The most memorable thing about the whole day was the people involved. Its a cliché to say it but its true. I wouldnt have got to the end of leg 2 within 24 hour pace without my team, never mind ahead of the 21hour 15minute schedule.
I always wanted to make just one attempt at the BGR so I figured a big round was the best way of ensuring success. Have 3 people helping on each leg would allow for dropout or injury etc without compromising the leg or meaning I had to carry any of my own gear. On the day nobody dropped out or had any problems (that I was made aware of) and we all got to where we were going safely and in one piece. Some people were, I think, at times struggling with the pace of a very exuberant Steve Angus jogging up massive hills in a T - shirt while they were labouring away with half the contents of Morrisons shelves in their packs. Sorry chaps (and Clare) I never managed in training to sort out my eating plan so I just packed a little bit of every food I like - I'm still making my way through the leftovers now (Monday evening).
But hey - I see the Freddo Frog choccy bar wrappers ended up at the bottom of the food box !!
So shall we have a leg by leg account of the round? or an overview of the day without examining the minutiae of every hilltop and split time?
I think a leg by leg is needed - the more words I write the better to help me remember when Im old and grey.
But to add a bit of interest for anyone who is bored but feels they should stay now they've bought a ticket, I will begin with leg......4.
I came into Wasdale full of good humour. Clare McKeown was waiting on the road to guide me to the van. Clare was my leg 4 navigator and I noticed she wasn't wearing a pack so as I reached her I continued full stride and said 'come on lets go I'm not stopping here'. She realised immediately I was joking though - I'll have to think up something funnier or practise my acting for next time.
Same routine at the van - sit down, eat tomato soup - fast. Eat bacon rolls - fast. Change top for a fresh one. Swig small can of tonic water. Take tea with me on the road as I leave within 10 minutes. This time I didn't change footwear - Fellcross size 9 go onto their second leg.
As we started up Yewbarrow, we being Clare M, Martin Spooner, Colin Murrell, Gary Johnson and Richard Ellwood - as well as Andy Slattery who had been officially on leg 3 (as you know if you read ahead to keep yourselves in the correct order), I immediately started to feel utterly crap. As you wont know yet because I havent written it yet - this is the normal pattern. I eat a decent amount and then feel dreadful. But this doesn't matter. When I climbed Clough Head a few weeks ago after doing leg 1 on my own then eating at Threlkeld, I felt so crap that I quit the reccy and considered quitting the whole plan to do a BG. But I also learned that day that after a while I will feel better again, and I wasn't losing time either, so its best to just grin and bear it and keep going.
I did start to feel better once Yewbarrow was done. But not only did I grin and bear it while I was climbing it and feeling crap - I positively forced myself onward - I walked up that big bastard as hard as I could. Being at the back of a group of 6 because I had stopped for a wee once we were away from the crowded campsite area was not ideal. (and also pointless - see photo) But I was not in the mood for politeness and I think I barged past some of them on the narrow trods like I was passing competitors in a race.
This new crew must have wondered who the hell this bloke Angus was - I knew Clare of 10 years or so, and Gary was an acquaintance of a couple of years, but I only met Richard twice before, very briefly, and Colin once also and Martin never.
I knew that walking up at a pace dictated by someone 5 people ahead of me in what was in effect a queue was not what I needed to happen here - I needed to be dictating the pace myself, and as soon as I was I felt in charge again.
Later in the day Clare told me we had got up a couple of minutes inside 21.30 pace. So not bad at all for what was by far and away the very worst period of the round in terms of my mood and my innards.
Shortly after Yewbarrow, once I was running well again and feeling good again I said to Clare 'you know all those questions you asked me when we began this leg? Well if you want to ask me them all again now I will be much more responsive '
The next few tops soon seemed to be ticked off and always with those final two big fat lads of the leg in view, creeping ever nearer.
I didnt fear them, Kirk and Gable, not one little bit. In fact, I had been looking forward to the hands on climbing since making the acquaintance of those particular lines up their flanks just a couple of weeks earlier with Clare. Of course my legs were tired - I'd been going 15 hours or more by now, but now I could use my very fresh arm muscles to help haul myself up through Kirks gully and Gables huge rocks.
Half way up Gable came a shout...
'hey up Steve Ive been waiting for you coming along'
It was only Karl Edwards sitting in the rocks snapping away with his camera
 |
| Kirk Fell behind us as we climb Gt Gable |
Karl had been hoping to take me round leg 3 but had suffered a virus that laid him low - but here he was waiting and what a great boon to have him climb up with me the remaining metres to Gables summit then chat some more down to Windy gap and up the other side. Karl once told me that when we first met (over leg 3 of a 2008 round by Pete Beer) he thought I was a candidate for a round of my own. 4 years passed before I began to think similarly, but now here I was bidding him farewell on my way down to Honister with 7 and a half hours left until my 24 was up. On Green Gable we shook hands and parted company. Karl, I hope to see you again real soon - keep on running fella.
Somewhere along the route of 4 Clare pointed across towards the Scafells and said ' you were up there not long ago'. I looked across to where she was pointing, put on my best serious acting voice, looked a bit sheepish and said 'oh, we didn't bother with those ones - they seemed a bit too hard'
Perhaps you needed to be there, but we laughed.
Coming off Grey Knotts I realised I was indeed starting to feel the 50 odd miles - not with sore legs or cramp - just an inability to run downhill with any pace whatsoever. I was scarcely jogging and everyone else was constantly leaving me behind despite, im sure, that they were making no attempt at all to descend with haste.
Closing in on Honister I could hear a dog barking. Then I could pick out my crew waiting. Once I was really close Janet let Scamp off his lead and he sprinted up the 100m or so towards.... and straight past me to Clare and Colin.
Collies? Loyal? I bet Joss doesn't have this trouble!
Next episode - Leg 2, The Phantom Menace
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