Go Mountain Goats

In this episode I talk to Will Herman about his new book Northern Horizons. The book explores the hills of Cumbria and Scotland in a series of personal reflections illustrated with the author’s photography. Will has been a fell racer, a runner, a kayaker and a climber - but his book is primarily about mountain experiences themselves. He takes us on long and often unusual routes which are woven with detail of these precious places and some of their wider human and geologic history. Northern Horizons will be published by Scottish Mountaineering Press on 17th February 2025. Much more than a guidebook, we are transported to the hills, and for many this book will both trigger memories and bring inspiration for future adventures.  In discussing the book we delve into the history of the land: the Clearances, deforestation, changing land use as well as changing modern attitudes to these wild spaces which are increasingly commodified and commercialised.  Northern Horizons can be pre-ordered online, and will be in bookshops from the 17th February. Will has a website at www.runswithaxes.com [http://www.runswithaxes.com/] which gives further information on his writing and photography. Correction - I translated A’Chailleach as ‘witch’ when it is more accurately ‘the old woman’. The stories in the book The Bone Cave by Dougie Strang that I mention often feature a witch figure ‘A’Chailleach’. If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild [https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild]

In this episode I meet Dr Mia Burleigh at the University of the West of Scotland in Blantyre, Glasgow, to undertake some physiology testing. I had Lactate Threshold and VO2max testing done and we discuss the results. Dr Burleigh is a Senior Lecturer and Laboratory Director at the university’s Sport and Physical Activity Research Institute, which is the only BASES accredited lab in Scotland (British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences). First I undertook Lactate Threshold testing, which involved running for 4 minute blocks at increasing speed increments, with a fingerprick lactate blood test every 4 minutes. This allowed calculation of Lactate Threshold and Lactate Turnpoint. Next I donned a breathing mask and ran to failure at a set speed with gradient increasing by 1% every minute, to test maximum oxygen delivery, and calculate VO2max. This was a much tougher test! Lab details: https://shop.uws.ac.uk/product-catalogue/schools/school-of-health-and-life-science-hls/maximal-exercise-test [https://shop.uws.ac.uk/product-catalogue/schools/school-of-health-and-life-science-hls/maximal-exercise-test%20] If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild [https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild]

This is a live recording of a conversation at The Barrel House, Kendal as part of Kendal Mountain Festival on Saturday 23rd November 2024. Finlay Wild talks to The Selkies (Suzy Connor, Lizzie Goodfellow, Heloise Le Clanche and Cat Riaz) about their journey to the finish line of the 2024 Scottish Islands Peaks Race (SIPR), as the first all-female team to compete in 19 years. The SIPR is a gruelling sailing and running race involving sailing between - and running up peaks - on Mull, Jura and Arran in a non stop race from Oban to Troon, held in May each year. The fifth member of the team was sailor Kirsteen Woods. The team first had to find each other and a boat to even get to the start line. Muir Anderson lent his boat Dipper, and after a significant amount of work to make her race ready, the team were ready to compete. Navigating what is traditionally a male dominated race, they finished in a little under 68 hours in a close run race with the chasing boat. It was a pleasure to meet the team and hear their recollections of the journey - complete with anecdotes about purgatorial rowing, 7am champagne, and terrible singing! And if anyone has a spare yacht for 2025... See the team in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVsgGC0mtBU [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVsgGC0mtBU] If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild [https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild]

If you delve into the history of almost any endurance mountain running challenge in the UK you will likely see the name John Fleetwood. Usually flying under the radar solo and unsupported, his website www.longdistancechallenges.blogspot.com [applewebdata://7B1BC501-D69F-466D-8A06-1961EBF19B01/www.longdistancechallenges.blogspot.com] reveals a plethora of epic mountain adventures in the wild trackless bounds of Scotland, England and Wales. John first became 'hooked' on endurance runs in the late 90s following his 'first proper run' - the 100km Bob Graham Round. Long before the current boom in ultra running and 'FKTs' he was having intense experiences as he sought to bring dream lines on a map into reality by following them on the ground. More interested in 'first known completions' than speed itself, he has made huge aesthetic loops in wild places. A winter Broxap Round in Glen Shiel over 120km and 61hrs; the Glen Lyon Watershed, a 121km 47hr loop of rough grass, bog and heather; or the Strathfarrar Watershed, 99km over 50hrs in deep snow. We talk in more detail about John's Scottish Haute Route walk, his Lakes 40 Peaks at 40yrs challenge, and his mind bending Winter Rigby Round - a 54hr odyssey around the dark December Cairngorms in 2010. John is also an author of two Cicerone guides to Scrambles in the Lake District. His book Beyond the View is his 'pilgrimage through nature', a hardback photography book interlaced with his personal story and deep connections to these wild places. Seeing 'beyond the view' is about connecting with our surroundings in a deeper way. He has also worked with Big Issue vendors in a project which gave them new access to outdoor experiences. He hopes to set up a charity further expanding this work which aims to heal the disconnect many people (and arguably society as a whole) feels for nature. John is speaking at Kendal Mountain Festival next week (Sunday 24th November 2024) Beyond The View book: https://beyondtheview.org.uk/product/beyond-the-view-the-book/ [https://beyondtheview.org.uk/product/beyond-the-view-the-book/] * Ian Stewart attempted a Winter Rigby Round in Jan 2019 but was forced to bail after 16 of the 18 Munros. His write up is here: www.trailrunningscotland.com/news/14/1/Rigbys-Round-A-winter-attempt [https://www.trailrunningscotland.com/news/14/1/Rigbys-Round-A-winter-attempt] If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠ [https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild]

I took the audio recorder along on the OMM Elite course in Glen Artney over the weekend of 26&27th October 2024. I was paired with Phil Rutter of Kendal who has won the Elite race in 2022 and 2023. The OMM is a 2 day mountain marathon in which teams of two navigate between checkpoints to a midway camp, carrying all the food and kit they require to survive in the October weather. A very popular event, it has different courses to fit different abilities, and is held in a different area each year. Phil talks us through the OMM and we have some chat as we progress through day 1. Arriving at the midway camp in second place, we talk to Martin Stone of SPORTident timing. Martin features in my Bob Graham Round episode (Episode 16), and has his own episode about his Midwinter Solo Unsupported Bob Graham Round in 1987 (Episode 10). We then debrief with the race leaders, Felix Wilson and Dan Ashwood before settling down for an early night in our tiny tent. Setting out on day 2 we had a seeded start 3 mins behind the leaders, but with only 70 seconds of time to make up on them. Catching them, we then had a long fight on our hands as each team would try and outpace and outsmart the other. This included taking very different lines between checkpoints 4&5, only to come together again at checkpoint 5 with seconds between us. Racing hard, we all navigated to the wrong stream bend for checkpoint 7. Felix and Dan relocated quicker and were off. It looked like we had lost the fight for first place. But we managed to claw back level with the guys - who then put on a sprint finish in the final field. Over two days and 11.5hrs of racing we won by only 90 seconds - apparently the closest winning margin in the OMM for years. For me, the OMM stands for traditional UK hill running values: held on rough terrain, in often difficult weather, with proper navigation, route choice and a requirement for mountain self sufficiency. With around 1300 competitors this year, it’s a much loved event. The OMM is also the subject of Episode 28 with Victoria Thompson and Janie Oates, who were the female Elite course winners (and only elite course female finishers) in 2022. 2024 saw three female teams complete the Elite course (and many, many more over the other courses). If you want to buy me a cuppa to help support the podcast, thank you and please do at: ⁠https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild⁠ [https://ko-fi.com/finlaywild]