28/06/2026
Well that got a bit close!
Like many I’ve got a long list of races and challenges that interest and inspire me.
A solo unsupported Bob Graham round was always high on that list so when a gap in the diary appeared it seemed like a good idea to have a crack at it.
After the insane heat of the week the best window looked like a Friday Eve start. The winds were due to be quite strong southerlies so I chose anticlockwise so I had it at my back on the Helvellyn range. My first mistake!
I’ll stick my neck out and say that anti clockwise is harder than clockwise…. The slog up Scafell from Wasdale just didn’t end!
After moving pretty slowly through the night due to thick fog the time buffer I had built up had whittled away leaving me exactly on 24hr schedule at Threlkeld.
With the sun now back out and feet in tatters the idea of grafting up the last 3 peaks was hard to comprehend but weirdly it’s those moments that make things like this what they are.
Pushing hard and running fast (relatively) down Skiddaw was cheeky to say the least but worth it to get in under time in 23:46
I’m rarely proud of what I achieve, always looking critically of how to improve or to the next thing rather than savour the experience. (I think I share this trait with many others).
This one felt a bit different, having to dig deep and push for a long time by myself mixed with some genuine doubt whether I’d make it made the finish pretty special.
