John Duff (M55) - 09 September 2023

 

Craig Stansfield (M55 Repeat) - 09 September 2023

I enjoyed doing the Joss Naylor Challenge when I was 50. I always knew I would have another attempt when I was 55. Training had gone well, so I set myself a 13.45 schedule.  

Leg1 supporters Mark Whittaker and Martin Haworth  

Pooley Bridge

    After a photograph on the bridge we set off from Pooley Bridge at 6am. We didn’t bother with head torches as it was going to come light soon. The weather forecast was to be hot and it didn’t disappoint. We were looking forward to a lovely sunrise, but ended up with clag and spectacular cloud inversions instead. We made steady progress talking about anything and everything. Ticking the tops off as we went. We nearly overshot Rampsgill Head in the clag, but bagged it and we were soon at Thornthwaite Beacon. No spectacular views today. We were soon dropping down to Kirkstone via the tourist path due to the bad visibility.  We were 5 minutes down but no issues. 

Leg 2 support Mark Whittaker and Martin Howarth.  
    It was nice to meet our greeter at Kirkstone. Who’s name I can’t remember (Rainer Burchett - Ian). A quick feed stop and we headed up Red Screes. We followed some encouraging signs put out by some event team on the climb. I was climbing well and soon we were at the Fairfield summit. The clag had lifted and we were blessed with the first amazing views of the day. Seat Sandal came and went and we were soon at Dunmail. 5 minutes up. 

Dunmail Raise

Leg 3 support David Fort and Matt Dunn. 

Approaching Great End

    It was lovely to see Lisa and my leg 3 support. Another quick feed of muller rice and a can of coke and we were on our way. Dave and Matt set a good pace up Steel Fell. They were spot on with the nav in the clag. We were soon at High Raise and 12 minutes up. Bowfell is always a tough climb, so I had a gel at the start of the climb. I was still climbing well. We were moving quickly and soon descending Great End and on our way to Styhead. 37 minutes up. 

Leg 4 support Helen Buchan and Charlie Parkinson.  

Middle Fell

    Plenty of food at Styhead. I was feeling good climbing Great Gable. It must have been the jam butties. We made good progress on leg 4 passing a couple of BG supports going the other way. We were soon descending the scree off of Haycock. We were running low on water which was a bit of a problem in the heat. We spotted another challenger in front that had set off 15 minutes before us. The Seatallan climb had been playing on my mind as I wasn’t sure how much I had left in the tank. I tucked in behind Charlie and followed his ankles. We were soon at the summit. The last climb was here. I was climbing well and soon passed the other challenger before the summit. A speedy descent and we were soon in Greendale. In a total time of 12 hours 49 minutes. 

Greendale Bridge

I was so happy to see Lisa, my awesome road support.  

I’d like to thank my support crew, Mark, Martin, David, Matt, Helen, Charlie. I’d like to give a big thank you to Lisa who was my road support for the day and as always encourages and supports me through all my crazy adventures. 

I managed to raise £520 for Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis  

Tom Brunt (M50) - 02 September 2023

 Tom Brunt (Dark Peak Fell Runners, V50) – Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge, September 2, 2023

It was a warm and hazy late summer afternoon on the wonderful limestone hill of Arnside Knott. The Arnside bore had just raced up the estuary flooding the sandbanks and mudflats in a matter of minutes. But my focus was on the skyline of the Lakeland fells - working from right to left I picked out High Street, Stony Cove Pike, Red Screes, Fairfield and Seat Sandal. It is one of my favourite views and today it held a special significance today as just 24 hours earlier I had been running across the rocks, scree and squelching bogs of those peaks in a race against the clock. Stiff and aching legs were a constant reminder of that fact.

24 hours earlier…

I set off from Pooley Bridge at 8:03 (the stray 3 minutes due to some last-minute watch faffing) with Bill Stewart for company. The weather forecast is glorious, perhaps a little too glorious. Even at 8am the sun is strong, and it is clearly going to be a hot day. The first peak, Arthur’s Pike passes without incident and exactly on schedule. The pace feels brisk but manageable as we ascend onto the broad ridge heading south towards High Street. Minor (in some cases very minor) peaks come and go. Below Kidsty Pike early morning mist bubbles up from valleys to the east burning off quickly in the sun. Down into Threshthwaite Mouth and the relief of a walking climb. Up until this point it has been 2 hours of continuous running – the MV50 schedule for the first leg is a stern taskmaster. A good descent into Kirkstone sees us arrive at the carpark to be greeted by Paula (my wife and chief road support) and Rainer Burchett (JNLC reception committee). Apologies to Rainer if we were rather brusque! This was meant to be a two minute stop – in reality it stretched to seven.

