7 Steps to Bob Graham Heaven
‘The Bob’ has been on my running bucket list for a while.
My wife, Sally and I LOVE The Lake District, so we’ve (on and off) been running parts of it since 2018.
If you’re wondering what I’m on about, the Bob Graham Round is a 24-hour fell running challenge that involves summiting 42 Lake District peaks; starting and ending at Moot Hall, Keswick.
Ages ago some guy named Bob Graham (DUH!) completed this 106 km round trip (with 8,400m of ascent and descent) and it’s been something I’ve always wanted to do.
Yeah, I’m not sure why either…
Over time, that dream became a possibility. Then there was that scary moment when that possibility started to become reality. In October 2021, I told people I was going to do it and set a date. Now I had to give it a go…
But was I ready? And was it even possible for a runner like me?
Well, on 18 June, I found myself in Keswick questioning my life choices (a pretty common occurrence for me before marathons and ultras, and pretty much any race, actually).
By then I knew running the Bob was possible but it was still a voyage into the unknown. I’d never run that far on such gnarly terrain. I’d certainly never attempted anything near that amount of ascent. What if I couldn't do it in 24 hours?
What if I couldn’t do it at all?
But as it turned out, I finished in 21 hours 14 minutes. And it’s become my favourite day as a runner. Running can be ‘Type II Fun’: something you look back on fondly but hated at the time. But you know what? I really did enjoy myself.
Yes, it hurt - particularly Leg 4. Yes, I felt under time pressure at points. Yes, I may have got a bit sulky (amazingly I never lost my temper) but, ultimately it was fun.
‘Cause once you got down to it, it was a beautiful day running in the hills with my mates.
Anyway, if you’re considering ‘the Bob’ or something similar, you may find these 7 points useful.
1. Screaming Target
I’d recced everything twice but didn’t know whether completing it in the 24 hours was realistic, until I did Legs 3 and 4 at my target pace.
Suzy, one of my pacers, had also done Leg 1 at target pace which gave me lots of confidence we’d start strongly.
2. Running Up That Hill (or NOT!)
I walked all the ups.
Then ran the flats, and as best as I could, ran the downs. But when I walked the hills, I walked it WITH PURPOSE and hiked up pretty fast.
3. Follow The Yellow Brick Road
There are many ways between summits. Choose what works for you. There are lines that may be slightly shorter or less rocky but if they’re ‘technical’ you may want to avoid these ‘shortcuts’.
I’m OK downhill but no fell runner, so I knew I would lose time on technical descents. I stuck to obvious paths rather than clever trods and came off Blencathra via a nice runnable grassy line on Blease Fell, rather than Halls Fell Ridge or the Parachute descent.
4. Star(wo)man
I love my wife for many reasons but now love her for one more - SHE KNOWS HOW TO CREW!
I can’t tell you how important it was to have someone who I absolutely trust and who is totally on it in the car.
5. Food Glorious Food
Fuelling could not have gone better.
I ate a mixture of gels, energy bars and Tunnocks Caramels every 30 mins on the hill. But nothing compared to the real food at the car: bircher muesli at Threlkeld, pastries at Dunmail, pizza at Wasdale and noodles at Honister.
6. Down Down
I was very worried about how my quads would hold up on the downhills.
I live in South West London so big hills are hard to come by. I prepared as best I could with focused strength and conditioning, and LOTS of (small) hills but I was still pretty nervous. My quads started to hurt on Leg 3 but held up OK. I only really suffered on the descents of Kirk Fell and Great Gable which are NASTY.
7. Roadrunner
Despite having run about a 100 km, after I changed into my road shoes, I was able to run the last 8 km in about 40 minutes, clawing back a lot of the time I lost on Kirk Fell and Gable.
So that leaves one final point.
Come On/Let’s Go
Planning the adventure and the joy of working as a team, with a great group of pacers and friends, is what made it a different and MUCH MORE fulfilling experience than a race.
So if you’re thinking about doing it, dive right in!
Let me know. I’ll help if I can…