Wednesday 30 April 2014

You'll see from the tracker that Dan has had a shorter day. He has worked hard to protect his damaged ankle using polls to navigate the difficult terrain. Carrying the polls makes navigation tricky however Dan has been fortunate to have been assisted today by Gary (more massages), Stu, Mack and Daz. He's been able to concentrate on moving and not been having to worry about where he's going. You'll see he ticked off eight hills and 22 miles despite the pain in his leg. He has another shorter day planned for tomorrow with seven Munros and roughly 20 miles of walking. The trick is to keep going but to make sure the pain doesn't get any worse.

Dan really appreciates all the support and advice he has received over the last few difficult days. He certainly sounded much more positive today, he knows the record is not on the cards and therefore wants to make sure he can complete the challenge. His schedule will be rethought out for the next few days until the Cairgorms are done. Once these beasts are completed, even with the injury, the days ahead are steadier.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

R.I.C.E

Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. This is all that I am aiming for today. I went over on my ankle at about midday on Saturday in a manner that I would do often running at home, took a moment to check that all was ok, it seemed to be, so I assumed I had got away with it. And I probably would have had I not had two of the most brutal days running in the bogs, tussocks and peat hags on the Mounth. At the end of Sunday it was very sore and given the pain I was in yesterday morning, the 24 miles and 8 Munros were a minor miracle only made possible by Gary's regular treatment loosening it up. Attempting to run any distance with the state of it this morning would be foolish so it's feet up in the sunshine.

So what does this mean for my plans? I guess we'll see. I can't afford to rest indefinately until it recovers; I simply haven't got the time. So I fear that a few runs with strapping, drugs and pain management and hopefully it will ease with time. 

Gutted.

Monday 28 April 2014

More news...

As the evening has progressed the pain and swelling in Dan's ankle have also (I know what you're thinking, Dan with a swollen ankle, what a sight to behold!) Anyway after further consideration Dan has reduced tomorrow's planned run to 8 hills with an overnight in the van at Glen Clova rather than another wild camp. Gary's massages on the hill (stop it, his ankle!) and plenty of ibuprofen will hopefully see him through.

It's clear that this could be a turning point for Dan. Let's hope that a few careful days speed his recovery.

Plan B

Another 8 hills ticked off today from Carn Bhac through to Carn Aosda starting from the wild camp at the head of Glen Tilt to reach the van at the Glenshee Ski Centre moonscape.

Unfortunately Dan's sore swollen ankles meant the going was too slow and painful to continue with the 4 Munros on the east side of the Cairnwell Pass, so he finished today at the van and has hatched a Plan B for the next few days.

The tentative plan is to attempt all 13 Munros through to Lochnagar tomorrow, followed by an easy day on Wednesday with just Mount Keen and a bike ride.  Then the big Cairngorm days on Thursday and Friday.

Dan on his way up the Beinn a' Ghlo hills
Beinn a' Ghlo above Blair Atholl

Sunday 27 April 2014

A long walk to put up a tent

Yesterday, I drove round from Blair Atholl to Linn of Dee, then hiked 12km to the head of Glen Tilt to put up the tent for Dan and Stuart, and ran back out.  Here are a few photos of the Deeside scenery:

The track to White Bridge from Linn of Dee


River Dee
White Bridge across the River Dee

A few rivers to ford
Looking towards Beinn a' Ghlo from the head of Glen Tilt

Dan's tent at the head of Glen Tilt

All quiet on the northern front

No contact from Dan tonight so I can only assume he's tucked up in his tent on the shores of Loch Tilt. The trackers last transmission was 5.19 on quite a steep slope to the west of the tarn. He's clearly ticked off all the hills he hoped to summit today.

Many thanks to the folk at Opentracking to get the map swapped back over.

Saturday 26 April 2014

Done

Not much to say tonight, other than it's done. A horrible bike ride north, followed by a trudge in the clag, gratefully accompanied by Stu, round 3 uninspiring peaks. After a descent back to the road the mist lifted and the following 4 Munros were ticked off with little navigation required. A really enjoyable part of the day. Unfortunately this hill section was followed by a grim 2 hour ride into a headwind back down the A9. Dan's been in wild places, with wild weather and wild terrain but naturally a stint on UK roads on a bike put him at his most vulnerable. Never mind, he survived and it's done. On the whole a grim day but job done.

