Completing the Frog Graham Round SwimRun

The Frog Graham Round is often described as 'the UK's ultimate swimrun challenge'. 

The challenge consists of 40 miles of running (with 15,750 ft of elevation) around the Lake Districts most beautiful fells, split up with 4 swims which equate to 3 miles of swimming.

It is completely self-supported, with no aid stations.

The round starts and ends at Moot Hall, Keswick, a place where many fell running dreams are made!

I have always been someone that seeks the places where there are no people, the places that have more sheep than humans and feel like true wilderness. 

I like the idea of stepping on ground that not many people will have been lucky enough to stand on, I have 2 working legs and I plan to use them to the best of my ability, for as long as I can. 

I have taken part in endurance events for as long as I can remember. Bikepacking, fast packing, completing an ironman and many ultramarathons in my time, I am not the fastest, nor do I have a desire to win, I just like being outside for long periods of time!

A divorce shook up my life for a good couple of years and it led me to ultimately start a new life somewhere completely new, Cornwall. For a while my confidence was knocked in finding these places on solo missions.

Whilst rebuilding myself I found this incredible group of swimmers and runners called the MadHatters, mad by name, mad by nature. This is where I was introduced to swimrun. 

The leader of the pack, John Yelland, runs these amazing events right on my doorstep. I did 3 races with the team in quick succession and I was completely hooked! It was the perfect blend of the adventure I missed and the safety I felt I needed at the time. 

After a while, the spark reignited and the confidence to venture alone returned.

This is where the idea was sparked about the Frog Graham. I wanted a solo pursuit (or at least without the race environment and cost).

I am lucky to have a truly inspirational friend that just so happens to live in the Lake District (no biggie but she has the male and female record for running the entire SWCP in one hit…that is 630 miles for the record and her name is Sarah Perry). I told her I was ready for something MORE, something a bit different, she had the same idea as me, the Frog Graham.

It seemed to be the answer to all my questions.

I wanted something away from the race environment. Something not everyone was doing. I didn’t want the price tag. I didn’t want the hype. I wanted to see how I would fair without aid stations, without marshals and without route markers. I wanted something entirely for myself.

I wanted to combine my love of swimming and running and keep the adventure of an ultra marathon. I wanted to feel small in a big old natural world. Just me and my small but mighty crew in some of the most beautiful hills you can imagine. 

It’s very very rare if I do a race that I do it for myself. I’m the friend people call on to motivate them, to support them and to run alongside them and help them achieve their goals. Whilst coming up with a challenge that could test me with my very good friend and incredible athlete Sarah Perry, she said to me. "Sarah this has to be about you, you’ve been through so much, I have seen you hit rock bottom and I want to see YOU achieve what I know you are capable of." 

All it takes is one person to believe in you. That person was Sarah. We decided together on a plan, the Frog is just part of a bigger plan that had to pause this year due to injury. In the hope I can complete the whole adventure next summer. 

Along the journey to the Frog, people got excited and interested and wanted to join me. I was leaning towards saying yes and it becoming about other people and not myself again. Sarah pointed out that so often I make my achievements about the people who I do it with. I never have the moment of success to myself. It sounds like a strange drive behind a goal. She said to me "this is for you. A celebration of how far you’ve come." She could not have been more right. I needed that. 

I have had a wild few years with a lot of life blows that have knocked me for six each time. I’m not one to let things hold me back but it’s been pretty testing. I needed something to remind me of my strength and how the turbulent times I’d experienced had made me more powerful than before. The hurt actually transformed me into someone capable of more than I knew. There were a lot of doubters out there, I had a lot of people question my abilities to achieve what I wanted especially with my set backs. To me that stokes the fire. For every doubt, I believe a little more I can reach my target.

Fast forward to this year... I decided to head off on a Scottish mountain adventure in May to recce a route that is also sat in my mind. 

We arrived to snow storms and 70mph winds. Needless to say, not many mountains were scaled or seen and I sprained my ankle pretty badly. 

