THE RIDGEWAY 10 -14 Aug 2009
This not particularly arduous 87 miles was supposed to take me just under 4 full days. My training consisted of deciding it would be a marvelous idea and that was about it. Having never had any trouble with blisters etc on my Kilimanjaro and other exploits I was a little surprised to find my feet in tatters at the end of day one.
Day two also saw the arrival of Plantar Fasciitis which is, according to Wikipedia, among non-athletic populations, associated with high body-mass index. As pointed out by friends following my struggles online. Ignoring their support I bravely soldiered on and enjoyed the pleasant yet unadventurous countryside of Oxfordshire & The Chilterns.
My hopeless lower limbs slowed me considerably, pushing my planned 4 days out to 5. I finally reached Ivinghoe Beacon at about 2pm on the fifth day. For the last few miles I was able to maintain a pretty swift pace and in the end was pleased that I'd stuck it out to the end, despite my sore feet.
Later that weekend, the memories of the PF and blisters fading fast and the ache of the sore feet dulled by the contents of my uncle's wine cellar, I reflected that it all been in fact terribly easy and that I should perhaps do another one. No, scratch that - I'll do them all. I mean, how hard could it be....?
