World Outdoor Web

A Trip to the Scottish Wilderness - Bothies and Munros

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:28:00 +0000

My friend Phil asked me if I had a weekend free at the end of February, a quick trip to Scotland to do some Munros. He said he had the accommodation sorted and the train tickets could easily be organised.

After a rather hectic week an early departure from Lancaster saw us heading to Blair Athol with bikes and enough food for 3 nights and days. The freebie newspaper in Glasgow had the North East of Scotland as full sun for the Saturday, perhaps our luck was in?

Before 1pm we were cycling up Glen Tilt with a stiff tailwind after failing to find any open cafés in Blair Atholl and making do with a few sandwiches and a very dubious pack of cream donuts from the local shop.

Despite taking a route on the wrong side of the valley (which joined the correct route after a scenic detour) things were going really well and the weather was very mild for late February. The idea was to cycle to the end of the track (12 miles) and then walk in to a hut (known in Scotland as bothies) which would be our base for three nights. The westerly wind was funnelled up the valley and pushed us up the gentle slope, whilst a couple we met cycling the other way were having a real battle.

The steep climb out of Glen Tilt

A steep climb over a pass on the last section of the ride led us to a rapid descent to the end of the track. The remaining 2 (ish) miles was walking so we left our bikes locked up and made our way up the vague path beside the river with panniers and rucksacks. It was fairly boggy going and with an attempt to cut a corner resulting in a mile of tussocky heather by the time the bothy came into view we were quite tired and also relieved.

The final obstacle was to balance across a plank spanning a fast running stream, a set of walking poles really helped here. The solid granite walls and new roof gave the building a sturdy appealing look but even the best kept bothies are extremely basic shelters. Our bothy, the Tarf Hotel, was built in a very odd location and obviously suffered from flooding several times a year. The floors were wet and if anything it was colder inside than out. With no source of wood within many miles (apart from soaking wet tree roots in the bogs of the nearby hills) we were in for a few cold nights! We chose a recently refurbished room with a sleeping platform big enough for 2 people, and a couple of chairs and a table. After a few warm drinks and a snack we felt much happier and settled down for the night.

The Tarf Both (Tarf Hotel)

I soon realised that even with a bivvy bag on top my sleeping bag was woefully inadequate in the fridge like climate of the bothy and spent a pretty uncomfortable night awaiting the dawn and a few hot drinks and hot porridge. My deflating thermarest didn't help matters either so it was with relief that I noticed the first sign of daylight, albeit rather grey.

The temperature gauge on the GPS showed 0.9 celcius, no wonder it had felt so cold! I had even slept in my duvet and hat. Phil got the jetboil stove going and plied me with warm drinks and I started feeling human again after a while.

Phil had a big day planned with possibly 4 munros to the north but all widely spaced so potentially 20 miles plus over mostly trackless terrain. We marched of at a good pace and via the first peak we descended over some snowy patches to the Geldie Lodge, a ruined hut in another equally desolate valley. A short food stop and we carried on over rough moorland towards Ben Bhrotain which at over 1100 metres was a long ascent. We were surprised to see people at the frozen and very windy summit, but it wasn't a place for friendly chatter, just a quick discussion about the best way off.

Descending from the arctic conditions we found a sheltered resting point and checked our progress, we were averaging 4kph so if we kept to that pace we could take in another munro on the way back. Straight line navigation over rough trackless terrain was not easy going.

Wading the Tarf

We did spot a few mountain hares in their all white winter coats as well as ptarmigans, buzzards and many chuntering grouse. Descending from our last summit of the day we met three walkers who were also going to stay at the bothy, they had got second choice of rooms at the Tarf Hotel!

Having covered over 32kms (20 miles) we were pretty hungry so fed ourselves well on pasta, cake and custard and after several hot drinks I put on as many layers as I could to stave off the inevitable cold night ahead. The temperature already was hovering at just 1.9 celcius. I kept warm enough but my sleeping mat which had needed an emergency repair went completely flat and so a second uncomfortable night was endured.


Cooking in the Bothy

The next day Phil suggested we head East to two munros back across Glen Tilt. This seemed a reasonable proposition but our tired legs had had enough by the time we got to the heather clad slopes beyond Fealar Lodge and we decided to head back to the bothy via an alternative route, we would still cover 28kms (18 miles)

Stream Crossing in Glen Tilt

A third night of cold looked to be on the cards, but I remembered a pile of discarded wood next to a shed near where we left the bikes, and so I filled my rucksack with about 25KG's of fuel. With the aid of some firelighters left in the bothy we got a great fire going and actually raised the temperature to 11C, which felt positively tropical!

Heat at Last - you just have to carry the fuel 2.5 miles!

Despite little rain the melting snow had raised the level of the "burn" we had to cross and we resorted to throwing our kit over before our final walk back to the bikes and the 12 mile pedal back to civilisation.

Escape!

Map showing Tarf Bothy to Ben Bhrotain Route - click to view

CLICK HERE FOR FULLSCREEN SLIDE SHOW

Hardmoors 60 Ultra Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:26:00 +0000

My main reason for entering this event was to gain enough "points" to enter the UTMB (Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc). However I discovered that the Hardmoors events are worthy challenges in their own right, and although no where near as hilly as other long distances challenges I have done, the pace required to complete them in the time limit makes them very tough propositions.

My friend Jules caught a nasty virus a week before the event and so I only knew one other person taking part, Matt Beardshall from Chesterfield. I'd arranged to meet up with Matt on the bus going from the finish (Filey) to the start (Saltburn by the Sea) at 5.30 am on the Saturday morning. With a good forecast for the weekend I felt well prepared as I pitched my tent on Friday evening just a few minutes from where I would be catching the bus. A restless nights sleep followed however, and next thing I knew it was daylight - that was odd I thought for a split second before I looked at my watch and realised I had overslept by 2 hours!

I bundled the tent into the car and drove like a maniac northwards. The car sat-nav said I could get to Saltburn by 8.10 am, that's after the race had started. However the quiet roads meant I got there at 7.35 am just as registration was closing. So I had 10 minutes to register, leave my "drop bags" for the route, have my breakfast, a drink, get changed, check my running kit was all packed, put on my foot cream and anti chaffing cream, sun cream, etc, etc. I just managed this and caught the tail end of the briefing and then it was time to set off! I felt worn out before I started.

Matt had tracked me down and we set off together at a steady pace to the Coast, trying hard to avoid the temptation to "race" the other 65 starters. I had a garmin GPS to allow me to try and judge the pace, it is very easy in distance events to go off way to fast and then grind to a halt later. To start with we were doing 10 minute miles, plenty fast enough, perhaps too fast?

The first checkpoint at Runswick Bay (13 miles) was just a mile away when I tripped on a section of cinder track and fell hard onto my knees and hands. It was like falling onto sandpaper and a considerable amount of blood oozed from the wounds, not a great start!

By the second checkpoint at Sandsend (19 miles - 3 hours 22 minutes) I was starting to feel fatigued, not a great sign so early in the event. But we were about 20th and had quite a lot of time in hand, so no excuse to "pack in" now. At Whitby a few miles later I did feel like stopping, weaving through the crowded streets I felt tired, jaded and the though of carrying on for another 40 miles was not appealing. I couldn't even appreciate the superb coastal scenery of the Cleveland Way.

I told Matt to carry on ahead as I was holding him back, and he gradually pulled away into the distance until I couldn't see him any more - very dispiriting! I did overtake another two runners (although by now much more walking was being done), especially on the vicious descents into places like Robin Hoods Bay and Boggle Hole. Forcing a couple of gels down I rallied slightly on the long climb up to checkpoint 3 at Ravenscar (32 miles in 6 hours 33 minutes). In the village hall at Ravenscar there were 5 or 6 VERY tired looking runners, including Matt. I just guzzled rice pudding, peaches (about 3 tins worth I think!) and warm tea, refilled with water and started to feel much better. Setting of with Matt 12 minutes later we rattled off the next few miles at a good pace, even having the energy to have a good chat for the first time. Things were looking up.

Scarborough hovered in the distance for a long time, never seeming to get any closer, but when we did eventually reach the promenade I found it very hard to run for more than a few minutes at a time, and even then it was at a very slow pace. We spoke briefly to Julien Pansiot who had caught us up before dropping behind again. He had been feeling ill earlier in the race and was doing well to carry on. The 43 mile checkpoint at Scarborough was actually at 45 miles but we got great encouragement from the Hardmoors checkpoint/support crew (we were in 13 place approx) who refilled out water and handed out goodies.

By now our average pace had settled to 12.30 minutes per mile, and indeed the miles were clicking over steadily. We had done 2 marathons in just over 11 hours by the time we got to the Filey Brigg checkpoint at dusk. Filey Brigg is a peninsula that sticks out just North of the town that marks the finishing point. However this wasn't the Hardmoors 53.4, so we had to go right past the finish line to complete an extra 10 mile loop to the South West of Filey. This meant nearly 2.5 hours wandering through fields and deserted villages to reach the last "clip" at Stocking Dale and finally return to Filey.

What a wonderful welcome as we walked in the hall to a huge round of applause. We finished = 13th in 13 hours 45 minutes.

Thanks to Jonathan Steel and the Hardmoors crew, I would throughly recommend your events to anyone. And thanks for the lift back to my car at Saltburn!

Hardmoors 60 route

mile splits - notice the slow down towards 32 miles and the recovery afterwards

Return to Embrunman

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:11:00 +0000

Two years ago Alistair and myself did our first long distance triathlon at this event based in the Southern Alps. We were both keen to go back to give it another go.

