This is the route for my walk across Scotland in May. The detail has been updated following comments from the Expert Vetter at Challenge Control. Unfortunately the links to the OS Maps planning tool don’t work reliably, but thankfully Skirrid Systems’ plugin for WordPress continues to work well! Page 1 DAILY ITINERARY WITH FOUL WEATHER […]
TGOC 2024 Lochailort to Montrose – here we go again! Read More »
Many runners focus on speed. The main target is to get faster, right? I used to think like this, always hopeful on each training run that my kilometre time would be a few seconds less than before. But as you get older speed becomes more difficult. It was only when I heard about the different
Coming to running: on the heart-rate – getting into zones Read More »
Aged 57 or 58 I looked at the results from my first public run and I was astounded to discover that everyone over 40 is considered a ‘veteran’! The running fraternity used to discriminate against women; is ageism also rife in the sports community? The London Times newspaper is fond of health and fitness articles
The Running Age – Coming to Running at 40, 50, 60, 70! Read More »
[In this report you can click on most images to enlarge them. Any maps can be zoomed and panned by click on the + or – signs or pulling around with the mouse.] The Northumberland Coast Run comes early in the running calendar. The end of February can be icy cold. On this run over
Coming to running: The Northumberland Coast Ultra 2022 Read More »
For all runners, but especially older runners I’m an advocate of ‘long and slow’. There are plenty of events to challenge you, from 10k, marathons and half-marathons, 50k, 50 miles, 100k, even more. Training for distance running requires some special considerations. The body adapts to what you do. Run 10k over and over again and,
Coming to running: ‘That’s Lyth’ – Going the distance! Read More »
It is rare to escape foot injury on a multiday walk. Some soreness on the top of my toes made me reach for the moleskin which, secured by leucatape, was all I needed. There’s a ridge that begins near Milton and over about 18km rises up to the top of Cairngorm – this was my
Torridon to Aberdeen – TGOC 2022 part 4 Read More »
A couple of days earlier I was with the famous TGOer Andrew Walker who quoted an even more famous (now deceased) TGOer Andy Howell regarding my day 5 plan as ‘the armpit of all TGO routes’ or some similar discouraging remark. I’d planned a line towards Drumnadrochit with pathless stretches joining one or two tracks.
Torridon to Aberdeen – TGOC 2022 part 3 Read More »
Martha and Andrew were heading for Cannich, whereas I wanted to get up high now the weather was improving. My route took me alongside the loch to Monar Lodge; then north on a made track, before veering off to the right up onto the ridge. It is pathless here but the line is easy to
Torridon to Aberdeen – TGOC 2022 part 2 Read More »
TGOC – The Great Outdoor Challenge – is a common theme on these pages. Originally described as ‘The Ultimate Challenge’ in the pages of an outdoor magazine in 1980, it involves a self-supported and individually planned multi-day walk from the West Coast of Scotland to the the East. Of course there’s a website where you
TGOC 2022 Torridon to Aberdeen – part 1 Read More »
running at 40, 50, 60 ,70 years old! What is training about? A proportion of training for everyone should concern ‘establishing a base’. Just like a house, a running practice needs a firm foundation to help limit future problems. By ‘problems’ we mean injury. You are most likely to get injured when you are fatigued
Coming to Running: Building the Base Read More »