Read the story of the boys' epic challenge! Start at the top and follow their progress as it happened!

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Coast to Coast in 84 hours!

 

2012 - Olympic year - and what better way to celebrate than with a challenge of our own. Twin brothers Simon & Steve Wilson are planning to run / walk / crawl the 192 miles of the Wainwright Coast to Coast Walk from St. Bees in the west, to Robin Hood's Bay in the east, in just 84 hours...

Traversing the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors national parks, the brothers are raising money for LIVES.

LIVES - Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service - support the ambulance service across the county by providing first responders within their local communities. Simon and Steve's link to the charity is Andy, their elder (and much more sensible) brother, who is one of the volunteers in Hykeham, trained in providing first aid and emergency care for instances such as stroke and cardiac arrest, where every second counts. LIVES rely entirely on charitable donations in order to work in local communities, literally saving lives.

As our start date gets closer, and the pace picks up, we'll keep you updated with progress on our training .

We're planning the challenge from 4am on Wednesday the 6th June, finishing (hopefully!) by 4pm on Saturday 9th. So keep an eye on this page and start to budget now as we'll soon be tapping you up for a few quid for this most worthwhile of causes.

Simon & Steve

Ten weeks to go...29th March... 

So with just ten weeks to go, we've headed over to the Lake District for our first taste of what lies ahead! We've decided to do our first big(ish) training walk actually from the start of the route. After a seemingly endless ride, two up on Steve's motorbike, we dumped our kit at the hotel at St.Bees and started walking just after lunch on Thursday. Knowing we're heading east, eventually to the Yorkshire coast, it seems to defy logic that the first three miles or so actually head further west from St. Bees, as you take the coastal path over the cliff tops and head out to sea.

An hour later, we finally turn east and reflect that if this were the event for real, we'd now have just 83 hours left. Gulp! Still, by 4.00pm we've made it safely to Ennerdale water, with the first 14 miles under our belt.

It'd be fair to say though, that it has come at least at some small cost as Simon has started to devlop some hot spots on his feet, and we're both feeling a dull ache in our legs. Still, nothing that a pint and a steak and ale pie can't fix and by 5.00pm, we're off again, this time heading for Ennerdale Water, Blacksail Hut, Loft Beck and over the Honnister Pass.

With the walk by Ennerdale treating us to some fantastic scenary as the path climbs and decends, Simon comments that the path is 'like walking three miles on broken bricks'! It's true that you need to place each step carefully on this section as one poor placement followed by a twisted ankle and it's potentially game over!

Still, as Blacksail Hut, (the UK's most remote YHA) is passed, we reached the most challenging part of the day, as we ascend Loft Beck as the light fails and the cloud layer looms. With the beam of our head torches bouncing straight back at us, we need a compass bearing to track the line of stone cairns which thankfully mark our safe route to Honnister Pass and Rosthwaite beyond.

After identifying our campsite for the night, we extend the day's 28 miles by a voluntary further couple as we head to local bar and a welcome pint (or two!).

As we climbed into our rather compact two man tent (well it says two man on the bag!), I reflect that there are very few people in this world that under normal circumstances I would share such a tiny space with and none of them can grow a beard! But we're both tired and for now this will have to do....

The morning arrives all too quickly but to Simon's amazement, we are actally rather refreshed and soon packed up and on our way.

As we head up Borrowdale and over to Grassmere, Simon has an brief opportunity to somewhat ridicule me, as I lead us down the neighbouring valley (yes, I know, I've walked this countless times before!) and onto the Grassmere Road. But as luck would have it, we drop on the bus route we need to commence our journey back to the bike and then we're homeward bound.

So, we've managed 40 miles in around 22 hours, but we'll be doing more like 53 each day when we return for real in June.... Wish us luck - we're gonna need it!

Three weeks to go...15th May 

Arrgghhhhhh.....! Where has all that time gone???!!

Still, at least we've not stood still since our trip to the Lakes. Simon has managed to get out running at least a few times, supplementing his training with a decent amount of cycling for core strength. Steve in the mean time, has embarked on a regime of either running or cycling to work each day, clocking up around 50 miles of excercise a week. And for good measure, he rattled up a 45 miler, completing the Peddars Way national trail last week in just over 13 hours - at a pace close to that needed for the 84 hours of this challenge.

