Abby’s Frog Graham Round

Saturday 5^th September 2026.

The Frog Graham Round has been on my radar, probably since I first discovered the Bob Graham round, back in 2020-2021, however I didn’t really, seriously, consider it until a couple of years ago, when we moved to Cumbria and I attended a talk about their swim run adventures (including the Frog), by Grace, Natalie and Rose.

I approached them after the talk, and asked if I could possibly join their swimming gang, and after a test to make sure I was capable by Natalie, I was allowed to tag along! So, the Frog seed grew a little stronger.

I finally decided to commit during the late winter, early spring this year, as I figured it was a good goal on the way to a similar, but bigger goal and started recee’ing and training in earnest through the Spring and Summer.

I was a competitive club swimmer as a child and young adult, so am a decent swimmer, so the swims on the Frog didn’t worry me, in fact, I would have preferred a ratio of more swimming to running, as I am a fairly average fell runner, at best! However, I can keep chugging away for quite a long time, so wasn’t daunted by the distance, and enjoy a good day out in the mountains.

The recee’s were interesting, and maybe contributed to ‘a bad dress rehearsal makes for a good performance’, as thankfully, nearly everything went really well on the day itself.

My recces included turning back before even reaching the Carl Side turning on Skiddaw, let alone the Summit (Leg 1), as we (Jake the collie and I) literally couldn’t walk any further, the wind was so strong and the sideways hailstone wasn’t much fun. I then fell and broke a pole (and a load of skin) on the way back down.

Leg 2 recee was so wet, Jake and I might as well have done the swims as well.

Leg 3 recee got cut short, lost in the mist and slid down a load of scree. However, the second Leg 3 recee, included the two swims either side and went well!

Leg 4 recee started with a very cold loop of Buttermere, so Natalie and I spent a good chunk of Robinson just trying to defrost! Then I missed the bus by seconds at the end, so had to run back and rolled my ankle on the way.

Thankfully, the Bassenthwaite and Derwentwater swim recees went well (I said before there should be more swimming, less running in this!!) and everything came together nicely on the day.

I decided to start at 5am from Moot Hall, as I had put together a rough schedule from my knowledge of my running time over that distance, my swimming times, my recee times, and the times of last years completions, aiming for an A goal of swimming Derwentwater before dark, and a 9pm ish finish back at Moot Hall, which would be a 16 hour round.

Coming into the round, I thought this was fairly optimistic, and I would have been happy with a sub 17 hour round.

Kit wise, I had tested my various options and originally had thought to treat it like a swimrun race, and run in my wetsuit, and swim in my trainers. This idea quickly got binned as I boiled like a lobster on a test run in my suit, on far easier terrain, and very quickly ditched the shoes as I swim much better without them! I planned on using both for Derwentwater, as it would be getting cooler if close to dark, I would be tired, and I needed to ‘land’ on each island (and run a bit of two of them), so needed my shoes on really.

The rest of the swims would be fairly ‘skins’, with my rash vest over my cozzie/ bikini.

Even though I planned to be supported, I did want to be fairly self sufficient by carrying my own kit, so also tested if my running pack & trainers would fit in my tow float, and not be a massive hindrance while swimming, and they did (just) and weren’t too annoying, although a touch on the heavy side.

I wanted to do early September, as the kids would be back at school, so a bit quieter, the lakes would hopefully be a bit warmer after being heated up all summer, and I should have just enough daylight to get the swims in, so first weekend in September it was!

My lovely friends got asked/ offered/ slightly coerced into helping, and my ever supportive husband Ben is always a brilliant road crew. I may have assumed slightly on his participation, rather than actually asking, but I am very grateful and appreciative for how supportive of my mad adventures he is.

After an ok-ish nights sleep, Ben and I headed to Moot Hall just before 5am. I was a little keen, but it gave us time to check the tracker, take a picture and debate if I had time to visit the pubic toilets (probably not), before heading off into the dark.