I had no idea how bad it was because it was so cold. One recce fail, one bust ankle but a very full and happy adventure heart. Life gives you lemons sometimes. You just have to roll with what it throws at you. 

I was now left with 2 and a half months for training once my ankle heals. Five weeks in I feel fit, healthy and strong. I go away with work to Crete, enjoy myself a little too much and come home with a kidney infection, I end up in hospital and on antibiotics…cue a lot of tears and calls to my big brother in the hospital. 

Another 2 weeks of rest leaving just 3 weeks before the challenge. It is safe to say that training had no structure in this block. That ever familiar panic that I try so hard to keep at bay, emerged. Have I done enough to still try? Am I capable? WHY can’t it just be straightforward for once. I decided to sit tight and wait. 

I had a 5 week ‘taper’. The damage I could have done training, over the fitness I could have lost resting was not worth it. I drank rivers and rivers of water and ate all the goodness and slept all the sleep instead.

The day went exactly how I imagined it but 100000x better!

I didn’t go out with a goal of an FKT (fastest known time). I went out with the goal of having a FUN. 

I spent 15 hours and 33 minutes in the fells with friends new and old, laughing and smiling from 3am to goodness knows what time in the evening. 

You run out of Keswick and the first climb is Skiddaw. The fog was in, the mizzle switched on and the wind was howling whilst we ran into darkness, up up up we went. 

I had Sarah by my side and when the wind whipped up and we were so giddy with excitement, adventure runs in our blood and we knew this weather meant we had a real adventure in store. Having good weather would be simple right? 

I arrived at Bassenthwaite lake as the sun was coming up (this was my least favourite swim during recces, so I was glad this was out the way first). 

We could only just see our exit point in that dull first light of day. I felt like I had won the day already getting out of that swim with my blue lips. 

Leg 2 was a bit of a blur as I was so cold and excited (emotions that lead to me forgetting things it seems). Luke and Bex kept the spirits high, snacks on tap, wetsuits washed and conversation flowing.

Next thing I know I am on leg 3, swimming across Crummock and scaling Mellbreak. Mellbreak is basically a hands and knees kinda climb up and what feels like a rock climbing descent. Sarah and I were SO pleased with our line on the way down, as we picked a tricky one whilst out on a recce but absolutely nailed it on the day. Cheers and happy songs could probably be heard all the way back in Keswick! 

I lost both my shoes on the tops to the bog, who very kindly returned them after a good old tug. I probably spent 2 hours weeing on the fells (keeping those kidneys safe with an abundance of fluids) and Sarah made sure my wetsuit was washed again. 

(Wetsuit washing is essential to this round to prevent the invasive New Zealand pygmy weed from contaminating all the lakes, it is now found in 3 of the 4 lakes, Buttermere being the only one free from this weed at present.)

Finally, leg 4, the leg I was least familiar with. A quick dash across Buttermere, with a kind unassuming stranger who swam across this lake, in her clothes to ensure I had support for that leg, she deserves a medal for that in itself!

In short my maths was bad for this section and signal weak so my support swimmer didn’t know where I was, and was not on the lakeside when I arrived…entirely my own fault (note to self: improve mental maths). 

Up we go, Robinson, the only bump on the route I had not scaled from top to bottom. By this point I was just so happy I had got my maths so wrong and that in fact I would be finished hours before I thought. 

Chris and Jack were on duty for this section and they were incredible. What a tag team. Considering I should have been knackered by this point, I ran more on this leg than any other. I tried every single kind of nutrition there was out there and learnt a lot about these 2 kind strangers that gave up their day for me. The time flew by, their constant encouragement and desire to fill me to the brim with water and snacks to keep me warm on that last big swim across Derwentwater was amazing. 

I haven’t laughed that much after 40 miles of running in a long time. I hear squeals of support from the crew as we descend Catbells to the shore of Derwentwater and I am most pleased when I see a real life FROG on the course. Life complete. That frog was telling me I was going to be on that Frog Graham roll of honour. 

