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Category Archives: Non-Triathlon

City to Summit – Race Report

July 5, 2017by Glenn Tait 8 Comments

It was 7pm, I was descending the West Highland Way into Glen Nevis, the Ben in front obscured by thick cloud. In my head I was debating the pros and […]

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adventure, Cycling, injury, Non-Triathlon, Running, Ultramarathon, Video/Film

Raleigh Activator 3. 1999-2016. Eulogy.

January 17, 2016by Glenn Tait Leave a comment

Raleigh Activator 3. 1999-2016. Eulogy. Bought from Ferguson Cycles Blyth, this bike was the second Raleigh I owned. It was purchased as the vehicle for my first solo adventure, […]

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Cycling, Non-Triathlon

Northumberland Coast Winter Cycle Adventure

March 28, 2015by Glenn Tait 2 Comments

This blog is long – enjoy reading, or for a video of the trip click here or there’s a gallery at the bottom! There was banging coming from the next […]

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Cycling, Holiday, Non-Triathlon

Change of title..

September 14, 2014by Glenn Tait

Just a quickie to say I’ve just changed the title of this blog, I felt after a year and a bit of being Glenn’s Road to Recovery it needed to change. […]

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Non-Triathlon, Running

Forth Road Bridge Climb

August 5, 2014by Glenn Tait Leave a comment

We climbed the Forth Road Bridge, south tower which was absolutely amazing as part of the Bridge’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Here is a wee video of our trip…

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Holiday, Non-Triathlon

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RT @westspam: Slices of blue. All from images taken of the same patch of sea in Northumberland during 1 week. https://t.co/RCMv0pC6RO 1 day ago
Running the Scottish Islands youtu.be/4PLhtIaAWtw 3 days ago
Today consisted of running paddling and walking. With intermittent eating and drinking. Our 4th Island Oronsay is o… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 5 days ago
Pure bliss https://t.co/9IAEeRxIIS 5 days ago
I agree. This app is awesome @what3words twitter.com/bbcneandcumbri… 5 days ago

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The Unintentional Ultra Runner
Raw Trail Running
This Vet Runs
did not dnf
Running for my life
Tom Evans Ultra Running
John's Running Adventures
roads bel travelled
TaraRunsTheWorld
cat h. bradley
British Bird in Vancouver
Explore with Kenneth
Mark All My Words
thechroniclesofsuperdaz
Snickers or Marathons?
JPruns
Live Healthy and Well
We Who Run
alanstenson.com
Reluctant Running and Exercise | CraptRunners

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Today consisted of running paddling and walking. With intermittent eating and drinking. Our 4th Island Oronsay is only accessible by a tidal flat. We arrived a bit early which meant wading through the water. The idyllic beaches were a treat looking over to Jura and Islay. It’s been fun running around the islands with Andy on bike. I’m leaving them sun kissed and slightly wind swept with lots of good memories. Shout out to @thecolonsaybrewery for their awesome Pigs Paradise ale. I’m drinking some on the @calmacferries heading to the mainland right now. #islands #run #cycle #holiday #hebrides #scotland #fun

Fuelled by whisky we headed for the big ferry via the small ferry. We had that one to ourselves and once back on Islay we waited for CalMac to pick us up. This ferry only runs Wednesdays and Saturdays, so our holiday was built around that timetable. The ferry took us to Colonsay, another island I’d yet to visit. I raced Sherpa off the ferry and we ran / cycled the 500m to the hotel. After a quick check in I borrowed some wheels and we rode around the island visiting Colonsay House for cake, and a pretty nice beach.

Rest day so that meant I could enjoy more drams. We hiked up to Market Loch, the source for this stuff, Jura Whisky! It was more than we bargained for with the overgrown bracken and steep drops into a burn. The views were rewarding over to Kintyre and Arran. A tour of the distillery finished with more sampling and then rounding off the day in the beer garden. With the trains off and even the line to Ardlui closed we have decided to skip the Isle of Mull and head home after Colonsay (which is tomorrow’s adventure). Scotfail doing their replacement service but no bikes can be taken in the coaches! Mull will be still there for other adventures.

