Recreational Run --- my attempt at Ben Nevis. What an incredible, awesome day. Second to none. Ended with a dram in the distillery.
The White Mounth, Angus border, Sheilin o Mark --- my first marathon and part of my "mounth hills" series of runs (I developed an obsession during lockdown --- the objective is to follow all the saddle points of the Mounth from East to West). What a day. Completely crippled by the end of it. I learned that running through heather is hard! Animal tracks are better, but they tend to go round hills, not up them. Forgot to record the section between Lochnagar and "the window", so the distance is slightly shy of 44km.
Mountain adventure --- the queen died so we had to abort our long-awaited trip to the Balmoral estate. Went hunting for evidence of the disused crystal mines on Beinn Bhrotain instead and went for a run up Cairn Toul and The Devil's Point (the wiki page says "The Gaelic name means "Penis of the Demon". The English name is a result of a visit to the area by Queen Victoria. She asked her local ghillie, John Brown, to translate the name; to avoid embarrassment he gave a euphemistic answer") instead.
Sgùrr Thuilm and Sgùrr nan Choireachan --- short but sweet. Heavy mist so the ridge was extra atmostpheric.
Meikle carewe and cairn mon earn loop --- another marathon in the "mounth hills" series, this time at the eastern end of the range. Much less climbing than the Lochnagar route, but it did feature some interesting obstacles in the forest (fallen trees). I didn't particularly plan a marathon but I didn't want to turn back before climbing Cairn Mon Earn, so I didn't have too much choice. Totally crippled when I got home, but the house was locked so I went straight to the geezers' pub across the road and ordered three alcohol-free beers.
A budai hegyek --- my favourite Hungarian run. This is the day I verified for sure that I can out run the dog. She was knackered by the end. Next time I'll leave her at home and head stright to the baths after.
Bennachie bash --- a birthday present to myself, running up my favourite hill multiple times. I was so excited I forgot to bring any oatcakes and ended up having my first "bonk". Not actually sure how I would have survived if it weren't for the abundance of blaeberries, bearberries and crowberries on the hill.
Meikle carewe, Barkley family crypt, raedykes roman camp --- totally forgot about this run (I'm glad Strava has a better memory). The description reads: "Was hoping to get myself in the mood to sit on my arse and mark exams. But my arse still hurts from too much sitting and now i can't stand either! 😣"
Mourne hills and wall --- my first day off in 2024. What an amazing place! Wish I'd checked the map before heading off, and carried some better grub so that I might have actually completed the whole wall. Can't wait to go back. Not to be confused with the Mounth hills!
The Paps of Jura --- been on my list since before I even got into running. Sliding down the scree was awesome but wish I'd been fitter cause I was struggling by the end.
Ördög Árok "The devil's ditch" --- another great Hungarian run. If you're not sure where to run, follow your local water course to its source!
Highland tourist route north + Poolewe
Poolewe -> inverness + Highland Tourist Route North -> South
Porty to Fortwilliam pts 1 and 3
Falkirk --- dyce (cairn o mount)
Morven --- Old Military Road --- Lecht
Aberdeenshire Stone Circle Trail (Alternate version) pt 1
Aberdeenshire Stone Circle Trail (almost)