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| | Lakes24: 14/15 June 2003 by Chris Upson
I finally got round to giving my Lakes24 challenge another go at the weekend. The plan being to bag 24 Marilyns in 24 hours.
My Dad watched me disappear up Hallin Fell from Martindale Hause at 5am on Saturday morning. Cool clear weather. Ideal for running. An abortive attempt had been made the previous year starting at 1am, but the effort was ditched after 2 hills in torrential rain and low cloud. Things looked more promising today.
I made good progress over Place Fell, High Street and Stony Cove Pike, and was about 1.5 hrs ahead of schedule at the A592. Out and back to Baystones and then a jog up the road to Kirkstone Pass for the first quick foodstop.
The next stretch was over Red Screes, Fairfield, St Sunday Crag, Helvellyn and Seat Sandal. At St Sunday Crag I was 8 hills down in 5 hours - so reasonably ahead of schedule - but still a lot to do. Depite knowing to avoid it, I fell in the bog at the outflow of Grisedale Tarn. One of those quagmires that looks solid but isn't. This was more serious than getting muddy legs - the grit in my shoes meant later my feet turned to an excrutiating mass of blisters. I begged a drink at the top of Helvellyn and vaguely waved at the hills in the dim distance to explain what I doing. I couldn't be bothered to explain what a Marilyn was.
Down at the Travellers Rest near Grasmere I met my supporters, Micky and Claire, for the first time. I was starting to feel the heat. This is where I made my first mistake. I should have changed my socks. But I didn't want to stop for long. It was uncomfortably warm as I jogged towards Loughrigg. On the descent my legs starting hurting for the first time. Not a good sign. A quick drink stop at Elterwater. Feeling ropey in the heat. Then over Lingmoor and dowm to Blea Tarn for the nominal halfway point. 12 hills down in 9 hours 15 minutes. A healthy margin. I would need it later. The 2nd half has bigger climbs and rougher hills, not to mention fatigue and darkness.
Micky plodded up Pike o'Blisco with me. The company made the ascent feel effortless. A pleasant run off to Cockley Beck followed for the next drink stop in some much needed shade. Harter Fell I find tough since it's heading in the wrong direction. Micky nobly agreed to come up this one too, but I dropped him on the final summit slopes and pulled away on the descent. Claire was waiting at Hard Knott Pass where I took 15 minutes to get my head round the next stage.
Hard Knott summit was reached in a further 15 minutes followed by the daunting approach to Scafell Pike. I took a super-direct line up from Great Moss to the summit, topping out at 19:27. Now for the Corridor Route. Familiar ground but the pain in my feet welling up. Jarring pain on every footstrike. Fantastic evening light as I moved over Great Gable and Kirk Fell before picking up Moses Trod to Honister. The discomfort in my feet making running difficult now. Dark and midgy and Honister. Finally changed my shoes and socks. But too late. The damage was done.
Micky joined me for the pleasant stage over Dale Head and Robinson. A glorious red moon turning to orange and milky white. Vaguely trying to catch some Bob Graham headtorches in front. The descent from Robinson is steep but efficient, with a final grass precipice to Newlands Hause.
Here Micky dropped out and I was back on my own faced with a 600m+ ascent of Grasmoor in the dark with burning feet. Just when I thought things couldn't get worse I realised the hill was plastered in deep bracken just to add to the fun. An awkward traverse and descent to cross Sail Beck was followed by a brutal slog up Wandope.
Here I lost all sense of time and perspective. I was grinding to a halt. On Grasmoor I tried to up the tempo, but once again the feet were making running difficult. I got my act back together on Grisedale Pike and really attacked the descent to Whinlatter. I knew if I could pick up time I would be fine.
But then disaster struck. Mistake no.2. I hit the forest at Whinlatter and had a total mental block. Left then right? Right then left? I had no idea. I tried to shortcut to the road by a burn, but immediately ended up thrashing through forest in the dark. 5 or 10 minutes were lost before I found the road, and much energy and composure.
I was so furious at Whinlatter I stormed up the hill without stopping and promptly got completely lost in the labyrinth of paths and forest tracks, none of which are signed to Lord's Seat. I reached the summit at 03:52. My margin had vanished. It was down to the wire.
The descent off Lord's Seat takes you through some hideous bog before you can reach the forest track steeply dropping to Swan Hotel. I had more or less given up now. So far ahead, and now I thought I'd blown it. I reached the road and told Micky I'd had enough. I thought it was about 4:30. I had no intention of doing Swinside outside the 24 hours.
I looked at my watch. The time was 4:14. I couldn't believe it. A reprieve! I jettisoned my bum bag and started sprinting towards Braithwaite. There would be only one outcome now.
I felt no pain or discomfort. The road flowed under my feet. I cut through the caravan park and was at the base of the hill with 20 minutes left. A quick hurdle of the rusty barbed wire fence, and thrash up through the undergrowth and there I was at the summit. The journey was finished.
The time? 23:49:40.
Original Stats: Approx 66 miles / 26,500ft...
however, since returning home and using Anquet map software I plumbed in the
route to check the statistics, and they come out as: 70.6
miles / 29,790 ft or 9,076m of ascent.
The previous 24-hour Marilyn record was 19 done by Jon Broxap in 1988 as a by-product of his Glen Shiel Munro bash.
The schedule (ref map above):
| |
Hills |
Climb (m) |
Actual Time |
| |
Start |
|
05:00 |
| 1 |
Hallin Fell |
163 |
05:08 |
| 2 |
Place Fell |
477 |
05:53 |
| 3 |
High Street |
448 |
06:59 |
| 4 |
Stony Cove Pike |
190 |
07:26 |
| 5 |
Baystones |
160 |
08:06 |
| 6 |
Red Screes |
440 |
08:47 |
| 7 |
Fairfield |
403 |
09:42 |
| 8 |
St Sunday Crag |
159 |
10:06 |
| 9 |
Helvellyn |
390 |
11:07 |
| 10 |
Seat Sandal |
156 |
11:42 |
| 11 |
Loughrigg Fell |
245 |
12:47 |
| 12 |
Lingmoor Fell |
404 |
13:59 |
| 13 |
Pike of Blisco |
515 |
15:08 |
| 14 |
Harter Fell |
434 |
16:50 |
| 15 |
Hard Knott |
156 |
17:45 |
| 16 |
Scafell Pike |
628 |
19:27 |
| 17 |
Great Gable |
424 |
20:43 |
| 18 |
Kirk Fell |
192 |
21:19 |
| 19 |
Dale Head |
413 |
23:09 |
| 20 |
Robinson |
167 |
23:46 |
| 21 |
Grasmoor |
642 |
01:49 |
| 22 |
Grisedale Pike |
190 |
02:37 |
| 23 |
Lord's Seat |
262 |
03:52 |
| 24 |
Swinside |
164 |
04:49:40 |
Chris on the last hill
Chris,
16 June 2003 |
