British Isles Challenge

The next challenge... Big Alps Run

2010-04-21T11:45:00.000+01:00

The next challenge is coming, it's called Big Alps Run. In 2011 I'm planning to run from Vienna to Nice over the top of the alps, again for charity. So I've started a new blog, which I'll update over the next year or so as this year's adventures and plans for the alps develop...

http://bigalpsrun.blogspot.com/

Talks

2009-11-17T13:09:00.002Z

The challenge is winding down now... About £3500 has been raised, with a bit more to come in the next few weeks. I gave a couple of talks last week, one to my old Scout group (1st Great Ayton) and one to the Vasque Ultrarunning end-of-series party in the Lake District. Both went well and the Vasque one seemed to get a pretty good response! If anyone watched that one and wants to make a donation the links are here...

www.justgiving.com/britishisleschallenge_water
www.justgiving.com/britishisleschallenge_aids
www.justgiving.com/britishisleschallenge_nspcc

Thank you!

2009-09-18T17:23:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I put anything on here, so here we go...

The charity donations for the challenge now stand at around £3,000, with a few hundred extra still to be collected, so whilst it's not quite £10,000 its a start...

The DVDs seem to have disappeared from Cotswold Outdoor and the local train station, so some people must have it!

The Dyson sold for over £200, so thanks again to the James Dyson Foundation for their support.

As well as completing the Fastnet (read all about it on www.wildspirit.biz), Paul and Wild Spirit have also been incredibly generous, and I know those who are coming on the skippered weekend in October are looking forward to it!

I've been running and riding, completing the Fred Whitton challenge in the Lakes for the first time (a bit wet but very much fun) a few weeks ago, and recently had my two best race finishes yet... 6th in the Roseberry Topping Fell Race (1.5 miles, north yorkshire), and 5th in the Pumlumon Challenge (27ish) in mid-Wales. Unfortunately navigational incidents lost me about 1 minute and 10 minutes and one place in each race, but nevermind!

The next big race is the Caesar's Camp 100 in October... I've just found out a certain Mr. Webb is doing this too, see you there Chris!

Dyson for sale!

2009-08-12T12:25:00.002+01:00

The very unique, brand new, signed by Sir James Dyson "Dyson DC25 Allfloors Ball" vacuum cleaner (not a hoover) is now for sale on eBay.co.uk.

Click here to have a look and place your bid for this unique machine!

Wild Sprit in the Fastnet Race

2009-08-10T16:22:00.002+01:00

A few days ago, Wild Spirit started the 2009 Fastnet race, along with hundreds of other yachts. I would like to thank the Wild Spirit Fastnet team for their generous donation to the Challenge, which will be split equally between the three charities and will appear online within the next week, and wish them the best of luck in the race.

The race can be followed online by clicking here http://fastnet.rorc.org/2009-fleet-tracking.html, Wild Spirit can be found in the IRC Class 3 A category, and their progress can be followed as the race progresses.

A weekend's sailing aboard the boat is also being auctioned for the challenge, which will be another boost to the fundraising and should be a great weekend for eight lucky people!

DVD available and the hardest race I have ever done...

2009-08-04T11:27:00.003+01:00

As promised, I have produced a DVD of the challenge from photos and videos along the way. It's about half an hour long and I'm pleased to say it's available from the new Cotswold Outdoor store in Leeds (downstairs) for the total price of FREE! Hopefully it might encourage a donation or two... If anyone reading this would like a copy please send me a message, comment on this post, or hunt me down and rugby tackle me with your address and I will send you one for nowt.

The Lakeland 100 was a hard race, but one of the most enjoyable I have ever done. The atmosphere at the start and finish was fantastic, everyone wanting to help each other and make sure as many people as possible completed either the 51 or 103 mile courses ("just to make sure" apparently...). In the end, the drop out rate for the 100 was 70%, with about 40 of 130ish finishing. I started at 7:30 on Friday evening with a group of friends, 7 people in total. By the time we finished at 10:30 on Sunday morning (38hrs 56mins) there were two of us, myself and Nigel Coates.

