The Ice Bucket Challenge ….

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Mark Lyons

Bill Gates taking one for ALS

The Ice Bucket Challenge ….

Lately its all been about the ALS ice bucket challenge , a viral fund-raiser where  people are nominated by previous challengers, then after doing the challenge themselves they are able to nominate the next unlucky people and so on. Originally orchestrated to gain recognition of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) the American name for the condition we Brits usually call motor neurone disease (MND) .  Here in the UK the leading organisation is called the Motor Neurone Disease Association. It brought about good and bad press, stories of huge wages being drawn by the directors of ALS have abound but icy bucket after icy bucket has been poured over heads all across the world and well over $50 million dollars worth of donations have been made, Even Bill gates was seen online soaking himself for the cause  …. 

I’ve had a few Ice baths in my time as a kayaker ..

Eventually several nominations ended up in my lap from various people including  my sister who lives over in Qatar so I was forced to play the game … However given my history as an International White-water kayaker who has had his head, and occasionally whole body 😉 soaked in Icy water in more countries than I can remember, left me with no option but to make an extra effort …. So I rocked up to the local loch with the lads, which on the night sat at a “penis shrinking 12-13 degrees” and swam a 1 Kilometer lap in my swim shorts .. and I’m not afraid to say that half way I was afraid I had been a little ambitious but I kept going and made the challenge stick 🙂  bloody freezing man !!! BBRRRRRRRRRRRRRR…… 😉

I would like to note that I am making a small donation to MS Borders  and not ALS , it’s a charity that I support in any way I can , a local one where unpaid volunteers give their own spare time to care for MS sufferers here locally … no half million pound wages for these guys … just satisfaction 🙂  .  If you can find it in your heart to give a small donation to help them then you can do it RIGHT HERE

MS Borders .. a truly deserving charity ..

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Running the Waverley line …..

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Mark Lyons

Beware of the Trains ….

Now I’m definitely no trainspotter but for a long time I have had an interest in the Waverley line. The one time rail link from Carlisle to Edinburgh was decommissioned in 1969 at the hands of DR Richard Beeching and his cut throat handling of the British rail restructure. A cut which subsequently left a whole region without any form of rail service despite having no adequate road links. Effectively cutting the Scottish Borders off from both Edinburgh and Carlisle…. The line has its place in history for this alone but it was also highly famed for its beautiful journey across Southern Scotland. Climbing steeply through hills , moorlands and past riversides it was renowned by many. It boasted the steepest rail track inclination of its kind in the UK. And right now its very topical due to the Government rebuilding it at the cost of ten million pounds a mile, yes you read that right, TEN MILLION! … From Edinburgh to Galashiels they are re-building it with the intnetion fo an early 2015 opening . Locally there is also a campaign to continue rebuilding it all the way to Carlisle again. If I am honest I really wish I had thought of running it way before the work had started on the Northern section, as to have ran the whole line from Edinburgh to Carlisle would have been mint, and quite the achievement 🙂

Shankend Viaduct …………..  gem of the Waverley line

I live barely 2 fields away from the what is now a long track-less causeway that carves its way through the Borders making its presence known with bridges , derelict old railway buildings and long overgrown embankments. Everyone from my area has walked, played or looked upon this railway line … it is just begging to be explored fully 🙂  I run along it a lot , in both directions, normally as a start or finish to a longer run, but I have never until recently ventured beyond my regular section on my Stobs camp run. I have recently found a bit of motivation in my running again and this trip beckoned , so after a little recce last week It had to be done while the momentum was there, so a plan was hatched. I would go from Central Hawick where the old Railway Station had been and run from there all the way along the Waverley line to Carlisle staying true to the track as best I could.

Hawick Station back in the day ..

  I plotted the course out on Map My Run and decided that I would leave late Friday night, running 13-14 miles and hit the bothy at Riccarton before sunset for a decent sleep before heading for Carlisle 30 odd miles away early the next morning. The weather looked to be on my side so it was on 🙂 The plan had been for a solo mission, however my mate Mark Watson rang me on Thursday afternoon wondering if I fancied a hill run in the evening, I told him I couldn’t and filled him in why. Secretly sewing the seed of interest nicely, an hour later he was back on the phone and he was coming 🙂 I expected this, the lad likes a challenge.  EXCELLENT !!

