So onto day 5 of John’s Coast to Coast challenge . As had been the norm the last couple of days, we set John off alone in the morning as again the terrain and navigation allowed John to move faster and lighter first thing. He was more able to run in the morning before he gets tired and slows down.
We started back at the road junction where he had been picked up yesterday. It was looking like another glorious day was breaking on the horizon. Hardly a cloud in sight and no real sign of any weather coming in. John was tired and feeling the run now but in good spirits and ready to crack on.
He trotted off and very soon need some suncream as it really had got warm. Apart from one minor detour through Richmond he was navigating easily and making good time. Most of this leg was lower paths and fields and bridleways so easy to move on but not as interesting or dramatic as the hillier sections, perhaps not as easy to motivate yourself to run on the prettier bits. It felt like a bit of a no man’s land between the Yorkshire dales and the North York Moors. Lots of different paths and variations on the Coast to Coast route. John made good time and I again picked up a later section with him and pushed him on at a good pace in the afternoon to keep him moving and motivated. A rough day in the warm sunshine and 19 odd miles done which was another few miles clawed back on the total. Heading in the right direction but still some work to do to get back on target for an 8 day finish. We had a small amount of schedule leeway to pick up some last miles on Wednesday morning if needed before driving back but not much. It was still possible but John was going to have to work for it……