The next few days are logistically a little tricky. Fortunately there are a number of keen assistants on hand to make sure this enterprise is successful. Dan couldn't chat for long tonight as him, Stu, and Chris Upson get organised for tomorrow night's wild camp (let's hope the weather and equipment holds this time). Gary Thorpe and Bill are also on hand to see Dan through the next few days.

You may have noticed on a map or the tracker that yesterday Dan pushed north through a neat east to west geographical line (formed by the Blackwater Reservoir, Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel) and has now started to tick off all those Munros to the east. A few days from now another section of the map will be blue.

Any thoughts on the tracker. Up until now the map has been OS based and now it looks to be a Googlemap render. Any preferences? Let me know.


Friday 25 April 2014

That Friday night feeling

Safe to say Dan hasn't got that Friday night feeling. Evenings are hard. Even after a successful day with another load of Munros ticked off, 12 in all, Dan confesses the prospect of the days ahead, the challenge in hand, is over facing. In the morning, after good food and rest in the van, it's business as usual and let's face it, he's been zipping along these last few days. All done today by 5.30pm despite an intimidating schedule. He's finally got all that SB out of his system?

7 of today's hills were in the Ben Lawers group with a descent to the hamlet of Inverar and then back of to tick 4 hills in the Carn Gorm group. Dan tagged Schiehallion on to the end of his day. The day was cloudy, with the hills clagged in and again Dan had to rely on his navigation skills to see him round.  Tricky points included a difficult descent through banked up snow on An Stuc and a grim trudge in the rain up Carn Gorm hill itself.

Despite having Nigel's support for 4 of the hills Dan spent much of the day alone, in many ways totally alone. Miles from the next human habitation and possibly miles from any other human - in a truly wild and remote place giving him pause for thought. His experience today was punctuated with a climb up one hill with another guy training for an upcoming trip to India and also the presence of a melon on Schiehallion; maybe left for the fairies?

Tomorrow doesn't sound great. A long bike ride up the A9, that Dan is dreading, followed by further periods of sustained trudging up grassy lumps, 7 of them, a group of Munros that even the guide books struggle to romanticise. At least Dan will have some company. He's sat in the motor home in the rain, right now, waiting for the arrival of the steadfast and sure-footed Stu Shuttleworth. Rumour has it that Gary Thorpe is going to be around as well. Good news for Dan. He is dangerous when you leave him on his own for too long.

Logistically the next few days are tricky too, a couple of wild camps and a night in a bothy combined with support teams toing and froing. Maybe Dan should have left a little something on the hill of the fairies as well just to bring him luck?

Thursday 24 April 2014

In the groove...

A good day for Dan in terms of fitness on the hill, job done by 4pm despite the tracker staying stuck on Meall nan Tarmachan; he's down off the hill I promise.

Eagle eyed tracker watchers will notice a couple of moments today;

1. Dan dumped his pack to summit Stuchd an Lochain (Munro number 2 of the day)
2. He went beyond Meall nan Tarmachan and bagged Meall Garbh (not a Munro) before realising his mistake

Still, not a problem, just part of the learning curve and a reminder to be a little more attentive.

Tomorrow is a massive day with 12 hills in the schedule with big gaps to navigate. Nigel will be with Dan for at least four of them. His day will end on the Hill of the Fairies far to the north east of his starting point. The schedule promises big days for the next few weeks as he passes in to the Cairngorms. But Dan's realistic, to finish is the aim, he's felt in the groove over the last few days but knows he's still relying on energy levels, the weather and avoiding accident or injury to maintain his current steady pace.

Wednesday 23 April 2014

Cloud

Dan spent most of the day navigating his way around the hills in thick cloud. However he's happy that his skills stood up over difficult terrain. Certainly a boost to his confidence. The route took less time than Dan anticipated, only 11.5 hours rather than the predicted 13ish.

Today Dan was not alone, many thanks go to Andy and Nigel for their support. He was also accompanied at times, and only briefly, by some wildlife - arctic hare, deer and fox. Tomorrow he is on his own for the day as he heads east into the Glen Lyon Hills. Hopefully with a little less cloud to hinder the views.

10 days in

10 days into the challenge, and Dan has completed 57 Munros including 4 kayak crossings and a fair number of miles on the bike. Next up are the Glen Lyon and Ben Lawers groups, before heading north-east towards Drumochter and the Cairngorms.


Don't panic

It's the tracker that's stopped working not Dan. More later...

