What a weekend of challenges. Lots of hills too! Well here’s another which Rob had a go at.
Rob:
I had a go at the “23 Before Tea” round last week. It’s basically a challenge to visit 23 Lakeland summits that are more or less walkable from Elterwater Hostel – including some Coniston fells, Langdale Pikes and Fairfield Horseshoe. It’s a long way – my slightly sub optimal route was 64km with 4500m climb – and I was pleased to have mid-summer daylight. Setting out at 4.50am I didn’t get back for the tea and flapjack until early evening. I stopped for morning coffee at the Old Dungeon Ghyll in Langdale and afternoon cake in Grasmere.
While many other long-distance rounds are available, the 23BT has logistical advantages for the unsupported or merely disorganised runner. Importantly there are a few obvious escape routes back to the start none of which involve hacking back from Wasdale. Also, the round could easily be split across a fun weekend based at the hostel.
How it started:
What started out as a silly idea in the pub, has morphed into a new challenge for runners in the lakes.
Back in Elterwater after too long away from the fells, sitting in the Britannia Inn, with a mate and a pint of Bluebird, Paul Tierney’s record-breaking run around all the Wainwrights (which we’d helped support as the Hostel) seemed such an incredible feat; it was somehow both out of reach for mere mortals, and something to be emulated – what an adventure!
Pouring over a map of Paul’s route, thinking about the best routes between peaks, an idea began to emerge. How many could we do? Certainly not all 200+ Wainwrights, but there were 23 that seemed within reach of the Elterwater Hostel, whatever “within reach” meant. Example of a route then:
Then after a few practice runs the hotel laid down a challenge; “anyone who can break the record, currently Little Dave’s time of 14hrs 50mins, will earn a 2-night stay for two at Elterwater Hostel, and we’ll throw in a couple of beers too – you’ll deserve them! Runners can log their attempts, and get added to our leader board, through this link. Don’t forget to tag @ElterwaterHostel and #elterwater23beforetea. Anyone who wants to have a go, can let us know in advance by emailing [email protected] – we’ll make make sure there’s tea and flapjacks on hand for your return.”
Well that was 2021. Pity Rob wasn’t running then!! But they acknowledged his effort:
Fellrunners: Another successful completion of #23B4Tea, well done Rob Downs! Seems like you enjoyed it. Record stays intact, but it’s SUCH a fun day out in the hills.