We had both gained experience from several more half Ironman triathlons and I personally felt better equipped to put in a better performance after much more long distance training including several tough training weeks in Spain with "Crazy Ian", lots of tough Saturday morning rides with the City of Lancaster Triathlon Club - C.O.L.T. and also two years of long distance fell running including two Bob Graham Rounds a Ramsay and a Paddy Buckley Round. Surely some of that should help? Last time I also had a bad calf muscle tear that made running very painful. In 2009 I had completed the event with its gruelling Alpine cycling leg over the Col D'Izoard of 185kms and 11,000 feet of climbing in 14.30 hours. I was hoping to knock well over an hour of this time.

Staying in a rented flat in the busy little tourist town that the triathlon takes its name from proved ideal. The run route actually went past the front door. And on our second visit here registration and getting set up was all pretty straight forward.

Bike ready in transition the day before

The pre race briefing seemed to go on forever in the baking late afternoon heat and threw up more questions than answers. Alistair unfortunately was not feeling 100 % with a chesty cough and lack of sleep.

However we arrived in transition at 5.00 am and despite some further confusion about the practice swim we made the dash into the lake for the standing start at 6am with the 1000 other starters.

Two laps of the warm shallow boating lake at 22c went fine with the day dawning about halfway through the swim. The early morning sunlight hitting the summits around the lake makes this a stunning venue. I noticed one guy next to me swimming without goggles, not quite sure why you would do that!

Alistair was already in transition when I arrived and we had both improved a bit from 2 years ago, but was still only 737 out of the 1,000 starters) One guy close to us got a red penalty card for blatant nudity and gesticulated with the referee with more than two hands!

Two years ago I had headed off too fast on the initial climb so this time I rode quite strickly to heart rate trying to keep below 150 (my max is 175) and average no higher than 140. Even so I was faster over the first 20 mainly uphill kms than I was before by a few minutes. I had made a note of times for each 20kms and stuck it to my crossbar as a reference. Despite being just 7.30 am it was already warming up as we passed through small Alpine villages before the technical narrow and twisting descent back to the lake, this route doesn't mess about - you do 1,500 feet of climbing in the first 3 miles. The next section along the lake is about the only section of the route that you could describe as flat and it felt good to cruise along at 35/40 kph for a few kms. Next the return through Embrun with the roads lined with supporters. The cyclist in front of me signalled for the crowd to increase the volume even moreand we rode through a wall of sound. I employed this technique later on the run to great effect and the crowds never failed to respond.

Dropping back down to a river the air felt cold, but nowhere near cold enough to require a jacket like some of the French and Spanish riders who must have been far more acclimatised to the heat. One lady spectator told me I should zip my top up, worried that I might get cold?!

3 hours into the ride and I was on the toughest part of the main climb of the Col D'Izoard. This is a straight road at 10% for about 5 kms with no escape from the rapidly increasing heat. I had gained a few more minutes on my previous schedule but was careful not to race other riders who came past me. Even with the highest point of the route coming up there was still plenty of ascent in even hotter conditions to come.

The spectacular Alpine scenery distracted from the effort needed as did the continual interest of Continental tri teams kit. Levens has a big tri club it seems! Different pronunciation to the Levens South of Kendal though. Then I spotted a tri top with Braintree on the side, time for a brief chat before concentrating on the final sections, past the memorial to Coppi and Bobbet.

On the Col D'Izoard at 2,500 metres - 7,500 feet

I was pleased to be 20 minutes up on my previous time at the summit and stopped for the first time to refill water bottles. I thought I may as well get the benefit of extra momentum on the fantastic descent to come.

Approaching the summit of the Col D'Izoard

Just a few weeks ago Andy Schlek was riding away from the peleton in the Tour de France and the roads were still covered in fresh graffiti including one saying "Cadel this way" with an arrow hoping to guide him off the road. With all traffic going one way you are free to let rip on the descents, cut corners and crank it over on the many hairpins. I overtook a race refs motobike and made the most of it. At one point I glanced down at my speedo, 80kph!

All to soon you arrive in Briancon and speed through the junctions and cheering crowds onto a fast section of mainroad before what is perhaps the toughest section of the bike course. 3 big climbs into a headwind with the temperature on my Garmin gps now reading above 30c. I picked up lots of places on this section but still watched my heart rate. The final climb of around 1,000 feet is a real sting in the tail and has a technical uneven descent to transition.

7 hours 22 mins on the bike meant I had improved 40 minutes and gained 483 positions, but more importantly I felt 'intact' although I took a painkiller to take the edge off a slight headache caused by the heat.

Two years ago the run had been arduous from the start. This is a tough run course as well with over 2,000 feet of climbing, but this time my legs felt great and along the first flat sections of gravel track I ran comfortably at 5.30 minute kilometres, which was really pleasing. My son Matty and Alistairs wife Emma were at the 4kms point and I told them all was going well. There is a steep ascent of over 300 feet up to the town but the reward is deafening support with drum beating and cheering through the narrow streets and market square, this really spurs you on. Plenty of sponges and cold water every few kms also help. Descending from the town Alistair spotted me as he was heading onto the final section of the bike course. It was great to know that he was still going strong.

I was overtaking quite a few people on the downhills and completed the first half of the run in 2 hours. You wear a paper necklace for the second lap so you can tell who is on the first lap or second lap. It was surprising to see how sleek and stylish some of the runners were who were 20kms behind me. Suddenly at 25kms I hit the 'wall'. From cruising and enjoying the run my legs were tiring, I had to walk the uphills and the downhills became very painful. The feed stations became vital, not for food especially but for a good soaking with the sponges to cool down in the scorching afternoon heat. All I could do was grind out the kms and hang in there. On the last run through the crowds in the village I signalled for more volume and the result was awesome, a real buzz.

The hot southerly wind made it worthwhile tucking in behind people if the pace was OK. At one point I overtook a couple of 2nd lappers who then tucked in behind me on the last hill, This made me determined to keep the pace going and eventually I heard them both fade and start walking. Very satisfying!

I passed Alistair going the other way (he was starting his second lap and still looked strong) and high fived with just a couple of kms to go. 13 hours 12 mins gone and I came into the finishing straight and demanded 'more volume' from the crowd.

The Finish!

The last 2 hours had been very tough but I was elated by my result. 190th overall and 19th in the V2 age category. I hadn't dropped any positions in the run. In fact I had gained 90 positions overall.

Alistair also made it back to complete his second Embrunman.

Full results here

Below are records of the elevation gains in bike and run.

Relaxing the next day

Bob Graham Round in Winter - success!

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:49:00 +0000

Quote from Bob Graham Club web site: "Whatever the motivation, completing a successful winter Bob Graham Round is a fabulous experience and achievement and those who have done so should rightly be saluted."

Prior to the 2010/11 winter only 18 succesful winter rounds have been recorded since the first in 1986

After a failed attempt in Early January at a Bob Graham winter round and some more hill training to boost endurance time was slipping away for another attempt before the end of February. But following a weeks rest after what I decided was to be my last training run, the forecasts were showing a brief window of opportunity with a ridge of high pressure from Monday evening to Tuesday afternoon. By the Sunday morning (the day before) I had made the decision to have a go, hoping enough support could be found. Dick Gerrish was well practised in road support after my first round in May 2010 and the failed January attempt. He was ready to go at a moments notice. Being midweek, running support was harder to find. In stepped Ian 'Crazy' Richardson, my Triathlon training buddy, Jules Coleman and Andy Smilie from Lonsdale Fell Runners, and Tim Lezard who drove all the way up from Brighton! 'Bradford Dave' from Hesketh Newmarket also offered support for leg 1 at the last moment.

With a skeleton support team in place and kit ready the drive from Kendal to Lancaster through heavy showers on a gloomy Monday afternoon, with streams pouring down the hillsides was reminder that the BG in winter always going to be a tough challenge, no matter what the forecast.

The 7pm start time was chosen so I would have as much daylight as possible over the crucial central fells, when visual contact with your support runners is so important. As fortune would have it it also meant that the last of the evening rain in Keswick had passed and the quarter moon slipped out from the clouds on cue.

LEG ONE - KESWICK TO THRELKELD

It was a deserted Keswick apart from a couple walking past the Moot Hall who spotted the BG attempt in the offing and wished us good luck. The severe storms of the last week and heavy rains had swollen the rivers and we had been warned that the crossing of the Caldew could be hazardous. 'Bradford Dave' ran into problems on the slopes of Skiddaw, he had twisted an Ankle we later found out and his light trailed behind before he turned back to Keswick.

Blencathra Summit

For a while it was clear with the lights of Keswick below. Then a vicious hailstorm rolled in to test our metal, blasting into our faces we quickly donned waterproofs and thankfully it faded. Is there ever a calm day on Skiddaw? With a strong westerly plastering rime frost on the rocks and trig point we were glad to turn East and head towards Great Calva 5 minutes up on schedule. It was reasonably boggy heading to Great Calva, but not as bad as I'd feared, and another 5 minutes gained on the 23.20 schedule by the 2nd summit. The River Caldew was the next worry, and by the time we had to wade across our feet were numb from the drenching effect of the heather on the descent from Great Calva. The wade across although chilly was not too hazardous.

