Getting to the start line of any race requires preparation especially if you plan to enjoy it. Mine started at the end of 2023 when I got a place in the London Marathon. I had never had any desire to run a marathon. It seemed like a lot of work and the distance was out …
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50km in Maderia 🏃♂️
The highs and lows of running 50km in Maderia. I say highs and lows in the very literal sense as the actual run itself was a massive high and very fun experience. The doubts about the run were all pre start.It was wet, very wet. Authorised weather warning wet. Which delayed the start by 2 …
Fear.
It has stopped me from doing and saying many things in my life. Fear of losing people, fear of upsetting people.Fear of doing it wrong, fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of dancing and looking silly. Fear of being alone for the rest of my life, however the fear of asking someone out outweighs …
The simple life of a walking holiday and the lessons I learned
Rather than spending a week at home I decided to follow my own advice from many years ago and choose adventure over boredom. I walked the West Highland Way. 96 miles of walking and camping up Scotland’s west coast. The thing which made this a nice trip was the simplicity of it. Each day I …
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Turning fear into excitement
You hear of athletes who talk about turning nerves into energy and excitement.“I found that reappraising anxiety as excitement is more effective than trying to calm down.” a US study of pre-performance anxiety, researcher Alison Wood Brooks.You see them at the start line of a running track or a game, usually focusing on what needs to happen …
Weight v’s Comfort v’s cost. The hiking compromise
I have found when planning a multi-day hike these three factors have become a big part of my thinking when it comes to what I take. Obviously I want to be comfortable when hiking and camping for multiple days, it is not all about suffering. Unfortunately the more comfort you want when camping requires more …
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Loneliness
“You can be surrounded by people yet feel alone” “You can be alone yet not feel lonely.” Are several phrases I have heard around this subject. I think it comes down to where do you feel comfortable or where do you have a sense of purpose. Someone who has no sense of purpose or feeling …
1 year in a running club
After I moved to the area I joined a running club – mainly so I would find my way around places but also to get me out of the house and active during a period when Covid and isolation was still quite big. Being an outdoor activity and small managed groups felt like reasonable steps …
NC500 + Skye
2021 not much to do and not much money, so decided to drive up to Scotland and admire the NC500 route. Bought myself a £2.99 map of the route and started plotting where to stay and what to see. Using paper maps and google maps really worked well. Plotting where to stay and visualising how …
Paddling career.
One of the things most often asked by other kayakers or canoers is how long have you been paddling? Simple enough question but it got me thinking, how long have I actually been paddling? My earliest memories of any sort of structured kayaking was when I was 10 and I got lessons in a swimming …
Mike's Travel Adventures 