“Run Frodo, RUN!!!”

For all my fundraising and bits…

For years now, people have jokingly referred to me as a hobbit. I’m not very tall and apparently there are other resemblances as well. Then when I took up long distance running; particularly the unsupported runs over multiple days, this tagline of “run Frodo, run” started to follow me around like a joke that everybody thought they were the first to think of. I’m like Forrest Gump, but with the athleticism of a hobbit. A reasonable assessment to be fair.

The Next Venture

It came to my attention recently that I’ve not had more than a couple of days away from work in over two years since my little run into Europe as a modern day hobbit adventure.

This has been down to a couple of reasons: Firstly, money. You don’t get paid holidays when you’re self-employed. Secondly, I enjoy my work. It’s not really the sort of job that has you actively seeking time away from it. However, I think a little time off (or at least a change of scenery) is necessary once in a while, even if it does end up more like a busman’s holiday.

So with that in mind, I figured it was about time I embarked on another one of my shoestring budget adventures to hopefully raise some money for the local Hospice along the way.

The Anglesey Coastal Path

This is an incredibly scenic, 130 mile route that rather usefully suits my navigational skills. I’ll be starting and finishing at the official start point in Holyhead and (hopefully) aiming to finish inside three days.

To add to the challenge and to save on money in addition, I will also be cycling too and from the start line, which is approximately 140 miles each way.

This will be a self-supported trip, which means nobody to carry kit for me, and as I will be relying on camping on-route, my itinerary will also include a bivvi and sleeping bag.

Having done several of these self-supported adventures now, I very much learned the hard way that the weight of all your kit makes a MASSIVE difference to running performance. When I ran LEJOG four years ago, my rucksack weighed somewhere between 15 and 20kg depending on how much food and water I had. With each subsequent outing, I’ve managed to strip weight down each time, but sometimes to the expense of keeping warm enough at night. Again, I seem to make a habit of learning things the hard way.

This trip promises, according to the forecast, to be a lot warmer than any I’ve done before, which is a big help. I’ve elected for a 2-season sleeping bag over a 1-season just in case, but other than that I’m keeping things minimalist. The pictured kit (not including food, water and spare clothes) weighs in at barely 2kg, but should be just about fine if temperatures get close to zero like the last time I planned a Summer adventure back in 2015.

Providing I have no trouble in keeping devises charged up, I’ll be uploading my progress at the end of each day to Strava, so you can all have a good laugh at my (lack of) pace and all of my training so far.

The Serious Bit

I will be raising funds for the East Cheshire Hospice on this run (JustGiving link at the top and bottom of this page).

I think when it comes to cancer, we are all on the same page. We want it GONE. Research into prevention and cure is an absolute must, obviously, but unfortunately, for so many people that don’t deserve it, that ship has sailed already; and that’s where the Hospices come in. They do essential work, and well worth a few pounds if you have them spare. This video from their website shows it better than I could articulate and why it’s so important the funding keeps coming in…