Run Like a Girl Catherine's BG

Wow - what a great way to spend 24 hours - luckily I wasn't running for that many of them but helping on Catherine's Bob Graham was a great experience.
Catherine's start time was delayed by the weather for an hour and she started at 2am on Saturday morning. Luckily this mean't that Alex and I had an extra hour in bed before we drove up to meet her at Dunmail Raise. The whole family was there, Ross, her husband, Cin and Geoff her mum and dad and then when she came off the hill she was with her brother. They'd had horrible wet and windy weather on section one and two with 10m visibility so the navigation was hard work but spot on.
Next me, Spyke (Stephen Pyke) and Swatts (Stephen Watts) set off up Steel Fell on a good pace and up on her timings by about 20 mins or so. The weather was great and we could see for miles!
Every top we came she picked up minutes or stayed even, never going slower than her schedule. By Pike of Stickle she was up by 24 mins and I was leaving here to head off down to Borrowdale to catch a bus to get to Honister for a long wait before my next leg (5). Spyke and Swatts were a great pair to run with, I thought I talked lots, these two were a complete double act - talking bollucks and racing and rounds and runners all the way - she was in good hands.
The waiting was hard - I kept staring at the slopes coming off Grey Knotts like she was going to suddenly turn up - I was hours early!!! But it is intoxicating wanting to know where she was and how she was doing. Eventually others turned up for other runners and left, then more turned up for runners supposed to be in front of Catherine, but she turned up first. her Dad, her Mum and me were practically jumping round the car park, she was an hour early - what a fantastic sight.
We had tea and cakes ready, some rice pudding, a change of clothing and we were off.
It was now me, Alex and Ross. Ross sang to her, I talked alot (well I had just had a coffee so was on a caffine high!) and Alex helped her ignore us!!!! I provided comedy moments by trying to take photos going up hill backwards - and then falling over backwards - much laughter - good she was still with us - am i always just there for a laugh!!! It got her to the top though - the mist came in on Dale Head, cleared by Hindscarth but came back with vengance on Robinson as the dark enveloped us. Ross navigated perfectly, helped a bit by my hand held bike torch that cut through the mist at a low level.
It is hard to run with mist and head torch so it was a good job we had the extra torch. We kept up a good pace, got straight to Robinson top, came off on a compass bearing and found the trod off down the side. The downhill was long and steep but eventually we got to the easy path in the valley and then the car park, a last cuppa, change of shoes and we set off again with Geoff (Dad) in such high spirits - sure we would be really early. She was - we rocked up into Keswick, with catherine navigating cos we all missed the gate through the park, and got to Moot Hall in 22 hours and 50 mins - 40 mins up on schedule - and as swatts had said to Ross earlier in the day when asked what he thought of the schedule written by Ross "it was rubbish - far too slack for catherine!" She'd done it - she's joined the club - god I hope I get there one day.

Here's her quick view on the help she got................

"A huge thank you for all your help this weekend - I really couldn't have done it without you!

Being lead through thick cloud and sheltered from frequent gusts, having my 'picnics' and pink juice on tap, not being expected to join in conversation but included anyway, paced carefully up the biggest climbs and then looked after on the steeper descents when my knees were hurting, given hot tea and home baked cakes during brief road stops - and most importantly, throughout all this being made to feel that I could do it and was going well (when the doubts were creeping in) got me to the Moot Hall in 22hrs 50mins.

It was a really special day for me and I'm enjoying re-living each leg with Ross with my sore legs up on the sofa."
Next up is Alex from Run Like a Girl - this is a big year for our team - newby team member Karen Davison got round in June, Cathwerine this month and Alex is having a go in September. God the pressure in on for me now!!! Am feeling stronger every time I get in the hills, especially enjoying the Lake District and all the training so watch this space - need a few more recce's and hopefully a late one this year or an early one next year.

