I felt like a bit of an adventure on my day off, so decided on a solo run along the John Musgrave Trail. 🤩
I set off just after 7am with a full pack, thinking I’d make my way to Totnes, see how the legs were feeling, and then decide whether to carry on towards Brixham.
There was a beautiful sunrise sky on the way over to Maidencombe, although the rain started pretty much the minute I started running! 😅 Thankfully it was warm rain and didn’t last too long.
I made it to Cockington with empty flasks, so stopped for a water refill before continuing along a very familiar section of the route, arriving in Totnes at around 11.30am.
I’d had a little mental dip along the way, with that all-too-familiar nausea setting in, but thought it would be good training to see if I could rally through, so I forced myself to keep fuelling and carried on.
It would have been very easy to stop in Totnes — the route literally passes my front door — but I grabbed another water refill at Food for Thought and headed off down the river towards Dittisham.
I arrived just after 1pm and, luckily, the ferry was waiting at the quay and was just about to head back over to Greenway! This meant there was no time for the picnic and proper refuel I’d originally planned, but I managed to get a couple of very squashed cheese and chutney sandwiches down! 😂
Arriving in Greenway, I knew there wasn’t too far to go and just one big climb, so I headed straight off with a new goal in mind: finish in under 7 hours.
Unfortunately, I made a slight navigation error and missed a turn. 🤦♀️ After turning back, finding the right path and getting myself back on track, I ran as fast as my tired legs would carry me down the, thankfully, runnable gravelled path to Fishcombe and on into a very bustling Brixham just as 7 hours ticked over on my watch! 😅 Ah well, missed it by seconds, but not a bad way to spend a day off work. Solo adventure, beautiful scenery, some questionable navigation, squashed sandwiches and very tired legs. 🤩
Definitely one to remember! 🏃♀️🌅🌧️🥪