The weather on Friday night was nasty, wind and lots of rain. Saturday morning took a while to clear but most of the day was ok. More rain and wind Saturday night caused many of the drop-outs (I was too busy halucinating and thinking I was in a computer game), then Sunday wasn't too bad. As always with Ultras there were highs when I could see no reason not to finish, and lows when I wanted to give up at the next checkpoint. I have never run for this length of time before (a previous 100 in 2006 took around 28hrs), but the time or placing (joint 34th - although the results say 37th by one second!) didn't seem important. The experience, location and route were enough, and the race was an experience I won't forget (although there are large sections I can't remember). Andy Rankin won in an incredible time of 22 hours something. That's for 103 miles, over 20,000ft of climb, rough lakes terrain and carrying kit.

So in summary, an epic, brilliant race, and thanks Nigel. Surely the hardest running race in the UK???

A sport-tastic weekend!

2009-07-27T09:29:00.004+01:00

I quite like this blog, so I'm going to keep writing ramblings on here until I run out of things to say...

This country has been busy achieving in the field of sporting endevour this weekend, with Lewis Hamilton returning to the podium after a disastrous first half of the F1 season, Mark Cavendish destroying the competition to win on the Champs-Elysees and Bradley Wiggins finishing 4th in the Tour de France.

The main arena of athletic excellence this weekend however, was of course the Pudsey 10k. It was hard! As I said before I wasn't sure whether the challenge would have made me fitter or just knackered, and it seems to have done both. I was certainly stronger, and quicker than a lot of people up the hills and down rocky descents, but on the flat I was rubbish. I had hoped for under 40 minutes, but ended up with 42:27. I'm not sure what place that is yet, maybe around 30th-ish.

Lakeland 100 is now only a few days away. This will be the equal longest distance race I have ever done (unless I get lost), and probably the longest time at around 30 hours. I'm not really sure what will happen, but it's going to be interesting!

Not very good at being back...

2009-07-22T20:03:00.005+01:00

It seems my body and brain have not quite got used to being back yet!

I seem to be very busy without actually achieving anything, so sorry to everyone who's text messages, emails, etc. I have not responded to. Being back at work is a bit rubbish, but at least I have a race to look forward to at the weekend... It's my first run at our local 10k, and first race in a club vest so I'm quite nervous!

It feels very wierd getting off the bike at work and not carrying on all day too, but the legs feel fine. I think the real test of whether the challenge has made me fitter or just knackered will be the Lakeland 100, the weekend after next.

I'm still fundraising, and hoping to produce a 30 minute-ish DVD of the challenge which will be available free in the hope of getting some more donations. I also have a few things to sell, namely the Wild Spirit Sailing Weekend for 8 and a signed Dyson vacuum cleaner (Please get in touch if you are interested in snapping up either of these before they are generally available!).

Finally, if anyone is interested, I'll do talks or presentations in return for donations! For now, I give you sunset on the Isles of Scilly.

Back to the real world...

2009-07-16T14:21:00.007+01:00

I got back home last night, so today I am mostly be sorting stuff and washing 24-days worth of stink out of my clothes!

Thanks to Lorna and Gray for blogging in my absence, not sure I can match their journalistic talents but nevermind. I've attached some pictures below which at the current rate should be worth 10,000 words.

In summary I didn't quite achieve what I had planned to, mainly because of the cost of transporting the Ocean rowing boat to Scotland, but I'm happy with what I did. I'll add up the mileage properly over the next few days but it's something like 1200 miles in total, about 20 of which were not by human power, from Pednasthine Head (Isles of Scilly) to Brough Head (Orkney Islands) via the 3 Peaks, Derwent Water, Loch Linhe, Loch Oich, and about three-quarters of Loch Ness.

The main thing now is to raise as much money as possible for NSPCC, Avert AIDS and Water for Kids. I'm hoping to produce a little DVD made from the videos I recorded on route to help with this.

Thank you very much to everyone who donated, helped or supported. At the risk of sounding emotional, I couldn't have done it without you!

The End. Well done that man!

