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| Pooley Bridge - Heather, Jo, Scott, Rueben, and Becca |
I think I’ve
read almost all of these write-ups in the hope of gleaning valuable
nuggets of advice on route choice, timings or training that might
help me join the list. So rather than wax lyrical about my personal
fell running journey and fragile emotional state in the lead up to my
attempt let’s get to some facts:
I’m M53, I’ve
completed the Bob Graham Round in 22+ hours in both 2005 and 2015.
I’m not a quick runner on the flat (I can’t break 21 minutes for
a Parkrun) and in a long fell race I’d expect to be about 50%
slower than the winner. However, I am good on rough ground, fast on
descents, confident with navigation, and have good endurance for long
challenges.
By my calculation
the Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge is very close to 2/3rds the
distance and 2/3rds the climb of the Bob Graham Round. Or to put it
another way for an M50-55 to complete the challenge in less than 12
hours then you need to be going at 18 hour Bob Graham Round pace.
The published
M50-55 schedule on the Challenge website is very biased towards a
fast start and slower finish. After my first reccy from Pooley
Bridge to High Street it was clear that to stand any chance I would
need to follow a much more evenly paced schedule and minimise stops.
My final schedule assumed I’d do the first leg 15% faster than even
pace and the final leg 15% slower.
I know the Lakes
well and recc’ed most of the route to figure out the best lines and
refine my times. Unlike the Bob Graham Round where I guess there is
now a trod all the way, there are sections of the Joss where the
quickest route is pathless and being confident about where you are
going can save time.
On my final
training run 3 weeks ahead of my attempt I went from Pooley Bridge to
the top of Steel Fell exactly on my schedule. By that point I was
utterly exhausted and dehydrated. I crawled up the final slopes and
collapsed by the cairn. I was ready to give up on an attempt this
year but my wife Becca had more faith (or was just fed up of my
moaning) and encouraged me to go ahead …
Leg 1 – Support
runners Scott Morley (Eden Runners) and Heather Guy (Eden Runners)
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| Running towards High Street |
What a relief to
get started after all the planning and worrying. A perfect autumn
morning made for very friendly conditions. Heather and Scott
carrying all my stuff and passing food and drink on request meant I
was gaining a minute here and there without any perceived extra
effort and we arrived at Kirkstone Pass in 2hr 46 (11 minutes up on
schedule) without a hitch.
Route notes: Head
up past the reception of Park Foot campsite. Slant right down to
Kirkstone Pass from the big block boulder about 200m after the col.
Leg 2 – Support
runners Louisa Knox (Eden Runners) and Zeke Dixon (Eden Runners)
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| Heading towards Hart Crag |
A slick pit-stop
courtesy of my road supporter Ben Stansfield saw me fed and watered
and off up Red Screes. Things were going well, I felt in control.
However, over the course of the leg I felt increasingly queasy and I
was glad of the distraction of Louisa and Zeke chatting away to each
other whilst I plodded on. As we headed up Dove Crag we passed
Albert Sunter doing his M65 Joss Naylor attempt and looking very
strong. Fairfield came and went, I practised my retching while
running, and suddenly we were at Dunmail Raise with the boost of Ben,
Becca and a few more minutes gained 4hr 39 (16 minutes up on
schedule).
Route notes: Take
the Hodgson Brothers Relay route from Red Screes towards Hart Crag
Leg 3 – Support
runners Daniel Black and Pat Bartlett
After my last
training run I was fearful of Steel Fell but this time the ascent was
OK and I could run again once things levelled off. Heading up the
soft ground towards High Raise time seemed to slip away. My target
split slipped past with the summit still not in sight and the weather
worsening. Four minutes lost. I lost another minute on Rossett Pike
in worsening weather. My stomach was in a mess and my spirits were
sinking. I was going as fast as I thought I could without blowing up
and was still leaking time.
The ascent of
Bowfell was probably my lowest point. I kept slipping on the greasy
rocks and felt like I was slowing down. Daniel and Pat did their
best to keep my spirits up but my expectation of suceeding was slim.
If Joss had been there I’d have had some choice words with him. So
it was a real boost to arrive at the summit of Bowfell and find I’d
climbed it a few seconds faster than target. I knew Esk Pike and
Great End would be OK and I could probably hurtle down to Sty Head.
In the event wet rocks made the descent treacherous and slower than
otherwise but still quick. 8hrs (14 minutes up on schedule)
Route notes:
Skirt the top of Calf Crag, ascend the left/south side of Birks Gill
and cross soft ground to a big cairn on the path to High Raise.
Reccy the descent off Great End. There are a few tiny cairns and
trods but what worked best for me might not suit someone else.
Leg 4 – Dave
Baglee (Eden Runners) and Mike Innerdale (Eden Runners)
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| On Kirk Fell |
Reaching Sty Head
felt like a huge boost. I’d not really expected to get that far.
My new support team of Dave and Mike were full of encouragement and
Ben had unexpectedly walked in from Borrowdale with his camping chair
and bag of treats.
The last leg
contains 5,000ft of climb and I feared just running out of steam so I
forced down a gel and drink on every big climb. Not wanting to go
through this again was a significant motivation to keep going at this
point. On the way down Great Gable I got tempted by a bit of path
that dropped us onto a horrible scree slope. There was no going back
so we just had to skitter down it. Kirk Fell went OK then heading
down Joss’s gully Dave and I realised there was no sign of Mike.
Ummm… carry on. In the build up I’d imagined myself running bits
of the long ascent to Pillar and now here I was doing it fuelled by
words of encouragement and titbits of food from Dave. I reasoned
that if I could get up Pillar within my split I might admit to
feeling more confident than not of finishing in 12 hours.
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| Just Two Fells Left |
Mike appeared in
the distance behind and we arrived at the trig point just inside
target. Scoat Fell, Steeple, Haycock. At this point I finally
checked how long I had left. 90 minutes to do a scheduled 70
minutes. Hooray. If I could just get up Seatallan then I knew I’d
do it. I found a great scree descent off Haycock and plodded up
Seatallan. 1 hour to do a scheduled 40 minutes. I was going to do
it and could relax and enjoy it at last. After skirting Seatallan
Mike finally caught us up before Middle Fell with tales of lost
phones and navigational mistakes. Evening sun on Middle Fell, a roll
down to Greendale Bridge and the embrace of my friends and family.
Wow !! I’d done it. Sadly no Joss any more to shake the hand of
finishers but what an amazing challenge he’s left us all. Thank
you Joss.
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| Greendale Bridge - Pat, Daniel, Jo, Dave, and Ben |
11hrs 38min total
Route notes:
Reccy Joss’s gully coming off Kirk Fell it might not be for you.
The scree descent off Haycock was quick and is visible in satellite
views but I don’t know about other options.
All of that
probably seems very intense and most of it was. I had moments to
take in my surroundings; the views across to Helvellyn in the early
morning sun, a buzzard pouncing on its prey on the way up Red Screes,
a rainbow framing our route ahead to Hart Crag, the clouds parting to
reveal Wastwater, then Ennerdale Water, and evening views across to
the Isle of Man. But for me most of the pleasure came from the
support I received; the people running, driving, carrying, feeding
and encouraging me to achieve my dream. Thank you all.