My last winter attempt had started to get really hard on the ascent of Blencathra, today there was just a thin covering of snow on frozen ground, glistening in the torchlight. Threlkeld came into view and flashing my torch down soon got the welcome responding flash from the road support team. 'Parachute Route' dispatched the leg took 3 hours 29 minutes. 24 minutes up was a great start.

LEG TWO - THRELKELD TO DUNMAIL RAISE

Road support kicked into action and I discovered I had an extra support runner (Andy S) for leg 2, a real bonus. A huge mug of warm tea is like nectar after a few hours out in sub zero temperatures, and a tin of warm rice pudding hit the spot.

The now familiar walk up Clough Head in the dark came next, ice was rapidly forming even at low levels and the temperature dropped further. Over the Dodds we gained a few more minutes even at a steady pace, and whilst I concentrated on efficient movement and the task ahead Jules and Andys chatter about the years running events ahead proved a welcome distraction as we moved along the ridges in our bubble of light.

Jules refuelling me on leg 2

By the time we reached Stybarrow Dodd we were in cloud, reducing visbility to 10 or so. The GPS tracks saved from the summer nudged us at times back on the the correct bearing. No line of BG teams and their torches tonight as there had been in May, it was to be Great Gable before I saw another person on the hills!

What was Bob Graham thinking when he turned left at Fairfield? It's one of those sections that always seems a killer, but spot on route finding down from Dollywagon meant we gained a few minutes again.

Leaving Helvellyn Summit

Once again the flashing light from the support team lifted my spirits and more tea was consumed, but worryingly I found it hard to stomach anything else, also I had hardly eaten anything on the last leg, there was trouble ahead!

LEG THREE - DUNMAIL TO WASDALE

The make or break leg, with fell virgin Tim ready and chomping at the bit the steep climb up Steel Fell went well, although I was now starting to struggle to run or jog on the easy ground. Feeling a bit queasy and bloated I was trying to convince myself that I had eaten enough at Dunmail to keep me going for a few hours. I chatted with Tim and quizzed him about his running, cycling and triathlon exploits, but as I grew weaker and started to tire and the minutes started to slip, a couple each peak it was becoming obvious to me that a could soon be in trouble. I was desperate for the night to end, surely that would change everything and lift my spirits? By Rosset Pike I was just 24 minutes ahead of schedule, which sounds fine, but a gradual shedding of minutes can soon escalate. I was feeling very very weary on the slopes of Bowfell, tackling the occasisional patch of hard neve didn't help matters. I told Tim I wasn't going to last much longer if I didn't start to feel better soon. Negative thoughts swirled around my head, 'who did I think I was thinking I could do the BG in winter?' I couldn't conceive of the remaining effort it would need to get round. I tried to think positive thoughts, just keep moving, your ahead of schedule still, and when I thought about it it wasn't my legs that were tired it was just a lack of energy. I asked Tim to carry my pack, and he said to me that I simply had to start taking Gels, the thought was repellant, but over the course of a few minutes the feeling of sickness subsided and the first Gel worked almost instantly.

Returning to Tim after Bowfell summit

Energy returned to my legs as dawn lit up the winter view over the central fells. At Esk Pike I had not lost any more time, and by Great End I had gained a few minutes again. Tim was struggling on the rocky ground though, which was covered in ice and rime frost, but it was the sort of challenge I relish. I instructed Tim to take a direct route avoiding the detours to Esk Pike,Great End, Ill Crag and Broad Crag which meant he could just stay in touch. Scafell Pike was covered in cloud and we lost sight briefly and vocal contact kept us together.

Foxes Tarn was something I had been trying to put to the back of my mind. I knew it was going to eat up much more time. Tim was giving it everything to keep moving over the testing terrain, and I think if he had known what the traverse to Foxes Tarn was like he would have refused! The brooding East Butress of Scafell above, exposure beneath and the icy slabs and bad steps which were just manageable in the conditions. 'Do you have anything like this in Brighton' I quipped.

Approaching the end of the climb from Foxes Tarn I instructed Tim to wait at the col near Scafell whilst I did the last summit on this leg, but when I returned he was still not at the col. I back tracked a short distance and he appeared out the gloom, looking pretty shattered. He told me to head down to Wasdale as he was going to take his time so I set of alone and Wasdale soon came into view. Over the last three summits I had not checked the time (the GPS recorded that) and as Tim had the time sheet I had no idea how things stood, although I was pretty convinced that I had lost so much time via Foxes Tarn and my bout of weakness that the game was up.

'How far behing schedule am I?' I asked Dick as I arrived at the van. 'Still ten minutes ahead' came the amazing reply!

LEG 4 - WASDALE TO HONISTER

Feeling more able to 'stuff my face' with the crumpets on offer (Dick just seems to know what I will want by intuition now) my spirits lifted. The ascent of Yewbarrow was of course tough and I was sweating hard, but my energy levels felt more normal. Wastwater lay like a mirror, not a breath of wind. I now believed for the first time that I could actually do this. With 'Crazy' Ian for company I got great encouragement and a massive 10 minutes gained at the summit was another big bonus. Ian went over on his ankle and was hobbling, it was a good job the fells were deserted and the air was blue! But he soon recovered and we carried on.

Being a lover of rocky terrain I shot ahead on the rocky traverse from Yewbarrow, but despite a disrupted nights sleep after supporting me on leg one, I knew Ian would catch me up on the lower slopes of Red Pike. He even carried my pack, what hero! Ian sat out the return trip to Steeple and we cursed forgetting the camera as the views were amazing.

The clouds gradually lifted and for the rest of the day the weather treated us kindly. A gentle westerly breeze on the summits pushed us along as we continued to gain time. I took a headlong fall downhill on the rocky terrain off Kirkfell, bashing my knee and causing a sharp spasm in my calf that had me worried briefly, but no serious damage done. The last 'killer climb' of the round is Gable and with Ian feeding me a gel every 40 minutes as well as consuming plenty of energy drink I managed to keep a good pace going and once again I was 30 minutes up. We even met a few walkers!

From Gable the rest of the route is laid out on a clear day, this is the first time I've seen that view with a BG perspective. I guess if you are feeling drained it looks a long way, but with spirits high, tempered by fatigue it looked fine to me. I would settle for doing that in 5 hours, which was the time I had left.

LEG 5 - HONISTER TO KESWICK

Arriving with plenty of time in hand, and body reasonably intact I relaxed in the van and was fed bacon butties and tended to again by the Dick Gerrish support system, fantastic! Tim was there as well (thankfully he'd made it down from Scafell OK).

Leaving Honister

As I set off up the long slopes of Dale Head with Ian I knew I could let the pace slip. The day had taken its toll and this was all about finishing. Looking across to Skiddaw and Helvellyn in the fading daylight with their snow capped tips brought back the enormity of the route, was that only 18 hours ago I was on those hills? The central fells remained shrouded in cloud.

Completing the last summit

Despite virtually no wind now it got very cold towards sunset but even with legs now protesting on the steep run off Robinson we were relieved to start heading down into the valley. We meet Dick and Tim at the road end and headed towards the distant lights of Keswick.The Owls were hooting in the woods just beyond Hawes End, I wonder what were they saying?

And so to Keswick, when I finished in summer I had to battle through the crowds, today there were just a few club runners doing some evening training and some locals going about their daily business, no tourist throngs or queues of traffic. The main street around Moot Hall was deserted. 23 hours 19 minutes had passed. I told Dick, Ian and Tim that that was the toughest thing I'd ever done or ever wanted to do, and I won't be changing my mind! But with good luck, determination, and great support I felt I'd achieved something really special.

Full screen slide show here

You can read Dick Gerrishs live report from the day here

List of Successful winter rounds

Location	State of light	Estimated time	Actual Time	Ahead or Behind
Moot Hall	Dark	19:00	19:00
Skiddaw	Dark	20:25	20:20	+5
Great Calva	Dark	21:10	21:00	+10
Blencathra	Dark	22:20	22:04	+16
Threlkeld - Arrive	Dark	22:51	22:29	+22
Threlkeld - Depart	Dark	23:06	22:42	+24
Time for leg	3hrs 51		3:29

Clough Head	Dark	00:05	11:36	+29
Great Dodd	Dark	00:35	12:07	+28
Watson Dodd	Dark	00:44	12:17	+27
Stybarrow Dodd	Dark	00:53	12:28	+25
Raise	Dark	01:11	12:45	+26
White Side	Dark	01:19	12:53	+26
Helvellyn Lower Man	Dark	01:37	01:05	+28
Helvellyn	Dark	01:43	01:14	+29
Nethermost Pike	Dark	01:53	01:23	+30
Dollywaggon Pike	Dark	02:05	01:36	+29
Fairfield	Dark	02:47	02:14	+33
Seat Sandal	Dark	03:12	02:37	+35
Dunmail Raise - Arrive	Dark	03:37	02:54	+43
Dunmail Raise - Depart	Dark	03:52	03:11	+41
Time for leg	4hrs 31		4:12

Steel Fell	Dark	04:17	03:35	+42
Calf Crag	Dark	04:37	03:59	+38
Sergeant Man	Dark	05:12	04:35	+37
High Raise	Dark	05:21	04:46	+35
Thunacar Knott	Dark	05:36	05:03	+33
Harrison Stickle	Dark	05:46	05:13	+33
Pike o Stickle	Dark	05:58	05:27	+31
Rossett Pike	Dark	06:43	06:19	+24
Bowfell	Dawn	07:18	06:55	+23
Esk Pike	Dawn	07:43	07:20	+23
Great End	Dawn	08:08	07:42	+26
Ill Crag	Dawn	08:23	07:56	+27
Broad Crag	Dawn	08:33	08:06	+27
Scafell Pike	Dawn	08:45	08:21	+24
Scafell	Daylight	09:17	09:09	+8
Wasdale - Arrive	Daylight	09:52	09:42	+10
Wasdale - Depart	Daylight	10:12	09:56
Time for leg	6hrs 00		6:31

