John Lill is one of my coaching clients but more like a friend really and has been very supportive of all the stuff I do with Challenge Running. Last year he attempted to run coast to coast in the Northern Traverse event put on by Open Adventure and unfortunately had a fall on the first day, was unable to continue on the event after the second day due to injuries sustained during the fall.
He is a really good runner not just because of his age(68) but because he still outrun most people of ANY age. He came 2nd in his age group at the UK trail running champs last year. (Stort30).
I have been coaching him for ultras and especially for a big challenge that him and a friend of his are doing later this year. http://www.end2end.online/ where he and his friend are doing JOGLE with a mixture of cycling and running with John running for 8hours a day (2x4hrs sections) and his friend cycling the rest of each daily miles. He has been smashing in some great miles in training for this. He
He said last year that he wanted to run the coast to coast route again and put that route’s demons to bed. Not in a race scenario but in a more relaxed format with still covering good distances as a challenge each day but staying over in hotels and B&Bs each night and having proper non race meals. (John hates camping)
He wanted to do this when his wife was on holiday and around other commitments so we had a fixed week or two when we could plan this in. Based on the criteria of it fitting in around his plans and also staying at proper places with good meals and lodgings we planned an 8 day schedule which in hindsight is a very ambitious schedule. But everything looks better in hindsight!
Tuesday 4th at 8am we started the journey from St Bee’s of the West coast and headed up the coast before heading inland. We passed some stunning scenery on a fantastic route taking in high fells and stunning lakeside paths on rough stony unforgiving tracks. The weather was absolutely stunning and sunshine and wispy clouds made it easy to walk with just a baselayer top on and shorts. Plus my usual Tilley hat. My current lack of fitness and recent bug/infection that has clearly not got out of my system were not helping on the uphills at all with John being much stronger on the hills but me managing to hold my own on the technical descents. I was working much harder than I should have been and slowing John a little on the uphills and road sections when he could perhaps have shaved a few minutes off here and there. Sorry John.
All in all we cracked out just over 30 miles with a few minor nav errors where the path was not clear and did nearly 5,000ft of climb. Most importantly we passed the rock that John tripped and fell over on the Northern Traverse (see photo of John and said rock) and safely got past it. It was a tough but glorious day of hard walking and suitably knackered we had a lovely stay in a smashing hotel (Scafell Hotel in Borrowdale/Rosthwaite) and even though we were too late back for a proper meal they looked after us with some fresh sandwiches and snacks and of course a beer for me and a bottle of red for John!
