After a feed and encouragement from my support crew, I set off on leg 2
with Adam, Helen and Steve who was doubling up legs 1 and 2. As we climbed up
the road and then the base of Clough Head, my legs were easing and the cramping
had eased. Soon enough though, we were on the steep bit of Clough Head, and the
occasional twinges returned to my quads.
Soon enough we crested the ridge, and my legs started to ease with the
shallower gradient. Predictably though, the ridge line greeted us with a face
full of mist. In spite of this, we managed to make decent progress along the
first few peaks of Clough Head, Great Dodd and Watson’s Dodd.
Sadly on Stybarrow, we made the first small error of the leg and managed
to skirt the unseen cairn and were soon descending without having visited the
true top. No matter, a quick about turn and the four of us fanning out soon
located the top and we were back on track.
As we trundled towards Raise, at about 3 am, I started to have my first
real bad patch of the round. Nothing I could eat was sitting at all well and I
started to feel very flat. Fortunately (in a way) this is something that I’ve
had every time I’ve ever run through the night and was comfortable it would
pass at some point between now and dawn.
As can be seen by the splits, this section was all over the place
compared to the schedule, and I suspect most of this is due to alternating
between a trudge and a quicker trot to try and warm back up on the very cold
ridge. Aside from picking up the bonus top of High Crag, the nav was spot on
and we were soon descending to Grizedale tarn.
As I descended the tarn, a triple whammy of getting warmer, waking up
slightly and being able to get a mars bar down meant that I was feeling
cracking as I reached the col before Fairfield. Leaving Helen and Steve at the
col, and shouting my food requirements to Adam, I set off up the path at a
decent clip. Fortunately, about halfway up I realised that I was working very
hard (which probably explains why Adam was struggling to bridge the gap!) I
limited the damage by stopping, waiting for my food and drink and letting my
heart rate return from the stratosphere.
Disaster averted, I tagged the summit and returned back to the col,
before heading straight up Seat Sandal, which came a little easier than usual,
though the cramps returned on the steep section. Over the top, we started
descending on the grassy run down to the steep bit. As it steepened, the cramps
were coming thick and fast, though fortunately none stopped me in my tracks.
Soon enough, we could see the cars at Dunmail and headed towards them.
The descent was mostly uneventful, though the unplanned transition from
following the trod with a high powered beam, to seeing it in the pre-dawn light
as the batteries ran out was a something of a challenge for my eyes. Once
adjusted, there was no damage done, and I continued on my merry way to the cars
and my breakfast.
Once again, my support crew, this time of Kate, Roger, Jenny and Craig,
were ready and waiting to deliver a super smooth change, only slowed by me
forgetting essential items (like a new pair of gloves) until just before I was
trying to leave.
Splits for the interested (Scheduled times in brackets)
Clough Head 50 (55)
Great Dodd 32 (29)
Watson's Dodd 12 (9)
Stybarrow Dodd 14 (9)
Raise 21 (17)
White Side 11 (8)
Helvellyn Lower Man 15 (17)
Helvellyn 7 (6)
Nethermost Pike 13 (10)
Dollywaggon Pike 15 (12)
Fairfield 41 (41)
Seat Sandal 20 (24)
Dunmail Raise 25 (22)
Leg Time 4:36 (4:19)
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