Here is the text of a review of Isles at the Edge of the Sea by grough magazine, published this week: In 1773, Samuel Johnson joined his Scots friend James Boswell in a tour of the Hebrides that would produce not one but two accounts of the journey through the Highlands to the islands. Almost…
An enjoyable marathon, honestly
The potential for disaster was high. The day of the Lakeland Trails Marathon dawned hot and still; I’d had five hours sleep; my preparation over the previous months had been haphazard and ill-disciplined. Then I decided to run without any additonal food or water, therefore relying on the four water stations en route. It was…
Lakeland Trails Marathon
I’m inbound to the Lake District this weekend for the inaugural Lakeland Trails Marathon, a 26.2-mile circuit around Coniston Water, starting and finishing in Coniston village. Seeing as it’s the Lakes, Kendal Mint Cake will be handed out at water stations. The marathon route looks ever so pretty on the map: around Tarn Hows, across high…
Mont Ventoux
There is something extraordinarily compelling about Mont Ventoux – a mountain of pain, a mountain of victory, a mountain of ghosts. The ascent – 1617m over 21.8km – is one of the most challenging of cycling climbs in the world, with its long association with the Tour de France elevating it to legendary status. Eddy…
Mud, Sweat and Tears (and Isles at the Edge of the Sea)
Some welcome publicity for Isles at the Edge of the Sea on the website of Mud, Sweat and Tears. Bemused by a weatherman branding the west coast islands of Scotland ‘nowheresville’, Jonny decided to prove him wrong, quit his job and embarked on a journey which has sparked a new book… Irony at the edge…
Shopping for Isles at the Edge of the Sea
Various folk have asked me how and where they can purchase a copy of Isles at the Edge of the Sea. So here goes: after a short delay in distribution, the book is now available. It can be bought online at the usual outlets, including Amazon, Waterstone’s, Blackwell’s, Foyles and WHSmith. If actual book shops and real-life…
A view from Ben Wyvis… at last
I’d never climbed Ben Wyvis on a clear day. A vast tract of the wild north that I knew must be visible from the summit plateau had been elusive during my previous four forays, hidden from view by obstinate walls of mist. Furthermore, life on the plateau had a habit of being wind-blasted and breathtakingly cold, even…
Loch Lochy Munros
I’d forgotten how hard Scottish hill running is. My last outing had been the Ben Nevis race last September; memories of the anguish of the grassy bank, the relentless of the slope, the desperate tiredness of the road, had ebbed away. It took a wander over the Loch Lochy Munros to remind me how brutal…
Bob Graham round recce – day 2
My right ankle began hurting in the Borrowdale Hotel as we recovered (and rehydrated) from our six-hour effort in the fells. By the following morning, the pain had magnified. Something felt badly damaged. We were all in a similarly sorry state, comparing sore ankles, feet, knees and quads. Sensibly, we took the day off running,…
Bob Graham round recce – day 1
The Bob Graham round hadn’t seemed real in London – a dot-to-dot run of Wainwrights, starting and finishing at The Moot Hall in Keswick. As we drove west along the A66 towards Keswick in darkness, rain and wind, the prospect became glaringly apparent. We were passing through Threlkeld, the end of the first of five…
A view from the Highlands
Here’s a nice wee write-up about Isles at the Edge of the Sea, as well as a short extract, on the website of Highland Hill Runners. Extract from Isles at the Edge of the Sea by Jonny Muir: ‘Number 68.’ I was being summoned to the start line of the Goatfell hill race – eight miles of toil…
Publication delayed slightly – but also some very good news
From my publisher: Slightly late from the printer we anticipate taking receipt of Jonny Muir’s Isles at the Edge of the Sea next Monday. That’s the the 23rd May. Jonny’s book has already racked up a record number of pre-publication orders so we have high hopes for it. Full story here.
Heights of Madness 