So, with 21 days untill kick off, it's time to start crossing those fingers and hoping we stay injury free for the last few weeks.

And it's time to start digging deep folks - remember, our efforts mean nothing without your support. So please, help us to help our chosen charity save even more LIVES this year.

Simon & Steve

15 days to go... 21st March... 

As I write, with just over two weeks before we head up to the Lakes on Tuesday 5th June, the UK weather seems to be breaking at last! Today has been the first warmish day in weeks. Only fear now is that'll be too hot and we'll run out of water! But don't worry, we're not going to grumble...

With such a short time to go before the 'off' I wonder what more we can do training wise and what benefit that will bring? I think we're both just keen to get started, both touched with a degree of nervous anticipation.

After this next week is out of the way, we'll be on our final countdown checking kit and last minute changes. But for now, it just remains to say a big 'thank you' to those of you that have already donating, pushing our total towards up towards our target.

Sime & Steve

14 days to go...22nd May... 

No new update today, just to mention that we've uploaded some photos from our training days in March, which covered the first 40 miles of the route. They give a taste of the outstanding scenary that we hope will keep our spirits up along the way...

9 days to go...27th May... 

With just over a week to go, the training's almost over. As a final flurry, Steve took part in an attempt to walk/run Hadrian's Wall national trail on Thursday/Friday last week. As temperatures soared around 27 degrees, he had to concede defeat 14 miles from the end. A swollen left ankle and some serious blisters remain but he's confident these will be right in a day or two. Sime has continued mixing bike work outs with running but has succumbed to some painful shin splints. Thankfully, this only seems to be a problem running so we'll have to keep walking fast instead!

As this week progresses, we'll be checking off our kit list for the final time and doing some last minute's supply shopping. As the rest of the country bathe in the sunshine, we're keeping a keen eye on the weather in the knowledge that if these temperatures keep up, it'll double the risk of fatigue and injury. As I write, the forecast is for the heat wave to break by Tuesday / Wednesday. Let's hope it's kind or we might end up doing more night walking than already planned. In summary, we can't wait to get started and remain pretty fit & healthy, with a reasonable confidence of completing the challenge.

As the final week countdown begins, we'll keep you posted with daily updates on this site. We'll also add the checklist of what we'll be carrying, with a photo or two, along with our proposed timetable.The timetable will be crucial to ensure we keep on track, making up time where needed and, whilst it seems unthinkable at present, ensuring we don't get carried away and burn ourselves out by going too quick. We'll also be sending live updates to this site via Andy, so you can follow our progress, trials and tribulations along the way. But for now, that's all. The sun is still shining and I've a glass of wine calling for me from the decking...

Thanks as ever for reading and your kind support.

Simon & Steve

7 days to go...29th May 

So here we are, into our final week and amazingly, we've passed half way to our target. Thanks to everyone for your generous donations. In addition to the fundraising on this site, Sime has also had some generous support from TC Motors in Lincoln and also Living Gardens at Saxilby, who have both offered to host collecting tins and promote the challenge with their customers.

We've just about finalised the kit and, as promised, here is a list of what we'll be hauling (each) across the country:

·  Rucksack

·  Platypus drink system

·  Bivvy bag

·  Sleeping bag

·  Tent

·  Sleep mat

·  Waterproof jacket

·  Gloves

·  Hat/buff

·  Long sleeve top

·  Ron Hill tracksters

·  3 x pair socks

·  Burner

·  Gas bottle

·  Cup/mug/pan

·  Spork

·  Head torch

·  First aid kit / electrolyte

·  Wash kit

·  Towel

·  Sun hat

·  Sun glasses

·  Sun cream

·  Wet wipes

·  Painkillers/tablets

·  Phone + spare battery

·  Mp3 player

·  Batteries

·  Waterproof pouch (for electrical bits)

·  Penknife

·  Gaffer tape

·  String/cord

·  Energy tablets

·  Map

·  Compass & whistle

Sounds a lot, but without food and water, it comes to around 11lb. The next few days will bring the challenge of getting the weight down even further if possible.

