Eastward toward an undercast sky from Hangingstone Hill, 603 metres There is an inherent tousle between the solid and the indistinct on the moor. I’m never entirely sure what will be underfoot with my next step, where the faint trail I follow will branch out and meander, diffuse into fescue and bent. This is a … Continue reading Headwaters and wonder
I woke ten minutes before the alarm I had set for 3:30 this morning to the sound of clearing winds pushing the last of the night’s rains to the east. By the time I clipped into my pedals an hour later, the sky was clear and the stars guided me westward toward the moor. It … Continue reading Contemplating Dartmoor
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 awoke this morning missing mountains. It seems strange that after a longer outing yesterday that took me up and down nearly 8,000 feet over 100 kilometres of cycling I would miss the mountains, but I think that yesterday’s adventure kindled a sense of self I have missed these past months — the feeling of … Continue reading The dance of self and place
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
Climate Run 