Yewbarrow	Daylight	11:02	10:42	+20
Red Pike	Daylight	11:52	11:28	+24
Steeple	Daylight	12:16	11:50	+26
Pillar	Daylight	12:50	12:22	+28
KirkFell	Daylight	13:40	13:13	+27
Great Gable	Daylight	14:23	13:53	+30
Green Gable	Daylight	14:38	14:07	+31
Brandreth	Daylight	14:56	14:22	+33
Grey Knotts	Daylight	15:04	14:31	+33
Honister - Arrive	Daylight	15:17	14:47	+30
Honister - Depart	Daylight	15:31
Time for leg	5hrs 05		4:51


Dalehead	Daylight	16:04	15:39	+25
Hindscarth	Dusk	16:25	15:58	+27
Robinson	Dusk	16:51	16:23	+28
Keswick Moot Hall	Dark	18:31	18:19	+11

Live reports from a BG winter attempt

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 15:20:00 +0000

Tuesday, 8 February 2011

HE HAS FINISHED

23.19 Winter Bob Graham round completed. Tom apologises to his team mates but he won't be at training tonight, he needs a rest.
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Portinscale

1800 Portinscale, hard going but 1 hour remaining and 2k. He will do it! Ian ..... bouncing!
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Down off the fells

Arrived Newlands 1705 7k to go. If they do it in the allowed time then he will be sub 23 hours!
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Nearly there

We are on our way round to Newlands. Last night on Blencathra seems a long time ago. They set off up Dalehead looking good. 1 1/2 hours until dark again.
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Honister

Arrived Honister 1447 30 mins ahead of schedule making up 15mins on this leg. Tom has been eating all the way and was in great form. Bacon butties and tea, set off at 1504 up Dalehead. Ian the donkey well loaded up in fine spirits. 4 hours left to do what is down for 3 hours on the plan. Sub 23 hours is it possible?
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Scafell encased in ice

Tim down safe at 1013. For a BG aspirant he has had a brutal introduction to the realities of the Central Fells and a winter attempt as well. Good effort.
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Tom preparing to leave for leg 4

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Tom arrived Wasdale at 0942 ten mins ahead of 2330 schedule. Rocks on high fells icy and Foxes Tarn route ate up the time cushion from Dunmail. He felt bad at Bowfell but took power gels and settled down after that. Ate crumpets and tea, change of clothing. Set off on leg 4 with Ian at 0956 16 mins ahead of his planned time.

Brighton Tim left somewhere on Central Fells, I am waiting for him in Wasdale.
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Dunmail

Tom arrived Dunmail, 0254, 43 mins ahead of 23.30 schedule. Stopped for 15 mins drank tea and ate rice pudding, change of clothing and footwear. Set off with Brighton Tim on leg 3 at 0210. Next stop Wasdale in the light.
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Monday, 7 February 2011

Threlkeld

Tom arrived Threlkeld 2225 25 mins ahead of schedule. Food and change of clothing then set off on leg two at 2240 26 mins ahead of schedule. In v good spirits.
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They have started

7pm, skies clearing they set off. Leg 1 Tom, Ian and Bradford Dave. Lights seem low down on Skiddaw bit low cloud cover will stop any more views of them until Threlkeld at about 2245.
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Choices

Which shoes do I chose? Rain intermittent, temp in Keswick about 4 Celsius. 40 mins to go.
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We are here in Keswick

Drove through some heavy rain at Dunmail. Water pouring off the fells but weather no too bad in Keswick. 1 hour to go to start.
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Setting off

The wind has dropped a lot, the sun briefly shone, Tom Ian and support crew are setting off for Keswick.
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Felltop forecast Lake District

4 hours to go.

Forecast for Monday

Weather:

Rain at first to all levels, will be occasionally heavy at times as extensive hill fog covers the hills. During the morning the rain will turn lighter and patchier before turning more showery in nature for the afternoon. It will also turn brighter as some sunnier breaks appear during the afternoon and hill fog lifts. Turning colder during the day on the summits as the showers turn to snow in the afternoon above 500 metres. Very windy at first on the hills with a danger of losing one's footing in the storm force winds, but winds will ease during the day.

Visibility:

Moderate to poor at first, becoming good occasionally moderate later.

Hill Fog:

Overcast at 550 metres, occasionally broken at 360 metres. Becoming broken or well broken at 670 metres into the afternoon, occasionally broken in showers 450 metres.

Maximum winds above 500m:

Southwest 40 to 50 mph, gusting 70 mph, veering and easing from late morning Northwest 35 mph, gusting 60 mph.

Temperature:

Valleys/Low level: Plus 7 Celsius
At 900m: Plus 3 Celsius lowering to Plus 1 Celsius
Freezing level: Above the summits at first but
lowering to 900 metres during the day.

Chance of precipitation:

Dawn - 0900: Heavy Rain. 80% chance of rain
0900 - 1200: Light rain. 40% chance of rain
1200 - 1500: Heavy rain showers. 30% chance of rain
1500 - Dusk: Light rain showers. 30% chance of rain

Forecast for Tuesday

Weather:

Another bright day with sunnier spells as a few showers continue to occur at first. The showers will be less frequent and more widespread than Monday, with parts of the east and south staying dry. The showers will fall as snow above 350 metres before dying out into the afternoon.

Visibility:

Good occasionally moderate at first in the showers.

Hill Fog:

Broken or well broken at 670 metres, occasionally broken during the morning in showers 450 metres.

Maximum winds above 500m:

Southwest 15-20 mph, backing South 10-15 mph.

6 hours to set off time

The atrocious weather is slowly improving leaving behind swollen rivers and boggy ground. The 1pm weather forecast is for windy conditions improving in to Tuesday so Tom is set to go leaving the Moot Hall in Keswick at 7pm for his Bob Graham winter attempt.

Regular updates on Toms progress over the 24 hour challenge will be posted to this blog as and when mobile phone signal allow.
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Howgill Ultra Run

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:54:00 +0000

How hilly can you make a run? In the Howgills pretty hilly! The route may not be logical, but it is certainly good training. However this 6.30 hour outing was rather lonely, not a single person in sight all day. And above the 400 metre line it was poor visibility and sub-zero, I just followed the thin black line on my GPS up and down the slopes. Without consulting the map all day it was a pleasant surprise to realise on one really steep descent that I was further than I thought as the Cautley Valley appeared through the gloom.

The loneliness of the Howgill Runner

Hoar frost or "rime" had built up on the grass and fences, and towards dusk the temperature on the tops plummeted.

Rime frost on the Howgill Fences.

20km run in red - 30km run in blue
1,500 and 2,800 metres of ascent respectively

Hilly Howgills

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:31:00 +0000

Although I have mountain biked in the Howgills and done some training many years ago for the KIMM, it is an area I not run in very often.

The well grazed slopes actually make it perfect for Bob Graham training, you can just plot a route up and down all the long ridges, so lots of steep ascent and descent!

On a perfect January day, frosty underfoot we (Ian, Martin, Rob and myself) tackled a 20 km route with around 5,500 feet of ascent and descent.

The last climb up from the Cautley Spout valley to Great Dummacks is a monster for sure, over 1,500 feet of relentless ascent. If this doesn't make your legs strong nothing will!

Ian ascending Nab Comb, Howgills

Martin on the very long (1,500ft of ascent) ridge of Bram Rigg

Tom enjoying the great weather - Bram Rigg Top

Map of our Howgills Running Route

A Bowland Favourite

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:32:00 +0000

Some routes are a perfect balance of terrain and distance. This is one such route and starts from near Quernmore. It a good 2.5 to 3 hour run, fast tracks but plenty of climbing as well.

Being a wednesday morning I had the route to myself, not seeing a single person on the entire run. A male grouse with it's bright red comb (breeding season coming up) must have seen me as some kind of threat as it chased me up the first hill for a good 50 metres. The sheep didn't follow me today - they must have been fed. After 6 days rest the running felt easy today, and the first 10kms took exactly 1 hour, over 2 minutes faster than last time. And with the overall average of 5.38 minutes per kilometre this was my fastest ever Bowland run.

map showing the 25km route

Kilometre splits

Solo Over Bowland - Winter Running

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:44:00 +0000

Even at weekends the Bowland fells are quiet, midweek you can go for miles without seeing anyone. Today was such a day. It was over 25kms before I saw another person. Another perfect day for running with a hard frost overnight and incredibly clear skies. Snowdonia just peeping up above the sea of cloud to the SW and the Pennines beyond Manchester to the South meant visibility was well over 60 miles.

Looking South from the tracks above Tarnbrook

Only the occaisional startled Grouse disturbed the solitude and the hard frost meant the ground was not its normal boggy consistancy when eventually heading off the tracks and onto the rough fell.

Ingleborough with the steep track encountered at the 25km point in the foreground

Solo running can be tough, but at least you choose the pace to run at. Unlike the Bob Graham route the relatively gentle terrain in Bowland means 95% plus of the running routes are runable, so you are running for much longer than you would be on legs of the BG. With legs feeling tired still from Mondays long cycle/run/cycle I was careful to keep a very steady pace which settled to 7 minutes per kilometer. Returning Westward Morecambe Bay was gradually filling with cloud and Lancaster was to be engulfed by the freezing fog in the late afternoon.


