Bob Graham leg 2 report

Navigator - IanDarkpeak. Pacers – Ken Bother, Simon, Brett

On Leg 2 you cross the A66 from Threlkeld and climb Clough Head, followed by a high-level tour of the Helvellyn massif, before a there and back visit to Fairfield, and a descent to Dunmail Raise via Seat Sandal, with more runnable ground than any other leg. It’s the leg I know best having done it perhaps nine times over the last few years

I think ideally you want to be finishing leg 1 and starting leg 2 feeling like you’ve just got going and I was lucky enough to feel exactly that way. Linda and her team of pacers didn’t have as long a break as me and Stef, and were soon gone. We trotted down through Threlkeld after five or six minutes and crossed the main road before starting the long, increasing wet and steep climb up Clough Head, the first of the Dodds

It was not long after crossing over that Stef had to take another toilet break. Our pacers re-assured her we had plenty of time but as the toilet breaks increased in frequency and the accompanying stomach cramps became more griping then the more we all became concerned for her well-being

Stef continued until we had crossed Sticks Pass and had made good time on anything but the climbs, where the pain slowed her down. After some discussion with Ken, who’s an experienced BG pacer, she decided to pack and return to the valley. We had a few seconds together alone when she said, ‘carry on and do it for me’, before she headed toward Dunmail and I continued on with Ian and Simon

The weather wasn’t great over the Dodds with swirling mist and gusting winds but as Ian and I approached Helvellyn the wind increased in force, visibility got much worse and the mist turned to rain! Simon was struggling to run at times and I ended up with just Ian on Nethermost Pike

It was on Nethermost that we caught up with Linda’s team. They had lost their navigator (Bill Johnson from Calder Valley) with sickness, and had done well to keep moving on schedule with a team map reading effort

Ian suggested we take the Cofa Pike route over to Fairfield rightly working out that it would be sheltered from the ever worsening weather. This was a good plan and we’d soon done the last two peaks and I was racing down from Seat Sandal with Ian, who was shouting encouragement every minute or so, 'come on Andy!'. I did this descent in 15minutes; by far the fastest I've ever done it

Stef had returned safely to Dunmail with the help of Ken and Brett but I didn’t have chance to see her (everyone said she was okay and I needed to progress). Ian had played an absolute blinder navigating in difficulty conditions over leg 2 and shown real leadership qualities too. Really good work from the Dark Peak stalwart and smiliest man in fell running!