Tomorrow, we'll update with the route and schedule. Thanks for reading

Simon & Steve

5 days to go...Thursday 31st May... 

They say that life is full of new experiences, and with that in mind, Steve has just booked his first appointment with a chiropodist! He's decided that some professional help is need with residual issues from a blistering walk on Hadrian's Wall last week. Minor issues but with 190+ miles ahead, he's taking no chances.

Nothing much to add today, other than to say we've added the schedue as a photograph in the gallery. Will update again tomorrrow but in the mean time, and as ever, thanks for your ongoing support

Sime & Steve

3 days to go...Saturday 2nd June...

It's a slightly daunting thought, but at 4.00pm this afternoon, we had just 84 hours until we start, the same amount of time we've allowed for our challenge. It'll be interstinging to see how these hours count down until Wednesday morning. We've both ended our training now and things are shaping up.

The final count down will be about making sure we eat and drink the right things over the next few days.With that in mind, we've both taken to a relatively new fad of drinking beetroot juice. As a 'super food', one of it's properties is enriching the blood's ability to carry oxygen around the body, thus improving stamina. Maybe we're kidding ourselves but it's got to worth a go! Beetroot juice does have a couple of noticable side effects though, to do with the red pigment, and the body's inability to break it down before it's expelled from the body... I'll let you work them out!

Anyway, that's all for now, further updates over the weekend.

Sime & Steve

 

2 days to go - Sunday 3rd June

Hi folks, I am Andy and I am Simon and Steve’s older (but far more sensible) brother. I am also one of a number of LIVES group co-ordinators who organise their local responder groups to try and ensure full 24/7 cover on their callout rotas, organise training, recruitment and fundraising.

I just wanted to let you know how your generous donations will be helping the people of Lincolnshire. Although LIVES Responders are volunteers and support the brilliant work of the ambulance service, the kit and equipment they use is not provided by the ambulance service. Everything we use has to be paid for out of local group and headquarters funds. This includes expensive defibrillators, oxygen tank rental and replenishment, face masks, other clinical equipment, electronic pulse oximeters (to measure oxygenation of the blood and pulse rates), uniform and training.

Your donations will help to support individual groups in keeping their teams running and able to provide the valuable early responses to potentially life threatening illnesses. On behalf of my own team and LIVES headquarters in Horncastle, I thank you most sincerely for taking the trouble to help us.

Although I will be staying in the areas where the boys are yomping their way across the Lakes, Dales and Moorlands, being the far more sensible one I will be staying in very nice bed and breakfasts across the region. There is no intention for the boys to actually receive any support from me, other than being there if one of them falls off a mountain and needs a plaster. They are carrying ALL of their own kit.

This is a real challenge for them. You may think 192 miles in 84 hours is quite achievable. However if you ‘fly’ their route on Google Earth, you will see there are a lot of hills, up and down Dales and very wide open moors. This is not a leisurely stroll on a Sunday afternoon, and combined with the rain that is forecast through until at least Thursday it is going to be a pretty miserable and tough challenge. But the boys are so fired up and raring to go, their enthusiasm is infectious.

If, for any reason, the wheels do fall off and either or both is forced to withdraw before the end you can be assured the efforts they have made so far and will be making will be commendable and worthy of your generous acknowledgements.

Andy Wilson

1 day to go...Monday 4th June...

So tomorrow we travel up to the Lakes where we'll camp for the night before a 4.00am start on Wednesday. The change with the weather has pretty much left a forecast of rain each day to a greater or lesser extent but the temperatures are close to perfect.

We're both chomping at the bit to get started and all the last minute checks are done. So as we get started, we'll be handing over to Andy to keep the site updated.

Thanks for reading and all the ongoing support.

But most of all, wish us luck - I suspect we're going to need it!

Sime & Steve

 

Day 1 – Wednesday 6 June

Andy here, taking over the blogs whilst the boys are otherwise engaged.

Well, we travelled up to St Bees near Whitehaven on the west coast yesterday, arriving to clinging wet rain, low cloud and mist. The condemned boys ate a hearty meal at a local pub before putting up their one man tents in the rain. ‘Tents’ is perhaps a generous word; these micro-tents are more like large dustbin liners. I am assured they are waterproof and will resist the weather’s attempts to blow them over the cliffs and out to sea.

