Success? 1099K's completed.

That's right. almost 1100k cycled run or walked, in total by the combined efforts of 70 people,mostly recovering people and some members of the public in the Haringey/Hackney/Islington areas, and almost £500 raised. The most noticeable feature though was the vibe of togetherness of the public and people in recovery. Total strangers were willing to help us, and work with their own children in tow to increase our achievement. Some noticeable feats of endurance and pushing back personal boundaries were achieved, most notably 2 people who had not cycled more than 10 miles previously who both exceeded 35 miles. The course was hilly and not easy to cycle. A number of children including the local youth joined us. Next we will attempt to bring more areas of east london on board.

1000K in a day build up

I've been concentrating all my efforts on a 1000K combined cycle relay in Finsbury Park North London. It is happening, this Saturday 27th September. Logistics have been a nightmare, and my ultrarunning exploits have had to take a back seat, but thats a positive because we now number 10-20 hardcore recovering people who have taken endurance sports on as a way of expressing ourselves and being of service to others. It's a fundraiser, all proceeds go to providing more sports and outdoor pursuits for people with addiction issues in our borough of North London.

About 2 months ago we were awarded £5000 by the London Cycling Campaign, and since then we haven't looked back, organising this event as a way of publicising our philosophy of phsysical lifestyle as a way of focusing your life post drugs/alcohol.

All the local cycle shops have sponsored us, the supermarkets and cafes have helped us out with food, and the local press and drug/alcohol therapy trade press will be in attendance.

We've been training hard in the parks and along the canals of North & East London, along the Thames, through the City & West End. if we raise enough money we'll go out to the Chilterns this Autumn for some serious mountain biking (and trail running). See the Wheels of Recovery blog in the links.

South Downs Way - 30 miles - Hottest day of the year.

Stupid idea really but I'd signed up for the Downland Challenge Race so it seemed a shame to miss it despite forecasts of 30 degrees heat. I panicked and bought a camel back which holds a litre and a half, and drank incessantly which gave me stitches that were so bad I found it difficult to breathe. By the last 5-6 miles virtually everyone was walking.

Basically I went with an agenda. I then paid the price for that. Secretly in the back of my mind I was hatching plans of faster times in direct contradiction of my philosophy which is to stay at the back and run as you feel, getting faster over the miles if the body allows it. This time I tore off in the first thirty and spent the whole day being passed by a various assortment of people aged generally between 50 and 70. It was generally an unpleasant and disheartening experience - OR WAS IT.....

Thinking to myself later as I recovered on Brighton Beach in the evening glow, recovering more from a near drowning experience than from the run (I'm not joking - the tide turned when I was still out) I realised that this was a terrific learning for me. Go back to the enjoyment. What am I seeking. I won't find it because I already have it. The enjoyment and meditative aspect is in the distance not the time. Later that week I made the decision to focus my training for the autumn on a community endurance event and getting some of the less experienced guys to do some mileage, and thus experience the buzz free from addiction. If this means cancelling the last two dates of my Vasque Championship placement attempt then that's OK. I can always do it next year. Take it easy.

PS note picture of Hampstead Heath (not unlike the South Downs!)

Cadair Berwyn & Cadair Bromwen (Wales)

This is where I stay in the Berwyn Mountains when I need head clearance. It is a no alcohol or drugs zone plus there are no showers so you don't get much company apart from the odd smelly shaman! Cadair just means chair, and Berwyn and Bromwen are indigenous God and Goddess respectively.The waterfalls are reputed to have been of significance to the druids and the pools are just about the only place to wash.

After this latest experience which just about finished off my knees, I've become convinced that this blog should be more of an ode to outdoors living and insights gained in that space, rather than account after account of mileage and more neurotic accomplishments. I've run Cadair Berwyn before but this time I went over the top and on over his sister peak Bromwen, and then on towards Moel Fferna. At 18 odd miles this was one of the toughest runs I've ever done. The next day out and about walking I enjoyed myself much more to be honest, when i could take the time to watch things.