I am used to running alone in the dark on the fells, and know this section of the route well, so was quite content as off up Skiddaw I headed. Thankfully, I didn’t need any trail emergency pit stops, but I was slightly concerned at how windy it was just above Latrigg car park – see the leg 1 recee section above!!

I knew I’d get a bit of shelter along the side of Little Man, which I did, and was hoping it would be manageable above that, which it was. I had a couple of sharp rain showers on the way up, but was moving well, the head torch came off just after passing Little Man, and I was a little concerned about missing the line to Carl Side, and the wind, but otherwise, all was good!

I hit the summit at 1.27, 3 minutes under my estimated 1.30 split, which I was very pleased with, although I did have to run diagonally along the summit ridge section to keep moving in a fairly straight line with the cross wind!!

I turned back and passed another guy (Alex, we later found out), who had been loitering near Moot Hall as I set off. Briefly wondered if he was also doing the Frog, but was more concerned with getting my line off and down.

With a bit of luck and judgement and I was on the scree down, which seemed to pass pretty quickly. I had an odd moment of wondering if I was on the right path with the clag and half light, but as soon as I hit Carl Side, I knew I was fine, and had a lovely view as dropped below the cloud.

I was cruising down here at this point, watching my step, but enjoying the descent (I’m a better descender than climber!), but not going mad, as there was still a long way to go. Reached the car park at Dodd Wood and decided I’d see if the toilets were open. They were, which was great, as managed to clear up the do I /don’t I question from the start, and did!

Trotted past Mire House to the Church, rang Ben to let him know I was about half an hour ahead of my A target, and were my crew there yet?!!! Thankfully (and not surprisingly, as they are brilliant), they were, so good to crack on! I had a lovely chat with a lady who explained Alex was doing the Frog too and she was waiting to meet him, then I figured I best get on with the swim myself!

I saw Alex coming into the field as I set off, so knew he wasn’t far behind.

With the wind being higher than anticipated, the lake was fairly choppy (Did you know Bassenthwaite is the only Lake in the Lake District?), however we swim Bass every week, so it was nothing compared to what we have seen on some days, and felt warm enough. I did check my line a couple of times on the swim, as there are no really good features to aim for, until I got closer and could head for 2 kayaks on the beach.

It was a real joy to see Elizabeth on the shore to welcome me in, closely followed by Mick, Claire and Sandy (Mountain dog extraordinaire!). These guys were amazing. In not time at all, they had me stripped out of my wet rash vest, and back into my running kit, cramps in legs and all, and fed a load of Percy Pigs.

Having done a fair bit of unsupported long stuff over the years, I forget the treat of having such great crew, you feel so well looked after and ‘mothered’!

Quich stop via the car and Ben to pick up my leg 2 snacks and a couple of slices of pizza, then away we were. 30 minutes ahead of schedule!

Good chat, pizza (Sandy was absolutely delighted to eat the left overs), and Percy Pigs got us up the road and me warmed up, just in time for the first bit of the climb to the washing point where I duly stripped off again, washed myself and my swim kit, and had wonderful ‘Mum’ Claire dress me again!

The hike up Barf (ask Ben if this is aptly name), soon warmed me back up and we surprised a guy at the top peeing into the wind!! We would continue to leapfrog him for a good chunk of this leg….

Along to Lord’s Seat, back in the clag, then drop down to Ullister and Whinlatter, which is a lovely run down. Claire kept reminding me she was reeling me in, as it was still early days, and she was exactly right to do so. I felt great and comfortable, but I still had a long way to go, so her and Mick were the perfect choice for this leg, as well as being great company of course!

We nearly got caught in Parkrun as we crossed over the road after a quick stop to fill my water at the visitors centre, but they set off just before we got there, and we managed to sneak onto the Grisedale path just before a speedy front runner came past, so timed to perfection.

We caught our Barf friend again here, and had a chat, wondering if he was also Frogging?! No, just a big day out on the fells planned. Mick was flagging a touch, but Claire and Sandy were rock solid, and we had great chat, so we carried on, and just made sure he cut the corners a little so kept in touch with us. All of this section was clag so we checked the route a couple of times, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything/ add anything on we didn’t need to, but all was good.