2009-07-14T21:37:00.004+01:00

And so friends, all too soon we have reached the end of the challenge. 1,300 miles, eaten up by Stu with the appetite of a starved alligator.

Orkney became the revised finishing point (after the costs of getting the rowing boat up to Scotland for the crossing to Shetland made it unfeasible).

So a mere 85 miles jaunt on the bike today saw Stu cycling up to the northern edge of the mainland of Orkney. A mile run at the end took him to the most northerly point of the trip, Brough Head. Result!

Stu will be returning to the land of internet connection in a day or two, and will be able to provide a far fuller and more amusing account of all his adventures.

For now, all we can say is, well done that man!
1,300 miles by foot / bike / kayak... I think it's pretty difficult to try and imagine what that must be like, and I know he was a bit daunted at the start, but 'don't panic, do crack on' seems to have got him through!

If you haven't already sponsored Stu, it is definitely not too late. To be serious for a minute, all three charities are well worth a few quid, so if you can spare it then please do it for the kids!

Lorna xx

What's that, a monster in the loch?!

2009-07-13T20:42:00.002+01:00

On Saturday, tourists glancing across Loch Ness may have shouted with glee, thinking they had spotted the famous monster... Soon to be disappointed, when it was discovered the creature in the water was in fact a capsized kayaker, flailing blindly!
So, one rogue wave, a little help from the RNLI, and a new pair of glasses later (!) and Stu is back on the bike and hopefully heading to Orkney tomorrow.(Not by bike).
Stu: prepared to drown for the kids. Please sponsor generously.
Lorna x

Paddling

2009-07-11T08:05:00.002+01:00

Twenty miles covered in the kayak yesterday, which Stu thinks is respectable (I did about 19 a few weeks ago and felt like I deserved a medal!). Camped in Fort Augustus last night.
Last day of paddling today, then back on the bike. In to the last week of the Challenge now, if you haven't sponsored yet, don't forget!
Lorna

Foxstitch Sponsored Hi-vis wear

2009-07-09T22:04:00.003+01:00

A big thanks to Mike Fox of Foxstitch in Thirsk for the embroidery and printing of all the hi-vis and challenge clothing. The hi-vis was seriously good through Manchester and Glasgow and of course along all the small country lanes. Thanks Mike, look forward seeing you after the finish.
Thanks again, Stuart and team.

Messing about on the river

2009-07-09T19:07:00.003+01:00

A quick trip up and down Ben Nevis yesterday (2h45) left Stu with the afternoon to fill in Fort William. What would you do in this situation, having already run up and down the highest peak in Scotland - A bit of sightseeing perhaps? A long lunch? No, a bike ride of course! Throw in a few additional miles for good measure :)
So after an 'easy' day yesterday, today has been the first of the three-day trip by kayak along the Caledonian Canal. Sounds to have been going well (no capsizing reported), and he has made it down the first leg in one piece and is camping alongside the canal tonight.
Lorna

Today I Fort Bill (and won!)

2009-07-07T22:12:00.002+01:00

Hello...!

Firstly, a huge thank you to Mike Nelson from North Shore Sea Kayaks for the very kind loan of one of his excellent demonstrator kayaks for the Caledonian Canal leg of my journey, which I will start on Thursday morning. The kayak will be making its way up to Scotland with Mum tomorrow, ready for the start of the three day paddle. Mikes kayaks are all hand built in Stokesley N.Yorkshire and he sells all over the world. Thanks again to North Shore Sea Kayaks and Mike.

Had a good day on the road bike with trailer again today, around 85 miles, from Luss on Loch Lomond up to Fort William. Having some proper food this evening which is a result, also even managed to stop for a scone earlier in the day!! Going up to the highest point in the whole of the British Isles tomorrow and the final one of the big 3 peaks on the challenge, Ben Nevis.Then a good nights rest before my Kayaking experience!

