No one can quite remember when the excitement started, but
it was certainly well back in the rainy months of winter, when Julie Carter, a
Keswick AC member and Bob Graham Round completer, mooted the idea of attempting
a Bob Graham Round Relay, the Billy Bland Challenge, with a Keswick AC Ladies
team. Everyone was inspired!
The Billy Bland Challenge
relay is based on the five legs of the Bob Graham Round, starting and finishing
at the Moot Hall in Keswick. It covers about 66 miles, 28,000 feet of climbing
and 42 peaks. The challenge is open to all teams of 10, split into five pairs.
Each of the pairs is designated one of the five legs and a baton is passed from
one team to the next. The relay is to be completed at any time in the month of
June. Entry costs in the true spirit of the BGR, are free.
The
Keswick ladies took on the challenge with a few aims: to have a great day out
on the fells, to try and beat the Ladies team record of 16.04 hours, and to get
as close as possible to Billy Bland’s times for each of the legs of his record
breaking solo Bob Graham Round. The first one was definitely achieved, the second
one has inspired us to have another go (55 minutes off the record), and the
third one showed just how incredible Billy Bland’s solo Bob Graham Round record
is!
So on Saturday 4th June, at 4am, the Leg 1 pair of Hannah
Horsburgh and Catherine Spurden, our fastest runners, set off from Moot Hall.
Unfortunately the cloud was very low between 4 am and 11 am. However, this did
not bother Catherine and Hannah, and they set a new Ladies team Leg 1 record of
3.03 hours, smashing the previous record of 3.27. But how did Billy Bland do it
in 2.16 hours?!
The beaming pair then passed the ‘baton’, a tracking device,
to Katy Moore and Trudy Beetham, our Leg 2 runners. Clough Head, which usually
looms intimidatingly, was concealed by thick cloud, so the Leg 2 pair soon
disappeared, and they stayed in clag all the way. Quite a lot of compass work
was required, but after 3.43 hours Trudy and Katy emerged, smiling happily as
they descended to a sun-bathed Dunmail Raise.
At Dunmail Raise the mobile Keswick AC nail-painting unit
had come out in force, with Jo Gillyon and Catherine Evans showing off their
freshly painted green and yellow nails as they received the tracker from Katy
and Trudy. However, Cat and Jo immediately set their focus on Steel Fell,
striding away with great purpose. They maintained a fantastic pace, despite the
rising heat, and they whizzed up Broad Stand with the help of Julie Carter and
Mandy Glanville. Julie and Mandy had attracted some incredulous looks as they
carried the ladder up from Wasdale, with Moss their dog in a Keswick AC vest
too! Cat and Jo then flew down to Wasdale, coming within 8 minutes of the
Ladies Leg 3 record, but very happy with their time of 4.30 hours.
The Leg 4 runners, Rachel Findlay Robinson and Victoria
Haworth, had been waiting nervously, trying to keep cool in the hottest part of
the day, but they soon established a composed stride, making good progress up
Yewbarrow and topping out before Cat and Jo had even finished their
well-deserved ice creams.
Rachel and Vic did an excellent job of ensuring they visited
every possible summit of the indistinct summit areas on Leg 4, and they came
hurtling down to Honister in beautiful evening light, setting an excellent time
of 3.51 hours.
Then it was time for the Leg 5 pair, Annabel Holmes and Sam
Ayers to have a go, having waited patiently all day and avidly following the
tracker on-line. Annabel and Sam had prepared extremely well for Leg 5,
practising their route off Robinson meticulously, and even practising the final
sprint to Moot Hall, so it is wonderful that they were rewarded with a time of
1.52 hours, the only pair on the team to beat Billy Bland’s leg time. However,
the fact that Billy Bland ran nearly as fast as their fresh legs, after 60-odd
miles of fell-running, is quite extraordinary.
In the gorgeous light of 20.59 on Saturday evening, Sam and
Annabel touched the green door of Moot Hall, cheered on by several Keswick AC
friends and family. The overall time was 16.59 hours, and we all agreed that it
had been a great day out on the fells.
Thank you to everyone who helped the team: driving, reccying
legs, nail-painting, supporting at Broad Stand, and cheering us on.
The numbers bit:
Start Saturday 4th
June 2016: 4am
Splits (taken from
time incoming runners arrive (so Leg 2 includes Leg 1/2 handover etc)
Leg 1 (Catherine
Spurden and Hannah Horsburgh): 3.03
Leg 2 (Katy Moore
and Trudy Beetham): 3.43
Leg 3 (Jo Gillyon
and Catherine Evans): 4.30
Leg 4 (Rachel
Findlay Robinson and Victoria Haworth): 3.51
Leg 5 (Sam Ayers
and Annabel Holmes): 1.52
Total: 16.59
