The Robinson Round

For the first time ever my OMM running partner from last year is keen to do the event with me again and we met up recently for our annual training jog. With me living in North Wales and Jenny hailing from Glasgow the sensible place to meet was the Lakes and even though I was slightly grumpy to leave my bubble and drive somewhere (I have become pretty lazy having all the nice crags and mountains to hand), it was actually a very worthwhile experience getting out in someone else's mountains. Rocio was keen to come along too and witness the preparation for this important sporting event. Our formula from last years training weekend (go for at least one long run, make some dinner, drink wine and talk about boys) seemed to work well so we stuck with that and we shall see where it gets us this year.

Picking up some uphill speed??! Go me and Jenny!
Photo: Rocio Siemens

The weather had conspired against us to provide us with a stunningly sunny windless weekend, weather that will be nothing like the actual OMM weekend. Although on the upside it did encourage us to run for longer and take some lovely photographs.
I had left little time to plan an actual route but in my hasty planning session I spotted a hill with my name on it and it therefore seemed logical to base the route around it!

So, the Robinson Round (as it shall henceforth be known...):
Start in Braithwaite
Up Grisedale Pike (791m)
Eel Crag (840m)
Along to Sail Pass
Down and up to Ard Crags an along to Knott Rigg
Up Robinson (737m)
Along the edges to Dale Head (753m)
High spy (653m)
Maiden Moor (576m)
and then wiggle along roads back to Braithwaite

It worked out at just over 25km and quite alot of up and down, but it is a good runnable route!


Jenny slogging up my namesake hill - Robinson!

Robinson on Robinson
Photo: Rocio Siemens

End of the day jog down and out where cider and crisps await!
Photo: Rocio Siemens

We were staying in Helvellyn Youth Hostel, which was inconvieniently located near the summit of Helvellyn but after a long potholey track we finally arrived to cook fine splodge and drink fine cider.

Day 2 was somewhat more lackluster and we ambled up High Street and back down to Patterdale to sit and gossip outside the cornershop while Rocio found a friendly farmer to take her back to the car. It being stunning weather I probably should have felt some guilt that I wasn't out climbing, but I had forgotten that running in lovely weather is extremely enjoyable. And there is something satisfying about being able to move 10km in a similar amount of time that it would take me to move about 40m when trad climbing......

Anyway thanks very much to Jenny and Rocio for a lovely weekend, and I am now pretty psyched for the OMM. Bring it OMM???