Many thanks,

Graham

In to Scotland

2009-07-06T18:25:00.003+01:00

The halfway party / weekend was, I believe, very much a success. Thanks to everyone who made the effort to come across to Keswick, I know Stu/Shelf(!!) was quite surprised at the number of people.
For those who didn't make it, the weekend went fairly to plan. Stu arrived on Friday night in Kesiwck after a ride up through Ambleside where he was joined by Will Spain for a bit.. this seemed to end up with them 'sheltering' in a pub. Stu claims it was raining heavily. Despite this stop, he made it on to Keswick in the evening where I met up with him, sporting some pretty tasty facial hair and a certain odour (him that is, not me.)
Next day dawned, and a shower, a shave and a nice cooked breakfast set the day up nicely for hitting Scafell Pike. Stu cycled up to Seathwaite, where I met him after rendezvousing with his dad and brothers in Keswick. Team British Isles Challenge was born for the weekend! The ascent was pretty, if a little wet, and culminated in a nice foggy stop at the top. All members of the party got involved with a bit of running on the way down! - although admittedly Stu did crack on and leave us after a while. The aim was to run down, then cycle across for a swim in Derwentwater. This plan went awry when he met our friends and a their flat battery at the bottom of Scafell!
The next day saw the postponed swim take place - only about 500m across Derwentwater, but in Stu's words 'that's been the hardest bit so far.. I forgot how to do breastroke, front crawl wearing glasses is quite hard, so I doggy paddled some of the way!' Thankfully the able support crew in a rowing boat and a child's dingy were always on hand. After drying off, Stu's friend Si joined him cycling the first section up towards Carlisle. Thank you to all Stu's friends who came to lend their support, sporting talent, and van...Go Team British Isles challenge!
In to Scotland now and the first night was spent in a place called Glenmidge! hahaha

The past few, and next few, days..

2009-07-01T21:08:00.002+01:00

For some reason Stu failed to take his desktop and 1400 miles of extension cable with him and so i've been recruited to offer an update for the last few days...

Monday 29th June:

Last day on the mountain bike!
Set off from Three Cocks and rode a good 45 or so miles up to Llanidloes. Almost getting back onto schedule now which is nice.

Tuesday 30th June:

From one bike to the other - today saw the road bike wheeled out for a quick spin - of around 80 miles (!) - from Llanidloes up through the mountains of Wales to Llanberis. The evening had hoped to see the ascent of the first of big peaks on the challenge (Snowdon), but with the treat of thunderstorms this plan was shelved for Wednesday morning.

Wednesday 1st July:

As Lorna reported below the first day of the month saw the first peak conquered. A round trip of only 2 hours left the rest of the day free for a tasty bit of road biking. Setting off from Llanberis over Llanberis pass and up through Northern Wales and Chester, ending the day at Delamare forest park. Nearly caught up with the schedule now, only about 20 miles off it...

The plan going forward...

Thursday 2nd July:

Road biking again for Thursday.. Hopefully all the way up to Skipton but with around 90 miles between Stu and Skipton it'l be a BIG day!

Friday 3rd July:

Skipton to Keswick is the plan for Friday - ready for...

Saturday 4th July:

...the 2nd peak of Scafell Pike, a swim across a lake and the halfway party on Saturday.

Hope this satisfies anyone seeking information out there,

Bye bye for now,
Graham (a brother in awe)

What kind of a fool would run up Snowdon on the hottest day of the year?!

2009-07-01T20:37:00.003+01:00

For those of you who are not avid map watchers, the good news is that Stu made it safely up and down Snowdon today. I was somewhat relieved, thinking he might have been a little dehydrated, but he cracked on and did some cycling after and is now camping near Chester so must be doing alright. Back in England, so the first peak down and only two more peaks and some hundred miles to go!
In other news, our sweet peas are looking champion. Stu doesn't know what he's missing....
Lorna
p.s. keep watching the map! Since my mum demanded more updates he's been more dilligent about updates

Live map

2009-06-26T21:40:00.002+01:00

Hello!

Tonight I am near Taunton and able to do a blog, so just a quick one to say all is well so far, and that there is a "live" map of where I am available by clicking the "Route Map" link on the right hand side, or here. I'll be updating this by text message so it should be up-to-date (ish).

and in the interval...