The wind was still pretty high and we had a sharp downpour just as we started up Eel Crag, so a quick stop to layer up, poor Sandy to look a bit chilly before she trotted onwards again, and check Mick was ok. ‘Yep, all good’. Fair enough, Claire and I will carry on then!!

Crag Hill and Wandope successfully ticked off, with a bit more shouting and waving for Mick to corner cut and we finally dropped back out of the clag onto Whiteless Pike and into the glorious views again as I recounted my encounter with a naked running man the other day, just as a hiker passed us on his way up! Not sure what he thought to our conversation!!

I opened up my legs a bit here, as it’s a brilliant descent off Whiteless and left Claire and Mick behind a little. I was thoroughly enjoying myself until a slip on the grass rolled my ankle and I sat and ‘oww’, ‘oww’, ‘owwed’ for a bit until carrying on, albeit with a bit of a hobble! Sandy caught me along Low Bank, so I knew Claire couldn’t be far behind, which was lovely, and I just pulled ahead again a little coming off Rannerdale. I knew I wanted a slightly longer changeover here, but had loads of time in the bag so that was good.

I got to Ben & the car and ditched my wet t-shirt and shorts, had some crisps and pizza, topped up my water and taped my now rather sore ankle. Claire kindly fetched her dry robe for me to wear down to the shore, and Mick arrived just as I was heading that way with his last couple of Percy Pigs to wave me off into my Crummock swim!

I was now 45 minutes ahead of the planned schedule, so was a little worried my later crew would find that hard, so asked them to pop it on our whatsapp group that I was ahead.  Thanks Mick.

The wind was beginning to drop at last, but there was still a fair bit of cross chop, but the swim is short and really pretty, and the rocks on the far side are a great target to head for. As I got closer, I could see Natalie waiting to welcome me in, and it was lovely to see her! Natalie is a fell pro. She’s completed her own Summer and Winter Frogs, holding the ladies record for a time and knows the lines really well, so I knew I was in safe hands! She’s also a GP, so I checked how many paracetamol I could have for my ankle, and duly followed her advice. She also wins the award for most personal contact, as she bit the tape off my slightly boggy, soggy ankle, when it was flapping about and annoying me. My crew even kiss my feet for me!

Alex had come into his car crew point as I was at mine, and he was close to finishing his swim as we were heading up Mellbreak, so we knew he wasn’t far behind, and I expected he might catch me on this leg. However, he took a different line up Mellbreak, and we didn’t end up seeing him again for the rest of the day!

The climb up Mellbreak is just something to be endured. It’s steep, there’s no path and it’s very long! Whoever decided to put that into the route, is a little sadistic. However, the views of the willy shaped spit you have just swum to, and down the valley to Buttermere and beyond are glorious, so a good few ‘taking in the view’ breaks were had, funnily enough more frequently as we climbed higher.

Once you near the top, you join the path you get to run down, so that’s a huge boost, and the last bit to the summit is a bit boggy but easy, so that was nice to do.

I’d really enjoyed the run off in my recee, it’s a grassy, runnable slope and good fun usually, but my ankle – while OK on the ups, was not happy on the downs and I was heavily relying on my other leg while trying to protect my sore ankle. It kind of spoiled the fun of that down!

A wash in the beck at the bottom, ensures you don’t spread any bugs/ pond weed between the lakes, then Natalie recommended the waterfall hike rather than traverse through the heather, which I was happy with as found the heather very slow in my recee!! We cut across and hiked the ridge path, and the word games came out here. Alphabet Outdoor Brands and Truth or Lies. Brilliant ways to pass the time to Red Pike then High Stile. Natalie wins best chat award!

The descent off High Stile had disappointed me in my recee (once I found a marginally better line than the scree on the first attempt), as I thought we would run it, but the top is too technical to get any decent speed (at least for me and my abilities). It did however have the benefit that it was kinder on my ankle, and the pain was beginning to ease a bit, so when we did reach the lower runnable grass section, it was nice to actually run a bit! Until I tumbled (of course). Other ankle and shin this time, but thankfully minor, and a quick body check and we were fine to carry on down and to the beach.

