“I guess it’s the equivalent of ascending Everest…I think it’s harder!” – Tony Holt, ultra runner, on the Bob Graham Round
Hi!
Welcome to the website of my film. It’s about Tony Holt’s attempt on the iconic Bob Graham Round, which is a 66 mile ultra distance mountain challenge taking in 42 of England’s Lake District fells (mountains) with 27,000ft of ascent – all of which must be completed within 24 hours.
More than just a physical and mental challenge for the ultra-fit, Tony narrates his story and explains that it’s running in the hills with friends that makes it so special.
Background
A friend of mine, Phil Smith (who was also one of Tony’s support runners) told me about Tony’s attempt and I jumped at the chance to film it. I dream about doing the Round myself, but it will remain just that: a dream. Meanwhile, filming Tony and his friends is the closest I can get to fell running without actually doing it!
It’s evident from the filming process – all the training and interviews and the Round itself – that Tony got so much more from the attempt than just the physical achievement of completing the Round. To him, it’s about running on the fells with friends and all the camaraderie of the shared experience.
It was a bonus for both Tony and me that Salomon athlete and fell runner Ricky Lightfoot helped him on Leg 1. He and Tony’s friends showed the true spirit of helping others with their Bob Graham Round attempts and it was a pleasure to watch.
The Filming Process
The whole process took about 18 months. I started filming Tony in 2016 doing training and recce runs both in the Lake District and closer to home in the North East’s Cheviot hills. Several trips to beautiful scenery later, including the attempt itself, plus interviews before and after, meant I had enough footage for the film to really show what it’s like to train for and run the Bob Graham Round.
I’ll never forget walking up Helvellyn at 1am with a huge drone strapped to my back and being greeted at the top by the most awesome sunrise colours as Tony and his support runners flew past. Camera equipment was Nikon DSLRs, GoPros and a DJI Inspire 1 drone. All the cameras were on stabilisers for smooth footage.
I’m eternally grateful to Tony himself for shooting a lot of excellent GoPro footage when I couldn’t be with him. Tony’s friends also passed the GoPro around during the round to give me footage I couldn’t have otherwise got. I’m also very grateful to Jago Miller for his extra footage at Keswick and on Skiddaw and Scafell Pike. A truly collaborative effort.
One of the most difficult things was editing all the footage. I had hours and hours of the stuff! I sat and stared at it for a very long time before I realised exactly what the story was: not only the physicality of the attempt, but what Tony got out of running on the hills with his friends. Once I knew what the story was, I was able to cut the narration up into sections that represented Tony’s journey through training and on the Round itself.