Mark and I high up on line …

As usual a last-minute deadline had me working late, rushing home, grabbing my kit and heading to meet Mark all in the space of 15 minutes. I parked the car right next to the bus stop. We would be getting off right there on our return. After all I certainly didn’t want to walk far after 45 miles of running 😉 We saddled up our packs and headed off !  Straight up an old railway embankment left from the long gone bridge and right away we were running down the old line .. The Waverley adventure had started. Soon we had left Hawick behind and had started to weave our way over old bridges and through the tree-lined avenues of the old line, at a steady pace we notched up the miles and soon we were approaching the Whitrope tunnel , the 4th longest in Scotland at 1200+ feet. We couldn’t run through it as it has been fenced off due to a cave in. Instead we followed a bridlepath up and over the hill , this was to be our highest point of the trip at 1406 foot.

After a long descent we found ourselves at the Border Railway Heritage site where a group of enthusiasts have rebuilt a section of the railway and now run it as an educational tourist attraction. It is quite amazing to come across this station in the middle of nowhere. From here we had just a couple more miles of running before we arrived at “Wills Bothy” , a stone shelter renovated and equipped to commemorate William Ramsbotham a mountaineer and fell runner who the day after breaking the Cader Iris fell race record , died climbing on the same mountain . an extraordinary fellow by all means.

Mark warming up by the fire in Wills Bothy

Fourteen quality and continuously interesting trail miles full of beautiful hills, old railway buildings , Jacob sheep and highland cattle , not a bad nights work.  Satisfied we settled in to the bothy , shed our sweaty running kit and got the fire going .. Mark had a fantastic array of goodies hidden away in his pack and we ate like kings .. the highlight of my night was a little tin of beans and sausages , we know how to treat ourselves us lads 😉 😀

6 o clock start

the morning  and my alarm was buzzing .. brrrrrrrr,  it was a beautiful crisp morning , 3 degrees and sunny … I slipped my running kit on and found my hat .. gloves would have been nice but unfortunately no cigar …. we sorted out a little breakfast but our intention was to punch out the next ten miles to Newcastleton and have something substantial before embarking on the final 20 miles. The run from the bothy was fantastic , the views staggering in the early morning light as we ran along the track sat high up in the forest and took in the views of the valley far below us .. soon we were dropping down into Newcastleton, a beautiful little village not far from the English Border. Home alos to one the world famous 7 Stanes MTB venues .. Here we filled our boots with rolls and coffee , before heading along the line to Penton the next railway station on the track …

Mark Watson taking in a beautiful early morning view high above Newcastleton ….

Here however progressed was hard fought , we had found the first of what would be some epic bushwhacking .. up to this point the running had been on perfect trail , now we were up to our necks in jaggy bushes and nettles . There seemed to be a switch that tripped in our brains, maybe from tired legs, it was one that prevented us heading back over old ground to find a way round , we fought on regardless with dogged determination .. and for this we paid severely .. falling out of this Scottish jungle exhausted and severely stung by uber-virulent nettles from ankle to knee .. I had tan lines from the stings .. f**** I was sore.  if you intend to do this run , then seriously look to find a detour for this 2 mile section it just isn’t worth it 🙂 I am still paying for our battle today 😀

Mark catching a breather after the “I’m a runner get me out of here” battle with the Penton jungle

After this we had a good time , running great trail , following the river Esk all the way to Longtown with ease and found the High street stape, Spar . In hindsight we should have called it a day here and waited for the bus but we intended to get to Carlisle no matter what ! Our legs were still good and we only had 5 more miles to go  .. what could go wrong ?  😀  The trail from here gets pretty rough and very overgrown.  And Gypsies littered the last few miles , using the track as a scrapyard or small holding where ever there was a road access. One particular gypsy didn’t want us to cross his land and when he agreed his last words were watch out for the horse …

Gypsy attack Horse ..

looking back along the Esk …

I had to run and quickly jump a fence from that particular very aggressive sabre toothed  horse and f*** me with 40 mile in the legs that wasn’t easy ! It was nearly RIP when a herd of cows stampeded us , crashing through a fence in front of us , taking half it with them… then a Bull in the last field from home was just icing on the cake.. The mental image of Mark and I running/limping for that final gate still has me laughing … but we made it , we certainly did … the Southern section of the beautiful Waverley line made a fine running adventure indeed ..

The trip along this line was at times beautiful, the views up high were staggering especially on the cold brisk morning we encountered but that wasn’t what made the trip .. It was how continuously interesting this trip was ,throwing bothies, bridges, tunnels , the architecture of old stations and even the way mother-nature had grown around this disused line …. I dare you to try it sometime , have a change from pacing the roads or being in the mountains .. make an effort to find this Waverley line and enjoy something different, it will repay you a thousand time over … three cheers for the Waverley line !

