The Freeman Round

The Freeman Round - 50 miles and 15,000 of ascent

Whilst searching http://www.gofar.org.uk/freemanround.html i found the Freeman round, which looked interesting. It includes a couple of sections from the Bob Graham round and a few summits that were new to me.

Picture courtesy of www.gofar.org.uk/

Having decided this would be my weekend training I contacted the creator or the round, Steve Freeman who kindly supplied further information. A couple of evening looking over tsome OS maps and a plan was hatched.

The weekend arrived but my week long tummy bug had gotten worse, running was totally out of the question, I was sure I had picked up the bug drinking from streams on the Old County Tops race the weekend previously. Luckily it was a bank holiday weekend so Saturday night I decided to starve myself for 24 hours, this would allow me one good meal the evening before attempting the round on the coming Monday.

Have you ever tried abstaining from all food for 24 hours? Bloody hell it not easy, everything thing I did, all TV programs, the internet, they all reminded me of food.

5am Monday 26^th May 2014.

I woke to the sound of my alarm, but its only 5am, what am I doing to myself? it’s the middle of the night almost. I woke up Debbie and told her it’s time to get a move on, half expecting abuse but hoping she does not protest, there is no way I can do this one alone. By 5.45am we are on the road heading for Ambleside in the Lake District, luckily it’s only an hour and a half away so by 7.30 I am ready to run.

The route starts at http://www.goldenrule-ambleside.co.uk/ from where the hills beckon and the rain started. Navigation is not my strong point so I had created a GPX file for the mapping software on my phone, following a big red arrow is much easier than trying to read a map.

The first top is Loughrigg Fell, estimated time 35 minutes actual time, closer to an hour but that’s the trouble with unfamiliar routes and low cloud. The first 4 tops took more than a hour longer than I had planned but it’s been a while since I have run solo in the lakes and I was enjoying myself.

Rossett Pike was summit number 6, from here I am on familiar territory and could finally get a move on, the cloud was also lifting so route finding became much easier. Finally, after hours of rain and fog the sun was out and temperatures began to rise. Happy days.

Great Gable was the first proper ascent of the day, followed by the usual suspects as you head down into Honister. Debbie was waiting here for my first pit stop; hot soup and tea were on the menu and did a great job of re-energising me.

Unfortunately I under estimated the heat and after traversing High Spy and Cat Bells I ran on into Keswick dehydrated and not feel very well. Finding Debbie’s car in the main car park was pure luck so I was able to top up with water and head off again, only to do the same and arrive in Threlkeld just as badly dehydrated and ready to throw in the towel.

At Threlkeld I took a 25 minute break, my legs were feeling very tired and I had a dehydration head ache, however quitting was not really an option. Recent attempts at these rounds had ended in disappointment and these failures are not good for my confidence, it drives you into a hole of self-pity and negativity. I am getting closer to the level of fitness I need if I am to attempt the Charlie Ramsey round this year and only a couple of months training left.

With this playing out in my head I told Debbie it may be dark by the time I finish but I was going to press on and complete todays challenge, in reality the challenge was about spending a day in the mountains in my own company, something which I feel I have not done for some time.  I am comfortable in my own company and find solace in my thoughts, although I often think I’m not playing with a full deck. I may not be the sharpest stick in the pile but I’m not so daft that I don’t know this.

I refilled my water bladder and added 3 bottles of water to my bag, 3 litres in total, which added 3 kilo’s and just in time for the biggest climb of the round, Clough Head. The run over the Dodds to Helvellyn is an uninteresting slog but the beauty of the destination more than makes up for it. From Helvellyn I could see the last 5 summits and finally feel like making it to the end was a real possibility, only the ascent of Fairfield stood in my way.

After Fairfield the last 4 summits are all new to me but easy enough to do and mostly downhill all the way into Ambleside. I arrived at 10.09pm, just in time for darkness.

The round had taken 14 and a half hours, about an hour and a half longer than I had hoped, it had been a long day, however I had completed a great days training and not given in to my demons.

If you enjoy running in the English Lake District the Freeman round is ideal, 50 miles and 15,000 of ascent is great training if you are planning to attempt one of the big three rounds. There are no dangerous ascents or descents and navigation is relatively easy.