1km to go - view towards Lancaster

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Bob Graham Round in Winter - Ramsay Round in Summer - Training

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:28:00 +0000

Building up to another attempt at a BG winter round I completed this training circuit - a great 30km run over Ingleborough and Whernside as well as the cycle to and from Lancaster.

The early mist burnt away even with the week January sunshine and with hardly any wind the conditions were perfect for a long run. Ingleborough remained shrounded in a very thin veil of mist, very picturesque, but I didn't bring my camera! The final run up and down the steps at Beezly falls (in spate) was a spectaular but tough sting in the tail. At least I had enough energy to cycle back the 27kms to Lancaster in 60 mins!

Running route over Ingleborough and Whernside from Ingleton - 30km

Bob Graham Round in Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:02:00 +0000

My running and climbing friend Jules Coleman sowed this seed in my head, and after completing the Bob Graham Round in May 2010 the winter round was occupying my thoughts during the later part of the year. Normally a time when I do little running (cycling, winter climing, caving, mountain biking fill up the time nicely!) I built up my stamina again throughout October and November with some good long 30km runs.

This came to a shuddering halt in December when I came of my road bike and badly bruised my hip, then when just recovering from that I twisted an ankle (in winter mountaineering boots?!).

However I had plenty of hilly cycling "in my legs" and so the uphill sections were not too much of a worry, the downhill though I knew might be a different matter, as this is what eventually wrecks your legs.

For a midwinter attempt we had to complete by the 11th Jan, and so by New Year we agreed to have a go at the next opportunity. With changing forecasts we bought forward our attempt by 24 hours to coincide with a clear spell of approx 18 hours weather. We didn't realise how much snow had fallen the previous two days though. Our video below tells the story of our efforts.

CLICK HERE for Bob Graham Round in WInter Photo Gallery

Bob Graham Round - May 18th/19th 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:04:00 +0000

The Bob Graham 24 Hour Club says:

"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...!"

May 28th 2010. 6pm. Keswick.

The moment had arrived. 14 years after my first attempt at this 24 hours, 70 mile, 42 peak challenge I was now ready for another go. With around 500 miles of training in the first few months of 2010 I was realistically as fit as I was ever going to be, but with the recent memory of a night run over part of the route that went badly wrong some negative thoughts were still swirling around in my head.

I sort of knew that today would be different though, the support from friends would be there, running with me and waiting at each of the 4 road crossings. I would also be running with my own support runners on each leg who would carry most of my food and clothing for me. Andy, with whom I had trained more most of the year had his own support runners but the idea was to stick together for the first leg.

Andy (left) and myself at the Moot Hall in Keswick

LEG 1 - Keswick to Threlkeld
Distance: 12.5 miles, Ascent: c.5150ft
Support Runners - John Garner and Richard Mellon

6pm - we set of at a jog, and decide to go through an alley with the sign "Sweet Temptation" above it. Leading us towards the East of Keswick and the long first climb up the first peak, Skiddaw. It's very easy to set of too fast with all the adrenalin and excitement, I was using a heart rate monitor to keep a control on my pace on the first three stages at least, and this proved very useful as I had to keep slowing myself to bring my heart rate down to what I thought was sensible (under 140 bpm).

It was a perfect evening, clear skies, and evening sunlight with great views over the Northern Lakes and Southern Scotland. The dry winter and spring meant the conditions underfoot were perfect, but the weather forecast suggested that we may be in for some rain the next morning, that was a long way off yet though.

Tom on Skiddaw Summit - high spirits

Skiddaw summit was completed a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, my plan was based on a 22 hour 20 minute schedule, which would give me some time in hand should there be bad weather or other problems. Besides carrying my hill food and spare clothing, my support runners would also record my time over each summit. Next was Great Calva, and then Blencathra, the training runs over this leg really paid of as I now knew the best line to take over the rough heather clad hills. I was linking together familiar little landmarks, path junction veer right, keep to left of stream, down through the heather to an improving path, a clear patch of grass, it was feeling good.

I had to be just as careful not to "over do it " going downhill is as tough as going uphill. 30,000 feet of uphill may seem a lot, but the same amount of downhill means your legs can eventually buckle and give way if you get over enthusiastic. John and Richard reminded me to keep drinking, I emptied the last of 1.5 litres of sports drink from my camelback and eat some nuts heading up the third peak, Blencathra. We were well ahead of schedule now (were we going too fast?!). Next the big steep descent to Threlkeld. John had worked out a super new route that smoothed out the descent and connected bits of scree together. This meant you could avoid the rocky ledges of Halls Fell Ridge, gain time and also expend less effort. Get it wrong though and you could be floundering through deep heather, or be stuck above crags and steep ravines. It all went well though and looking behind I could see Andy's group following close behind. Richard went ahead to let Dick and Sharon (ground support) know that we were arriving early (by 30 minutes), and to make sure Phil was ready for leg 2.

It was action stations at the campervan, a seat appeared for me, some rice pudding, a cup of tea. A quick double check of headtorches, food, drink, summit check list and spare clothing for the next leg. 7 minutes after arriving I was on my way again, other support crews also buzzing with excitement and activity.

LEG 2 - Threlkeld to Dunmail
Distance: 13.2 miles, Ascent: c.5900ft
Support Runner Phil Whiting

Phil told me he had supported 4 BG efforts so far - all of them had failed! There were several groups ahead and behind us now heading up the first summit of leg 2 (Clough Head). Again I checked my heartrate and slowed down on the steep climb to conserve energy. Despite what felt like a very easy pace I was still up on time at Clough Head summit as the lights of Keswick, Penrith heralded the 6 hours of darkness to come, by the time dawn came I would have a good idea if I was going to get around or not.

The Helvellyn ridge was marked up by the head torches of each support group, like some surreal mountain highway. Then the occasional burst of light as the teams headed over the summits and looked back at the following groups. At times the lights appeared to be floating way above us in the darkness. Banks of cloud were obscuring the nearly full moon which occasionally showed up as a rather sinister red disc. At one point a group had overshot a summit and was heading back to it as we hit it direct (My Garmin wrist GPS proved invaluable in the night). The rocky sections of Dollywagon came and went and the out and back leg to Fairfield meant we met groups coming down as we were heading up, including Andy's group who were about 20 minutes ahead of us now. As we passed we briefly spoke - Andy was enjoying it!

The steep return down Fairfield was taken carefully and then the final peak of this leg, Seat Sandal remained before the drop to Dunmail Raise. Suddenly beneath us were the waiting support vehicles, and there at the stile was Dick ready to guide me to the van. Another blur of activity, check clothing, drink (I nearly took just water by mistake), mug of tea, two big bowls of muesli gulped down, and after just 7 minutes I was off again on the next leg.

The look of fear - leg 3 coming up

LEG 3 - Dunmail to Wasdale
Distance: 15.2 miles, Ascent: c.6500ft
Support Runner Alistair Shawcross (ropes Dick and Sharon Gerrish)

Alistair was my support on leg three (the graveyard shift), he had drawn the short straw starting at 1.48 am (approx 30 mins up on schedule still). We had the severe slimb of Steel Fell for starters, then undulating rough ground to Calf Crag, which seemed to take a long time and I worried that we had over-shot it, but it eventually loomed out the darkness and according to the schedule we were holding the pace fine, neither gaining or loosing further time, with time in hand I was more than happy with that.

Three weeks ago I had done a night time run and felt awful by 4 am, so I was worried that I might end up in the same condition today! The groups that were so close together on leg 2 were now more spread out, just the occaisional flicker of lights as teams hit the summits indicated that we were not entirely alone.

On such long runs your mind can start playing games, is that my knee hurting? or my ankle? am I starting to feel tired? But then the soft light of dawn came and I still felt OK (unlike another runner we passed near Harrison Stickle who was kneeling on the ground and retching uncontrollably).

Low clouds in the valleys to the east and a soft pink sunrise accompanied our approach to Rosset Pike and the start of the "real" mountains of the Central Lakes. Bowfell to Scafell is a tough section, with lots of boulder hopping, steep rocky descents, and some tricky navigation when the visibility dropped to a few metres at times.

Coming of Bowfell in poor visibility

Approaching Scafell the weather deteriorated, it was now light but steady rain and mist were making things very slippery underfoot. Suddenly we had caught up with a couple of other groups, including Andy (who was still going very strong), and together we tackled the slippery and treacherous climb of Broadstand. Dick and Sharon were there with ropes to help us up, they had driven around from Dunmail Raise, walked up Scafell and got the ropes in place just a few minutes before we arrived!

"Heave Ho" up Broadstand

Coming of Scafell at 6.45 am I was expecting the worse for the next leg in terms of weather. A few weeks before on a training run over this section we had been drenched by cold rain and sleet, It was not enjoyable. However just a few minutes after leaving the summit we came out the clouds and there were in front of us was Wasdale and all the peaks of the next leg. The weather was perhaps going to be kinder with us this time!

Alistair was tiring and I arrived in Wasdale alone, but there to greet me was the "Bob Graham Support Circus" and more specifically my helpers for the next leg, Ian and Andy. This was my longest "rest" (16 minutes), although I was busy all the time, changing my socks, t shirt and top, and checking we had everything we needed for the next leg. Alistair made a stirling effort and arrived with my emergency kit, walking poles and more importantly some Nurofen tablets that I felt may be useful. I had felt very "delicate" descending the 3,000 feet into Wasdale, with a stiff left knee and ankle, so I knew the painkillers may be needed.

