. Embarrassingly I then passed them again, head down, working hard to the high point of the race at 680m. A fast-meandering descent led us back down the other side of the valley’s outward route, through Talamanca again, and a very welcome aid station as the heat of the day reached its maximum. I found the last hour a battle to keep my heart rate down, and my slowing pace meant I lost half a dozen places. Back at the finish, there was the biggest traditional Catalonian Paella dish, with ample beers and drinks to wash it down, followed by cake. A top day out.
The only dampener was the disappearance of our hire car the following morning. We had inadvertently parked it on the site of the Sunday farmer’s market, and it had been towed to the local Police Station. Luckily the Police work on a Sunday in Spain, so they were happy to release the wheel clamp in exchange for 125 Euros.
Race Info: https://ultratrailbcn.com/en/home/
Results: https://ultratrailbcn.com/en/results/
Graham Nash
The Welsh Munros in Midwinter
There are 14 – or 15 or 16, depending on your definition – of Munro-height mountains in Wales, from Yr Wyddfa in the west to Foel-fras in the east.
When connected by a continuous thread, there is a vicious simplicity to the snaking line of summits that make up the Welsh 3000s. This is hallowed turf and rock: Crib Goch, the roof of a nation, the rock-desert of the Glyders, Tryfan, the quiet, high mountains of the Carneddau.
Under the full cold moon, minutes before the sun blasted a blazing retort, poised atop Crib Goch, I set off from what could not be a slower start line, but with a firm objective: a midwinter Welsh 3000s. But not ‘winter’. Wind chill several degrees below freezing, the summit of Yr Wyddfa smeared in ice, but still not ‘winter’. It was seasonless; it just happened to be midwinter, the day after Christmas Day. Another month, another day, another hour even, everything might have been different.
As for today, the mountains, in part, were liquid in form. I do not know how violently the saturated slope to Nant Peris angles. (If you are necessarily travelling direct, there is no easy way to Nant Peris.) Where the contours concertina, the land seemed to swell beneath my feet, a frigid slush with nowhere to go. At least there is a soft landing on waterlogged grass. Above 900 metres, on the Glyders, mist lolling, disguising what I thought I knew, landings were less generous. The world was slimy and slippy, and every step purposeful, deliberate. On the highest boulder on Glyder Fach, perched on a jumble of other massive boulders, I lost my nerve for a moment, imagining myself sliding into one of the chasms between these great rocks. I stumbled on, more moving than running, very steeply downhill to escape the Glyders, then blundering into dead ends on Tryfan, and thereafter carefully descending again, flip-flopping between what seemed the least worst option at the time, a greasy, steep, unrelenting stairwell or the ramps of slidy grass either side.
At this stage during these things, there is an awful near-inevitably: it is going to get worse. For good reason in the Welsh 3000s. From Ogwen, the route climbs 600 vertical metres to a third set of mountains, to Pen yr Ole Wen, the western outlier of the Carneddau. I was fatigued and nauseous, very conscious that night would soon overtake me, but there is nothing unusual in that list, and at the summit it was clear that clag had not claimed these hills. They were mine. I ran on, feeling fine – brilliant would be the wrong adjective; I doubt I looked brilliant. But it was midwinter on the Welsh 3000s. I had been moving for eight hours. There were two vertical miles in my legs. Fine, in this context, feels like absolutely brilliant. Fine and flying.
Night came quickly on Carnedd Llewelyn: a ghoulish half-light on a still, rime-crusted summit. Beyond, now reduced to smudged outlines, were the final three summits of the Welsh 3000s. These mountains are a sorry denouement to the brutal spectacle of what had passed: rolling bumps of grass and moorland, topped unhelpfully by a mess of skiddy, pointy boulders.
A serene, breathless half-hour passed, nonetheless, pushing forward into torchlight, a moon that I had seen vanish at sunrise remerging to claim the sky, the lights of the North Wales coast a long way away, down there. Soon, almost too soon, it was over, and I rested a hand on the Foel-fras pillar, pausing in the cold, dark air, grateful for what had passed, eternally grateful for mountains.