Tuesday 22 April 2014

A good soaking

A wet day for Dan but shorter than most so far. An early start found him on his own on the hill for the first time in a long time with the rain lashing down. Bad weather made moving and at times navigating hard work and Dan faced a couple of tricky moments on the hill, battling and clambering through deep, wet snow to make it to the summit of Ben Vorlich.

This route was followed by a reasonable bike ride out to Ben Chonzie (Munro number 50 for Dan) for another there and back route to bag this outlying summit. Dan appreciated sitting on the wheel of Ben Abdlenor's bike for both rides today, the second taking him back out to Bridge of Orchy earlier in the day than usual. The time was put to good use getting prepped up for some big days in the schedule. Tomorrow being one of them with 26 miles of running and 8 more Munros to bag. Gulp.

As I said, Dan has some big days ahead of him. If anyone fancies hooking up with him he would be grateful for some support at the end of April, the 29th, 30th and 1st May. If on schedule these will be long, slow days around the Lochnagar and Cairngorm area. If you're keen get in touch with Dan on dan munro 2014 at gmail dot com (obviously miss out the spaces and use symbols in the email address - just spam avoidance) and let him know. He'll appreciate the company.

Arrochar Alps

A cracking day on the Arrochar Alps on Sunday 20th April.

Full set of photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.642891809114627.1073741837.117608054976341&type=1

Dan on Ben Vane with Ben Lomond in the background

Dan showing expert glissading skills off Ben Vane
Matt Reedy and Dan avoiding the crevasses
The almighty flog up Ben Vorlich, with Ben, Dan & Matt
Ben Vorlich summit - Spyke, Jude Jepson, Mark Roberts, Dan
Dan at Ben Vorlich trig point
Mark and Dan dropping off Ben Vorlich
Dan and Mark on Ben Vorlich
Matt, Ben and Dan
Ben and Dan
Dan, Ben and Jude
Spyke with Dan's bike at the Loch Sloy track

Monday 21 April 2014

Slideshows and film clips from days 2 - 5

I enjoyed a few days with Dan and hope that the following short videos capture something of the experience.

Day 2 - Some snowy images from an ascent of Bidean from Coire nam Beith before meeting Dan and Matt Reedy on the summit, then the Aonach Eagach with Jane Reedy and Joe.



Day 3 - Some running footage on the Buachaille Etive Beag and Mor ridges with Matt Reedy and Dan, and then a a few images on Creise.



Day 4 - An epic overnight came to an end with the tent being blown away at 5:40am.  A bit of footage from the shambolic camp.

Day 4 Video


Day 5 - Making up for the wasted day, Dan did the 8 Munros to Ben Cruachan and with no wind and no clouds it was a day to remember for Dan, Matt Beresford and myself.

Day 5 Video


A long old day

I've just managed to catch up with Dan today for an update and if you click on the tracker you'll see he has stuck to today's schedule and is in good shape to whip up Ben Vorlich in the morning. It seems everything has taken a little longer than expected today and resulted in over 13 hours of moving on foot and on bike. And what next, the weather looks like it might change, what impact will this have on Dan's plans?





Sunday 20 April 2014

Definitely worth a look

John Fleetwood has put together a photo story of Day 2, definitely worth a look if the link works...

https://www.facebook.com/matthew.beresford.5/posts/10202843192773296


8, 2, 2, 1000, 2 then 1

Dan managed to tag today's morning bike ride onto yesterday's schedule, with Aled and Jane to assist, which meant he could head straight up the hill this morning with fresh legs. 4 Munros, including Beinn Ime, were ticked off  before a descent to Inveruglas Power Station at about lunchtime. Again Dan benefitted from some seriously experienced support this morning, 8 in all; Spyke, Jude, Chris Upson, Mark, Lou, Ben Abdelnor, Matt Reedy and Dan.

Heading across the Loch with Aled


A quick sprint with Jane Reedy on the road bikes took Dan south to Firkin Point (I sometimes wonder that???) Aled B was primed with the boats for a breezy paddle across the Loch followed by a steady romp up Ben Lomond. At this point Dan encountered something unusual, a path rammed with 'Sunday punters' heading up the hill. 100's of them, quite a contrast to other Munros he's been on so far.

After recrossing the Loch and returning to Firkin Point in the boats Dan had a 15 mile bike ride north up the shoreline to meet up with Helen and his girls in the van at Inverarnan, finishing at 7pm on the dot. Unusually Dan was on his own for this one which in his own words was 'pretty smart', a chance to reflect on the week's events - 7 days and 37 Munros done, including the most southerly. Not bad for a start!


