Craig Smith, Steve Bennett, Sam Ware and Stustod ran from Threlkeld sewage works (where I had enjoyed an early breakfast) up the road to Newsham House with me. By the time we reached Newsham House itself I had been unable to shake them off so decided to stop trying to and just run with them in the hope they might be going the same way as I was intending to.
It turned out they were going not only the same way as me, but were also planning to visit the same 12 mountain tops as I was too! What are the chances of that happening ay?
Unlike the recce on my own a couple of months earlier, I felt grand this time as I slogged up Cloughy and it was soon dispatched and written in to the wee green book. Eh Craig?
Still dark of course, but by the time we reached Caflhow Pike (no we didn't go to it this time - I ensured I got in front of Craig lest he took the RHS path again) the first signs of morning were around (I'm not country folk but Craig must be - he pointed out Skylarks flitting back and forth, low across the grass) Penrith Stu isn't country folk either, he thinks he is but he lives in a town. Stu pointed out a head torch glowing , way ahead of us on the side of Gt Dodd. this was slightly exciting - perhaps we would catch them up and have a chat about what on earth they were up to, so high, so early? Snow! The head torch was in fact a patch of remaining snow in a shallow N facing gully, reflecting palely in the faint starlight. Perhaps Penrith Stu is Country folk after all…….. the village idiot!
On Gt Dodd we climbed into clag. The clag remained for an hour or more as we ticked off the next tops - Dodds, Raise, Whiteside, Helly Lower Man, Helly, Nethermost.
Then, as we toured around toward Dollwagon Pike and lost a little height, the sun made an appearance. We had missed the actual sunrise and it had been light enough to do without head torches for quite some time now, but the low strong sun, casting shadows all around us was something very special. I knew from the day I first chose my 11pm start time that the early sun on this leg would make for some great memories. I'd hoped for great photos too and Stu duly obliged, snapping away again and again was we toured Grisedale Tarn, climbed Fairfield and Seat Sandal, then descended to Dunmail.
Stu was actually taking photos before it was really light enough to get any decent results. He would pop off ahead and lie in wait for me to come past - clicking away as I did. I'm very grateful for Stu's input on my BGR -not just in this leg that he joined me for, but for his constant interest, attention, shared knowledge, encouragement, and general bloody great craic, always, but in particular since the announcement of my BGR. Notwithstanding all that - when I noted him jogging to get ahead of me on one of the smaller climbs, say Raise, I would then notch it up myself from the walk we might have been doing to just a light easy jogging pace. Then after about a minute or so, he would figure he had the 10-15 seconds in hand required to stop, kneel down and compose a photo - only to find me immediately behind him still - so he'd have no option but to abandon the photo opp' and then either try to get ahead again or abandon the idea altogether for a while. This was incredibly amusing (to me) and incredibly annoying (to Stu). Later on when the sun was out, I was only too happy for Stu to get the shots, and now and again I even posed momentarily (In case Billy Bland ever reads this - I mean like for 1 to 2 seconds max' - Billy isn't a fan of folk messing about on the Bob Graham Round). Sorry Stu - it amused me and helped make my day everything that it was, and anyway - one shot of me in the clag is exactly the same another - and I think you got about 10.
I have just noticed that my laptop keeps changing CLAG to FLAG!
Apart from the sentence 'as we climbed Fairfield I sensed Benno and Sam were beginning to flag' I do not intend using the word flag in this report. If flag comes up again and I don't spot it and replace it - presume I mean flag - ffs! CLAG!!
As we dropped off Seat Sandal down toward the main road it felt like I was running into the Moot Hall to complete the round - aware that Haz would be taking photos too and not wanting any more featuring my colourful windproof, I stripped it off and left it behind for someone to collect for me. Same with my Fleece. A poor descender, I nevertheless felt I ran down that final slope as fast as I have ever done, the others struggling to keep up. I expect they were almost tripping up over me in actual fact - but Stu knew the craic - he knew I was having the time of my life and he made sure I was first in the line as we came into sight of the waiting support crew.
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| Final climbing of leg 2 was over the stile onto the A591 |
We'd gained some more time on the schedule over leg 2 (I know I have written leg 1 yet but will spoil the surprise anyway by mentioning we gained 9 minutes over it). I was about to begin the crucial middle section and I felt bloody brilliant. The 6 hours 58 minutes of running I had already done felt like no more than a wander up Lattrigg. I felt great inside too, my guts hadn't given any real trouble so far - the food i'd eaten had apparently gone down well and stayed down without quarrel. Great inside my head too - the day, my day, was now getting serious but going well, very well. We were about to set off to get to where we really needed to go - to get to the 10 and 11 hour markers which hadn't been visited since last August with IWC. To get West too - we had to get West so we could start the journey North, and home.
I didn't say anything, but at Dunmail I felt a confidence come over me. A confidence which, as I began hitting the tops of 3, stayed with me for several hours, and was itself only replaced much later with an ever growing certainty.
#WeContinued…...
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