Runner's World

JUNE 2018 RUNNERSWORLD.CO.UK 035

Grab your trail shoes and follow

in the footsteps of our ancestors.

Trail shoes GPS device 20-litre

running backpack waterproofs

food and water emergency kit.

None.

As I ran along the chalky surface

of Britain’s oldest road The

Ridgeway passing 5000-year-

old burial mounds and ancient

stone circles and following in

the footsteps of monks soldiers

and pilgrims it felt as if I was

travelling back in time.

There are ancient footpaths all

over the UK and beyond. The

Ridgeway is an excellent example

or you could head further afield

to the Camino de Santiago

pilgrims’ route across Spain

tackling the 500 miles in one long

holiday or split into sections

over several trips. The essence

of this challenge is to run or

fastpack (backpack at speed)

along an ancient trail learning

about its history as you go. Turn

this into a running holiday where

time stands still. It’s just you the

trail and your imagination.

Midweek and weekend mini-

adventures are great for a quick fix

and allow a degree of spontaneity but

sometimes you want to go a bit more

epic. When you feel that irresistible

itch to tackle something worthy of

mention in the history books try a

long-term burner.

There are challenges that might

take as long as a couple of weeks

to complete but could still fit into

a holiday. And then there are more

ambitious challenges that can take

a lifetime to achieve. The individual

components may be achievable in

a weekend or less but the sum of

those parts gives us the focus of an

enormous long-term goal.

An excellent source of a long-term

burner is the art of peak bagging.

Many people aim to bag a list of peaks

over the course of a year or a lifetime.

Or there’s Steve Birkinshaw who in

2014 broke Joss Naylor’s 27-year

record for the fastest completion of

the Lake District’s 214 Wainwrights
finishing in six days and 13 hours
(Naylor’s time was seven days one
hour and 25 minutes).
There are also more theoretical
challenges. For instance over the
past few years come January 1 I’ve
set about racing to space. Not literally
of course but figuratively by trying
as quickly as possible to accumulate
100km of vertical gain through the
course of my running – the equivalent
height of the Kármán Line which
marks the edge of outer space. Aiming
a little lower you could try to run
8848m matching the height of
Everest. Or you could think f latter
and try for 24900 miles equal to
running round the equator plotting
your progress on a map as you go.
Whether it’s a race to space or a
historical trail run following in the
footsteps of our forebears a long-
term burner can keep you motivated
PHOTOGRAPHS: JAMES CARNEGIE for many years to come.

A LEAP OF FAITH

Take your time

make a plan and go

as long as you can

DIY EVENTS