2009-06-25T23:50:00.003+01:00

while I await a full update from Stu on the progress (some problems due to the windyness down in Cornwall, which it seems has a hurricane season!) thought I would post up this link of our lovely Stu 'in action' as reported by our local paper http://www.pudseytoday.co.uk/news/Pudsey-Pacers-runner-takes-on.5342952.jp I don't know about you, but I certainly love a man in a vest! (sorry, doesn't seem to hyperlink but worth copy and pasting)
Lorna 'long suffering girlfriend and newly appointed surrogate blogger' Jackson

Stuck on St. Marys !

2009-06-23T14:02:00.003+01:00

All started well Kayak trip from St Agnes around Western Rocks to St Marys great. Unfortunately the planned Kayak from St Marys to Sennan Cove had to be posponed yesterday due to high winds. Stuart & Dave are hoping to do the trip today or tomorrow conditions permitting.

Last minute packing...

2009-06-18T23:08:00.003+01:00

Just a quick one as I'm getting everything sorted to leave soon...

Thanks to Foxstitch of Thirsk for the High Visibility vests and shirts, and a big thank you to Pat and Dave for letting us borrow their camper van as a support vehicle in a couple of places!

Everything is nearly ready and packed, and tomorrow I'm off down to Sennen Cove!

The adventure begins...

10 days to go!

2009-06-11T20:23:00.004+01:00

Not long now! I'm not sure everything is ready yet, but plans are falling into place I think. Last weekend I did my last race before the challenge - the LAMM, held this year up in Kintail. Wil and I had a great time, and did ok on the B course. We had hoped to do a bit better but a disastrous journey up there the night before didn't help. Still, the weather was the best in the country, we (Wil) navigated perfectly, and ran pretty well, and had much immature fun as ever. As much as I am excited about the challenge it was also nice to forget organising for a while!

A number of people have been very generous and helpful so far this week, so thank you to...

Robin Hood Watersports of Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire (www.roho.co.uk) for their help with some Sea Kayak safety gear.

Scilly Isles Travel (www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk) for their help with travel on the Scillionian III.

There have also been a few more newspaper and magazine articles recently, in the Yorkshire Evening Post, Pudsey Today and, I believe, the Air Conditioning Journal.

A trip daawn saawf

2009-05-31T21:57:00.005+01:00

On thursday I set off down to Woodvale Challenge's offices in Cornwall, to have a chat and a look at the rowing boat for the John O' Groats - Shetland leg. The plan was to drive down from Leeds, spend the afternoon at Woodvale, then drive on to Land's End, go for a run with overnight kit and camp somewhere, then back to the car and drive home on Friday morning. Sadly this did not quite work.

All was well till just after Taunton on the M5, when the rustbucket decided she was too hot and tired and wanted to stop. So we spent a while on the hard shoulder (nice view and good weather though!), then the car was recovered, and I was left at Exeter services. I decided to get a train to Plymouth and see the boat on Friday morning, but on the way through Exeter spotted (couldn't really miss) a bike race around the city centre. This was really cool so I watched it for a while.

The boat "Salamanca" is in pretty good condition, in need of a little bit of work and some kit, but looking good considering all the crossings she has done! There were a few other boats at Woodvale, including two very impressive fours boats and the boat used by James Cracknell and Ben Fogle to row the atlantic.

Since I got back home I've been doing some nutritional planning, went to watch some cricket, had a housewarming party and went for a great 10 mile run this afternoon. The sun was shining, I found loads of good hills, and managed to navigate around near home without a map!

Sir Ranulph reaches Everest summit

2009-05-22T09:09:00.007+01:00

At 1am yesterday, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, nominal patron of the British Isles Challenge, reached the summit of Mount Everest. And today he is back at basecamp (Alan Hinkes once said something about not having climbed a mountain until you reach the bottom).

Sir Ranulph has raised a fantastic amount of money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, his JustGiving page is heading towards £3,000,000!

Climbing Everest is obviously a fantastic achievement, and to do so as the oldest Briton ever shows he is clearly not slowing down! Yesterday was my birthday - if I have achieved anything like what Sir Ranulph has in 41 years' time I will be a very happy man.

