day 1 - on your marks

day 1 - st bees to rosthwaite 28 miles 3000 ft




after a night in st bees, interupted with jangly nerves and general giddiness, we downed a hearty breakfast (a recurring theme for the next seven days) before wandering down to the beach for starters orders



all manner of emotions were flying through me, but namely i was secretly bricking it. map in one hand, pooch on lead in the other with richard reliant on me getting us all safely across 190+ miles. a backpack full of day-stuff for every eventuality and far far heavier than anything i carried on any training run.
was i up to it? was richard up it? was my ultra collie up to it? what if one of us isn't! that would be nothing short of a disaster.



once down on the beach we headed to the shoreline for the customary dipping of toes and to choose a pebble to transport over to robin hoods bay.
a quick photo, a handshake, a yelp of 'come on!' (at this point i needed all the bravado we could muster), and we were off up the cliff path



never having been to st bees before, we were both quite taken with how beautiful the coastline looked. the newness, the beauty and the fairly easy undulating path made for quick going

not too long had passed and we were heading away from the ocean inland to pick up tracks, trails and grassy paths. and it wasn't long before we'd gotten into a steady rhythm with all the anxieties floating away into the bright blue skies above us



the warm sunny weather made the going good with few if any muddy bits and it wasn't long before we could see the mountains of the lakes in the distance, that would play host to us for the next 1.5 days




i kept constant vigilance on the map something which richard found amusing given how well signed it was in this area





the miles ticked by quite nicely and after some 15 or so miles in we reached the bridgehead of the western lakes, ennerdale water. a good place for a lunch break and for charlie to cool himself down.
it seemed somehow fitting that we were there at the same time as the ennerdale fell race (a casualty of which passed us soon after with blood stream doing his face. upon asking how if he was ok he replied 'not too bad' with a wry smile. true felling spirit at play!)



having recced this bit, which in all honesty probably didnt require a recce, i had a rush of confidence that for the next 6 or so miles i knew where we should be heading



the rocky lakeshore path slowed our progress but soon we were at the other end and heading on the gently ascending track towards blacksail. here we both hit a bit of a lull for no real apparent reason. was it the warmth of the sun?
i'd started to run out of drinks but fortunately had a coke still left to resort to. richard ,the generous chap he is, pulled out one of his famous lamb and mint pies to share with us all and everything seemed good again.




the track to blacksail, the most remote youth hostel in england, seemed to go on and on. arriving at the hostel, we could have been forgiven for thinking we'd just entered a set from the fast show. we were pounced upon by a strange welsh chap who was already there for the night at 2.30pm or so and really wanted us to be his friend! we made a cup of sugary tea, showing him how to use the cooker in the process to boil the water!, to give us a much needed further energy boost. we chatted for a while with the mad welshman before bidding him farewell, leaving him to await his next victims to be completely bonkers with. even with extensive explanation i still believe to this day that he thought robin hoods bay was only 26 miles away from where we were!



i'd been warned during my planning to make sure we took the correct path to ascend out of blacksail. with this warning firmly implanted in my mind i looked carefully at the map, the surrounding features, the map again, the features again, and so this seemed to go on for several minutes but was worth it before deciding to embark on what was to be the correct route. we made good progress up loft beck and then onto grey knotts. i felt really relieved my navigation was correct. the climb, up loft beck, was our first real proper ascent but boyed with pie, sugary tea and that great feeling of running up high we gave it our best shot. with great visibilty the views were stunning, absolutely stunning.

we were beginning to feel we were having the adventure of our lives!



next followed a descent to honnister and another freaky moment. leaving the mine a vw thing drove up to us with no other than mike astbury, a guy from work, griinning at us like a cheshire cat at the wheel. he was on his way back to buttermere for the evening having just been where we were now heading. we had a bit of a chat, a few laughs and then headed on down to rosthwaite.

once there i had to pick up a pre-order of pasties from yew tree farm before checking in to the royal oak , rosthwaites very own answer to fawlty towers without the comedy element. a throwback to the 70's and an experience never to be repeated. however, there was food (altogether in one sitting at 7pm, miss it and you'll be flogged and 'when its gone its gone'), cool beer and my first ever freezing cold bath. richard was a big advocate of this post run torture and it took me until the next morning, when my legs seemed really fresh and loose, to understand why. god knows what the people in the room next door thought i was up to with all the screaming coming from the bathroom.
with a big day ahead of us the following morning we went for an early-ish night..but would i sleep well, dreaming of the great day we'd just had or of the tough one that was lying before us? some rather inclement weather was due the next day too.