Natalie was to swim across with me, which was brilliant, although I did faff a fair bit here, putting off stripping and putting my cold, wet rash vest back on! Natalie said she would get a head start so I could catch her and powered off, so I thought I best get a move on and try to catch her up.

Chop was still there, but not as bad, and I was finding my usual bilateral (every 3) breathing pattern was hard, so kept switching between two and three strokes per breath, while also trying to sight, but at least I had the orange of Natalie to try and chase.

Ankle was a bit sore on the swim and I didn’t quite catch Natalie, but I wasn’t too far behind her. However, I couldn’t weight bear for the first few steps on my ankle!! So, it was a bit of a hobble out with Natalie for help. Ben, Josh and Nicola were there ready and waiting (of course, my crew are amazing), even though we were now a full hour ahead of schedule. I checked with the GP Natalie if I could have more paracetamol. Ben had had to walk down with my kit as he couldn’t get parked, but we had discussed this as an option, so this was fine, and the girls soon had me dressed, ready and away.

We passed the first couple of Backyard ultra runners as we headed up the shore, which was cool to see, then I realised we hadn’t charged my watch, and I was worried it would run out and I wouldn’t get my ratification, so Josh sprinted away after Ben to retrieve it from the bag, as Nicola and I headed up to Natalie’s car, where I polished off her family bag of Salt & Vinegar Crisps! Exactly what I needed at that point. Josh managed to get the charger, so he was put in charge (pun) of that, as the stupid garmin chargers need holding in place (or at least mine does!!) and we headed up Robinson.

My quads were not particularly happy up here and I was starting to really feel the effort of the day so far, so it very much felt like a plod at this stage. I had found it lovely just following Natalie’s feet on the last leg, so asked one of them to go in front, so I could just follow on. A pattern we stuck to (with Josh and Nicola taking turns to lead) for the whole leg, which was wonderful.

I was still eating ok, but getting a little sick of the sweet stuff, and feeling a bit queasy, but we finally made Robinson Summit, and I knew the worst bit was done. Homeward bound now!

I felt like I ran the descent off Robinson pretty well, until I looked across and Josh was walking down at the same pace I was running…. Thanks Josh.

Made it up to Dale Head with a fair bit of whinging, but loads of kind encouragement from them both, and was glad to head down. I enjoyed the path descent. Ankle felt Ok, not too sore and I know this section fairly well. We had to hit High Spy, which we did, then could skirt around Maiden Moor. I always end up a bit far right here than the best line, but the run off is easy and nice and the ankle was doing ok, and Josh and Nicola kept the chat going which helped distract me. We were very much chatting food now, which actually helped me eat, but I think gave them both some serious cravings.

My mood wasn’t great here, I was tired and getting sore and wanted to be done, but we were ticking everything off nicely, so it was all fine.

I was absolutely delighted to reach Catbells, as that’s the final summit, and it’s all downhill from here!!!! I gave the summit marker a huge hug, we all posed for a quick photo from a kind passerby, had a quick chat and away! Down the rocky bit – careful on the ankle, then nice run down through the bracken to Ben.

Crisps, chocolate milk, Brownie all went down well here! Josh put the watch on charge again while Nicola helped me into my wetsuit. The wonderful treat of clean, dry, socks (I’d forgotten these in Ben’s bag for Buttermere) and my swim trainers, then down through the woods, to the shore and along to meet Ewen. I was melting on just this short section of running in my suit, so glad I decided not to attempt the full round in it!

Nicola and Josh kindly came to see me off, and interestingly Martyn of the FGR committee said it was an unusual route choice, they haven’t really seen before, but it was great. Lovely descent off Catbells and easy path through the woods to the shore. We were still an hour ahead here, so I hadn’t gained any more time on Leg 4, but I also hadn’t lost any, so that was great.