Run, and you shall be rewarded! 39km today across Islay and Jura. All but a few km on road but only a handful of cars passed by. Another contrast of a day, from the Mountains of Arran to the long beach on Islay to the rolling hills inland from Bowmore. The Sherpa rode with me though he went ahead on the downhills and I caught him up on the uphills. 21km in we stopped for tea and cake in Ballygrant where the heavens opened. It had stopped by the time we’d finished and I headed for the Loch Ballygrant route whilst Andy headed direct to Port Askaig. I arrived just in time for the ferry to Jura. The ferry is short and we were across in no time. Time for some lunch and soak up the sunshine. I wasn’t too looking forward to the last 12km of the day but the sun was out and I took my time. Jura landscape didn’t disappoint, birds of prey up above, deer on either side and lovely views across to Islay, Kintyre and Arran. Those mountains I crossed seemed so far away now. Ferry and feet have taken me from there to here. I must admit I was done with running and battled the last few Kms out. The sun was shining in Craigshouse and we cooled down with beer overlooking the bay and the Paps. I’m glad we’re here for two nights. Rest day tomorrow! #run #islands #scottishislands #jura #visitscotland

The day started with a 2km run along the main road, Andy riding behind like a true support vehicle, the only thing that was missing was a sign on his back with “wide load”, he joked! The Ferry to Islay takes 2hours and it gave me time to fuel. Nothing better than a breakfast on a CalMac ferry! We arrived into Port Ellen to overcast skies and a brisk wind after sailing through the only rain of the day. We decided to walk the 3 Distilleries way to Ardbeg, 7km along the coast. A shared use path took us off the road and along a very scenic route to Laphroaig, then Lagavulin then to Ardbeg. We turned around after deciding not to wait for a cafe table and headed back to the bike which we’d abandoned at the first distillery. Here I donned my gators as I knew a large stretch to Bowmore would be on the beach and I didn’t want sand in my shoes. Filling up my water bottles at the distillery we headed back to Port Ellen, Andy riding alongside for a while before deciding he needed food. I ran on and turned off the main road to head for The Strand, the main beach that would take me all the way to Bowmore. Immediately at Kintra the wind was in my face, it was relentless. It was slow going and the many river crossings meant wet feet (of course). even with the wind the beach run was great, I do miss the sea! Arriving at the north end of the beach my plan was to cross the bridge and follow the headland around to Bowmore. My extensive pouring over different maps, OS, Open Street Map, Google and local guide books lead me to believe there was a bridge over the river Laggan. It was there in satellite pictures. But something in me had thought I’d find it defunct. And defunct it was. I mean it was still there, most of it, just wasn’t spanning the river anymore. There was nothing I could do but get in the water and wade across. The water was cool, refreshing on my feet, ankles, calves, knees and it came up to just the bottoms of my quads! Safely on the other side, I decided to change my route to something of certainty. Sometimes the easy way is better. So I took the track to the main road and arrived into a sunny Bowmore some 22km later. Total mileage, 35km.

Arran gave me mountains and mudslides. Lots of sun and sweat. All lots of fun! Getting to Arran was nerve wracking tho. The trains were on time but arriving into Ardrossan Harbour the queue for passengers was huge. They said we might not get on. If I was to run across Arran I needed to be on that ferry. Eventually we did and all was well with the world. The weather was forecast to be raining at time and cloudy other times, but the sun was out when we arrived into Brodick. I didn’t expect it to stay out. I left Andy to cycle to Lochranza via the coast road. I headed for Glen Rosa. Immediately in the Glen, signs of heavy rain, erosion and high flood water marks were evidential. I ploughed on through the water up the most amazing valley. Cir Mhor was behind cloud but I was in full sun. I didn’t realise it but I burning. Glen Rosa is beautiful and at its head i got the poles out and started climbing. The sun was on my neck and backs of the arms so I used my gators as long arm extensions which seemed to keep the sun at bay I rounded the ridge and skirted across Cir Mhor toward Casteal Abhail. Following the horse shoe ridge to its top. The views were amazing. From here I headed North following the ridge until I bee lined across boulder and heather to Loch Na Davie. Here a horrible boggy and rocky path would lead me to Lochranza. The going was slow. The path resembled a river more than anything. I then hit problems. Mudslides had wiped out what little path there was. Slilt, sand and rock stood in my way. It wasn’t steady, and my legs were disappearing 2/3 ft into the ground. I made slow progress the largest one I retreated after almost getting stuck. I ended up navigating to the river and actually walking through the river to get by. I made it to Lochranza in one piece if a little tierd.

Summer in the Pentlands. This tree lined road marks the start of many adventures. Look closely and you realise you don’t need to take the tarmac here. There’s trails trodden that follow the line of the trees. About half way your lungs are busting, breathing ever deeper. You start to shorten your stride, take more steps, slow the pace but ever grinding it out. But you know this isn’t the last hill you’re going to encounter. Turning left at the top you get to a beautiful track that leads you right into the heart of the Pentlands into Green Cleugh, from there, many ascents will take you to the tops, or if you prefer, you can continue to the reservoirs and an easier return via Dens Cleugh or Maidens Cleugh. Turning right, you can either take the Red road to the Kips, or the bog road to Baron’s Cleugh and onto North Esk Reservoir. Which is an excellent choice. Which ever way you go, it’s a great escape from the City of Edinburgh. #adventure #hiking #running #trails #pentlands #edinburghescape #escapethefringe #getoutside #fun #run #walk #outsideisfree #freefringe #hills #beauty

