Running Round the World

Well done to Kevin Carr a British man who has just broken the record for running around the world. It took him 621 days to run 16300 miles through 26 countries. He was self supporting towing all his supplies in a trailer. Running an ultramarathon for several days in a row is tough enough( I've tried it) but to keep going day after day ,week after week for over twenty months is an incredible feat.
His website hardwayround.com is well worth a visit; he is raising money for  two charities Sane and Red Cross.

Snow again and a good run on the whw

Readers of this blog probably think that I'm obsessed by the weather but here in Scotland we do seem to get an awful lot of it ! All week we have had warm sunshine and balmy breezes; the birds have been singing and the bees buzzing.Yesterday when we had planned a long run it all changed.

 As we stood  on the station platform waiting for the train to Tyndrum it started to snow. Throughout the day we had vicious showers of sleet or snow coupled with a  bitterly cold wind.  There were short interludes of sunshine but they were very fleeting. Needless to say when we could see them the mountains were sublime - capped with white but now also coated with a silvery dusting of fresh snow.
 We ran on the West Highland Way north to Bridge of Orchy then across Rannoch Moor as far as the Glencoe Ski Centre . I used to dread Rannoch Moor; it is a long stretch of high open moorland . Underfoot it is hard and stony - the remains of the cobbled road built by Thomas Telford in 1803 - and it seems to go on for ever. However I have now grown to love it for the ever changing weather ,vast open spaces and stupendous mountain panorama.The area is called Blackmount which to me is a very evocative name.
 At the  Ski centre cafe we stopped for a break. .The cafe has big windows looking out on Glencoe so it is a great place to sketch. The picture of the Buachaille below is a two coffee sketch- Not only did I drink two excellent americanos whilst painting it but I used the coffee spilt in my saucer to do my washes as I had forgotten my water bottle. Better than having to use saliva which is something I have resorted to in the past!

Shortly after I finished the sketch the mountains disappeared behind a curtain of cloud and we headed out into the driving snow. We ran back to Tyndrum and after fish and chips at  the Real Food Cafe. got the train back home.

Despite the weather we had an exciting and enjoyable day and got a few miles in . Although slightly longer at about 37miles than our normal Bridge of Orchy to Fort William run I wasn't as tired , probably because there was less climbing.

Sketches of train passengers.

The Buachaille Etive Mor form the Glencoe Ski Centre cafe.

Another train passenger.

Commuting

On Friday I extended my morning commute to cut out some of the road. Jogging slowly it took me nearly two hours travelling almost entirely on tracks and paths.I'm so lucky to be able to do this. Not only does the route meander through fields and woods and over rushing streams and pass by a ruined castle and alongside Loch Linnhe, but there is the backdrop of magnificent mountains from the Grey Corries, Aonach Mor  Ben Nevis and some of the Mamores.Of course all winter this has been hidden in the darkness, but just now I only have to use my head torch for the first 20 minutes or so and even then the birds are singing and there is a predawn glow is in the East. Granted I have to get up at 4.40am to get to work on time  but it's worth it!

Rough impression of dawn breaking on my morning run.

Beautiful day !

After an exhausting weekend on call with lots to do and not much sleep I had  today off. I went for a run in the forest and stopped to paint the above sketch of the East face of Aonoch Mor. It was a beautiful day unbelievably warm and sunny, I swear the snow was melting on the tops as I painted. Later  I saw my first primroses in flower and photographed a toad on the path.
 I ascended some way on to Beinn Bahn then stopped to sit on a rock. I closed my eyes and enjoyed  the warmth of the sun on my face and listened to the birdsong. I was surrounded by gorgeous snow capped mountains and forests and was totally alone.It felt very good to be alive!
+

I have just run to work on my normal commute . What a difference a day makes ! At the start ( before dawn )I could feel the ground was hard with frost- and joy of joys it wasn't raining ,sleeting or snowing. As the sun came up I could see the amount of snow that had fallen on the mountains over the last 48 hours . The steep eastern edge of Aonach Mor  was crisp  and  sculpted in  white . Then further on the magnificent north face of Ben Nevis was revealed. The summit plateau was initially shrouded in cloud which was suffused with a gorgeous pink as the sunrise illuminated it . By the time I reached Torlundy the cloud had dissipated but the towers and corries  of the Ben where delineated in brilliant yellow light. Mornings like this are joyous and compensate a thousand times over for long weeks of wet, cold , foggy weather.

With the clocks going forward to British Summer Time one would hope for some warmer weather. Instead we have had snow, sleet and high winds - thoroughly unpleasant. However when the hills  did appear through the murk they looked moody and dramatic.
Sadly I have been too busy to do any sketching, but this picture (actually of Cairn Toul in the Cairngorms) gives the general impression of the wintry views.

Prototype zine

Today I have been making some zines about Ben Nevis.
 I have always been fascinated by books and frequently write, illustrate and bind small books (often of transcribed poems) to give as presents. I love published sketchbooks and illustrated books in general . My wife has a full set of the delightful Wainwright guides to the Lake District. These quirky but very practical guides were reproduced directly from Alfred Wainwright's handwritten/drawn sketches, maps and descriptions of the Cumbrian fells. I would love to produce something similar for the Scottish mountains although I wouldn't pretend to have half the talent of Wainwright. Hence I have been experimenting with a 'zine' about Ben Nevis .The challenge is making something good enough to sell but that can be manufactured and quickly and cheaply at home.
My normal handbound books take hours to make and would never be economical to buy. My first efforts at zine making are a bit rough and ready ( as is the nature of zines) but I'm pleased with them nevertheless. Each one is slightly different but has 4 or 5 pages of reproduced pencil drawings and information on Ben Nevis.
I would quite like to find out more about the readers of this blog- who you are, what do you think about the blog ,are you interested in art or running or both ?
 I will send a free zine to the first seven people who leave a ( hopefully constructive) comment on this blog . If you leave a comment and send me an e mail with your home address I will send you a zine.