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Fell Running In Cumbria - Follow Up To February’s SCoM Talk


By Ian Harford

A good number of SCoM members will remember the February talk by Raj Mahapatra and his trainer Chris Clarke about Raj’s plan to take on the Bob Graham Round (BGR) in the Lake District last month. His opening comment was “Anyone reasonably fit can do it - the real question is ‘will you walk or run it?’”

The day has now passed and this time Raj didn’t quite make it. He covered 41 miles and 18,000 feet of ascent but had to retire before finishing. It was a magnificent effort. But he’s not yet finished. Next year he will be making his second attempt on June 4th, having learnt important lessons from his experience.

I was out on the Langdale fells with him in the previous week, fine tuning the route for his attempt on the round on the Saturday and he looked extremely fit. The day has given me ideas for the SCoM 2011 May weekend walk.

Raj is raising money for the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society, a charity supporting sufferers from a rare and debilitating disease, which Raj himself suffered from when he was younger and which for a period left him on crutches. If you wish to support the charity you can donate by visiting the Just Giving site - details of which are in my blog post. Thanks to those who have already donated.

Members can view or download the full newsletter containing this article here.