Day 2 of this particular training camp was a nice and straightforward (and flat!) 18 mile route from Berwick to Holy Island causeway and back. My social media read "Good morning from Berwickshire on day 2 of a 4 day training run from Edinburgh back home. After yesterday’s epic 32 mile / 2500 ft elevation run I’m pleased to report there’s not too many aches today. There’s a bit of minor damage to my feet but nothing too serious at all.
Today’s route is from Berwick to Holy Island and back. I should be back in time for the footy later.".
It was a cloudy and cold start as I ran on the promenade at Spittal just south of Berwick. Sadly there was nowhere open to get an ice cream and I plodded on southwards.
After a short climb up the cliff path I took a minute to look back on Berwick. I have very happy memories of spending most Wednesdays during my childhood summer holidays at the toy shop behind the town hall. My Dad would be in the pub while my Mam and me had a look round the market and the shops. The toy shop was usually the last place we visited. I remember being impatient to go back to the caravan at Seahouses to play with whatever had been bought for me (usually Star Wars figures). Great times.
As I looked back on Berwick, the sun started to shine brightly and cover me in a nice warmth. As soon as I got going again, the cloud covered the sun back up and it made for slightly chilly conditions.
The next few miles were undulating but nothing compared to the previous days hilly exploits. The terrain was quite a challenge with narrow coastal paths overgrown with nettles in places. I noticed that there were plenty of people playing golf as I ran past the course at Goswick.
I reached the causeway just before lunchtime. There were plenty of cars making their way onto Holy Island. I'll be back here next week if all goes to plan on the next stage of the run around the world. I need to be off the Island (the 30 mile point for there day) at 6pm.
Back to last week and I stopped for lunch at the foot of the "rescue tower". It's hard to imagine that the foot of these steps gets covered when the tide comes in.
Carlton joined me for the final mile at Spittal. I celebrated another good day of running with an ice cream. The sun decided to make an appearance too.
The day was complete when England beat Ukraine in the European Championship quarter final. I spared a thought for the kind folk that I met back in 2018. They'd done really well to get that far.
So with 50 miles ran in 2 days there was further minor damage to my feet and the base of my back was a little sore due to carrying the pack. My feet and right ankle showed early signs of the swelling that I've seen on many occasions running around the world. It's good to be back!