Refuelled and doused in water we head off up Red Screes. Bill is on support duties for this next leg too. More food, more drinks and noticeably less chat; instead, we focus on the task at hand. The next climb up to Hart Crag drags – even with the patented Borrowdale Fell Runners Hodgson Relays leg 3 line we only manage to equal the split time. The sun is relentless and any hint of a breeze has disappeared. Up and over Fairfield and then my legs object to the sudden change from steep descending to climbing up Seat Sandal. A twinge of cramp shoots up the inside of my leg – this was not part of the plan. On the summit of Seat Sandal I glance round to check on Bill. A mistake… I catch my foot on a stone and crash unceremoniously to the ground. Every muscle group in my right leg seems to go into some sort of spasm. My left knee is bleeding. I feel nauseous. Gingerly I get back up and walk / jog / trot down to Dunmail not feeling on top form. Time to re-group.

Preparing to leave Dunmail Raise (Swatts, Jack and myself)

Bill’s work is done for the day and his final selfless act is to give me his two ice-cold cans of coke. They are accompanied with fresh peaches (delicious), and I try to eat, drink and get organised for the next leg as efficiently as possible. Minutes disappear at an alarming rate. Support from here to the finish comes from Stephen Watts (aka SWatts of Pennine Fell Runners – himself a successful JNLC V50 man) and my own Dark Peak clubmate Jack Foxall. The youngest member of the team, BilI’s daughter Tilly (13), is joining us for Steel Fell – she sets off ahead and is soon marching up the fellside looking as though she could carry on to Wasdale. Normally I relish steep walking climbs like Steel Fell but instead I feel lethargic– we are not catching Tilly up. Things take a turn for the worse heading to High Raise negotiating the bogs and knolls along the undulating ridge. Jumping over a boggy area my legs cramp up again. I have no idea how to stretch out my inner thigh. I seem to vaguely remember a technique called the “Naylor Shake” for dealing with cramp, but unfortunately none of us have the faintest idea how to administer a “Naylor Shake”. Instead, I opt for lots of liquid and electrolyte. This section is a low point. It feels as though we are moving through treacle, the air is hot, the ground is wet and boggy and I have taken my eye off the ball with the navigation so we end up (needlessly) on Calf Crag. The final drag to High Raise, descent to Stake Pass and the gentle ascent to Rossett Pike are little better. Mercifully clouds fill in and we are granted some respite from the sun – not a moment too soon. The food and drink start to kick in climbing up Bowfell. Leaving the boggy terrain behind and getting onto the rocky peaks which constitute the most dramatic section of the route – Bowfell to Steeple – is also a boost for morale. This is familiar territory, we get the direct descent line off Great End spot on and meet SWatts’ wife Mel at Sty Head with additional supplies. More peaches (tinned this time) really hit the spot. Mel and SWatts have devoted their wedding anniversary to this run – impressive commitment to the cause. Similarly, Jack has rearranged his weekend plans at short notice to support and travelled up from Sheffield this morning. I feel a strong sense of obligation not to let the support crew down.

Leaving Sty Head I am about 30 minutes down on my 11:40 schedule so I need to claw back at least 10 minutes, preferably a bit more to avoid an anxious final descent to Greendale Bridge. The best place to start is the long slog up Great Gable. We gain 3 minutes which is a real morale booster. The sun comes back out but doesn’t have the intensity of earlier in the day; the air feels cooler. The cramps seem to have gone – touch wood the salts and drinks have worked, and although my legs are feeling wooden on the descents I am still climbing strongly. SWatts and Jack are having to work hard to keep up on the climbs – I take this to be another encouraging sign. A few more minutes are gained against the schedule on both Kirk Fell and Pillar. Little by little my confidence is rising. I keep pushing hard on the climbs. Scoat Fell comes and goes, Steeple too – a wonderful spot in the evening sunlight. Grassier terrain leads up to Haycock and then the delightful trod across to Seatallan. The mental arithmetic of times and schedules and splits has been proving difficult, but I arrive at the trig point after exactly 11 hours. Even in its current fuzzy state my brain can work out that leaves me 1 hour (well, 59 minutes) to make it to the finish. For the first time I feel pretty much certain that I’m going to make it. Legs complain down the steep drop off Seatallan, and then just Middle Fell, an understated gem of a hill, is all that remains. I can see two figures on the summit. I know SWatts is one and realise that the other is Paula who has spent the day doing all the unsung road support tasks. It’s great to see her on the final hill. We take a minute to admire the view in stunning evening light and all trot down together. 

I reach Greendale Bridge 11 hours and 47 minutes after leaving Pooley Bridge. Hard work; it had been in the balance for much of the way, but that made the eventual success all the sweeter.

Seatallan and Haycock from Middle Fell – Jack and I are just about visible…

Jack and I reaching the top of Middle Fell.