Leg 4 - Wasdale to Honister
Distance: 10 miles, Ascent: c.6300ft

Support Runners Ian Richardson and Andy McVitie

I felt strong heading up Yewbarrow at the start of leg 4. This peak looks like a vertical wall from the valley, it is relentlessly steep and it climbs from close to sea level to over 2,000 feet in less than a kilometre. Being careful still not to "overdo it" I hit the summit 47 minutes after leaving Wasdale, bang on the scheduled time for the ascent.

Heading up Yewbarrow

Next came Red Pike, then the outlying rocky peak of Steeple and further tough terrain took us to Pillar. Again the visibility was poor at times, but my Garmin GPS helped to get the key sections spot on (neither Ian nor Andy had run this leg before so I was solely responsible for navigation). Although Ian wasn't navigating he did take up the role of entertainments officer, singing "Ten Green Bottles, Nine Green Bottles", etc at 100 decibels as each peak passed. In fact someone supporting Andy on this leg remarked to Andy "weird - I could hear this singing but couldn't see anyone!"

Leg 4 - Starting up Great Gable

The steep rocky climbs of Kirkfell and Gable were the last severe ascents, the huge dome of Gable had been looming to the East for the last few hours, and heading over the rocky summit in the mist felt like a key moment. I seemed to gain fresh energy on the remainder of leg 4 and soon the last two peaks of this leg were done and Honister Pass was in sight. Arriving at Honister to some familiar faces was great, but not as great as the bacon butty waiting for me in the van! Sick of sweet energy gels and bars this went down a treat. A final change of socks and shoes and after an 11 minute "rest" I was on my way again.

Leg 5 - Honister to Keswick
10.6 miles, Ascent: c.2500ft

Support runners - Ian Richardson (and Dick Gerrish to Dale Head)

Just three peaks to go now and then the final section to Keswick. On the long gradual ascent of Dale Head I relaxed and chatted a bit with Dick and Ian, taking a few minutes longer than the schedule, but then really went for it on the last three climbs and descents and pulled further time back. Ian was encouraging me to get under 21 hours, which was a tall order.

Dale Head

By 2.10pm we were back on the road, but still with 7.5 kms to go. Dick and Sharon and Alistair were there in the van and Sharon joined us for the last 3 kms of running. It was a bit of a shock to have to weave in and out of the bank holiday crowds back to the Moot Hall, but suddenly I was there, it was all over, 21 hours and 3 minutes was my total time.

Back at the Moot Hall

It was great to be welcomed by everyone at the finish, and for a while I felt OK. It was time for a drink and some food, but then in a cafe just a few yards away from the finish it suddenly hit me. I felt dizzy, sick and weak. About 45 minutes later Andy came in with his support group, but my support group still had a job to do! Feeling very fragile I was guided to the camper van and driven home (flat out in the back).

I slept well that night!

THANKS

Although a "solo" challenge I would not have made it without a big team of helpers. So thanks to all the support runners mentioned above and other helpers, Dick and Sharon in the van, Val on leg 1, Iain Cole for helping me with ankle and calf issues during training, Dallam runners for some great days out on the hill, Andy who inspired me to give it a go this year, and of course Barbs for allowing me so much time to train!

You can see my schedule and actual times for each summit here

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Last few weeks before Bob Graham Attempt

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sat, 01 May 2010 10:48:00 +0000

It is a fine line between over training and getting enough stamina in your legs for a 100km (30,000ft ascent) challenge. On all runs except my last main run before my attempt on the Bob Graham Round at the end of May I seemed to get the balance right.

Ascending to High Raise - 7am

One long day with a group from Dallam running club ended up in heavy sleet and high winds, it is tough going in such conditions, with rough ground to cover and tricky navigation at times.

Descending to Wasdale before the weather deteriorates

There are many "skills" to learn in order to succeed at this challenge, nutrition and hydration are very important of course over such long periods of activity. If you get de-hydrated, run out of energy, too hot, or too cold you are going to be in real trouble! Within a couple of weeks I have experienced weather from rather hot to absolutely bitterly cold and wet, so you have to be ready for any eventuality!

Ascending Kirk Fell in miserable conditions

The last main training run was intended to be a confidence booster and also to try some night running. Setting of at 9.30pm (on leg 2 of 5) at approximately the same time as on our attempt, we were going to run through the night and cover around 60kms. We would be testing our kit at night and seeing what the navigation would be like. Everything felt fine until around 2am when my body started telling me I should be in bed asleep. My legs started to tire and I generally felt pretty rough, this was not how it was meant to go! I hope I can put this tiredness down to a busy couple of days at work and tired legs from the the Fred Whitton cycle challenge a few days before. Certainly if I feel like this on the day there is no way I will get around! So despite fuelling some negative thoughts it was perhaps a useful run to finish on as it made me realise it will be vital to rest up and sleep as much as possible on the few days prior to my attempt, perhaps even trying to change my "body clock" a little.

Running along the Helvellyn Ridge at midnight.

62kms over the Lakeland Fells

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:43:00 +0000

A crucial day for training, legs, 3,4 and 5 of the Bob Graham, taking in the roughest ground and the biggest climbs.

Fantastic weather was a real bonus, only two weeks ago it was like the Arctic, today in T Shirts we were sweating on the summits.

Ascending Yewbarrow - Scafell behind

A 6am start at Dunmail Raise gave us 14 hours of daylight to complete the distance which included 15,000 feet of ascent. Pacing, drinking and nutrition would be very important.

The views from the high Lakeland Fells were superb, and we took in 25 summits the last as the mountains cast shadows in the valleys far beneath us.

Running into early evening on the Buttermere Fells

The Street lights were just switching on as we arrived in Keswick. An ambitious days training had gone well, with a few things learnt about nutrition and a lot of fitness gained.

More Pictures Here

Costa Blanca Road Cycling

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 10:46:00 +0000

Cycling is great for resting the joints and yet giving your legs and cardio vascular system a full workout. On a hilly challenge like the Bob Graham I'm convinced that lots of long days cycling really helps. So 5 days in the Costa Blanca, based at Abdet, resulted in 400 miles and 40,000 feet of ascent. All of course in glorious weather.

The final day consisted of a mega 100 mile circuit finishing with the 2,500 foot climb back up to Abdet, 25 kms inland from Benidorm. The superb mountain scenery makes the training a pleasure!

Highlights are the massive climbs and descents, some up to 25 miles long, on perfect tarmac with very little traffic. More details at www.abdet.com

A Cold Wet Day above Wasdale

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:45:00 +0000

Todays Bob Graham training run was most of leg 4. Approacing from Seathwaite this meant we have nearly 30kms of rough ground to cover, and the weather forecast was pretty grim!

After an hour we had done the easy bit, over Styhead Pass to Wasdale.

Descent into Wasdale

Now came the brutal 600 metre ascent of Yewbarrow, relentlessly steep, almost vertical. We ascended into the clouds, and wind and rain and would stay above 500 metres until the descent back to the start, still 20kms away. The GPS showed us the way very efficiently, map and compass work would have taken up a lot of time as for much of the way we were taking direct routes and were not on obvious footpaths.

With over 1500 metres of climbing already done we had then to tackle Kirk Fell and Great Gable. Saturated ground, gale force winds, loose scree and tiring legs made these feel pretty tough.

It was with relief that we descended out of the cloud and followed the slippery path back down to Seathwaite. We had seen just one other person since leaving wasdale. A good character building day! More images here

Back out of the cloud at last and a view of Seathwaite

Some tough training for the Bob Graham

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:40:00 +0000

Todays training run was an important test in getting ready for the Bob Graham Round. 45 kms and 3,000 metres of ascent. What would I feel like by the end? If I was suffering badly then the thought of doing more than double this would be tough.

Starting from Keswick with a team of around 10 runner from Dallam running club we headed straight up Skiddaw, a climb of 800 metres in around 6kms. The summit ridge was blasted by storm force winds and the ground was frozen hard. Everyone was bent double to make progress.

Storm force winds on Skiddaw

The next 15 kms took in Great Calva and Blencathra before a rocky descent down to the main Penrith/Keswick road and a short break for food.

The steep descent off Blencathra

Now came the long climb up to Clough Head and the start of the Helvellyn section which takes in 12 peaks all exposed to the strenghtening winds. By the time we reached the trig point on Helvellyn it was hard to even move at times, and sub zero temperatures made the challenge even greater.

Holding onto the trig point on Helvellyn Summit

We regrouped at the summit shelter before completing the last three summits of the day. It was a pleasure to drop down to the relatively mild temperatures at Dunmail Raise. Even after the last steep drop to the road (the descents can shred your legs more than the uphills) my legs felt fine, and I knew if I had to carry on I could have done so. Time taken was approx 8 hours, so well inside schedule as well.

More pictures here

Bob Graham Round - Training

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 11:35:00 +0000

The Bob Graham Round is an epic 24 hour - 70 mile fell runners challenge in the Lake District. People have been attempting this circuit (named after the Keswick resident who first did the route) for many years. It is not easy, so far only 1,500 people have done it. I tried it in 1996 and got about 45 miles done before bailing out. 14 years later I'm going to give it another go as it's now or never!

Having built up a good level of general fitness over the last few years and doing an ironman distance triathlon last year (2009) I should have a reasonable chance of success. The

key is lots of long runs in the fells of course so during the first few months of 2010 I am aiming to do two 30km plus runs each week.