Jonny Muir
SwissPeaks Races 3rd to 10th September
The Swiss just do things better. Their superb modern trains run on time to every part of the country, the chocolate is the tastiest, Swiss watches the pinnacle of engineering and luxury, their army knives incredibly useful, champions of direct democracy and their banks the best place to store your gold.
And the same is true of trail races. The SwissPeaks races started in 2018 with the 360km, and have evolved into a 10 race series, each year the organisers listening to runner’s feedback and improving the route, aid stations, finish area and the whole experience. Each race has on average 200 runners, so relatively small compared to say, the over hyped and marketed UTMB series, and relies on volunteers from the Cantons and villages with every local person enthusiastically supporting the races.
I had first done the 360km race back in 2019, persuading John Ryan to enter too, when we ran separately for the first 310km, but shared the last night and 50km together which involved tales of breaking and entering, sleeping in a church, renovating a ski-hut, a lost iPhone and a lost 3 hours. I had returned again in 2021 with Matt Davis and we had ended up running the whole route together entertaining those along the way with our chat and British humour.
Looking for a big race to do in 2023, and concerned about big corporate sponsorship, myself and John checked the sponsors of SwissPeaks; a cooperatively owned bank called Raiffeisen and a sports clothing brand Compressport. All seemed well. There was now also a “Duo” option, limited to 50 teams, and we thought it would a good idea to put a single entry in as a team this time. This would halve our travel C02 emissions if we divided the total by two.
The 360km route starts high up in the Valais region at Oberwald, close to the Glacier du Rhône, following a line roughly south west, parallel to the River Rhone, but climbing over 28 high cols with a cumulative total ascent of 25,900m, and a high point of 2,985m on the Col de Prafleuri, finishing at the lake Geneva. The trail is marked with red flags made of maize (although these sometimes appeal to the grazing alpine cattle), and takes you through some stunning remote mountain areas with views of the Monte Rosa, Matterhorn, Weisshorn, Grand Combin and Mont Blanc. The race is continuous; you rest when you want at any of the 6 life bases or 25 aid stations. With some tough early cut-offs, much of the time you are moving under clear starry moonlight skies. We aimed for 2 hours sleep a night, and the accommodation and food in the life bases and aid stations was stellar; cured meats, cheeses, omelettes, rösti, trout, bolognese pasta, raclette, stroganoff, lasagne, biscuits, fruit and of course chocolate.
Needless to say, a short web report cannot contain all that we experienced in this fantastic journey, including a “lost 3 hours” on the Fenetre d’Arpette….. So for anyone interested in entering a future edition, then I’d be more than happy to regale them with tales of our 127 hours 48 minutes over a pint or two.
In summary we made it back to the finish on Lake Geneva, surprising ourselves with being second team (just 34 starting teams, 7 finished), each of us presented with a Double Magnum bottle of fine Swiss Wine (their wine is the best too, but they keep it for themselves). This presented a problem on how to get it onboard the flight home, perhaps we should have
taken the train…
Four other Carnethies had ventured out to Le Bouveret too; Billy and Dorothy Elliot ran the 45km “Marathon”, 2,160m of ascent, together with Brian Dempster who finished 2nd MV50 on his 50th birthday! having travelled from his new home in Shetland. And Paul Nash in his first Alps race ran the 70km, 3,900m of ascent after many years of listening to his brother going on about how great racing in the Alps is. In a post-race interview Paul described the race as “fun”.
With no required points or “running stones” or ballot to enter, or previous experience (even for the 360Km), if you’re fit enough just enter and book your travel. There are now 360km, 170km, 100km, 70km, 45km and 21km options plus 3 kids races, and if none of those spark your interest, from 2024 there is a 660km (49,000m ascent) race. I’ll maybe wait a few months before asking John if he fancies that.