Saturday 19 April 2014

Make hay whilst the sun shines

Another beautiful day has spurred Dan on to make good progress. An early start with Aled Butler on the bike took Dan to a forest car park to the north of his next Munro.

Here Dan was welcomed by a veritable entourage of support. Stephen Pyke (current holder of the Munro record), Chris Upson (busy updating the pin map and schedule), Mark Roberts, Aled Butler and Rachel Towe all forded the River Lochy and romped up Beinn a Chleibh. You'll see from the tracker that Dan completed the day's schedule in good time.

Hopefully, as the weather holds Dan will maintain the current rate of progress. He has also been joined today by his Mum and Jim to spur him on further. 4 Munros in the morning tomorrow and then a kayak across Loch Lomond, finishing with Ben Lomond if everything goes to plan.

Friday 18 April 2014

Gin and tonic

Not much to say other than today has been just the 'tonic' Dan, and everyone involved, needed after the Glen Etive epic. Matt B, John F and Dan, as mentioned, had a great start to the day. Rachel sensed a real buzz in the car this morning because of the stunning weather and the inspiring draw of the mountains. The weather and general conditions on the hill kept spirits and the pace high all day. A predicted end time of 9pm soon got adjusted down to7pm and in fact ended with a finish at the Cruachan Power Station near Lochawe at 6.30pm.

Unfortunately today brought to an end the fantastic support that Dan has received from both John Fleetwood and Matt Beresford. Their help and positivity has made a massive difference over the last few difficult days. Safe drive home boys.

The good news is that the Reedy family are still in town and will certainly be involved on Sunday if not before. Aled Butler is also heading north to support Dan on his paddle across Loch Lomond. Tomorrow also sees the arrival of Lou and Mark Roberts to support Dan on the hill. An amazing effort from so many people.

Scotland is a wild and beautiful place, full of contrasts, rewards and challenges, and the last few days have really brought this to bear. If you haven't already done so, watch the John Muir video embedded in this blog. Then dig deep and sponsor Dan to protect these places and help educate people about them. The John Muir trust and Wildlife Trusts need your support. One more picture...


Matt Reedy on Buachiulle Etive Mor (a catalogue shot or what?)
Oh, go on then, one more...

Can anyone spot Lord Munro in his chair? Road crossing at Glen Etive on Wednesday before things got interesting...

On the hill

Aonach Eagach

Joe, John and Dan on Aonoch Eagach

Another big climb!

Snow on the tops despite the sunshine

Descending through a cornice

Bidean

And there's more...

Cycle support on the mainland from Jane Reedy


Photos as promised

Day 1

Crossing the Sound of Mull



Back on track...

If you're watching the tracker you'll know that after yesterday's setback Dan has made an early start and by about brunch had ticked off at least 3 more Munros. Dan, John Fleetwood and Matt Beresford returned to Glen Etive and had a brutal morning climb up to Stob Coir an Albannach. The team were on Ben Starav by 10.30, essentially catching up on the last bit of Day 4. Dan is still a day behind his initial schedule but happy, safe and in a better position to make progress and enjoy the amazing weather that the next few days promise. Naturally, the boys still have a beast of a day ahead of them, with 8 hills to summit before bedtime in the van at Dalmally.

Helen's already said but I think it worth mentioning again how much everyone appreciated the kindness and help that Ellen and Andy gave to the team yesterday. If ever you need a base in Tyndrum we would absolutely recommend their B&B, Glengarry House (400 yards on the right before you get in to Tyndrum itself when driving up form Crianlarich). We're trying to keep the 2 bedroom/4 bed chalet at the back of their place a secret so that we can come back time and time again without others competing for bookings! An amazing spot!

John Fleetwood, as well as guiding Dan and keeping him on track has also managed to take some amazing photos. Hopefully I'll manage to attach these below. I apologise to any purists if they are not necessarily in the correct order but I'm sure you'll get the gist.

Not looking so good after a night in the wilds and sleeping in a parachute!



Thank you

The last day or so has been interesting to say the least and as a result of the chaos yesterday I'd like to say a huge thank you to Ellen and Andy at Glengarry House who generally let us take refuge there and helped us out with laundry and drying out all the kit.  They were brilliant and enormously helpful. Thank you.

Today has started well and is fantastic weather. We've got back on track today thanks mainly to the generosity of Matt and Rachel Towe. They have done loads of driving to get people where they needed to be, fed us all, given us shelter, rescued all the camp stuff from the mountain yesterday (with Matt B) and generally done everything and anything they can to help. Today they are even helping me entertain the children. You've been great and your help is really appreciated.

