Running4Rwanda

That's bike riding, not horse riding! And not quite the 48 miles planned, but still my longest bike ride since ... well, ever. And not content with making it a long ride, it was also a hard ride, at the hottest time of the hottest day of the year. Just a fortnight after my running exploits, I set off from just outside Keswick heading towards Grasmere, then through Ambleside. Turning towards Troutbeck is the notoriously steep Holbeck Lane - not as bad as some of the Lakeland passes, but probably the steepest climb I've ever ridden. Then the long slow drag up Kirkstone Pass to the Kirkstone Inn, and a welcome break for lunch. Tempting as it was to spend the afternoon there, the route then goes down the other side towards Glennridding. If climbing up was hard work, then hurtling down was scary. Along Ullswater, then a sharp left, and another long slow drag to Dockray, then heading towards the other Troutbeck. A couple of diversions to avoid the busy A66, then Threlkeld and the...

Well that's the running legs out of the way - more than half of the BTR Liverpool Tour of Merseyside done. It was hard work, but good fun in a painful sort of way. Tuesday's 10 mile run took place along the Sustrans cycle trail from Walton Hall Park. Heading South along the disused railway line, the route reached Broadgreen before returning to the start. A further mile or so North, then turning again to return to the start point. I'm not sure of the accuracy of the course, but a time of 1hr 14min was my fastest 10 miler of the year, and my best for a long time. 49th overall, 42nd male, so not too bad Thursday's 5 mile race around Hale seemed harder - probably because I was still feeling the effects from Tuesday. I last ran this race about 15 years ago, and it hasn't got any easier! Slower than hoped for, but 37min put me in 69th position, 62nd male. Saturday is usually my chance to have a lie-in - not this week! I needed an early start to get to New Brighton f...

It's taken a while, but I've finally decided what to do to celebrate 30 years of running. In fact, it's taken me so long to decide, that it's actually just about to start. I had thought about running 30 miles, but on medical advice I can no longer do 'endurance' events - i.e. I can't run a Marathon, or anything over about a half-marathon Then I thought about walking 30 miles, but that would probably take too long. Or cycling 30 miles - probably not enough of a challenge. So why not somehow combine all three? So that's the plan - run about 30 miles, but split over three events; walk a similar distance; then ride my bike, but over double the distance. The final details of the walk and the bike ride still need a bit of working out, but here's the running leg(s): Tour of Merseyside Race 3 - 10-mile Sustrans cycle trail from Walton Hall Park Tour of Merseyside Race 4 - 5-mile Halton Road Race around Hale Tour of Merseyside Race 6 - 12-mile Wir...