Race info: https://swisspeaks.ch/?lang=en
Results: https://livetrack.me/fr/evenement/swisspeaks/edition/swip-2023
World Masters Skyrunning Championships
We arrived in the Gran Paradiso National Park for the Royal Ultra Sky Marathon to cloudy skies with overnight rain forecast. This year the 55km/4000m+ race was also doubling up for the inaugural World Masters Skyrunning Championships, and with the Brazilian team out in force (as well, less surprisingly, as the Italians) it was still a party atmosphere at the teams presentation and briefing. The rain duly came but the skies had cleared by 6.30am, giving near perfect conditions at the spectacular start line on the Lago di Teleccio dam.
A predictably frantic start to position for the first set of single track hairpins gave way to a steady climb up to the Colle del Becchi at 3000m. With significantly less snow than in previous years the organisers had added chunks of time on to the cut offs, accurately predicting relatively slow going over previously unexposed massive boulder fields at the highest points on the course.
The first nerve shredding descent eventually gave way to some fabulous running, and stunning scenery where I had the pleasure of the company of Tom Owens who was running with his Shettleston pal Iain Pender, after having to downgrade to the shorter course owing to a niggling hip flexor. After another climb the short course runners split off back down into the valley, while the longer race climbed back up to 3000m and the Colle della Porta. Yet more spectacular scenery, and a mix of technical and faster running, mixed with steady climbs ensued, along what was always a well marked course, with ample aid stations – and well stocked if you like the four C’s – coke, cake, chocolate and cheese.
By the time we hit the Lago Serru dam temperatures in the valley were rising and with one big climb, over Colle del Nel, to go, for the majority it was a case of hanging on and not shedding any places. The final descent down to the Lago Ceresole was a pleasure, and after a 1km sprint (of sorts) along the road, the finish line and obligatory brass band.
The Spanish dominated the men’s race with four in the top six, including overall winner and V40 gold medalist Pere Aurell in 7h08. Coming back from injury, Andy Symonds had an outstanding result taking third place overall in 7h38, and also V40 World Master Bronze. Fellow Brummie Mark Darbyshire and I rolled in close together almost a couple of hours behind Andy, but still both in the top 25%, and me 7th in the somewhat unorthodox v48-55 category.
Meanwhile, the Italians proved strongest in the female race with Marina Cugnetto first overall and Chiara Giovando V40 Masters Gold.
Many thanks to the organisers for what proved to be a challenging but hugely enjoyable and literally breathtaking course, with superb marshaling and a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. Highly recommended race, as is a recovery ride up the Colle del Nivolet, although fox (with marmot snack) appearance is not guaranteed.
Official race write up here https://www.skyrunning.com/the-masters-are-first-at-the-royal-ultra-skymarathon/ and a great little video here giving a flavour of the race https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=byD19ZnH3Fo&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.royalmarathon.com%2F&source_ve_path=MTM5MTE3LDI4NjY2&feature=emb_logo
Paul Faulkner
Trail du Vélan series
The Trail du Vélan series of races start and finish in the Swiss village of Bourg-St-Pierre. The race has been running since 1977, when 60 locals ran the Cross du Vélan in dedication to the 1971 tragedy when an avalanche took the lives of the guardian of the Cabane du Vélan and four local children.
The races are proudly organised by the Cross du Vélan Association, formed by the locals since 1987, and are steeped in local history. In addition to the main races there were three races for children, and the day had a family friendly welcoming atmosphere. The local landowners and farmers clear the trails of vegetation and move cattle aside for the day of the race. The 1907 Swiss Civil Code provides that forest and pasture are accessible freely for everyone.
I had entered the 45km race with 3,600m of ascent with a 5.30am start. Having travelled out the day before, I didn’t have any chance to acclimatise. Normally with a race reaching a high point of over 3,000m, I would spend a few days getting high (not in a drug misuse sense). So this would be a bit of an experiment.
Nicola was none too impressed with a 3.00am alarm call to get to the start from the chalet we were staying in at the next valley, and elected to go back to sleep in the car until her race, the 15km Discovery Trail which started at 7.30am.