Many thanks to:

Bill Stewart (Borrowdale Fell Runners) – Legs 1 and 2

Stephen Watts (SWatts, Pennine Fell Runners) – Legs 3 and 4

Jack Foxall (Dark Peak Fell Runners) -Legs 3 and 4

Paula Gould (chief road support and Middle Fell)

Mel Watts (additional road support and Sty Head)

Tilly Stewart (Steel Fell)

Louise Stewart (additional road support)

The obligatory team photo on Greendale Bridge – Swatts, myself, Jack and Mel

Andrew Merrick (M60) - 11 August 2023

I vaguely recall a running friend describing the Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge as a Bob Graham for old gits... so it felt like it was probably something for me, given that the time allowed increases with age.

Below 55, you get 12 hours as a man and 14 hours as a woman (15 and 16 respectively over 55), but a somewhat generous 18 hours (for all genders) over 60.

 

It was a good excuse to explore areas of the Lakes I didn’t know particularly well, the route starting in Pooley Bridge and heading over two legs to Dunmail, via Kirkstone, before then using a reasonable amount of the Bob Graham route, dropping into Greendale (near Wasdale) some 44 miles and 17,000 ft later.

 

The forecast for Friday issued by MWIS on Thursday afternoon looked encouraging, so we stuck with the plan of a dawn start in Pooley Bridge, after an overnight stay in a pub car park (what’s not to like) the night before, giving ample opportunity for pre run fuelling.

Jane McCarthy had kindly agreed to support the first two legs, and we set off as planned at 5am, on a rather murky, damp morning. The first leg is relatively gentle in terms of climb so I was keen to ensure we stuck with my intended 16 hour schedule, so that the support crew weren’t hanging around too much.  We had to contend with low cloud and a blustery wind, which brought a number of showers with it, particularly on the higher parts of the route. The temperature was quite pleasant but the wind and rain eventually forced us both to resort to waterproof jackets for the final climb and descent into Kirkstone. Visibility was down to about 50 meters at this point so we were pleased to see Lis, our road crew, and Rainer, a member of the club who had appeared to wish us well, before we headed off up Red Screes armed with more tailwind and a banana. 

We caught the briefest glimpse of the sun as we got close to the summit of Red Screes, and that was probably the only time all day, with the rain jacket also being a pretty permanent feature. There are only four summits on leg 2 (8 miles – 3,200ft) the final two of which are Fairfield and Seat Sandal and therefore familiar to Bobbers.  We had gained a little more time as I parted company with Jane at Dunmail, refuelling with tea and porridge before setting off with the birthday boy (Peter Shelley) following some more of the Bob route up to Steel Fell before diverting (off path) to High Raise and beyond.  It had at least stopped raining by this stage although it was wet under foot (I understood why Peter had his waterproof trousers on, when he went knee deep in bog at one point) and the wind became stronger and more gusty.  I was getting to the slightly tired stage at this point so found the long off path into the wind climb up to High Raise hard work, although the subsequent run down gave a period of recovery before the climb up to Rossett Pike, and the challenge of Bowfell.  

I have often struggled to find the right route up Bowfell and have ended up having to do some impromptu scrambling to get back onto what I would regard as the main path. This time Peter and I did manage to stay on a path, although not quite the intended one and took the summit by surprise from the rear having had some further off piste adventures.... Happily we were still slightly ahead of schedule and briefly had Hayley from Birmingham for company (the second runner we had seen all day), who added a detour to her plan to join us on Esk Pike and Great End.  Very kindly and in a chilly wind, Jann and Alison Weston were waiting for us at the summit of Great End to help us navigate a route down to Sty Head.

The birthday boy left us at that point, after I had been served coffee by Mr Weston, who had kindly brought a flask up the 4 or so miles from Wasdale.  Recharged, we set off on the last leg, similar in distance and climb (5,000ft) to leg 3.  With Jann and Alison navigating, leg 4 was reasonably uneventful if somewhat slower, other than the ongoing battle with the strong blustery wind, Windy Gap in particular living up to its name.  Fortunately the route out and back to Steeple wasn’t in the worst of the wind, and equally fortunately Jann didn’t mention someone had been blown off there on a previous attempt.

From then on, other than focusing on staying upright (both wind and tiredness were against me) it was a question of counting down the climbs until we got to the final peak at Middle Fell where we probably had the best (only?) view of the day, down towards Wastwater. Peter re-joined us there for the descent to Greendale Bridge, arriving just ahead of my intended schedule in just under 15 ½ hours. Unfortunately the man himself wasn’t well enough to join us although we had armed ourselves with Mackeson Stout, just in case. Instead, we celebrated with Graham (Weston), Paul and Lis, with beer and tea before heading home after a long but satisfying day.   I am now looking forward to two dinners this autumn.

Greendale Bridge

 

A big thank you to my fantastic support crew of Jane, Peter, Jann, Alison and Lis, with a guest star appearance from Graham at Sty Head, and Paul C (in charge of comms at Greendale by finding the right rock to stand on to get signal!), all of whom gave up a significant amount of time to support this blustery adventure. And a final thank you to Ian Charters of the Joss Naylor Club for his patient and timely response to my many queries.

 

Andrew