They changed into the clothes they will be walking in today, Simon in very fetching skintight leggings and Steve in very sexy shorts. In a rather feeble attempt to keep some part of their bodies dry they were also wearing supposedly waterproof jackets. They were planning to sleep in this lot before packing up and shipping out at 4am this morning.

They have one rucksack each. Very small, and stuffed with the lightest equipment possible to sustain them over 3½ days. A tiny gas burner, sachets of baby food, glucose tablets, Mars bars and one water bottle included. Despite everything being lightweight, the combined pack is heavy when you consider they will be lugging it up and down hills, across valleys and over moors.

We had a conversation about their chances of success. They are both absolutely adamant they will not give up unless they can physically not go on any further, but Steve is nursing blisters that he obtained walking Hadrian’s wall a week or so ago, and Simon is nursing an ankle injury picked up in training. They seem pragmatic about the challenge and are not underestimating their chances of completing it. Steve puts their combined chances at around 80%, Simon matches this unless his ankle is a problem and then 50% is his best guess.

They pointed out some of the terrain they will be crossing on the way up. Whilst beautiful to look at, it is rough, steep and relentless. ‘Challenge’ does not convey how tough this is likely to be, and I do not envy them.

We have had rain through the night, and although I am currently 15 miles away the rain has been steady all morning. The boys will doubtless have been up and off at 4am as planned – Steve is nothing if not rigid on his timings if they are to meet the challenge – and at the time of writing, 12.30pm on Wednesday they will be heading for Rosthwaite. They are out of mobile phone range so I hope to be able to update you with their progress later on this evening when they come back into contact.

Stay tuned!

Andy

 

Andy again – it’s now 10.30am on Thursday 7 June.

The lads set out yesterday morning at 4.15am – the rain had lashed down all night but the bin liner tents had held up well and remained waterproof. They emerged into the dark, packed up wet tents in the rain and walked straight down to the beach at St Bees. Tradition has it that anyone taking the Wainwright Coast to Coast Challenge needs to pick up a pebble on the beach, and then throw it into the sea from Robin Hood’s Bay at the end. Duly armed with aggregate, they set off. Soaked through to the skin within minutes but fired up inside, heads went down and off they went.

The early part of the trek took them up steep climbs, along narrow paths with 200ft drops to the side, down valleys and up the other side. The miles took their toll, generating new ailments as they shook off old ones.

At 6am they waqlked through a village where the local baker had just taken a batch of meat and potato pies out of the oven. This formed an early breakfast and fuelled up both body and soul for the next few hours.

However, at around 8am they walked in to a village pub & B&B where the smell of bacon had drawn them (from 2 miles away according to Simon). A full English recharged the batteries yet again for the next slog. The owner, Martin, had also generously packed them a couple of pieces of home-made chocolate brownies. They ate these at the top of a steep climb and both said later how much that cheered them up.

The timings through the day had slipped slightly and by the afternoon the boys were about half an hour behind. Simon was suffering with chafing from his undergarments, relieved only with a liberal application of Vaseline. The pace was relentless as both were keen to make up time. By late afternoon Simon was pleased to report he only had one pain – across his entire body. Steve also had knocks to the legs which slowed the pace at times. Especially on new steep climbs.

The unforgiving weather, of rain and mist, had cleared by late afternoon and the clouds broke a little to reveal patches of blue sky. By the time we met up they had dried out, somewhat deceptively given the earlier conditions, and both were cheerful enough.

The plan had been to meet the boys around 9.30pm but with the timings having slipped we met instead in Grasmere during the early evening. Both seemed really pleased to see a friendly face. Here they enjoyed an excellent pub meal and a swift pint. I kid you not they looked like they could easily fall asleep where they sat. However, despite completing 40 miles of tough walking they still faced another 13 if they were to reach the planned stopping point to camp for the night. Steve estimated their revised ETA there would be 1.00am.

Water pouches (looking remarkably like catheter bags to me) were replenished and off they went.

