While the blog and the site has been about the more sedate activity of walking up to now, there will definitely be a second strand from now on. Part of the reason, I suppose, that the site has been so quiet over the last year is that I've been struggling with this running malarkey.

I think, during the last 18 months, if there's an injury to be picked up, I've managed it. From shin splints, runners knee and a permanent crepitus in the knee (must be the same etymology as decrepit). Finally, i think, i'm getting to the point where I can manage a decent distance every week and hopefully I can build up the ascent. For if I've learnt two things, they're:

1 - Running is an activity undertaken between injuries.
2 - Fell Running is incredibly hard (especially so if you're runnning with more extra weight than the average runner weighs in total)
You could add a third - that it's difficult to find some images to represent 'running', so here's a token image.

Ideal terrain for a bit of a trail run near Nant Gwynant.

A few routes on Walk Eryri lend themselves to running:
Around Llyn Padarn - classic run.
Lon Gwyrfai, with a diversion over an old track (hopefully it won't get tarmacked)
Llynnoedd Crafnant and Geirionnydd - a challenging, but classic trail run!

I was thinking about this on a run the other night. I'd decided to take a slight detour to take in, possibly 400m of forest trail. Decent trails like this are an absolute rarity around Caernarfon, where you've either got roads/tarmac cycletracks or the usual farmland ROWs that are either impassible, muddy or require a suicidal dash along a narrow main road with no path to get to. So I arrive, and to my horror the beautiful, mushy surface has been covered in slate waste! Are people that afraid of walking on a bit of leaf litter and get their boots dirty? Are these the same people who've sent the 20000 signature petition to ask Nintendo to produce the Wii Fit: Snowdon Edition? I've no woodland trail anymore!

The same has happened to a great little stretch of path between Caernarfon and Waunfawr, being put over to a harder surface, not to mention the entire cycle track changing from a hard packed gravel to continuous, knee-jarring tarmac. Thankfully, another ancient trackway remains gloriously muddy and rough, and remains as the nearest stretch of decent trail I can reach in a direct run from town.

This is what it looked like in 2006. This track has now been covered over and is much wider, resulting in less hedgerow plants and the loss of the ancient surface. In the name of progress.

Look the other way, and this has gone as well...

Now this was timely, as the National Park Authority is going to tarmac the Miner's Track to Llyn Llydaw. I'm all for access, but taking this to it's natural conclusion, are we going to end up going all American with ROADS up to the summits? I don't expect the park to actually allow cars up there, but I see the day where the Llanberis path is tarmac all the way, with a couple of wide zig-zags below Clogwyn as being a natural conclusion to this. After all, there's railway, why not go the whole hog? Lets even put a cafe half way as well as on the top while we're at it!

Enabling more people to get on the hill would ruin the peace and quiet one experiences on reaching the summit...

This project as a discrete entity, if they manage to solve that eternal question of life, the universe and a tarmac that doesn't look like tarmac, doesn't really bother me. In fact, I think it's a pretty decent idea as it's damn near a motorway anyway so improving the surface slightly so a few more people can get there doesn't bother me. One argument is that it's going to increase the number of people getting into trouble on the mountain. Now I can't see the numbers involved being that great and that even if you assume that statistically the same proportion get into trouble as for those who can already access the area, i'd imagine it's going to come to a statistically insignificant amount. I'd imagine the greatest hazard is returning downhill. If you want a footpath of sorts, you do the PYG - jaywalking's kept strictly to the Miners'. What needs to be clear is what the park, which sets draconian planning regulations for most, will do and explicitly WON'T DO to our mountains.

I've noticed recently that a decent tech-t for walking will set you back a good twenty to thirty quid. All fine and dandy until you realise that our cousins in the running fraternity can get hold of similar tops for much less. Essentially, you need a wicking shirt - there's no rocket science or voodoo ceremonies - it's simple.

I've recently got some short sleeve New Balance tees for about a tenner that are a fine fit and have been on a few hill trips so far and performed fine. Funnily enough - my baselayer of choice is currently a winter weight Canterbury rugby compression top. It wicks, it keeps me warm and is a really good fit (unlike my Paramo cambia that is huge, even for an XL). It was only £15 on discount as well. Try and find a decent walking top on discount and you might get lucky. Running tops and other suitable sport tops always seem to be cheaper. I might have been luck over the last few weeks, and I'm also keen to keep as much overlap as possible between my walking and running gear, but it's got to be worth a punt.

Who'd think it... Walk Eryri becoming Run Eryri.

Well, not quite, but I've certainly come to the conclusion that walking twice a week in the summer wasn't enough to build my fitness. So I decided to take up running to plug the gap, which should explain the relative quiet that fell across the site in the last few months. I had intended to do the OMM this year as it was meant to be local, but it fell through and this was fortunate as the Lakes are quicker to travel to than Builth from this direction.

Went for a bimble over Moel Eilio and Yr Wyddfa yesterday and there's no doubt that doing 16km runs on the flat helps when walking long distances over the hills. It's also opening up the range of walks I can do after work, as I can cover much more distance in the maximum 4 or 5 hours than before. The two activities are certainly complimentary - the more running I do then the more i get out of my walks. Win-win! I'll see in a few weekends whether it has done anything for my stamina as i do a 60km bimle over a weekend.

Castell Dolwyddelan

The next step will be a spot of trail running and fastpacking (backpacking by running some of it, or walking really quickly) next spring and I fancy a stab at the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon.