39,041 Steps In The Sunshine

19,810 Steps: Sore Toes!

Saturday 18 August: 40,479 Steps Of Twenty Arduous, Exhilarating Coastal Miles

Hundreds of participants prepare
Support, camaraderie and banter
For some its a race
Quick time
Position
First, second, third......
For others the challenge is different
A connection
To belonging
To undiscovered inner realities
To Mother Earth
All personal, some deep and rewarding
Whether realised or acknowledged
We all journey on a search
A new path awaits exploration
Its steep undulations
Testing the physical and mental
For me
The challenge is new
Horizons widened
A fresh focus
An enlightened meaning
I stomp the stunning new lands
I savour what physical exertion brings
A body bathed in sweat
Legs covered in mud
Heightened senses
The smell of the Earth
The sounds of the landscape
A connection with life
With its many levels to relish
Twenty arduous, exhilarating coastal miles
Four hours and fifty-six minutes

103,432 Steps Taken Between Sunday 5 August & Sunday 12 August

Saturday 4 August 2012: 72,671 Steps; Three Ships On The Horizon

Pebbles in my shoes
The pleasure of feeling heat on my skin
Purple thistle
Pastel blue butterflies
Red and black bugs
A cone of salty chips
A strong cup of tea
Soreness in my feet
The sea creeps closer
It's spray climbs the land's edge
Chasing a fisherman's heels
Three ships on the horizon
Ever present on my journey
The sun starts to sink
The light deepens
Crickets sing an evening song
The comforting sparkle of the day disappears
In the strange twilight hue
Perception alters
Senses heighten
The white of flowers and stones
Iridescent and surreal
As the colour drains away
I merge into the surroundings
I look down
My legs distinguishable only by their movement
My eyes seeing the blending
And the imagined separation
The heart is beginning to know and acknowledge
As the darkness descends
The fear rises
Of what can't be seen but imagined
An inner voice reassures
I take comfort
From the joy and marvel of a glow worm in my path
The haunting yet welcoming presence of the moon
And the familiar road that takes me home
Eleven hours and fifty minutes
Forty miles of coastal walking

276,172 Steps Taken Between 18 July & 3 August

Two Days Of Many Steps Taken In A New Place, Some Measured, Some Not

A King's Castle
Tales of mystery
A rugged, raw beauty
That inspires and daunts

Harbours and hilltops
A gleaming afternoon glare
Bright on the eyes
A wind cool on the skin

A valley of rocks entices
Geometric structures
Destined randomness
Sacred art misunderstood

A place of prayer
Quirky and peaceful
Gifts, wishes, memories
Water, painfully cold, pure and cleansing