my night characterised every other night that was to come. in bed by around 11 but waking at around 3-3.30am, buzzing from the day we'd had but moreso having a desperate need to prepare for the forthcoming day, packing for me and charlie and looking over the maps (at 10pm the owner of the hotel had shown me an alternative bit of the route that would enable us to maintain our height compared to the one planned..it threw me a late night unwanted dilemna). once all sorted i just lay in bed listening to the stillness of the night
i was on such a high and alert for the full week that sleep deprevation didnt really affect me. i told myself that so long as i was resting i was recovering well.
some, however, took everything in their stride and for whom sleeping was not an issue!

our completely amazing and utterly brilliant coast to coast adventure

it had been six months in the making, the planning, the training, the angsting and it was all so so worth it

our completely amazing and utterly brilliant coast to coast adventure has to be without doubt the best and most inspiring week of my life*
7 days and 194 miles of sheer challenge, fun and jubilation

my company in the form of charlie and richard could not have been better

charlie led each daily assault with purpose, gusto, and acting as pathfinder when paths were faint. he melted the hearts of each and every person that met him. his indomiable spirit was an inspiration, which kept going even when he was suffering from a little bit of a gastrointestinal issue caused by the need to feed him on non-dog stuff during the day..still, at least he can still look a pasty in the eye..which is more than can be said for myself or richard

and so to my two legged accomplice, richard.

it was a gamble to spend 7 days with someone you dont know that well, especially in tackling a challenge like this. but i have to say i couldn't have been with a better person. our fitness levels and running abilities were a great match but more than that we had such a laugh each and every day, more than i ever imagined we would. no awkward moments (except two strops with myself resulting from minor, yes only minor, navigational errors) and by the end of it all he'd taken to charlie too..quite an achievement given he's not a dog person. so cheers richard. im so pleased we did it together!!!

the route itself was just awesome. covering it in seven days meant the terrain was very different each day. alfred wainwright sure knew how to chart a belter.
we met some great people along the way and stayed in some great places, eating well (i had fish n chips four nights in a row :-/ ) and sampling the local ales to rehydrate..we drank more the more progress we'd made!


for the statos amongst you..we did 194 miles exactly..the two extra being into and out of bampton (more of that later). our time ie from leaving each morning to arriving each night was 64:53:39.

however, we aimed to enjoy it too so took extensive lunch and tea/coke breaks, chatting to folk, picture taking and general messing around. so we think our actual total time on the move was closer to 50 hours, giving us an average speed on the hoof of 4mph with an a total ascent of around 24000 feet.
our average daily mileage was 27.714286 miles or put another way 2 back to back ultras, two days of 23/24 miles, another two back to back ultras, and a little 20 miler to finish things off
my average nights sleep was around 4 hours (i was buzzing each night and planning the next day's assault!..i need to chill more!)
i have two minor blisters and two black toe nails. other than that i can walk in a straight line and up and down stairs without it looking to comedy-like
i had, for the very first time in my life, 3 freezing cold baths..OMG!!!

before we set off i did wonder if we'd be up to it, having never done a multi day challenge previously and wondering how many times i could get us lost. when i woke on the morning of day 3 feeling really quite chipper i knew we could do it, barring any unforeseen acts of god



im now sat here writing this totally ecstatic and completely overwhelmed..its hard to describe the impact its made on me..i think it needs time to sink in. its strange to think its all over. for seven whole days i was totally immersed in and absorbed by nothing else



this was the challenge i had wanted to do with charlie before he's too old. but im also so glad ive made a good friend in richard too..with whom i hope to do a few more little things like this in the future

and whilst we were away, karen, hollie and will were getting on with life..and planning a little homecoming..



this week i'll post a brief day by day account and hope it will inspire others out there to give it a go..i cant think of a better way to spend seven fantastic days





*(barring my wedding and births of hollie and will)

good luck, everyone

around 9am saturday 12th june we start our adventure. 192ish miles in 7 days, over hill and down dale. wish us luck. i hope to come back and tell tales of fun, great japes and courage

General Melchett: Are you looking forward to the big push?

Private Baldrick: No sir, I'm absolutely terrified.

General Melchett: The healthy humour of the honest, Tommy. Don't worry my boy, if you should falter, remember that Captain Darling and I are behind you.