Fellsman

2009-05-13T13:40:00.006+01:00

Last weekend I ran the Fellsman. It's always a hard race as it's 61 miles long and climbs 9 of the highest peaks in the Dales, as well as crossing a big nasty bit of bog. Much harder than any individual day on the challenge, but good training and a great race!

I beat my previous time of 18 hours and finished in 16:21, a little slower than I had hoped but ok. We had an interesting few hours in the middle with gales and hailstones, and 142 of the 382 starters retired, the finishers ranging from Jez Bragg in 10:50 (winner by over an hour - very fast for a first time!) to over 28 hours.

I have felt ok since, and was able to ride to work on Monday which I think is a good sign, definately couldn't have done that last year.

My next race (Lakeland 100) is after the challenge, so it feels even closer now! I've got a final-ish schedule now, which may change but is a vague indicator at least. Here it is (click for bigger view)...

Bradford Telegraph and Argus

2009-05-04T11:48:00.004+01:00

Hello to readers of the Telegraph and Argus! And thanks to Clive White for writing the article on the British Isles Challenge appearing on the website, and hopefully in tomorrow's newspaper.

The online article is here. Please give generously Bradford!

Article on grough

2009-04-28T22:15:00.009+01:00

An article has been published on the great outdoors website grough - so thanks to them for that! It's a big one too with loads of info which is pretty cool!

Don't Panic!

2009-04-27T23:16:00.007+01:00

Very busy at the moment, hence the lack of blogging... The British Isles Challenge should start to get some good publicity in the next few days and weeks though, appearing in an on various magazines and websites. Thanks Dad and Lorna for help with this!

I also collected the trailer from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Operative in Leeds at the weekend, and took it for a little test run this evening (filled with most of the contents of our kitchen to simulate camping gear!).

I had a good run last weekend at Calderdale Hike (6:40), and ran the last 10 miles or so with Wendy Dodds (impressive) which was great. One of the good things about silly sports like these is that they appeal to nice down-to-earth people, despite their incredible achievements. Starting to think about the Fellsman (9th May) now, not the longest this year but still 62 miles, and hard terrain with 11,000 feet of climb. This will be my last big race till after the British Isles Challenge.

New Supporters and Mountain Biking

2009-04-14T23:01:00.003+01:00

Happy Easter! I am pleased to announce a couple of new supporters...

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Operative have agreed to lend me a trailer for the road bike leg, these are said to be a more efficient way of carrying stuff than pannier bags, but I can't afford one, so this is good news! The James Dyson Foundation have agreed to donate a signed (by Sir James Dyson) Dyson DC25 super-vacuum cleaner. This unique machine will be up for auction soon! Finally, Science In Sport (SIS) have offered me a discount off their range of magical powder and goo, which I will be using on the trip...

Thanks to all who are helping me!

I went mountain biking this weekend, did about 85 miles in total. No problems with the bike or camping gear, and I felt well enough the day after to go running. The weather was great too, as you can see from this picture taken somewhere on a moor near Castleton in North Yorkshire.

Sea Kayaking

2009-04-08T17:48:00.004+01:00

Last weekend we went Sea Kayaking. We had a two-day lesson with the National Kayak School in Oban... It was exactly as I had hoped! We did some practice around the harbour on the first morning, but the weather was rubbish so we put the boats on a trailer and drove up the road to a more sheltered spot...

On Sunday the weather was very sunny and not too windy, so we went for a longer paddle and practiced everything we had learnt. Afterwards we went out for dinner at the Seafood Temple. It was very nice but almost as challenging as the kayaking - I think we covered most other diners in bits of crab and lobster shell by the end...

This weekend I'm going to test the mountain biking and camping plan by doing a two-day trip with all the gear. Hopefully 100 miles, then I'll see what effect that has on the legs. Also, in the last couple of days I have had very kind offers of help from Dyson, the Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Operative, and SIS Sports Nutrition (more on these in a bit).

2009-03-31T21:12:00.004+01:00

It's been a while since I posted anything, so...

