I spent today at rest, my tired body embraced by the stirrings of a deeply embodied cognition of mountains, muscles, and memory from the past few days, dozens of kilometres and thousands of metres of ascent. As a mountain runner of some decades now, my legs have steadily become a topography of the ranges I’ve … Continue reading Mountains and memory: philosophy and physiology
Morning on Dartmoor, November 2020 For many, the first of January is a day of reflection, anticipation, planning, and taking stock. For runners, and athletes of all kinds, it can be a day to start a new logbook, make a race schedule, set goals, or reshape a training plan. In our different ways, we try … Continue reading Interval
On Sunday, 4 October, more than 200 people (at last count) will be starting out on foot for a shared adventure -- the 2020 Climate Marathon. From our homes on six continents, in different climates and in different seasons, we are coming together to walk and run 26 miles each week throughout the month -- … Continue reading Our Climate Marathon
Heading towards Cut Hill in the heart of the Moor Yesterday I shared my solstice celebration with flocks of sheep, a handful of cows, and ponies revelling in the open grasslands at the heart of Dartmoor. I chose this longest day to run a clockwise circuit of the Dartmoor 600, an informal route that climbs … Continue reading The Heart of Dartmoor
I am very excited to share that I have been selected to be an artist in residence at the Ars Bioarctica Residency Programme at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in Gilbbesjávri, Sápmi from 16-30 June 2020. The programme, co-hosted by the University of Helsinki and the Bioart Society, offers residencies to artists working at the intersections of … Continue reading CR2020: The Art of Running in Arctic Finland
Down Tor with Lowery Tor, Leather Tor, and Sharpitor in the distance Finding wildness depends not just upon where you look, but how you learn to see. Last weekend, I took train and bus to the far western edge of Dartmoor. A drizzly jog of three miles between sharply squared hedgerows took me from Yelverton … Continue reading lessons from the moor
This has been a busy year for me -- busy with keeping up with the 400,000 vertical foot challenge (130,000 as of this afternoon!) -- busy with a semester full of new classes, creative curriculum conversations, writing of all sorts -- busy with family adventures -- and busy finishing up EMT, WFR, and WEMT certifications. … Continue reading Bodies and Terrain
This winter has been all about steady upward progress for me -- my outdoor adventures have been mostly uphill & mostly on skis. As of this writing, I've completed about 72,000 vertical feet of ascent, or just under 20% of the 400,000 ft goal I've set for this year.I love hearing about other people out … Continue reading Uphill
February is my birthday month, and it seems like lots of people have been raising money for charities and other great causes for their birthdays. I've decided to do something a little different. Instead of fundraising, I'm raising vertical gain! For 2019, I've taken on the goal of reaching 400,000 vertical feet of human-powered ascent, … Continue reading (Virtual) Glacial Climb Challenge!
Although I've kept track of my vertical gain while running, hiking, skiing, and climbing for many years now, it has never been my main focus. Until now. As I write about on the VN400K page, the 400,000 vertical foot goal for 2019 represents approximately 0.0001% of the 400 billion tons of glacier ice that are … Continue reading Velocity North 400k Challenge
Climate Run 