Bob Hayward & Nick Baldock have now run 18 consecutive marathons out of the 34 it will take to get to John O’Groats from Land’s End and in doing so have covered over half the distance. This is all in aid of Podge the 13 year old boy who was so badly burnt in an attack last May.
From Milnthorpe to Shap, simply another 26.2 miles. Ever seen “Groundhog Day”? - 5.45 the alarm rings, they wake with the same people, they drive to the start, they have tea and breakfast, they stretch and move off — all the same? No! The scenery is different, every step they take is different and they meet new generous people each day.
What was different about today? A couple of special things.
1. Cumbria, the fells, the stepping stone to the Lake District. God must have had a good day when he carved out this terrain. Rolling lush green hills divided neatly by dry stone walls that hug the curving landscape like processionary caterpillars, forests of perfectly upright pine trees so densely packed together that no light reaches the ground under their fragrant blue–green branches. It seems the sky is filled with steeply rising granite covered in a carpet of heather browned under a strong sun. The granite has been hewn into intricate flowing patterns by a cosmic hand, setting the occasional dwelling places for man and his animals on higher ground as jewels both distinct and cold.
2. The steep gradient of their marathon today. Starting by a stream curving along the roadside, the banks filled with deer and sheep, two swans following a family of ducks, they ran off and immediately felt an incline which only got more severe with each mile. Stiff from the last 400 miles they coaxed their aching limbs into a steady rhythm — slow but sure. What hurts? Name all anatomical parts from the waist down and you would be right? The blessed and beautiful landscape inspires and distracts them from their endeavours and yet tricks them by hiding ever steeper hills behind it’s curves. At least 5 miles of the run felt like a 45 degree hill, they joked about the need for oxygen, safety ropes and ice axes. Certainly their breathable lightweight rain coats were needed to keep out the chilled wind and showers that punctuated the morning. On the steepest part of the climb (this was a climb not a run at this stage) they saw the motorhome parked up at the summit and perched on the top of the van was Ian laughing as if on top of the world. To him standing on top of Shap Fell, with it’s glorious valleys laid out below and the sky forming a wonderful celestial roof above it seemed to him that he was standing in God’s own cathedral, rhythmic music from the wind and trees in harmony with the call of circling falcons. And down below two lonely, tired “runners” broke the spiritual atmosphere with a barrage of expletives as they saw the sheerness of the final climb.
The run finished with a fairly level few miles into the village of Shep itself.
A third thing is left haunting their minds — the emptiness of those wonderful hills. Foot and mouth combined with inept management by our political leadership has left our land barren. They have seen many unmanned and dry disinfection stations that are meant to be containing this vicious bug — the dry and torn mats useless, they have met and talked to the guys who are manning active stations, and believe it or not, these are voluntary “detox laybys”, motorists can choose whether to stop or not — and do you know what, 75% do not! How can we be so stupid? Why is our political and commercial leadership so short sighted?