 

Day 2 – Thursday 7 June

I spoke to the boys by telephone earlier this morning. They had fallen behind slightly and had stopped last night (Wednesday, after they left me at the pub) at Patterdale, about 6 miles short of the first day’s scheduled end point. Up early again at 5.30am this morning they had hoped a good night’s rest would have replenished them. However, this was doubtful and both were feeling the effects of the tough walking yesterday.

When we spoke they were 4/5ths of the way up Kidsty Pike, and needing to rest every few hundred yards as the biting climb was tough in the wet and slippery conditions underfoot meant treading very carefully. Steve had revised his ‘chances of finishing’ figure to around 20% but I am confident this reflected the moment. Simon had taken his picture a few minutes before and said ‘stop pulling a face’. Steve’s reply was ‘I’m not, this is how I actually look’.

I hope to speak to the lads late this afternoon (Thursday) and will update with their progress.

Andy

 

It is now 2.00pm on Thursday and the situation has dramatically changed.

Kidsty Pike (and to paraphrase Simon whilst also deleting  a number of descriptive expletives, – ‘a jolly unpleasant hill’) proved very challenging. Simon was stronger going up the hill, but Steve managed the descent with slightly greater agility.

However, the journey had taken its toll. Simon suffered badly with a very swollen left ankle, and nursing a right hip injury, which slowed the boys down after the Kidsty descent.

The pain was increasing rather than easing, and with great reluctance Simon decided the pain and potential damage could only get worse if he continued. He therefore decided to withdraw from the challenge at Shap, 62 miles in to the challenge, rather than continue to slow Steve down, because although he felt he could manage to continue, it would not be likely he could complete the full route.  I was able to pick him up and he is now with me.

We travelled on to the nearest pub where Steve caught us up and once again a pub meal was the order of the day. Some of the kit was redistributed and repacked before Steve left once again, reasonably refreshed.

Already some six hours behind schedule, Steve will have his work cut out to make up the accrued lost time but has assessed where he can press on harder and reduce the deficit. The weather is worsening, with not only rain coming and going but a strong breeze picking up. Fortunately the prevailing wind direction is from the west (i.e. behind him) rather than having to walk into a headwind.

Steve now aims to be in Keld for tonight’s short stopover rather than Reeth, which is 11 miles further on. I will update you further later.

Andy

 

 

Day 3 - Friday 8th June

Back again, this time at 1.15pm Friday. Internet access in the Dales is awful!

After Steve left us in Shap, we did not hear from him until midnight Thursday when he texted to say his phone had got very wet. Unfortunately he omitted to confirm how far he had got, although we had agreed he would text when he got to Keld for the night so we assume that is what he did.

I say 'we assume' because we have had no contact from him since then. His mobile is diverting to answerphone and we have had no text messages. Hopefully he will find a village with a telephone soon and can let at least one of his followers know that he is okay and where he is.

I have driven Simon back home and I will be returning to the North Yorks Moors area later. He is suffering a great deal with the hip injury, which he is describing as not muscular, and more to do with the bone; not pleasant. He is also still nursing injuries to the feet, and his legs and feet are swollen. Despite spending last night in a B&B in Richmond, he did not sleep at al well.

Nevertheless Simon's plan is to travel up to Robin Hood's Bay tomorrow to greet Steve as he strides home - at least that is still the current plan,  

The weather in that area is still horrible - rain is still lashing down (and was doing so all night)  and the wind has picked up even more. Temperatures are good for walking, about 14-15 degrees, but it must still be very unpleasant, especially walking alone. 

I am about to leave to return to the North Yorks Moors area, and hopefully meet up with Steve at some point later once we can make contact. I will update you with his progress as soon as I can.

Andy

 

 

Day 3 – Friday 8 June

After picking up Simon, we lost touch with Steve and were unaware of his whereabouts for some time. We knew where he was supposed to be and roughly how far behind schedule he was when we left him, but heard nothing until I received a short text message at midnight saying he was safe and well but that his phone had got wet.

It later transpired that he had stopped for a sleep at 11.30pm, dried out the phone as best he could over his tiny burner used for cooking and barely managed to send a text as the keys refused to work properly. At least we knew he was safe and well.

