Marathon 34: Helvellyn, Ullswater and 8 Hours on the Fells

We’d been telling everyone for weeks that Scafell Pike wasn’t going to be our toughest marathon.

But Westmorland was still to come. And it lived up to the billing.

After our first trip to the Lakes saw us tackle Scafell Pike, this time we were back for an even bigger day in the hills. We were joined by Joe Campbell, who, alongside his wife Flo, shared their story of a traumatic birth and difficult first year with their son Lockie a few years ago. Joe and Flo have been hugely supportive of the podcast and the challenge throughout, so it was a real pleasure to have Joe alongside us for what turned into an epic day out.

Joe spends much of his time running up and down hills in Scotland living on the Borders, so he was always going to be a pretty good candidate for a day like this.

I, meanwhile, was just hoping to get round in one piece.

We set off at around 8am, having first had a great chat with the team at BBC Radio Cumbria. From there, we headed straight into the Lakes.

The opening section took us along the shore before we started climbing from Patterdale towards Helvellyn, our biggest peak of the day and the third-highest mountain in England at 950 metres.

The early morning cloud and haze were still hanging around, but the views were already incredible as we headed up the valley. The first section was steep but fairly straightforward underfoot. It was really just a case of getting our heads down and working our way upwards.

At one point, it felt like we'd been climbing forever... I looked at my watch. We'd done a mile and a half.

That was probably a fairly good indication of how the day was going to go.

We reached the Hole-in-the-Wall and then started working our way along Striding Edge, the famous ridgeline leading towards Helvellyn. The terrain became more technical, with more rocks and less of a defined path, but it was exactly the sort of running that makes a day in the Lakes so memorable.

Joe was constantly looking for the most adventurous line. I was constantly looking for the easiest one. Somehow, we met somewhere in the middle.

It was also a great opportunity to catch up properly. We talked about family life, everything that had been happening north of the border and all the usual stuff you get into when you've got several hours in the hills together.

Eventually, we reached the summit of Helvellyn.

As with Scafell Pike, the cloud had decided to put a bit of a limit on the views from the top. Helvellyn had a little cloud hat on, so we didn't hang around for long. There was still a lot of marathon to get through. 

From the summit, we headed south before gradually turning east and looping back towards Patterdale. That section was fantastic. There were plenty of ups and downs without ever dropping all the way back down, along with some really enjoyable running and another significant climb towards the top of the Cape. The views were incredible, and there were sections where we could finally get into something resembling a running rhythm.

And then came the descent. This was where Joe really came into his own.

He is a proper technician when it comes to running downhill. If I hadn't been concentrating quite so hard on not falling off a mountain myself, it would have been great fun to watch.

It was a joy to watch anyway. Years of running in the hills have clearly paid off.

We eventually dropped back into Patterdale after around three and a half hours, having covered roughly 11 miles. We stopped at our self-manned aid station in the back of the cars, had a good feed and checked in with the family to let them know we'd made it through the big stuff.

But we weren't even halfway. The second loop took us out along the southern and eastern shores of Ullswater.

The terrain was generally more grassy and fern-covered rather than the rocky ground we'd encountered around Helvellyn. The hills were smaller too, with our biggest summit on this section coming in at just under 500 metres.

There were also more people around. It felt a little more touristy than the Helvellyn section, although that may simply have been down to the time of day. Either way, it was nice to see so many other people enjoying the hills.

And it really is one of the prettiest parts of the country.

There were also longer sections where we could actually run, which helped the miles tick over a little quicker. Joe, unsurprisingly, preferred the hills. I was quite happy to have some runnable sections.

The main climb of the second loop was smaller than Helvellyn, but it was still very steep, so we took our time. There were plenty of snack breaks when we needed them, and lots of opportunities to stop and take in the views across Ullswater.

Eventually, we reached the top with around seven miles still to go. At that point, we were heading back towards the lake and, finally, towards home. And this descent was much more in my territory. It was grassy, relatively gentle and runnable, rather than the rocky and technical terrain where Joe had excelled earlier in the day.

We made our way back down towards the shore of Ullswater with around five miles remaining. It felt like we were nearly there.

Then came the final hurdle. I'd imagined the route around the lake would be a nice, straightforward lakeside footpath... Instead, we found ourselves negotiating a tangle of rocks and tree roots. It wasn't quite as slow-going as the big climbs, but it certainly wasn't the smooth, fast finish I had been hoping for.

For half an hour or so, it became as much of a psychological challenge as a physical one.

Eventually, though, we got through it. With around three miles left, we found a café and made an emergency stop for some fizzy drinks. At that point, they were very welcome indeed. Then it was simply a case of getting the final few miles done.

We eventually pulled back into Patterdale and were met by rapturous applause. Our family had clearly been doing some work behind the scenes to whip up the crowd.

After nearly eight hours on the move, it was a brilliant way to finish.

I'd somehow got it into my head that we'd had a couple of marathons this year that had taken seven hours something, particularly the hilly ones, and that I really didn't want to see an eight at the start of my finishing time this year... But here we are! 

The reward was a very well-earned burger and a Diet Coke. And some very sore legs in the days that followed.

Westmorland was everything we'd expected it to be. Tough, slow in places, physically demanding and completely spectacular.

It was also exactly what this challenge is about.

A brilliant day in an incredible part of the country, shared with a good friend, while raising money and awareness for a cause that means so much to us.

34 counties down.