The "BGR" can be broken down into 5 legs, each which provide good training options.

Highlights so far are a fantastic day in the North Lakes in alpine like conditions, some long runs in the little known Bowland Fells near Lancaster, and completing the Haworth Hobble Ultra Marathon race, a 50km plus race in the Pennines. My first attempt at the round this year will be in late May.

Alpine Conditions above Buttermere

The Howarth Hobble

Embrunman 2009 - race report

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:22:00 +0000

3.30pm on Saturday 15th August, the 3.8km swim and the 186km alpine bike ride have been completed and now the moment of truth, Would my recently damaged calf muscle survive any running at all let alone 42kms? A year of preparation had come to a grinding halt 10 days before the Embrunman Long Distance Triathlon when after just 3kms of a gentle training run I ended up hobbling and barely able to walk. I'd torn my Soleus Muscle in my right calf very badly, things were not looking good.

Almost as an afterthought I texted a friend who was a sports physio, his reply came back almost straight away, he was on holiday, but he contacted a local sports doctor who was able to see me the next day. It was a long shot but I thought after so much effort that any help was worth a try. Trevor is a doctor at the cutting edge of sports medicine and he suggested some autologous blood injections, basically taking some of my own blood and immediately injecting it into the damaged muscle. I was of course a bit nervous about somethign that sounded a bit like doping, but this technique is above board and just a way of speeding up the body's own repair mechanism. Two injections over 4 days, and a visit to a sports physio at least gave me some hope of attempting the event. However I was still barely able to walk at the COLT club training swim 5 days before the event.

From embrun

Wednesday saw myself and Alistair plus our support crew (Emma, Matty and Alfie) head out to Embrun, getting 5 of us plus two bikes and camping gear into one hire car was the first challenge, and after an hour of repacking we drove out of Geneva airport and after a night with friends near Grenoble we arrived at Embrun, a small town that for one weekend becomes the centre of attention in French Triathlon.

From embrun

What makes this event different from any other long distance triathlon is the brutal 186 kms bike ride over the 2300 metre COl D'Izoard close to the French Italian border. That alone would be enough for most fit cyclists, but the ride also takes in two other major climbs and many other shorter hilly sections that add up to over 3100 metres of climbing, in potentially baking hot summer weather. Especially brutal is the 350 metre hill that weaves its way above the town just 8kms from the end of the ride. What makes this event special is the amazing support all around the course, and the many sections of closed roads that allow you to ride the alpine roads without oncoming traffic. It's as close as you can get to feeling like a rider in the Tour de france, which often comes over these roads.

From embrun

Of course the day started much earlier, at 4am we sat outside the tent eating rice pudding and drinking coffee, not talking much, both in our own little bubbles of contemplation. We thought we were perhaps a bit early, but on arrival at the transition (we had left our bikes in place the night before) the floodlit compound was a hive of activity. We both rechecked our equipment and handed in our food bags for the Col D'Izoard pick up and the half marathon pick up points.

From embrun

"Your the Brits" a cheery voice greeted us. It was Simon who had entered the event last year but failed to complete it because he overslept and had arrived just as the swim was finishing! (He was allowed to do the run and the ride, but that must have been very frustrating!). Simon told us that Embrunman was a really big thing, you are almost revered by the spectators and the locals even for attempting this event. Simon was the only other UK based rider attempting the course this year, apart from Stephen and Bella Baylis of course, both expected to be challenging for first places.

SWIM 3.8kms

5.50 am and the women set of and we walk down the blue carpet towards the lake. Being hardened to cool (freezing?!) British waters the 22C waters of the large boating lake felt very welcoming and the red flashing lights of the lead boat was to be the moving target for the 1000 swimmers in the main field. After some grim experiences in UK events being trapped in the middle of a flailing pack of competitors I decided to hold back and swim on the very left of the field, and this proved to be a perfect choice. I could "sight" on the many canoeists shepherding us around the flashing beacons on the buoys and got an amazingly clear swim, only having to tread water around a couple of sharp turns, and only one kick in the goggles. The darkness ebbed away and a bright band of sunlight hit the peaks to the East of the lake. Being able to concentrate on technique rather than survival was great and although I'd never previously swum 3.8 kms in one go, the finishing ramp was within sight after what seemed no time at all. Perhaps the warm water helped but the normal heavy legged feeling was absent as I walked up the ramp to great applause and headed into transition. Forcing myself to concentrate I really had to make sure that I set myself up well for the long ride ahead. In a sprint event I take less than a minute to do the swim/bike transition, today I invested 8 minutes in preperation, and headed out into the long shadows of sunrise ready to tackle perhaps the the most ambitious bike ride of my life.

Swim 1 hour 17 mins

-----------------------------------

BIKE 186kms (3200 m ascent)

Despite still being 6.30 am the temperature was already around 22C and the initial loop of 40kms with 600 metres of ascent saw everyone riding with high spirits and excitement. Surprisingly, there were a number of road side casualties with punctures, broken gears, etc.

From embrun

My pulse rose to 155 pretty quickly (88%) although I felt like I was taking it pretty easily, I knew I'd settle down to an easier pace but initally just rode on autopilot and enjoyed having fresh legs and amazing views, almost every house and "hameau" (hamlet) had groups of cheering suporters even at this time. The first return past Embrun was through a corridor or cheering supporters, amazing! Now the long approach to the Col D'Izoard. Being a much better cyclist than a swimmer I was now gainign places, on flatter sections sometimes overtaking large groups of of ten or more in one fell swoop - very satisfying! Every 20kms there is a main feed station, so you can take on fresh bottles of water, isostar, or coke, as well as a wide selection of food, I chose water or isostar and bananas, and consumed energy gels from my top tube bag avery 40 mins or so.

From embrun

70 kms into the ride and Simon recognised me as I caught him up on the spectaular Guillestre Gorge section, we chatted a while and I took some photos of him much to the amusement of the other riders around. Simon had completed the swim in around 1.08 hours and from now until the very end of the race we would trade places.

From embrun

On the gentle incline I left Simon behind for a while, the Izoard was now beckoning and sections of hairpins on the appraoch roads led onto some steep long straight climbs in the full midday sun. A slight tailwind meant there was no breeze and again I was struggling to keep my pulse within reasonable limits.

From embrun

Only when the first hairpin of the main climb arrived was there any relief, the sudden turn into the breeze was a great relief and the gradient of the hairpin bends was far more friendly.

From embrun

Suddenly you emerge from the the treeclad slopes into the barren moonscape like environment of the last few kms. Even more cheering supporters here, "courage", "Chapeau", "allez", every rider getting superb encouragement from th. appreciative spectators. Just before the final summit hairpins the road descends a little way through huge rock pinnacles and giant scree slopes, A statue to Coppi and Bobet at the roadside reminds you of the history this col has. Now it's time to soak in the feeling of elation at reaching this high point at 2350 metres, but there is not enough time to appreciate it all as the feeding station demands your attention. I hear my number called out and my food bag is handed to me whilst I exchange my drinking bottles and stuff yet more bannanas into my pockets. From being in sight of many riders on the slow ascent your are now stretched out by speed on the descent. Even though I am used to steep descents the unknown road demands my full attention, though my GPS shows upcoming bends which is very useful to avoid overshooting some of the more severe switchcbacks. The 15km descent takes just 15 minutes, and with no oncoming traffic (like 90% of the ride) this is pure pleasure, although the slight headache from overheating meant I had to concentrate on drinking steadily to rehydrate. It was somewhat of a shock to ride through the deserted streets of Briancon and then head "down the valley" into a desicating hot headwind.

From embrun

In many ways the toughest part of the ride was yet to come. The route back from Briancon to Embrun involved several long climbs and descents up and down the valley sides, along narrow traffic free roads. Increasingly I saturated myself with water from my water bottles, which I refilled at every opportunity, the hot headwind now really starting to sap my strength. Next came the technical descent to a small airfield where the pre-race brief had warned of sharp turns and gravel, then a short length of main road where huge queues of traffic were being held back by police and volunteers. Embrun came back into view at the 180 km point, but still a final climb awaited, sharp hairpins taking now tired riders through the houses above the town. Really great support here spurred me on, with a cooling hosepipe, and even a watering can offered by the locals, and finally a enthusiastic bugle player announced the top and the final freewheel for 4kms back into transition.

I'd put thoughts of the run out of my mind pretty much, but now the moment of truth was approaching, would I be able to complete 42kms, in the heat of the afternoon?

Bike 8 hours 3 minutes.