However phone contact through most of Friday has not been possible. When you see the valleys and undulating land it is easy to see why the mobile signal is easily lost. I drove Simon back to Lincoln, still in significant pain from his hip and ankle, returning later to the North Yorkshire Moors where we assumed Steve would be.

He made telephone contact around 4.45pm and confirmed that he camped for only five hours over Thursday evening, but set out positive and refreshed once again. He had however not been able to make up significant time as he was suffering badly with many blisters on his feet and he needed some new special blister plasters to ease the discomfort. He also needed some new socks as only by trying to keep the feet dry as long as possible did he feel he could continue to the end.  The rain had once again been relentless.

One mad dash to Boots Chemists before they closed at 5.30pm and a Poundland shop for some socks later, I then met up with Steve about 3 miles outside Richmond and he re-equipped with the plasters and socks. With no time to chat he was off again as the skies opened once more. At this point he felt confident of arriving at Robin Hood’s Bay the next day, Saturday, at somewhere around 6pm to 8pm. This would have meant making up literally a few hours and the only way to do this was by alternating some running and walking. That was the last contact with Steve on Friday.

 

Day 4 – Saturday 9 June

On the East coast once again the forecast was for more rain, all day, everywhere in the area. I had a phone conversation with Steve early this morning and he told me he had pitched up to sleep at 11.30pm, sleeping for just an hour and a half before packing up and setting off again – at 1.30am. This was to traverse the bleak and inhospitable moors – cold, wet and in almost total darkness. The rain clouds meant there was no moon and so no natural light. Frankly, I can only imagine walking across the moors, soaked through, with sheep and cows spread across the fields that you can only see when your head torch shows them up.

We agreed to meet at The Lion Inn, Blakey Moor. Google Earth it – this is a pub/restaurant literally in the middle of the moors, miles from anywhere and a haven for Coast To Coast walkers and cyclists. I had agreed to meet Steve at 12.30 – 1.00pm when he expected to arrive. I arrived early, crossing beautiful landscapes en route. It’s a fantastic part of the world to see – from a car! Walking it is tough.

A steady stream of walkers came and went, some of them also doing the Coast to Coast and telling me they had started in St Bees up to two weeks ago. The boys challenge had reached the ears of one of them, a lovely 75 year old lady who said to me ‘do you mean those lads that are walking it in 3 days? We heard about them’. All commented how tough an 84 hour challenge would be.

Watching Steve’s eventual approach with binoculars from a high point, it was clear he was limping and slow. He came in around 1.40pm, over an hour later than intended and it was clear to see why.  He was clearly in a great deal of pain. On the previous stops I had been with him for, he had been keen to get going again. This time the preparations to re-commence the walk were more laboured. He stripped off his wet socks to reveal horribly blistered feet and a little toe that had been completely skinned. One of the large toe nails had almost dropped off.

Steve’s view was that the next 8 miles to the next resting point, mainly on a tarmac road, would tell him whether he would be able to complete the challenge. It was clear he was borderline for ending the challenge there. His revised arrival estimate for the end was now around 9.00pm this evening.

I received a call from him just 5 minutes after he set off. Just a few hundred yards along the walk he had realised that trying to continue to reach the end would be futile. He was in a great deal of pain and was finding it difficult to walk, let alone run. With great reluctance and immense disappointment he asked me to pick him up, which I immediately did. We drove to the end of the challenge, Robin Hood's Bay.

Simon had driven back up to Robin Hood’s Bay along with Steve’s family and we have spent the evening together just yards from the sea they would have been throwing the stones into had they both been able to complete the challenge. They were both in good spirits, and being the Twins they are (share everything) they were both in pain but despite this recounted numerous tales about the trip they had shared.

Steve had completed 162 miles of the 192 miles that the challenge comprised. This was done in just 81½ hours, a tremendous feat. Together with Simon, who was forced to withdraw at 62 miles, they had both walked across some of the most beautiful areas in the UK, across hills, dales and moors in conditions that can only be described as awful. The whole of the country had experienced one of the wettest starts to June on record, and plenty of the rain landed where they walked. They calculated that, using an average pace of 50cm, they had walked over 1,000,000 steps.

