The BG Round – Dark Peak Style

The annual Dark Peak BG attempt in mid-June is one of the highlights of the club year. Being part of a successful round, whether as contender or supporter, is an unforgettable experience. The club has been serving up BG successes since 1977, with something like 200 successful completions on the club round with just a few barren years due to Foot and Mouth, Covid and even extreme weather once and even more members have achieved the round on their own organised rounds.

There’s an understanding that BG contenders will put something back or, preferably, will have served an apprenticeship as supporters before making their own attempt. – Kev Borman

There’s loads of information out there on preparing for a BG attempt – take a look at the BG club’s own site, or Bob Wrightman’s pages, or on the FRA forum. But there are many different ways to attempt the round too, so the purposes of these pages are to describe something of what is distinctive about doing so as part of a large club-supported round and to offer tips (by no means definitive or, necessarily, uncontroversial) to potential contenders.

If you choose to attempt your round as part of the club’s annual jamboree, it’s important to recognise that this is very much a collective endeavor. The object of the exercise is to get as many contenders round within twenty-four hours as possible whilst having as good a time as possible. This means keeping the contenders down to a manageable number as well as running to somebody else’s schedule – a schedule designed to suit a range of abilities and conditions. As such, there may not always be room for everybody who wants to have a go in a particular year. It also means that whippets in search of especially fast times or idiosyncratic route choices should consider looking elsewhere for their support.

Priority will always go to reliable, established, known club members from Dark Peak. Where space allows, though, we are equally happy to take on others, particularly when they come with a good track record and have supported past club attempts. Please note that one year’s support cannot guarantee a place as a contender next year, as this will always depend upon numbers and your relative chances of getting around. Supporting before running should nevertheless be preferred by all contenders; knowing the procedures and routines provides valuable experience and is in keeping with the collective ethos of club attempts. It’s also generally more fun to run with a bunch of people you’ve already shared several pints with.

Meanwhile a message from the BG Club 01/07/2025

Message to all Contenders and Support Runners:

In recent weeks the Bob Graham 24-hour club has, sadly, learned of several contenders and their support runners who are flagrantly ignoring the very important guidance the club provides to all those attempting the 24-hour challenge, therefore threatening the long-term future of the round:  The route and trods that are commonly used are subject to high footfall and in certain places have become badly eroded, thus we have requested that contenders limit supporters to two per leg. You should not require more than two supporters, although it’s appreciated that occasionally an extra person may join in with the support effort so as to gain experience of a real attempt and be able to provide support services himself/herself in future.

 In recent weeks we have been informed of attempts taking place with a large number of support runners with some attempts having between 5 and 15 supporters on each leg.  This is categorically does not align with the ethos and spirit of the Bob Graham Round and has brought unwanted attention and focus upon the round.  The large amount of supporters cause congestion at the support points and of course with more people out on the route and attempting to join the 24-Hour Club (as well as double rounds, solo attempts and those doing relays and/or fast packing round the route over a number of days) it’s never been more important that we do the right thing and try to limit the damage our own actions are causing. 

The 24-hour club reserves the right to treat each ratification submission on its own merits and club membership will not be offered to those who do not comply with the basic guidance that we provide.

Thank you for your understanding and compliance.

Paul Wilson

http://bobgrahamclub.org.uk/index.php?page=ontheday

Further messages from BG HQ

Car parking on the round. 

There are few free parking spots in The Lakes these days. Parking at three of the four road crossing points is Pay and Display, those supporting BG attempts are not exempt from those charges. As the contender it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that your supporters pay these fees, provide them with the means to do so if necessary.  

Threlkeld: The car park at the side of the A66 belongs to the village who have installed payment meters: £1 for one hour, £2 for two hours. Can pay by phone/app. The money from this is used to maintain village facilities.

Wasdale: The car park at Brackenclose belongs to the National Trust and payment (£5 for two hours) is required – cash only as there’s limited phone signal. The car park is shut overnight – hours vary throughout the year.

Honister: The slate mine car park is £5/day

Please be considerate to other users of the car parks and to any staff or volunteers present.

IF WE GET COMPLAINTS THEN UNLESS SOMEONE ADMITS TO CAUSING THE PROBLEM WE WILL NOT RATIFY ANY ROUND COMPLETED THAT WEEKEND

Those points aren’t anything beyond being decent behavior. The guidance notes summary is even more succinct:

Respect the route.

Respect those who live and work along the route.

Respect the history, traditions and ethos of the round.

Don’t mess things up for others.

An email has been sent to those who have registered for this weekend. After spending two out of the last three weekends dealing with complaints. Anyone attempting this weekend please stick to these basic guidelines. 

Thanks for your understanding and compliance

The following pages provide advice in relation to:

email Richard Hakes for further info.