Alex’s crew were here, but only just blowing up their paddle board, and we hadn’t seen him since Crummock, so I figured I was safe!

Ewen was a little taken by surprise as the tracker showed me still by Catbells, but he was ready, and by the time we had stowed my running pack and sorted my goggles, we were waved off. I’d asked him (and Katy, but she was busy partying!) to kayak with me, as I thought it would be close to dark and wanted a light to follow if so, and to feel a bit safer, but in the end neither of those were needed. It was however lovely to just tuck in behind the kayak and follow his lead. I’d sent him my planned route, and we chatted at each set off point about where we were headed next, and it was such a treat to let him lead!

The lake was calm (wind finally dropped), and lovely and quiet, however my body was flagging, and I think a fair few swear words were said during this section!! My arms were heavy and my weird breathing pattern continued, but I did get into a rhythm as we got further in.

I was glad of the suit and the shoes, even though I think my swim was a bit slower in them, but it was cooler, and this is the longest swim leg, and I needed the shoes for the islands.

I think the campers on St Herbert’s were a bit bemused when a lady in a wetsuit carry a bright pink tow float and bright pink swim hat came hobble-jogging past them, but they cheered all the same!

Quick jog across the beach of Rampsholme, which was mostly under water compared to my recee last week when there had been twice as much beach! Then the last little swim to Calfclose Bay. I was so glad of Ewen for this swim, it just took the worry out of it when I was tired, and lovely to have the company to keep me moving and pushing on.

The three lads enjoying beers on the shore were a bit confused but very supportive, when I emerged from the lake, and Ewen kindly pointed out, if I got a move on, I’d break 15 hours!!!

I knew it would be tight, as according to my watch that gave me 17 minutes, so I pushed as much as I could. It’s a pretty easy, nice run, close to the shore, by Friar’s Crag and to the Theatre by the Lake, so I just kept going. I felt like I was running pretty well, but I’m sure to all the evening walkers, it must have looked slow.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too crowded through the underpass and up to George Fisher, but that little incline felt quite steep! Past all the punters at the Dog and Gun. There were cheers, but I suspect for the Hen Party, rather than me, then finally up the steps, don’t fall over, and touch that door!

I stopped my watch at bang on 8pm, but the tracker said 15.01.48, so that’s the official time I submitted. Not quite the sub 15 hours, but still an hour ahead of my A goal time, I felt strong for most of it until those last few climbs and had an absolutely brilliant day out with friends! I was (and still am) so proud of myself.

Brilliant to have Ben, Natalie and Natalie’s Mum (with chips!!) at the end and The Round very kindly brought me out a pint.

There was a lady (Claire) there with her crew who had also completed the Frog, and finished a few minutes ahead of me (but started much earlier), and we didn’t see Alex, so I’ll keep an eye out to see how he got on.

Overall, I am so pleased with how the round went, apart from the rolled ankle. But, you have to have something to make it a proper challenge!

I was strong (thanks to Claire) until Leg 3, and still OK, but starting to suffer on leg 4. I finished super strong on that last push to the end. My kit choices were spot on, comfy, no chaffing, only one toenail likely to be lost. The transitions worked well (definitely aided by my crew). I ate well, drank well and swam and ran well. We hit great lines, and I was really happy with my route, and the weather was very kind.

It is now 4 days after and my ankle is a bit swollen but not too sore. I’m walking fine on it and power walking OK on it, can’t run on it yet, but the enforced rest is probably a good thing! I swam very leisurely in the lake this morning and that felt good. The fatigue is there, and will be there for a few more days, I feel a bit ‘chesty’, but that’s getting better and I’ve just about stopped eating everything I can lay my hands on!

I can’t thank my crew enough. Each and every one was absolutely brilliant. So supportive, kindly gave their time to help me on this slightly mad adventure, and looked after me so well. I could maybe have done it without them, but definitely not had as much fun or gone anywhere near as fast!

I would highly recommend the Frog Graham Round as a great challenge and a bloody good day out.