My running luck continued today with a fall. I can honestly say that I’ve fallen only a couple of times when running. My superman dive saved the goods (face) and I have grazes here but also on my chest 🤷‍♂️ and knee 🤦‍♂️😂 oops. The run was also curtailed as I just didn’t feel good going up the hills so I opted for a less hilly loop. The illness that caused me to stop my run to England attempt continues to plague me. #running #ouch #fall #trip #trailrunning #pentlands #oops

Why am I running 100km? Well, it’ll actually be around 105km by the time I’m complete. The simple answer to this is because I want to. I’ve never ran this distance before in any shape or form. My longest distance ran was 85km Glasgow to Edinburgh and the next distance down from that was 72km on Cape Wrath Ultra. So 105km is quite a step up! I’m nervous and excited in equal measure. I don’t know how I’ll fare which is all part of the fun. My training has been limited but if Cape Wrath has taught me anything, it is that I can do an awful lot and endure an awful lot more than I think. The challenge is one of our own making. A colleague mentioned he’d like to run home from work, and home is in Berwickshire, work is Edinburgh. He’d also like to run 100km. The arbitrary finish line of his house seemed too close to England to me and so my suggestion of running the extra 16miles to England was agreed to. The route was fairly simple, and as the rough map shows, the border is 100km away and we’d finish in Berwick Upon Tweed 5km further down the coast. Planning started and a date set to be around midsummer to maximise light and minimise running in the dark. Training has been hit and miss, after my run scotland effort I hadn’t ran long and still really haven’t. But if rest is preparation then I’ve done bucket loads of that. A few weeks before the date I was due to go on leave, work was particularly busy and low and behold a cold developed. I returned from the warmer climate of the Mediterranean with a runny nose and a chesty cough. As this was our own challenge, we delayed the start by two weeks. No pressure of an immovable race day was lovely. Making our own rules and our own challenges means flexibility. So it comes to race week, I’ve managed to cut travelling with work to only one day this week so I can be as rested as I can be come Friday. The plan: Leave work at 5pm, head to the coast and follow until Longniddry using off-road paths and promenade. Head inland to Haddington on a disused railway path where we will pick up the course of the River Tyne to East Linton and Belhaven and onto Dunbar... continued on GlennTait.co.uk link in bio

Nice / Barcelona 2019 A wee break away from normality, chasing the breeze and shade.

What an awesome place Dovedale is, the quaint villages, the river, bridges and dry stone walls. Nice to escape from the “un-reality” that is work to some normality running the hills. #runnersofinstagram #peakdistrict #running #trailrunning #dovedale #escapism #wanderlust #fun #solsticerun #sun

#CrazyCommute Inspired by the 7 Hills race yesterday, I decided to run to work via all 7 hills this morning. It was a beautiful start to the day and all that beer at the weekend was good carb loading for this morning’s jaunt. #run #activecommute #commute #ultra #trail #urban #hills #edinburgh #7hillsofedinburgh #getoutside #startthedayright

My posts

Why am I running 100km?
Remembering the running tricks
Running the length of Scotland
Running Scotland
Running St Cuthbert’s Way

What i've been blethering on about

adventure Arthur's Seat Cape Wrath Ultra Cycling Feldenkrais Holiday injury ironman ITBS marathon Non-Triathlon Pentland Hills National Park Pilates Race Report Running Swim SwimRun Trail Running Triathlon Ultra Ultramarathon Uncategorized Video/Film Weightloss

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The Unintentional Ultra Runner

Raw Trail Running

trail running, training, science, plant based, minimalism

This Vet Runs

Marathon running veterinary surgeon breaking the silence around pregnancy loss

did not dnf

Running for my life

My blog about raising boys, student nursing, running and mental health

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John's Running Adventures

roads bel travelled

Exploring open roads without breaking the bank

TaraRunsTheWorld

traveling the world in running shoes

cat h. bradley

writer | traveler | food❤️er | yogi | runnin' fool

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#Britbirdvancity judging and ranting since 19.........

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Follow me on my adventures.

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True Stories of Nature, Culture, and Everything in Between

thechroniclesofsuperdaz

The quest for a sub-3hour marathon!

Snickers or Marathons?

Running for Charity - Biting Off More Than I Can Chew - Marathons and More

JPruns

Running to train for my first marathon in Edinburgh, Scotland

Live Healthy and Well

A healthy lifestyle blog that brings you the best, most trusted resources created by real experts to help you achieve the best version of yourself

We Who Run

for the love of running and fitness

alanstenson.com

Entrepreneur, Business Owner, Stock Trader and Horse Rider

Reluctant Running and Exercise | CraptRunners

Crappy•Runners•Are•People•Too

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