They are both adamant they will attempt the challenge again, although perhaps in a longer target time. Once they complete this, they will in due course attempt the 84 hour challenge again.

 

If you have followed their journey on here with me, please consider recognising their immense efforts to raise money for a very worthy cause. This was a Challenge in every sense of the word. As the far more sensible older brother I have been proud to support them both in a very limited way. I have seen only some of the terrain they have traversed, in daylight and from the comfort of a car. Quite what it feels like to walk across it in the soaking rain I can only imagine, and long may it stay that way.

The boys should not dwell on their failure to complete the task, but to acknowledge how far they went, how fast and the guts and effort it took to do that. Well done boys, you can both feel proud.

Andy

Friday 25th January 2013

So, some 7 months have passed since our attempt last June and during that time, there has been much talk of a return to the Lakes, Dales and Moors. As I write, a plan is being hatched to have another crack at the Coast to Coast sometime around May. I'm wiating to hear whether Simon or a colleague I first did C2C with back in 2004, Dick Hargreaves are available for a return.But for me at least, this will be something more of a personal challenge, perhaps a little more low key.

Despite a few residual issues (neither of my big toe nails have grown back properly!) I retained some real comfort that last time's failure to complete was about injury and not so much fitness. So who knows, with a little luck, it might just happen next time round.

These pages will be more about a diary than a promotion, and I'll aim to update each week. But if the same level of fitness I held last year is to be reached, I have some work to do. Currently I'm carrying a little christmas and new year excess, being around 12st. I'll aim to be nearer 11st for May, and will have completed many hundreds of miles training.

I've already commenced cycling back to work although the recent snow has somewhat curtailed that for now. The first real test will be when I start back running next week, with a long distance walk planed for mid February.

With a possible start date of around 20th May, and just 18 weeks to go, there's no time to lose!

Steve

Thursday 31st Jan

Well the first week hasn't gone at all as planned as I'm struggling with a cold and haven't managed to get out training once. The only real development is that Dick has declined the offer, with trips already planned and Simon has left it open suggesting he'll see how he goes on, before making a final commitment. Hopefully next week's instalment will be a little more encouraging.

Tuesday 26th February

OK, so things are looking up. For the weekend of 8-10th Feb, a few members of our climbing club headed to Snowdonia and completed a couple of reasonable hill walks. Whilst this was some effort, it certainly loosened the old legs!

I've managed to get back on the bike and also started running to work this week, just the odd day or so for now, but I plan to shift from biking to running for the majority of the journeys. Training whilst travelling to and from work is a great way of getting the miles in without a massive impact on the home life. If I run to work and back each day, I'll rack up around 50 miles per week without even thinking about it.

With 12 weeks to go, I'm confident there's enough time to train and as the days are getting longer, and the weather is set to improve, it will help with the motivation to get out there.

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Well, you’ve managed to read this far so you might as well hear that Steve has only gone and done it again. This is Sensible Brother Andy again, safe and well in his office having just had a call from Steve who is currently stood on the top of a very high point in the Lake District. He has embarked on the Coast to Coast trek yet again, this time with a long standing friend Russ who is tackling the arduous journey for the first time. They have been MUCH more sensible with their ambitions for a finishing time this year – not 84 hours but 96 hours. Yes, you heard it right – 192 miles in 96 hours. They aim to finish at 4pm on Saturday. Oh, so much more sensible then. The week after temperatures in the UK hit 30 degrees plus, and they set out to walk 192 miles in 96 hours.

 Simon is still nursing an injury from his efforts last year and has decided not to join the boys.

 They started at 4pm today having caught the train up to St Bees. I am asked to report the following, which I took down in between loud rushing wind noises and shouts of annoyance as they continued stumbling over the top of the hill (Steve wouldn’t dream of stopping just to make a phone call):

 “Weather much better – almost perfect – a slight breeze and relatively cool”

 Both Steve and Russ are nursing niggling injuries, but they rate their chances of succeeding quote “very high”. Which means about 30%. They will review this tomorrow morning when they emerge from the oversized dustbin liners, sorry, tents, and take stock of how much a toll today’s route march has taken on their bodies. I am expecting – quite a lot.

 If he calls me again I will let you know the latest.

 Andy