How Will You See In The New Year?

This winter our Ambleside staff team member Ash is heading out to run the 190 mile Coast To Coast Route from Robin Hood Bay to St Bee’s raising money for Community Action Nepal. We caught up with him to chat through his training, kit and why he’s planning a solo trip at the darkest, wettest and coldest time of the year……

Scroll down to see how it went....

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Scroll down to see how it went.... 〰️

Why the Coast to Coast Route?

I live in the Lake District which is a beautiful part of the world so to get to explore three National parks along a route that is walked and run by visitors from all across the globe is going to be great. I am looking forward to seeing for myself how friendly and helpful people are along the way. I think if you are solo you get a better experience. You get to see generosity that you don’t always see if you are in a group.

              I tried the route last year but I had to pull out half way so I am going back to finish what I started. I listened to my body and stopped (I was bleeding on my hips and shoulders with chafing). This time I have reviewed my training and I will be carrying much less. I know this time that I don’t have to carry all my own food.

What are the key pieces of kit you will be using?

              I will be running in my Scarpa Spin Infinity shoes and using an Ultimate Direction Fastpack 20 for my kit. I also have a Mountain Equipment Firefly waterproof jacket which is super light weight. I used the Mountain Equipment Saltoro  jacket when I ran the Fairfield horseshoe every day last February so I think using the lighter Firefly this time will help save weight but still give be good weather protection.

              I am a trained Chef, so food is very important to me. I carry Beef Jerky and my own recipe Chocolate Brownies to keep me going. The Brownies use beef dripping instead of butter and bone marrow instead of white chocolate chips so they are packed full of protein, fat and sugar. When I am really low, a bowl of plain boiled rice really picks me up.

How long are you expecting to take?

I am planning long days, maybe 45-50 miles, so I hope to finish in four days. I am really looking forward to running through New Years Eve into 2024. So many people use this time of year to plan about giving things up or making changes but I’ll just start the new year doing it; I’ll be running. You never know, I may be able to gatecrash a party along the way! That is what I love about adventure journeys – you never know what is going to happen.

Who are you raising money for?

              I am originally from Nepal, so it is a country very close to my heart. With the link between The Climbers Shop and Community Action Nepal I thought why not help raise a bit of money along my journey. I know how big a difference a small amount of money can make in Nepal, so please donate if you can.

£5 will buy a hosepipe to irrigate crops

£9 will buy 5 trees to plant a small orchard

£25 will purchase 30 different types of seeds

If I can raise £1300 that will fund medical supplies for a health post for a year

You can follow Ash on his training journey and his Coast To Coast adventure on his social media:

Instagram: adventure_ash_1

How Was It ?

How did it feel to be back on the Coast To Coast route?

I was super happy to be back on the trail, especially as it was winter and a bit more challenging. I was looking forward to running in the dark; no distractions to lose pace like taking photos etc. I was able to focus on my headtorch beam. The toughest terrain was the farm/field/road combination - there was so much mud!

A key moment that will stay with me forever is when I was running into Richmond and all of a sudden I saw fireworks on the horizon. I checked my watch and sure enough - it was midnight. The new year had started.

This was the first time I had done a challenge for charity and I was amazed by the support I received when I explained what I was doing. I went to pay for my room at one of the hotels I stayed in and they insisted I put the money to Community Action Nepal instead!

You Had a very different plan for this trip from your last, how did that work out?

I had a very loose plan, nothing booked for accommodation so for me this took the pressure off as I had no deadlines. It was super nice to just go with the flow. Good to go out without expectations. I felt free.

I didn’t carry any food this time which worked really well. My pack worked really well, so no chafing this time. That was really great. I didn’t get to finish this time but it was a really good learning curve. Maybe next time I will attempt it slower, maybe faster. Who knows?

You took the decision at Reeth to stop - was that an easy decision to make?

No, it was tough.

I covered 30 miles on day 1 and 50 miles on day 2 but I injured my foot in the process. Towards the end I had strapped my foot but it was really painful. I thought I could carry on and walk but it took 4 hours to cover 10 miles. I had to have a little talk with myself in the mirror:

I need to come home, come to work, pay the bills and this had to be my priority.

Once I took the decision, I was relieved.

How are you recovering?

Really, well. it has re-inforced that it was the right decision to stop. It was hard but the Coast To Coast is still there to go back to.

I rested for 10 days and then enjoyed a walk up Helvellyn, my 90th ascent in three and a half years.

You must be thrilled at raising so much money for CAN. Do you have any future plans?

Yeah, I raised £900 for Community Action Nepal which is amazing, but I don’t have any more plans for a challenge…..yet……