Birkinshaw Steve - There is No Map in Hell

BY JOSS NAYLOR MBE

I have lived all my life in the Wasdale valley and being out on the Lake District fells means everything to me. Some of my earliest memories are of being out on the fells, and these memories have stayed with me for my whole life.

When I was about four years old I went out with my brother, Scott, who was nine at the time, to collect sheep on Yewbarrow. I kept asking Scott, how much further?, and he would say that crag there, that is the top, and when we got over the crag and looked up I thought to myself this fell has no top! I also clearly remember going up to Mickledore between Scafell and Scafell Pike when I was about five. There were some hikers going up Broad Stand and they disturbed some ring ouzels nesting on Scafell Crag it was good to see them, as you see these birds less and less nowadays. From those days as a child I never lost the love of the fells through many years of sheep farming and running on them. This year I turned eighty, and I am still out on the fells. I help my son, Paul, with his sheep on the fells above Wasdale. I also regularly go up the fells near my house, although these days I use sticks to take the pressure off my legs and so protect my badly damaged knee.

In 1986 Andy Ligema and Colin Dulson suggested to me that I might have a go at running round all 214 Wainwright fells. I was worried that it would take too much setting up, but I was lucky enough to have Ken Ledward come on board and help with all the planning. The first two days were roasting hot but went well. On the third day my shoes fell to bits, which was a disaster. However, the biggest disaster was that when I got a new pair of shoes, the webbing was too high and it rubbed up on my ankle bones. It was so bad that I could see the ligament showing. It was a pain that bit into me all day there was no let-up from it. There was this stinging sensation that never went away, even when I stopped; it was sore like red-hot needles shoved into my ankles. The last two days I could not eat; I was drained to a point I had never been to before. It was as though someone had got hold of me and squeezed all the energy out of me, and then I still had to march for two more days to the finish. When I eventually finished, there was absolutely nothing left in my body.

Looking back now, doing the Wainwrights was a great experience that I would not have liked to miss and I put down a time that was the best I could do. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but despite the pain I never got the feeling I wasnt going to finish it. The memories of the hard times and the suffering I experienced during those seven days have faded and now I remember the good times. In particular, the friendships created during that run that have lasted a lifetime. I still find it unbelievable the amount of time people put in on my behalf to support me and I will always be very grateful. It is something special about the sport of fell running that people go out of their way to help one another.

I have known of Steves running and navigational ability on the fells for many years. He has had many wins at mountain marathons and has won the Lake District Mountain Trial a special event for me that I have competed in fifty times and won nine times. Steve and I chatted a couple of times before his attempt at completing the Wainwrights. I was very happy to encourage him and to offer advice, such as the importance of taking it one step at a time rather than thinking of the long days and fells ahead, and also advice on nutrition and sitting in a cold beck at the end of every day.

I was delighted when I heard that Steve broke my record; I know the effort and pain that must be gone through to achieve this. Afterwards, it was wonderful to be able to share a stage with him at the Keswick Mountain Festival and for us both to talk about our experiences of the challenge.

It is a pleasure to be able to write this foreword for Steve, particularly as he has used his run of the Wainwrights to raise money for multiple-sclerosis charities, a cause for which I have also raised money in the past. It is important that the effort, planning and toughness of running the Wainwrights is documented, and Steves is an incredible story of dedication and strength of will, which gives an insight into the seriousness of committing to such a task.