“There could be snow up there. And you'll have to climb up a steep waterfall”. He looked at me with deep suspicion. “You know you need water, food, extra clothes, and proper shoes”. The Rocky Mountain National Park Ranger was trying to put the fear of God in me. And all I said was that … Continue reading Hiking to Rocky Mountain National Park’s Sky Pond
I’ve always wanted to run around the Monavullagh Mountains in County Waterford. So when I woke up on Friday and saw blue skies and clear weather, I knew this would be the perfect time to do some exploration. The Monavullagh Mountains lie south of the Comeragh Mountains, yet are joined to them by a seamless … Continue reading Discovering Waterford’s Monavullagh Mountains
“Would you like to come to a party tonight?” my colleague asked me at the end of the working day. I was in Dar-es-Salaam, finishing off my assignment before heading back home to Cambodia the next day. “Sure, why not”, I said, glad of the chance to get out and about on my last night … Continue reading Disco Dancing and Dawn Runs in Dar es Salaam
“My son’s friends got attacked by a hippo when they were once out kayaking”, Nathalie says between paddle strokes. She has invited me to join her on a morning’s kayaking trip on Lake Victoria whilst I’m visiting her in her Kenyan home. “The hippo came out of nowhere and overturned the boat”, Nathalie continues. Images … Continue reading Keeping clear of Hippos whilst Kayaking in Kenya’s Lake Victoria
"Oh I´d love to do the Camino". "Oh I´ve always wanted to go to Santiago". "Oh I´m so jealous of you." That's what people told me before I embarked for three weeks on the trail. And yes, it was good. And I´m very glad I did it. But it wasn´t always fun and games whilst … Continue reading The highs and lows of the Camino de Santiago trail
"So where have you flown in from?", the woman beside me asked. I had just arrived in Dublin Airport and was heading straight home on the bus. "Spain", I replied with a fleeting smile. "Were you working there?" she asked, idly making conversation. I thought the truth might shut her up. "No, I've just run … Continue reading I did the camino… my way
Wow, what a journey. For the last 19 days, I´ve been on the Camino de Frances, the 780km route from France´s St. Jean Pied de Port to Spain´s Santiago de Compostela. I´ve slept in hostels and bunk beds, weathered sunburn and snow, nursed blisters and aching calf muscles, met weird and wonderful people, and ran … Continue reading 19 Days Later and 780km later – in Santiago de Compostela
It’s impossible to resist running up a mountain that belongs exclusively to women. And Sliabh na mBan (pronounced Slievenamon) in Ireland’s Country Tipperary is definitely a ladies’ hill. IreIand’s mythical hunter-warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill (pronounced Fin Mac Cool) once sat on this mountain’s summit. Legend has it that he organised a female only race to … Continue reading Running up Ireland’s “Mountain of the Women”
I follow a mountain runner on Twitter who lives in Hong Kong. So when I found out I was spending the weekend there, who else to Tweet but “trailrunner852” who duly told me where to run. He sent me to a website that threw up all the long distance trails in the country. There was … Continue reading Hong Kong dishes up Rugby 7s and Trail Runs
It was that time of the week for tempo training, that fast session to help keep your speed after all those slow endurance runs. I decided to head down to the local sports stadium to do the run on the track. This time I was in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. Being a communist country, … Continue reading Tempo Training in Laos