Edmund Blackadder: About thirty-five miles behind you.

am i getting the FEAR?!

the FEAR, a famed word from Withnail and I, shot in and around Bampton where we shall be having cake and the finest wines known to humanity at the end of day 2 of our coast to coast adventure

hopefully

with any amount of trepidation life has to go on and with half term upon us we took ourselves to one of our treasured boltholes in southern ireland, inchydonney island, for a few days. fittingly so to holiday right by the sea. lots of time to relax, some beach running, some gyming (is that a word?!) whilst the kids donned wetsuits and spent hours of simple fun in amongst the waves



no matter what, whatever was lurking in the depths of my mind accompanied me all the way over there, only to show itself in my dreams as i slept.

weird goings on of long distance adventures of success (judged by time) followed by the same journey and a less positive outcome. of mountain rescue teams driving around the tiny lanes of the lakes in red double decker buses!

now back home the final preparations are underway..packing, organising, oh and a bit of compass work. the running, the multi-day distances dont worry me at all. my FEAR is purely driven by the fact that I'M IT when it comes to guiding us across the land.
im sure i'll be fine. and i think charlie will be a big help too using his natural instinct to follow a trail

overall im cool about it all but im waiting to see what other FEAR inducing stuff will come floating into my tiny mind in the next few days

the last big push

after my commute into work (previous post) i was foolish enough to come back the same
i find running home at night after a day at work mentally harder as i just want to get back and have it over and done with
add to that the heat and the sight of mrs uc and a few beers at our local couldn't come soon enough
anyway 33 miles on a workday merits reward right?

next morning it was out again early doors for a run with my c2c human running accomplice richard (shown below stuffing his chops post said run)
4 hours of hard slog as the heat kept rising
by the end of it i felt a bit giddy
i hadn't eaten or drunk enough so the full monty breakfast roll from the posh nosh van in macc forest was eagerly devoured..charlie opting for a more purist organic sausage sandwich

the next morning, after a bbq and too much alcohol the night before, it was time to get out to complete my mission
a little 5 miler (topless would you believe it) and my goal of a 100 miles for the week had been achieved, sorry smashed!! with 102 miles bagged and tagged
in fact my first ever training week of three figures..how anyone can constantly hit those mileage levels beggars belief!
so nearly 6 months of training covering 1013 miles, with 5 weeks covering greater than 75 miles and my biggest back to back weeks totalling 141.5 miles.
never having trained for anything like this i just hope its enough, too late now if it isn't!
before hitting the bbq again i started plotting the route, getting as far as kirby stephen, 86 miles in..didn't feel too hard either!

and if you look carefully you can see one hot dog basking in the heat..leaving me to do all the hard work..you can't get the staff these days!

this mornings commute (5am)

18+miles from home to work over the gritstone trail..absolutely magnificient
and for good measure, reunited a weak new born lamb with its mum. it somehow got itself on the wrong side of a cattle grid and had been there a while i think. ewe and lamb both doing well again.
here's some pics
sunrise..getting hot already

roaches and hen cloud

the cloud rising above

sheep and shutlingslow

teggs nose..nice little climb

there's more to life..

i am really grateful for the life i have. its full and its rounded and i can't ask for more than that. running fits in where the gaps, at home and at work, allow.
i'm never one to take anything or anyone for granted.
this is a sight i see every morning, though not always sunny it is inspiring in any weather.

there's been birthdays recently too. hollie going into her teens (help!) and will hitting the big 11. i wouldn't swap them for the world..though they do have their moments!

the yard is now a happier place. two new irish boys, elmo and mcguire, fill two of the stables. there's a new sense of hope and excitement that karen might just have the boys she needs to really start enjoying it all once more and to start to think competitively again. fingers crossed. so long as it doesn't intrude too much on our running ;-)

the swifts are back residing in the stable next door. every year we wait for them to arrive and settle to bring up their chicks. this year they were a little late i think arriving about two weeks ago. how they get back to the exact same spot every year all the way from africa is nothing short of a miracle. no volcano ash clouds will put them off their stride. no gps to guide them. the ultimate ultras surely!

which brings me back neatly to running. an easy week after hitting 84ish last week. we have only about 4 weeks to go before we set out on the coast to coast. next week im aiming to hit 100+ then it'll be a gradual taper down. we need to get the maps out, plot the route and absorb it. a bit like the swifts, if i really apply my mind to it i control a good sense of direction and position.
but this weekend for us belongs to chelsea again, playing for the double..come on you blues!