My trusty mermaid Bex was on the shoreline once more. Ready to guide me across 3 islands and back home to Moot Hall. I am not gonna lie, I felt like I was on a boat and felt very sea sick when I first got in. I could not get into a rhythm with my breath at all. I had to lay on my back like an otter for a moment to regroup. I started to breathe every 2 strokes rather than 3 and by island 2 I was back in the groove and could go back to bilateral breathing and thankfully no one was sick.

At one point the islands looked like they may never get closer. Thankfully they did and we were welcomed by happy campers on each one. Fifty minutes later and I am on dry land, refusing to take my wetsuit off and running with the whole crew in my full length wetsuit to Moot Hall (I decided I needed this over my swimrun suit on the last long swim as I had been so cold).

The end of this round is great, you run through the town which is full to the brim of other adventurers and tourists alike, cheering you on to touch the door at the top of those well known steps. 

My crew even made sure Atlas, my trusty swimrun dog, made it to the finish with me! I couldn’t have asked for a better or more supportive crew, it will remain in my mind as one of the happiest days of my life because of them. 

The pub, The Round which is located right by Moot Hall, gives you a much needed pint and pat on the back and the day is done. Happy kid, happy crew. As my friend Sarah put it, this was a victory dance. A moment for myself to say, look how far you have come and look how happy you are to be here. 

I could not recommend the Frog enough!

1. Sign up to a MadHatter race. They do some short races to get a taste of what these events are like! If you like triathlons but want something a bit more adventurous this is for you.

2. Purchase a swimrun suit (I wore the ZONE3 SwimRun Evolution Suit), they make running a lot easier than in your full wetsuit.

3. Learn to use paddles.

4. Find a partner. The great thing about swimrun is that in the longer races you can pair up!

1. Recce the route. You want to find the good lines in the run, be familiar with the terrain and also know how cold the lakes are!

2. Train on hills

3. Don’t be afraid to use poles!

4. Purchase a swimrun suit (I wore the ZONE3 SwimRun Evolution Suit) - smaller so lighter and easier to pack in your bag to run with.

5. The second wetsuit I used for the longer swim across Derwentwater was the ZONE3 Terraprene Vision wetsuit

6. Run in a trisuit, if you are lucky enough to have good weather when you do it you can then decide if to swim just in your suit or pop on your wetsuit. I wore the ZONE3 Lava long distance full zip short sleeve trisuit

7. Use ZONE3 elastic laces for easy transition (maybe just do them up tighter than I did so you don’t lose them to the bogs)!

8. Wear goggles that can adapt in all weather conditions like the ZONE3 Vapour goggles!

9. Biosafety - do not forget to wash your suits thoroughly between lakes, or change wetsuit.

10. GET YOURSELF THE BEST CREW EVER - that are also familiar with the route

Swimrun is the best adventure there is!

Triathlon there is the element of a mechanical on the bike. Take that out and it’s all down to you. Your body, your mind. You are in control of your fate (more or less). It’s an incredible way to test your resilience. It takes you to the wildest places. 

If you can swim somewhere then run on, the locations you can get to are pretty special and not so many people can do that. I have visited islands. I have made my way along coastlines, running to the waters edge, jumping off rocks into the sea. I have swam to places no one can get to by foot and seen seas full of bioluminescent creatures. All of these things were opened up to me by swimrun. 

My advice would be, don’t doubt yourself. You are so capable. Don’t be afraid to dream big, don’t let people tell you, you can’t. Don’t be afraid to try! 

I had absolutely no idea if I would finish the Frog. I believed I could, but with training being disrupted so much I didn’t know i’d make the end. I wasn’t afraid to fail. I’d rather fail than never try at all. So often we tell ourselves, our training was not perfect, we didn’t have enough sleep, we didn’t run far enough, we didn’t stick to the plan, we have too much going on to go out and do what truly makes us happy. I think if you decide you want something enough you can make it happen. You are stronger than you know.

I guess some other advice would be, join an open water swimming group. Get a taste for swimming in lakes and seas over pools.  The motivation of going with a group is second to none and great for safety too. No doubt you’ll meet some other lovely folk that would love to explore the idea of swimruns!