The British Isles Challenge was featured in this month's Vasque Ultrarunning Championships newsletter - hopefully this will start to drum up some individual sponsorship! Thanks to the runfurther team for their help.

I've also turned my car into a (rusty) moving billboard... It's a little old MG and doesn't normally go far so this will mainly be for the benefit of my neighbours, but maybe someone will see it next weekend when Lorna and I are off to Oban to do a Sea Kayaking course at the National Kayak S chool. I'm really looking forward to this.

Training is continuing as ever. I ran Edale Skyline on Sunday and took 45 mins off my previous best time! The weather was slightly different with a bright clear day as opposed to the horizontal hail in 2007, but I'm pleased with 3:37. I set off too fast and suffered over Brown Knoll but it was a very enjoyable race as always. Excellent pie afterwards too. (Picture from www.dpfr.org.uk)

Less training, more pain(ing)

2009-03-26T22:36:00.002Z

I haven't done much in the way of running this week. The last thing I did was a short Edale run in the middle a long Sheffield weekend of drinking, and I've been going to work on the stupid bus all week in an effort to be fully fit for Edale Skyline on Sunday. But it doesn't seem to be working, my legs just hurt (presumably in boredom). So I think I'll run tomorrow. Not going on the bloody bus will help preserve my sanity too...

Training...

2009-03-12T22:17:00.004Z

Everything seems to be leading towards the British Isles Challenge now, so I'm treating every race, every run and every ride to work as training. I ran the High Peak Marathon last Saturday, and on Sunday did some good miles on the bike (admittedly indoors), felt quite good.

I've also been doing another type of training this week though... Puncture repair training! In 3 days' rides to and from work I have managed to go through 7 inner tubes. Perhaps time for some new tyres...

Nominal Patron - Sir Ranulph Fiennes

2009-03-05T23:03:00.004Z

I am very pleased to announce that the "world's greatest explorer" and a great hero of mine, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, has agreed to be the patron of the British Isles Challenge. Unfortunately he will be away during the trip itself so will be a nominal patron, but his support for the trip is very much appreciated!

Final Route

2009-02-26T11:59:00.004Z

Last night I finalised the route and modes of transport. Below is a list of where I intend to be at the end of each day... Place names with an asterisk are those where I will be changing mode.

I've also updated the map (link to the right), although it still follows a straight line between a few places. Hopefully I can update it fully over the next couple of days...

St. Marys
Lands End*
Portreath
Newquay*
Bishops Lydeard
Weston-super-Mare*
Barry*
Brecon
Llanidloes
Blaenau Ffestiniog*
Betws-y-Coed*
Macclesfield
Skipton
Ambleside*
Keswick*
Moffat
Stirling
Glencoe*
Fort William*
Invergarry
Drumnadrochit
Inverness*
Golspie
John O' Groats*
(at sea)
Sumburgh*
Toft

Annual Charity

2009-02-17T21:54:00.001Z

Thank you very much to Paul Jackson and Wild Spirit Sailing (www.wildspirit.biz) for making the British Isles Challenge his Annual Charity!

Update for February 17th...

2009-02-17T21:43:00.002Z

Lots has changed since the last post...

- Simon Chalk of Woodvale (http://www.woodvale-challenge.com/) has very kindly agreed to lend me an Ocean rowing boat to row to Shetland, which I'll hopefully be doing with Andy Rankin.

- The Channel Islands are crown dependancies. This makes them not part of the United Kingdom, although part of the British Isles depending on your definition. On the other hand, the Scilly Isles are definately part of both, and will make for a more interesting trip. The plan is now to Sea Kayak out to the most southerly point of the Scilly Isles, then kayak / swim / walk between the islands, and Sea Kayak back to the mainland.

- Now that I will be starting the mainland trip at Land's End I will do more running instead of starting mountian biking straight away. Probably from Lands End to Newquay over a day or two...

The website is here!

2008-12-17T16:17:00.001Z

Welcome to the British Isles Challenge. The website is all connected up today, the route is coming together, and hopefully I will have some sponsors on board soon.

Over the next few weeks and months I will add more details of the journey to this blog, so keep a look out if you're interested.

Cheers