More Salty Boob Adventures

More sun, salt and running round the BG route again!
This time with Alex from Run Like a Girl, we set off on Thursday evening at 4pm to do Keswick to Threkeld, in shorts again with fantastic weather. The views were supperb from the top of Blencathra, you could see for miles (a first for me as have only ever been up there in clag and dark!). After my trashing on the 3 day trip last month with Karen I decided to take Poles - blimey they worked - I felt great going up and down, although they may look wiered in the Lake District on a BG they work for me - cam off the rocky bit of Blencathra without them then took them out for the runnable bit - brilliant - no trashed quads - or am I just back to fitness again with the last rip up here and the short fast and steep fell races I have been doing. Whatever - it feels good to be back!
That night we had a meal in the pub - a very cheesy lasagne that didn't seem to have any lasagne ingredients!!! Oh well I will dream well even if I have no energy for running the next day!). Then we drove (we had left the car at Threkeld and got the bus to Keswick for the start) to a Youth Hostel is Buttermere, excellent place, with great showers and they sold wine - brilliant - our recovery drinks avaialable on tap! We guzzled some wine with pints of water as chasers, chatted with a mad man doing a C2C, he was very funny - young and knew everything about everything - to the point that you couldn't have a conversation with anyone else as he would but in and tell you all about it!!! Rest of room just had to listen!!! Breaky was a supperb array of anything you could think of that you needed for a breaky so we had lots of porridge and a cooked breaky. That would get us over the hills.
We then drove to Keswick and caught the bus to Threkeld and had a late start at 11am - well it was going to be a short section. The sun was out again and thehills were much easier this time - I love this feeling of being abale to run. We didn't set off to go at BG pace but we seemed to be making each top in the allotted time, this is a good confidence boost. We then did some navigation tests, where one goes one way and one the other to see which is best route, this worked well but takes time and is great as we now have our best routes on and off the top of Dollywaggon Pike and found the correct route of Seat Sandle so we know where we are going when we attempt the BG!
Our accommodation that night was a B&B about 2 km down the road towards Grassmere. Town End Farm - that I now consider the best B&B in the country - what a welcome - a cuppa and a cake, then we showerd and changed and went off down to the Travellers Rest for some grub - yummy Chicken Roast. The B&B had a lounge so we chilled there and watched the last Torchwood of the week long epic. Breaky was a supperb egg and bacon cooked breaky, made to order as she even asked if we wanted the eggs on the toast or not - great service! Then the farmer gave us a lift up to Dunmail, where we met alot of BG supporters as it was now 8am saturday morning. I missed Karen's Dad (who did the last recce with me and Karen and who was supported a Josh Nailor Round) by about an hour as he was on the leg coming in to Dunmail. Steel Fell was supprising quick climb for the look of it! Then it was easy running along the next few tops, doing our route finding again, definately following the path accross to Calf Crag and a cut accross was rubbish!!! Met some BGers coming through, one very fast guy who was up by 40 mins, another guy who was navving along with hi supporters - umm - we are planning to know the route so this will not be our senario! And another guy - Nick - a local runner who was struggling a bit so we joined them, chatted with the support guys and kept with them all the way to one of their wives Kate who was at Angle Tarn area. She gave us a cuppa and a biscuit and we chatted for about 20 mins then she showed the lead in to the best route up Bowfell. Much easier than the route me, Karen and John took the other week! My legs were still going well so was starting to feel like I could do this thing again - and maybe even get in 24 hours!!!!
We had a look at Broadstand but opted out as we didn't know it and didn't want to get stuck, am sure Alex would have been fine on it but then she's a brilliant climber whereas I am just a dabbler - would not have looked good if I'd got stuck and she'd only just got her ML assessment!!!! So up Foxes Tarn yet again - horrible going down to come back up again 0 but hey neither of us know Broadstand so better to be safe than sorry!
Found the excellent route off Scafell that Ross had told us about and joined the racers from the Wasdale Race at the bottom, had a cuppa, chatted with mates and eventually found Jon who'd bought our kit in to camp. Had luckily found out he was doing the event and as he lived just round the corner from me was willing to drive our kit up for us. Owe him a few beers for that one!
We had a shower nightmare - 20p's not making the water hot, then after suffering the shampooing with cold water, the water turns hot and then wouldn't stop!!! Confused - ummm!
Next - up to the Wasdale Head for some grub and to meet up with Rachael and David who'd done the race. Then luckily, as the heavens had opened, they gave us a lift back to campsite. We both had a rubbish nights sleep and then found out my trainer had fallen apart, the whole sole was delaminating.
The weather was rubbish, the tops were not visible and my shoe was not looking good, so we taped the shoe up and headed off on a lwer level route over Styhead Pas to Seatoller and a bus ride to Keswick. A large lunch in the Peddler Cafe and an early get away.
Home by six, even after picking my van up from Macclesfield after meeting a mate Nick at a random service station on the M6. Van had broken down last week and was now mended!
A supperb recce and fell fast enough to actually support on Catherine's (Run Like a Girl) BG this weekend.
Sorry no pix of the salty boobs this time - but am thinking I am the only person in the world with this affliction - no-one else seems to sweat there and cause salty rings!!! What am I sweating out!!!