I forgot my passport ..

notes:    Hawick to Newcastleton in my opinion is a very fine trail run worthy of 5 stars anywhere in this country , you will be rewarded with excellent running , fantastic views and continuous interest … after Newcastleton there are nice sections but nothing quite as continuous due to some parts being overgrown and the views not really comparable to the section before.


William Ramsbotham …

Wills Bothy …

Mark at the Heritage centre

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Running the Hawick Circular

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Mark Lyons

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Just follow these and you will finish … MAYBE !

.I was first introduced to this route by my friend and fellow outdoor sportsman Kenny Short , who in one of his first ventures into long distance hill-racing had used it in his training for the famous Lairig-Ghru race.    It is a superb adventure indeed whether ran in its entirety or in shorter sections. And with the recent upsurge of Hawick off-road runners I have been asked a lot about the running of this, so I will try to write it up in a rough running guide style.

The Hawick Circular

Hawick Circular ..

Distance: approx 25 miles;  Ascent: 2115′ by Garmin   Map: OS Landranger 79

Navigation: Straight forward, mostly sign-posted and never really gets to far from a road despite a nice feeling of remoteness on the off-road sections. I have added 2 downloadable maps at the bottom of the page.

Terrain: Rough fields, sheep trods, tarmac road and gravel path.

Start/finish:  There are many starting points. Really anywhere the circular crosses the road. Personally I like to run it anti-clockwise starting from Hornshole. Mainly so I have fresh legs for the biggest climb and on VERY tired legs a long descent to finish.

Time required:  depends on how fast you are 🙂  I am not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination and I have always managed to finish this run between 4 1/2 and 5 hours when fit … but its been 5:36 and a dook under the bridge at Hornshole for my sore legs when I haven’t been 😀  Definitely plan for longer times if its your first time round given the need for navigation.

Moooooo… 😀

The Hawick circular is a riding route circumnavigating Hawick in the Scottish Borders and makes a fantastic off-road running route, primarily made up of four short sections and can easily be split up for a shorter run.  It is sign-posted for the most part with bright blue and white horse shoe signs that can be found on most if not every gate you go through when entering or leaving a field , so you shouldn’t ever get to far off track. An anticlockwise run with a start at Hornshole is my preference so I will describe it like that here.


The Start of a hard day out

Its a long climb up from Hornshole out to Clarilaw via Appletreehall or with local knowledge find an off-road alternative but once you reach Clarilaw take the little track heading up the hill and your finally off-road, follow this up and then cross Hassendean burn before a rough trail leads you to the old Drove road at Muirfield and turn left , a long slow climb ensues on a rough landrover track until you reach the junction with the A7 just north of Halywell Hill.

Heading for Drinkstane

Look across the road and to your left, you will see a small gate with the Blue sign on it , enter here and go right almost running straight up the field following a faint trail to the top resisting the urge to veer left . You will find a little gate through a dry-stone dyke. Enter here and run left over rough fields along the dyke , pass the pylons heading for a break in the dyke taking you through the woods.

High Point at Drinkstone 318m

From here follow the fields using great sheep trods , past a derelict Shepherds cottage at Drinkstone and a gradual but still undulating descent over beautiful countryside, until you descend onto the tarmac of the drove road near Calaburn , follow this down to the roman road and then up following Wilton Burn until you reach the stile … I personally do not run the road section , it’s probably faster but it’s a long way on tarmac for my liking so I either jump the wall and join the Langheugh trail run through the hills to the stile or I cut off and run up and over WiltonBurn hill, a look on the map should make this clearer.

Heading of Wiltonburn

From the stile you head over the field and pick up the trail heading right up and round the fields bringing you out on the Roberton road. From here another few miles of road takes you via “The Joogly” bridge and across the A7 to the start of a steep climb up Haysike. Here you cut right up a small road about a third of the way up heading for Fenwick common where you join a trail leading to the bottom of St Leonard’s Park race course , locally called The Mair or Mare ?  , scene of the finale to Hawicks famous or rather Infamous “Common Riding” .

 

From here you follow the trail up and out of the race course and head towards “The Flex” a long road section through a beautiful descending country road before entering a great off-road section over Colifort Hill.