The start was low-key, just a simple count down from 10, and about 100 runners started in the dark, head torches lighting the way down the valley before the first climb of 1,100 m to the familiar Cabane de Mille, location of the 2016 Pubegate incident. From here onwards I was running mainly on my own, in and out of the clouds, but the route was well marked with the usual red flags. There were stunning glimpses of the Grand Combin and the high glaciers to distract from the long climbs. With great local support, there were lots of marshals at key points and on the high cols, plus safety ropes for a river crossing. From the second aid station at the small chalet of Azerin, the trail became more technical, with some short sections equipped with chains. It was from 2,500m that I began to struggle, my lack of acclimatisation allowing 3 runners to pass me on the climb to the 3,034m Cabane Valsorey. A quick swig of coke, and some banana and chocolate and I began the descent, my pace picking up as the richness of the oxygen increased. A final short climb to the aid station at the 2,638m Cabane du Vélan where a chapel is dedicated to the lost lives. From here it was a fast descent back to the village, where there was a party atmosphere. Rows of tables laid out to enjoy the post-race BBQ, raclette, and creperie, all being washed down with an endless flow of beer and wine.
A nice touch was the live results provided by Swiss timing company “mso” on three small screens, where you could search by runner and see their progress and split times at each of the checkpoints which instantly updated.
The prize-giving followed with an emphasis on the children’s races and mountains of sweets periodically thrown into the square. First place categories received a local hamper including a massive wheel of cheese, with second place a half cheese, and third a quarter cheese. There was lots of cheese.
Graham Nash
Although Graham has often told me of the wonders of alpine running, I have so far resisted. For me, the prospect of attempting those long steep climbs just seemed too hard. It was therefore with some trepidation that I entered the Trail du Vélan 15km Discovery Trail.
I woke from my snooze in the car shortly before 7am, gathered my kit and joined the other 70 or so runners for the 7.30 start. The first few kms were down a well marked trail through the valley and, as I settled into the run, I was relieved to see the early morning cloud gradually lifting. The race had just one climb, which makes it sound easy. The only problem was that it was a gruelling 700m to a height of 2200m. It certainly wasn’t easy, but what a reward: the second half of the race followed a balcony path that gently led back to the village. The views were amazing, and definitely worth the 3am alarm call!
Nicola Nash
Races:
Petit Cross, race through the village of Bourg-St-Pierre for children
Cross du Vélan, 6.8 km and 1,010 vertical meters
Discovery trail; 15 km and 900 meters of altitude difference
Petit Trail; 21 km and 2,000 vertical meters
Trail du Vélan ;45 km and 3,600 meters of elevation gain
Race info:
https://www.trail-velan.ch/
Results:
https://www.mso.swiss/en/events/1855-trail-du-velan/results
Glen Lyon ultra
A number of Carnethy members have previously run the Glen Lyon ultra, and I joined that number back on a sunny and hot (by Scottish standards) 3rd of June.
The route is an anticlockwise loop of Loch Lyon, over the hill into Glen Lochay, a loop at the top of Glen Lochay and back over the hill to the start – just over 50km in total, with 1,100m of ascent. Runners can camp semi-wild (there are portable loos!) below the dam at the head of Loch Lyon on the nights before and after the race.
This was my first ultra and would be the longest distance I had ever run by a few km, so I was nervous to say the least. This wasn’t helped by the medical input to the pre-race briefing: “If you’re sick once, that isn’t a worry; if you’re sick twice, that isn’t a worry. Speak to someone if you’re throwing up repeatedly. If you think the heat’s bad now, wait until Glen Lochay where there is zero wind. But don’t over-hydrate! Ibuprofen can kill you. DEAD.”
It was a massive relief to set off, but it quickly became clear that the plan to ‘manage my heart rate’ was pointless: it had been going at 100mph since before that medical briefing, and wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down even if I walked, not helped by the heat.
So…I just decided to keep going and see how things went! There were some lovely chats with fellow runners along the way, the marshals were super nice and encouraging, and I was able to focus on the stunning scenery. The sun quickly put paid to my best-case scenario speed-wise but what with it being my first ultra, I was mainly just keen to finish.