For everyone else out there thank you for all your messages of support. We can't get back to everyone but your messages really spur Dan on, so keep them coming.

Thursday 17 April 2014

WILD camp

Nightmare! Last night's wild camp turned into a battle for survival as out tent collapsed around us in very high winds at 5am leaving us freezing, wet and with no way of sorting food out. The weather really was too wild to move up, and staying put waiting for it to calm wasn't a goer either with no shelter, so given the state of us, we cut our losses and descended to Glen Etive. Got a lift back to Tyndrum and the van. Not much to be salvaged given we can't get to Dalmally now today so will rest up and do a biggun tomorrow.

Felt great so far. Big days, slow pace, just enough snow to make it interesting at times. Certainly didn't expect to be updating this blog myself until the end. Sat here now at 1pm looking at the windy but clear tops feeling like crap. Should be up there, didn't want to drop behing schedule so soon, but what can I do? Will be like a bear with a sore head all day I think.

Can I also say thanks to people for the kind donations. If you are enjoying the tracker and blog and feel like giving a bit to support the wonderful work of the John Muir Trust or Cumbria Wildlife Trust, the links to donate are on the right.

Tuesday 15 April 2014

Sunshine and snow (under foot) after a slow start

I know that one or two of you were a little concerned to see Dan's tracker dot doing very little before about 9.30am this morning. Fear yea not, a few teething problems with the van was all and as any one who logged on later will know Dan has had another full day on the hill and bagged another 7 Munros, bringing his tally to 10.

Conditions on the top looked amazing with sunshine, a little high cloud and lots of soft snow in the high places (some great photos will appear here soon). Dan was looked after by Joe and Matt Reedy again through the day, with John Fleetwood also making an appearance. Jane Reedy pitched in again for the final leg into Glencoe, with the team landing back at about 8.30pm - a long day indeed.

Tomorrow looks to be interesting with wet weather forecast. Rain combined with the first wild camp of the trip may well start to test the resolve of all involved.

Monday 14 April 2014

A cracking start...

And he's off. If you've logged on to this blog at all today you'll see that Dan has made just the start he wanted on his Munro round. He's asked me, Matt Towe, to update the blog on his behalf each day so that people can keep a track of his progress. In addition, Graham Patten of VO2 Max events has sorted Dan with a real time tracker, if you want to watch his progress on the hills and roads. I'm already obsessed! We spoke at about 5.45pm and he was just about 100 metres from the top of his third Munro of the day, Sgorr Dhearg. I think by now he'll have rendezvoused with his support team at Elleric bringing to an end the first of many epic days in the Scottish hills.

The weather on Ben More was windy, wild and claggy but faired up through the morning despite staying a little breezy. The big question is how today, or any of the days in the schedule might be if the weather worsens. Today was long enough without stronger winds or heavy rain to slow things down. Without any real rest stops or breaks today, Dan wonders how he will stand up physically to consecutive days of similarly punishing schedules. That remains to be seen.

Dan spent most of our call talking about how many people he is already indebted to in terms of making this dream of his possible. In particular, crossing the Sound of Mull was a highlight of the day. Dan was looked after by Tony, a man he's never met, who gave up a day to make sure Dan had the right support and equipment to safely cross the water. Brilliant!

Today was tough for Helen too, and the girls. Two ferry crossings, lots of driving and I assume plenty of sitting around. Dan realises he has a lot to thank his family for, particularly Helen. Dan's also had support from the Reedy family today, again much appreciated.

Tomorrow is a simpler day logistically but still mammoth. Good luck Dan! See you in Glencoe for a beer?

Wednesday 9 April 2014

Raising money to protect wild places

In 3 days I am travelling up to Scotland to begin my round of the 282 Munros. It feels like an epic task just getting to this point and I haven't ran a mile yet! Through my efforts I am hoping to raise money for two charities doing great work to protect wild land and species in the UK; the John Muir Trust and Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

I could try to explain in writing why I think it is important to protect wild places, but thankfully I don't have to as the John Muir Trust have produced an excellent video which does exactly that. Please take 4 minutes to watch, stick it in full screen and turn up the sound, I assure you it will be time well spent.



If you wish to make a donation to support my efforts, clicking on the charity logos on the bar to the right will take you to the Just Giving  and Virgin Money Giving pages.