Colifort Hill

Beware of the steep start , its a killer! but after this its a beautiful trip over the hills on a good trail, running past another old cottage and through some woods, enjoy the views over Adderstone Lee.


Adderston Lee

Soon you will join a long farm track slowly descending until you hit the road near Kirkton. Follow this for only a few 100 metres until you see the blue sign heading up past a little track right of a cottage.

Cavers Church

From here you run a rough track through a few fields and a forest, before joining a B road. From here keep and eye out for a little gate on the left running through an avenue of trees . Follow this before crossing a field and coming out at Cavers Knowes. follow the road for a short section before cutting right down a steep path bringing you out at Cavers Church and just right of it a stile and follow the signs down the field for the victory mile to reach the finish at Hornshole… 🙂

Hornshole..

 

 

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Shout out to the Kayaker , a true king of adventure …

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Mark Lyons

Sat here on holiday looking out the window at the rain, semi-consciously willing it to lay off just for a short while so I can chance a quick hill run to keep my training schedule in check. A 100% turn around from a few years ago when I would be up North with my kayak praying for more rain and the chance to dive off exploring hidden highland gorges full of pumping white water,  this got me thinking about…..

THE KAYAKER …….. 

Sam Ellis and co … men with little boats looking for adventure at the famous put in for the Stikine Canyon in Northern BC

The Kayaker with his little plastic boat and paddle, dressed in his Helmet , buoyancy aid and dry-suit is amongst the most adventurous of explorers. Pitting against natures most unpredictable of elements. Fighting in the wind , the rain and often in dangerous almost inescapable places.  The kayaker travels hundreds of miles in a weekend searching for the hallowed white-water. The Kayaker is on the river as much as is humanly possible during the short daylight hours of winter. The Kayaker finishes a river in the dark with only the light of a head torch.

Leaving the Kinglass of Argyle in the dark … only 5 mile back to the car

The Kayaker goes to places that no one but fellow kayakers will ever be, literally flowing through the arteries and veins that feed the beauty of the surrounding Countryside.  The Kayaker sees the moody magnificence of rain-swept mountains, hears the rush of remote rivers and the surge of crashing waterfalls.The Kayaker feels the power of the river both under him and within him.  The Kayaker knows the fine line between the knife-edge of control and a beating..

 The Kayaker lives for adventure!

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In the UK a kayak day is a precious one, it will have rained heavy through the night , the levels are right for a favourite river or a recce run of a new section. Often involving several miles of rough hiking over hills and through forests to the river. Arriving at the access , an abseil may be required to get the kayak and kit to the river’s edge . A good team of strong kayakers will be trained in white-water safety and rescue , have first aid knowledge and ALL will be equipped with safety equipment.  A trip into a flooded  gorge will require a sharp, forward thinking and very aware team. Team work will be the essence of a smooth and safe trip. Navigating a fast flowing and extremely powerful environment where one mistake can cause chaos, the team must be capable of minimising the risk to acceptable levels.

EasaChataidh , Glen Orchy

Abroad there are well-developed relatively safe areas like the more common rivers of the French and Austrian Alps to hone the skills of the less experienced but for the skilled adventure kayaker the world is waiting. Fabulous river trips abound in Norway, Canada , India , Pakistan, South America to name but a very few of the destinations that offer real adventure to the Expedition kayaker.

Very few outside the sport of Kayaking will have heard of our top UK whitewater explorers , paddlers old and new like Mick Hopkinson , Dave Manby , Pete Knowles , Andy Jackson, latterly Sam Ellis , Daz Clarkson , Simon Tapley and many more unsung kayak explorers, the latter who in the past few years have travelled the globe . sought out and navigated some of the worlds biggest and most remote rivers including the mighty Stikine river in Canada yet even now get no more a whisper in the press ..

Second full descent of the grand canyon of the Stikine from SB Productions on Vimeo.

Adventure Kayakers due to the nature of the sport rarely get or want recognition. After all who without having spent time learning and fine tuning the skills to pilot a kayak in white water can truly appreciate just how difficult it is ?. Who can appreciate what a large Himalayan rapid looks like when sitting 3 foot high bobbing around in a little plastic boat. Who can appreciate the chaos in a maelström of fast moving heavy whitewater, the need to hit perfect lines in a long dangerous rapid. ..who can appreciate what the Kayaker sees and No-one but the kayaker can feel what he feels ……

A big shout out to The Kayaker !  King of Action Adventure !

Cheers to everyone in my pics , the makers of these amazing videos and good luck to all the Kayakers out there in the big water …

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