I've never seen anyone else fell running on Berwyn, which is not suprising because the terrain is uniquely horrendous and this mountain range (just inland from Snowdonia) seems to have a particularly vicious weather system all of its own, even in summer. The mountain sides are full of trails but these give way once you summit, where it is boggy, craggy and extremely windswept. You can see the twin chairs of Berwyn and Bromwen in the photo. I love running along that windswept ridge looking down on red kites and other large birds. It makes you dizzy following their flight on a background of green rather than sky. Descending back to the Rhaeadr

Falls I iced my legs in a mountain pool, and then dried off on a sunny slab of granite.

Marlborough Challenge. 33 miles

I did a 33 mile hillrace I did on Saturday morning. Nothing compares with that insidious, creeping agony which takes over the body in extra-long distance runs, particularly the joint rattling multi terrain jobs. I am hugely respectful of these individuals I meet, many of them women, who do what I know many people could not do even after years of training. The pain is particularly difficult to live with because it just goes on and on.

I came 30th out of 121 and I swear I wasn't expecting to be in the top 50%. If you're in recovery take note because 12 months ago I was chuffing 20 a day, and now I'm taking part in the Vasque Ultra-Running Championships (if only in an amateurish capacity). Until 7 years ago I was abusing myself daily with class A drugs. When you do that for 15 years it really does put you at a disadvantage to people who never even smoked but therein lies the answer. From the start I just relaxed and let everyone pass me, I had no expectations whatsoever. Then I just spent the day catching people up in true Tortoise fashion. I'm not saying that I've never tried to be the Hare, I'm just immensley glad that I can enjoy the ride now.

Wansdyke 28 miles

This one took me through some deep country. I didn't notice it at the time but looking back the Wansdyke was fantastic. It is an ancient fortification which was built by the Saxon kings to protect the northern borders of Wessex. At points you can see 10-20 miles on both sides. It is high up on the Marlborough downs which are a peculiar ridge of high ground in Wiltshire. I stopped to eat something next to some derelict barns and noticed that I could hear insects buzzing. That's when I realized that the nearest roads were out of earshot and out of sight. Southern England doesn't have many areas that are this quiet. At the end of the run, I discovered that one of my toes had peeled down to the flesh.



The next day I met some really interesting people who help to treat people in addiction using Tai Chi and martial arts, even some of the hard stuff like Tae Kwondo. It was such an excellent feeling to meet people who share my outdoors philosophy of physical therapy. life seems to be throwing these like-minded individuals my way at the moment, and a plan is now afoot for a group of recovering people to make a pilgrimage by bike or foot from one major city to another, off road, using only the ancient trails.

White Horse Hill - 20 miles

This is Whitehorse Hill (Wiltshire) in the distance. It was an iron age hill fort for the Celts and has a 400ft. wide white horse carved on the hillside. The road you see is the Ridgeway, a 5000 year old road that cuts through the heart of southern England. I am about to run up it on a very cold but sunny Winters day. The Horse itself is a genuine bronze age chalk engraving widely associated with the Celtic Goddess Epona (but that's probably a load of bol***ks). You can't really see it from the ground. No one knows why they drew it but I guess the celts loved horses, and the area is still a big horse trading area because of the soft ground for training.There are many ancient burial sites here like Wayland Smithy, connected with the Saxon God of Blacksmiths, Weland, who purportedly forged Beowulfs chainmail shirt.This whole area vibrates with the memory of the indigenous people of Britain which is why I enjoy running here. It once would've been border country between the Saxon Kings of Wessex (fighting to defend England) and the Northern Danelaw or "Vikings" who have now thankfully been beaten back to their strongholds in places like Newcastle.I really feel like I'm connecting with something when I'm here. This doesn't tend to happen on short runs, you have to go further. The exhaustion of the long runs makes the experience stick in your mind for months, and the wild countryside seems to seep into you when you're alone on these trails.

The whole day really lifted me after what has been a difficult winter. In all the 20 miles took about 5 hours , mainly because I kept stopping and perpetrating unspeakable acts. I would definitely like to run the whole of the Ridegway this Spring. It's 87 miles in total and such a great route, entirely cross country.