--------------------------------------

Run 42kms (400 metres of ascent)

Back in transition after a great welcome it was fairly quiet, the field now well spread out. A couple of volunteers offered me a massage, so whilst sat down in my chair getting items ready my legs were receiving some welcome treatment! Once changed into running gear the moment of truth had now arrived. My ploy was to change my running style to avoid straining my calfs, so I'd inserted 2cms of extra padding in my running shoe heels and was aiming to run flat footed rather than on my toes. Exiting transition the winning male was running towards me just 1km from the finish, (he would soon be 20,000 Euros better off). The first of 4 loops around the swimming lake went OK, with no signs of any problems, and gradually I settled down and forgot about the calf and thought more about the seemingly endless run. Breaking it up into segements seemed the best "mind game" and without a watch to remind me of the minutes and seconds I tried to just keep a comfortable pace and posture, and soak in the support and atmosphere. Children held out their palms for you to touch them as you passed, "Embrummen" are really held in great esteem it seems and once when I dropped my sunglasses at a feeding station a young helper instantly found them and handed them back to me with an amazing sense of urgency! Simon passed me once again whilst I was fiddling with my camelback, and shortly I caught him again and exchanged brief notes. 10kms came after an hour and eight minutes, I was happy to settle for that. Next I counted a third of the route completed as the temperature seemed to soar (probably high 30's air temperature, but feeling hotter still in the full sun). Even some of the French competitors were flaking out by the road side, some with medical crew on hand. A medical support crew on one section asked me if I was OK (did I look ready to collapse?). I asked for some sun cream, but they didn't have any. The three leaders in each class had riders in front of them on bikes to prime the crowds, but the support that I and every other competitor got was just as amazing. Unofficial water and food stops were also welcome, some with huge buckets of cool water in which to fill your hat before drenching yourself others with cold sponges to shove down your neck. Oddly going downhill was the hardest bit due to my thigh muscles, already tired from the bike ride now having to power me around the run (the change in running style causing this transfer of load). Still I was moving and soon I was approaching 21kms and the return past the finishing line to collect a token neckband to indicate I was on my second lap.

From embrun

My second 10kms had slowed a bit to 1 hour 12 minutes, but being on the second lap was a huge boost. On the run I gradually sipped isostar and water from my camelback I also consumed more bananas and rice pudding, but the sheer volume of energy gels, bananas, and fluid now consumed seemed to cause my stomach to go on strike. I had to remind myself to drink more, to avoid overheating. Suddenly I heard a friendly voice from behind me, Simon had caught me up again and he had support from his wife and son who were riding some of the sections along side him. His wife then accompanied me for most of the last section as Simon had support from a local marathon runner who volunteered to run with him. Once again I changed places several more times with Simon but the presence of someone to talk to made the kms pass far more easily. Even though my legs felt at times as if they were ready to collapse under me, I just knew I must not stop or I'd seize up and that would be it. So passing feed stations I walked and grabbed for items rather than stopping. Just 10kms to go now and I was pretty sure I would make that, even though I'd slowed to 1 hour 16 mins for the last 10 kms. At times I barely seemed to be shuffling, but my pace actually held up over the final sections around the swimming lake once more. Some runners on this section were heading out without the neckband, they still had the full run to go. I was also thinking of Alistair, despite seeing Simon on many occaisions, I had not seen Alistair since the start (I had started the bike ride just a few seconds before he finished the swim), I hoped that he was still going strong. Not far now, just a couple of kms, then the run around the transition area before the final stretch of blue carpet and the finish line.

From embrun

Emma, Alfie and Matty were there to cheer me on along with hundreds of other supporters. 14 hours and 30 mins after starting I had made it. Over the line my medal and finisher's teeshirt were thrust into my hands and I staggered around barely able to think what to do! I saw a chair and tried to sit down, This I found impossible as spasms in my thighs prevented me lowering myself down even a few inches. Then I saw Laura, one of the officials who spoke English and who we had talked to the day before. She seemed surprised to see me (you have finished alreadY?!) "Go for a massage" she said and pointed the medical tent where a welcome lie down for a few minutes and a massage really helped.

Run time 4 hours 58 mins

-----------------------------

Daylight faded away as I waited with Emma for Alistair, the other COLT member. Figures appeared out of the darkness to rapturous applause.

From embrun

Then there was Alistair, looking good up the final few metres, meaning we had both completed our first ironman distance race well inside the cut-off time.

From embrun

All too soon it was the next morning and we were making our way with tired legs to the crystal clear waters of the swimming lake, to cool our aching muscles and compare our experiences before a lakeside coffee and croissant. There was a lot to remember!

From embrun

----------------

TIMES

238 GBR V2M E135667 PHILLIPS Thomas CITY OF LANCASTER TRIATHLON

Position 387 (approx 850 starters and 681 finishers)
Overall time:14:32:53.31
Category position: (VET 40 - 49) 138
Swim time: 1:17:22
Swim position: 691
T1:: 6:33
Bike time: 8:02:37
Bike position: 359 (+275 positions gained)
T2 approx: 10 mins
Run approx: 4:56:23
(I wasn't given a time for T2 so these are estimates)
Run position: 470 (+29 positions gained)

239 GBR S4M E135674 SHAWCROSS Alistair CITY OF LANCASTER TRIATHLON

Position 570 (approx 850 starters and 681 finishers)
Overall time: 15:42:29
Category position: (Senior) 323
Swim time: 1:24:56
Swim position: 797
T1: 7:39
Bike time: 9:08:03
Bike position: 695 (+68 positions gained)
T2 approx: 8:26 mins
Run: 4:53:27
Run position: 391 (+159 positions gained)

-----------------------

Thanks to Iain and Trevor for healing me so quickly!, Sports Physio in Milnthorpe, the support crew of Emma, Matty and Alfie for being so patient, Jill and Paul for a stop over on the way down to Embrun, and of course to Barbs for allowing me to put in so much of the required training time over the previous few months.

SLIDESHOW (SOME PHOTOS TAKEN DURING MY BIKE RIDE, MUCH TO AMUSEMENT OF OTHER RIDERS AND SPECTATORS)

VIDEO FOOTAGE TAKEN DURING MY RIDE

The boys Hit Whinlatter! (Altura Circuit)

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:04:00 +0000

It's bound to end in tears! High speeds, smooth tyres, trying to learn to get "air" on the jumps. Sure enough it did and we had the video rolling! Click here to view a film

It's a great circuit though and we will be back again!

Lakes Winter Climbing

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:01:00 +0000

The best winter weather in the English Lakes for over a decade and some unused Quark axes meant many visits in search of classic routes. the first few visits encountered powder snow, and unconsolidated conditions, but later visits were rewarded with some great conditions. Here are some highlights.

Central Gully Left Branch Great End - Grade III

Launchy Gill, Thirlmere - Grade III

Dollywagon North - Ramp it Up - Grade II

Dollywagon Gully - Grade III

Black Crag Icefall - Grade IV

Hart Crag Icefall - Grade IV

Two Grooves, Brown Cove - Grade IV

Chock Gully, Falcon Crag - Grade V

Traithlon Training 3

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:46:00 +0000

Next another one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks. This time a longer cycle and a shorter, steeper run. The cycle out was 37kms and run 2.6kms each way

Once again snowy conditions made it an interesting day. Very little traffic on dry roads, and water bottle turning to slush with the sub zero temperatures!

Approaching Whernside

Times:
Lancaster Ribblehead area 1:43
Ribblehead area - Whernside 30 mins
Whernside - Ribblehead area 20 mins
Ribblehead area - Lancaster 1:19

slightly less hilly route back and a slight tailwind meant a speady return!

Triathlon Training - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:48:00 +0000

A trip to local peaks in Bowland. More of a sprint

18km cycle and 6km run

1) Lancaster to Jubilee Tower - 28.59
2) Jubilee Tower to Grit Fell - 18.33
3) Grit Fell - Clougha Pike - Jubilee Tower - 27.00
4) Jubilee Tower to Lancaster - 20.00

Clougha Pike

Triathlon Training - 1

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:18:00 +0000

In an attempt to get fit enough to do an Ironman distance triathlon this summer I though I'd try some varied training runs rather than just pounding around the roads and normal hills. So my idea is to do cycle/run/cycle rides to various hills or peaks within a reasonable distance of Lancaster. The hardest bit of any of these will be setting of, particularly early in the year with dodgy weather and shorter days. Swim sessions in open water will have to wait a long time yet as there is plenty of cold water out there. Todays target was Ingleborough, this is a ride/run I have done before. I vaguely remember running the three peaks and cycling as well in the past. But for now this will be a good start.

Heading up the Lune Valley I wasn't the only person "training" as a steam train came past Wennington, quite a sight! Video clip here

Parking the bike just on the edge of Ingleton I swaped footware and took a jacket just in case as there was plenty of snow coming up. Starting to run after any bike ride is always hard, particularly staright uphill. I fealt very sluggish, but once settled down I got a steady pace going. I was going to keep on running as long as possible, and managed to get to 570 metres (about 12 mins from the top) until I had to walk. At this point the gradient rears up and there are some quite large steps. By this time I was well in teh snowline, and teh snow actually was a perfect rnning surface, dry and frozen but with a bit of give. The summit - which my GPS said was 726 metres - was in cloud and felt quite remote. Getting to this location from home in less than 2 hours felt a good acheivement.

From here it is in theory pretty much all down hill. But your legs feel like they are workign from memory really!

TImes were approx
Lancaster - Ingleton 65 mins (27.5km)
Ingleton - Ingleborough 52 mins (4.6km)
Ingleborough - Ingleton 28 mins
Ingleton - Lancaster 65 mins

profiles for run show the difference here between elevation/distance and elevation/time. AT least I was running an even pace if not a fast one!

Lakes Winter Climbing

noreply@blogger.com (Tom Phillips) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 12:23:00 +0000

You have to be Lucky or very persistent to get any winter climbing done in the English Lakes. Conditions come and go very quickly. This current winter I've made nearly 10 trips into the Lakes, and had a lot of fun, but only really 2 days when there were "proper" conditions. One on Great End, the other on Launchy Gill (Thirlmere), see photo above.

Other trips I caome across frozen valley and thawed mountain tops (inversions), deep powder snow and no ice, and many variations in between. But you have to just take the rough with the smooth and enjoy the day out whatever you achieve!