Relaxing about speed turned out to be a good call on this occasion. Two of the fastest ladies dropped out around the halfway point with cramp, and several more runners suffered badly with cramp and sickness. Food-wise, I had gone with a jelly baby/roasted peanut/crystallised ginger/chilli flake/salt crystals combo recommended by Mark Hartree on the Carnethy FB group, which kept me going and gave me enough salt to largely stave off impending cramp at the first twinges.
In the event, I made it to the finish as 4th lady and had a sit down in the lovely cold river. I think enjoyment of the Glen Lyon Ultra probably depends a lot on what you’re into: personally, I was looking jealously up at the hills a lot of the time and wishing that I wasn’t on tracks and road – but it’s a friendly race in a beautiful part of the world, so can make for a lovely day out!
Lucy Ritchie
Andy & Rob’s Bob 24th June 2023
We completed the Bob Graham in 23 hours 6 minutes, starting at quarter to 10pm on Saturday 24th June 2023, going clockwise mainly because that’s the way I’d done most of the recce’ing. We originally planned to set off at 10pm on Friday, but the forecast was for heavy rain through the night so we decided to postpone. Kudos to those (Phil Hall) who set out in those conditions.
I spent all day Saturday obsessively checking summit forecasts, it looked like we were in for a heavy downpour late on Sunday. I considered suggesting we start earlier, but decided to stick with 10pm to get the night running done early on.
Andy joined me at my parent’s house in west Cumbria on Saturday afternoon. We discussed logistics, amounts of sandwiches (and my pork pies), and divided up supplies between my parents (supporting the first two road crossings) and Slogger (supporting the second two). After a large feed we set off to Keswick.
Legs 1 & 2
Leg 1 went smoothly, except a slight nav mistake heading up Skiddaw Little Man instead of contouring around. Hall’s Fell ridge was a bit tricky in the dark. Leg 2 was a beauty after a tough climb up Clough Head in muggy conditions. Andy’s head torch packed in part way, but there was just enough moonlight to get away with it and it meant it slowed him down enough for me to keep up. Sunrise over Helvelyn, and meeting Dec V bivvying at Grisedale tarn were highlights. We met my parents & Nick Pike at Dunmail.
Leg 3
A quick restock and we set off up Steel Fell (now with Nick P and Dec supporting). Conditions were good, and it was easy to pick off the tops until we made a slight mistake going up Bow Fell – the cairned path led us to an impassable wall which wasn’t there when I recce’d. Some easy scrambling got us back on track. I had a slight low point after bow fell – Nick handed me a strawberry lace which sorted me out. Dec peeled off after Great End and headed for Honister to have a look at the slate museum. Weather was still good, so we did Scafell via Broad Stand. Nick and Andy flew down the scree, I fell over a lot.
Leg 4
Wasdale was a quick-ish change-over – my dad had noticed we were cutting the schedule a bit fine. At this point the weather started to turn, Nick pulled us up Yewbarrow to get us back on track. This leg was tough as the weather turned bad – heavy rain and poor vis. We pushed on to get it over with and by the time we got to Green Gable we knew we were back on track. At this point, thankfully, the rain stopped, and things started to clear.
Leg 5
Honister was an excellent change-over. Declan turned up with caramel shortbread, and my parents had decided to come round to help us re-stock. We had ~4 hours to spare so we knew at this point, assuming nothing went badly wrong on the last leg, it was in the bag. Dec led the way pulling us up the first hill of the final leg. Dale head and Robinson must have grown since I’d recce’d, the climbs felt tough but we made it up with a healthy margin. Just as we hit the road the weather turned again. This time the rain was biblical, with thunder and lightning added in. We realised if we upped the pace, we might dip in under 23 hours so tried to run fast for a bit – this went well for about 800 metres. We then managed to lose each other (Andy and Nick took a different turn to me and Dec). Once we regrouped, we jogged a steady pace back to Moot Hall. The square was empty due to the awful weather, except for my parents and Slogger. A great way to end it, followed by a few pints in Keswick.
Rob Owen