Less than 4 days to go before 26 Mile Homeless Charity walk in London

 My wife Gill describes me looking like a condemned man in this photo!

Now wishing that I had trained more and sorted out my walking gear earlier but it is too late now to do much about these things.

I did a 10 mile walk from home to Chingford during the weekend which left me feeling a little sore the next day (it was very muddy) so what I will be like this Sunday after 26 miles? 

We start (team of 35 from Clarion Housing) 10am on Saturday 27 January at the Oval Cricket club for the 26 Mile route which goes around the River Thames from Putney to Rotherhithe finishing again at the Oval. There about 4000 walkers in total taking part during the weekend. 

I hope to walk around 3mph so it should take just over 8 hours (with another 30 minutes in breaks). 

Wish we luck and if you can sponsor me please do at this "JustGiving" site. St Mungo's is a National Homeless charity, which as a housing officer, I have seen first hand do some great work in supporting vulnerable clients. 

Chorleywood to Chesham walk: Chilterns Society

 

Today Gill and I had another marvellous walk courtesy of the Chilterns Society  8 miles linear walk from Chorleywood to Chesham. We took the Lizzie line from Forest Gate, changed at Liverpool Street for metropolitan line all the way to Chorleywood. About 1 hour and 30 minutes in total.  It is amazing you can get into the heart of the countryside on the London underground. 

Started off with yummy breakfast and coffee at the Rootv cafe onroute in Chorleywood. Lot of ups and downs but nothing too strenuous. A mixture of woods, hill tops and lots of lovely ancient green lanes.

Some great views, especially over the Chess Valley. Cold but dry. We passed Latimer House, which was used during World War 2 to hold high ranking German officers, whose private conversations were "bugged" by British intelligence and the information used by codebreakers at Bletchley Park. 

The walk was surprising quiet with very few other walkers. Definitely worth doing again, maybe go the opposite way, perhaps in the spring for the bluebells. 

The journey back went smoothly but back home I went out again and did a few more miles around Forest Gate in training for my 26 mile London Winter Walk at the end of the month in aid of Homeless Charity St Mungos. 

My knees were a little sore at the end of the day today so not sure what they will be like after 26 miles!

I will post more photos of today on Facebook. 

Countdown to London 26 Mile Winter Walk 2024 - 24/25 days training days to go

I am taking part in a sponsored 26 mile walking marathon at the end of this month for the homelessness charity St Mungos with colleagues from work. 

Most of the recent holiday was spent walking in the Peak district which was good cross training but I only averaged around 13500 steps per day. For the 26 mile walking marathon I will have to complete around 55,000 steps. It should take between 6-8 hours of walking at a reasonable fast pace. 

I am trying to go out walking 3 times a day (early morning, lunch and evening) for short walks and plan longer ones in the weekends. Listening to BBC sounds on my headphones or making telephone calls is a great way to get some walking practice. 

Yesterday evening I went to Westfields to check out suitable walking footwear but could not find anything I like, so I might take part in my normal sports shoes but I think I will need more cushioning for concrete/tarmac. 

I am raising money via this Just Giving Page. Please consider sponsoring me if you can. 

 

26 mile "Winter walk" for homeless charity St Mungo's 27 January 2024

 

I have signed up to this walk via my employer and will be (hopefully) raising money by this "Just Giving" page for homelessness charity.

In the past few months I have visited a St Mungo's hostel, met residents and staff for work reasons and believe this is a worthwhile cause to support. 

When I was younger (much younger) I did a number of 25 mile walks with the cadets and the TA (including the 4 day 40k per day Nijmegen marches). I have also done the 3 Peaks (very tough and we got hopelessly lost and very wet) 2 London Marathons (which were simply awful) and  2 Olympic distance Triathlons (which were much better).

26 Miles in January will be a challenge but London is usually quite mild and of course no major hills or mountains.  Hopefully this will also work off some of the Christmas cheer. 

If you can support with sponsorship then please do.