Next UP for #upandrun is the Snowdonia Maverick ultra
On Saturday I’ll take on my first mountain ultra. 64k of trails around Snowdonia.
The main challenge for me will be heights. I ain’t got a head for them. Running along Beachy Head and around the Isle of Wight we stepped quite close to the cliff edge. I get edgy. I’ve been assured that it is ok, nothing to worry about.
The other consideration are the cut off times along the way and the need to complete by 7pm. We start at 8. That sounds ok, but there is the small detail of the 3000m elevation.
My kit is prepared, lodgings are booked for Friday night and now it is an easy week to build energy. The weather looks agreeable but we still have to carry waterproofs with taped seams, a foil blanket and a head torch (with ‘spare batteries’). Things can change quickly on a mountain. I remember a stroll up Pen y Fan last February that started with light drizzle and a mild breeze. By the time we were at the top, you could only see about five metres beyond your hand.
UPdate
Behind the scenes we are having a shuffle around to build momentum. Jo will be taking the lead for the day to day running of Understand Pain (UP), promoting and managing the UP workshops so we can reach more people, running the social media campaign to share the right messages about pain and connecting with partners who want to support our work.
The UP workshops are monthly at the moment. We are looking at running these every two weeks and then weekly in different locations as a next step alongside an online programme.
If you would like to support our work, you can sponsor an event and a workshop (see here) or you can give a donation (see here).
Today I am heading south to spend time in a unit that is doing great work with children. Statistics suggest that 20% of our children are suffering chronic pain. I see a number of kids who are in this situation with their families. Often they do not know what to do, have no understanding of pain and certainly have no ideas about how to move forward. This is where we can step in and help to make a difference. More on this soon.
understand pain 