Thanks.

Friday 4 April 2014

Finishing touches


'Snow - be gone!' has been my mantra for the past two weeks or so. It has been a winter of massive snowfall over the mountains of Scotland, and Lochaber particularly. The very encouraging heatwave of mid March was folllowed by more heavy snowfall over much of the Scottish mountains, and a week ago I had resigned myself to a different kind of challenge; emailing round to borrow proper crampons and looking at changing the route slightly to avoid the big steep Glen Coe mountains including the Aonach Eagach ridge until later on. Mercifully, this past week or two has brought slightly warmer temperatures and the snow up there is consolidating and slowly melting. Touch wood, the longer range forecast doesn't look like there will be any significant snowfall before I set off so the route currently remains unchanged. Dangerous cornices and packed N and E facing slopes will still give me challenging conditions to contend with. Thankfully I have the eminently capable Matt and Jane Reedy and John Fleetwood with me for those first 3 tricky days. 

Beyond that, the next 10 days are a sweep of the less snowy southern Munros before I arrive at the Cairngorms on the 29th April if I'm on schedule. Although I'm not a winter mountaineer of any description, I did fully appreciate the risk I was taking in setting off in mid April. I was well aware that I could get lucky and find bare mountains, but in contrast I spent the whole of April and May of 2013 gazing in extreme concern at the 'eternal arctic winter' conditions in Scotland when undoubtably a Munro round in the style I am attempting would have been impossible in my time frame. The only reason I cannot set off 2 or 3 weeks later as I would have preferred is my situation with work. To get the time off I require, I have to tie my unpaid half term of leave in with the Easter and half term holidays, giving me a window of exactly 50 days before I have to be back at work. Not ideal in terms of the chances of good conditions, but to be honest if I get lucky it might fall perfectly. Now where's that stable high pressure weather system that is going to sit over NW Scotland for the whole of May?

Beyond weather worries, the past two weeks have truly been a whirlwind of activity; I can hand on heart say that I have never been busier. Reports and IEPs to write, writing assessments to mark, trips to the zoo and all the many other aspects of my day job as a primary school teacher have made the Munro adventure take a back seat in many ways. My last day at work is Wednesday next week and we head north on Sunday. 

As the budget tightens, I have had to approach people cap in hand to borrow many of the things I will need, so thanks to Matt R, Jane, Chris, Sarah, Ian, Matt F, Michelle, Gary and Jim (and probably others) for the tents, bike wheels, ice axes, crampons, map cases, rucsacks and gloves that they have lent me. Will it all fit in the van? I dunno. I might have to leave one of my children behind.

What no waves?

Running and biking I have done a lot of, kayaking less so. I took the opportunity to get out with Matt in a sea kayak on the lake last weekend. I have done a bit many, many years ago and it was good to get back in one. I was hoping for choppier conditions (honest) as requested by Tony from Sea Freedom kayaks in Oban who is kindly seeing me across the Sound of Mull on day 1 (Mon 14th April). If it's any consolation Tony, Matt did razz around me in a powerboat to create some quite large, if unnatural, waves. One of my big worries is that conditions are too bad for Tony to take me across on day 1 as he only has a window of that day to help me. But like the snow, there is nothing I can do about conditions on the water. Any Scotland based sea kayakers free on Tuesday 15th in case I cant cross on Monday?

Trainig has diminshed slightly with work ramping up but what I have lost in quantity I have gained in quality and I have enjoyed a few faster paced runs in the past couple of weeks including a 'short, fast' 4 hour run with Gary, Stu and Matt in the Spring sunshine last Sunday.

 Heading up Little Langdale

 Gary chugging up Wetside Edge

 Stu and Matt relaxing in Mosedale

The Charnley Cairn on Esk Pike

Training last week:

M: Rest
T: Cunswick 40 mins - ill!
W: ill - tummy bug
T: Scars 55 mins
F: Scars 55 mins
S: Road bike 2 hour 30 
S: 4 hours 15 Langdale - Swirl How - Cockley Beck - Esk Pike - Bowfell - Crinkles - Blisco - Lingmooor

Totals:   Run: 7 hours                Bike: 2 hr 30

This week so far:

M: Rest
T: Scars 50 mins
W: Rest
T: Rest
F: Scars 45 mins
S: 2 hour run Ambleside (planned)
S: Old Counties Tops recce- prob around 4/5 hours (planned)

Likely totals:    Run: 8 hours

8 days to go