ActiveRunningI raced the sun during the Winter Solstice – and learned a valuable lessonCreate your own DIY adventure challenges to keep your fitness goals on track (for free)When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
ActiveRunningI raced the sun during the Winter Solstice – and learned a valuable lessonCreate your own DIY adventure challenges to keep your fitness goals on track (for free)When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Create your own DIY adventure challenges to keep your fitness goals on track (for free)
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
On the shortest day of the year, while most sensible people were safely inside in the warmth, wrapping presents, sipping drinks and preparing Christmas feasts, I was trying to run right across Dartmoor, in the hours of daylight, with two friends.
The concept of the challenge was as simple as its execution was tough: we had to traverse the moor, north to south, between sunrise and sunset, during the Winter Solstice. It was a race against time and the turning of the Earth. The three of us versus the night.
Why would you do that, you might ask, and it’s a good question. On many levels, it was a stupid idea. Dartmoor’s terrain is brutally unforgiving, even at the best of times, and the middle of winter is a long way from then. We got cold, we got wet, and we ended up thoroughly exhausted, and there wasn’t even a medal at the end of it all, let alone a T-shirt.
However, we also laughed a lot, achieved something (of sorts), and made some memories that will stay with us, I think, forever. And it was completely free – in fact, it probably saved me money because it kept me out of the pub.
And there’s a lesson here that I think is worth replicating in the New Year: if you’re looking to get in shape and stay fit, exercise your brain and set yourself some creative challenges that will keep you enthused about getting outdoors and being active.
Planning a DIY adventure is almost as fun as doing it(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Planning a DIY adventure is almost as fun as doing it
Planning a DIY adventure is almost as fun as doing it
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Staying focused
It’s easy to run out of puff and give up on your New Year’s fitness resolutions after the good intentions-infused adrenaline rush of the first few days and weeks starts to wear off. The quick weightloss wins slow down once you’ve burned off those mince pies, and your new fitness regime can start to feel grueling and repetitive, especially during January and February, with seemingly endless dark mornings, grey skies and frequent bouts of rain.
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Entering organised events is a great way to keep your motivation and training up during this tricky time, but we’re all feeling the financial squeeze at the moment too, and there are only so many races you can realistically pay to do. But if having a challenge looming on your calendar helps you keep focused on your broader fitness goals, why not simply make up some epic adventures of your own? You might not get any bling at the end of it, but planning and doing a DIY outdoor mission can be great fun, especially if you get a few likeminded friends involved.
Leaning into the wind atop Willhays(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Leaning into the wind atop Willhays
Leaning into the wind atop Willhays
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Doing the Darkmoor challenge
Our self-set mission was conceived, of course, in the comfort of a pub, far from the moor and a long time before the solstice. Our team of three – two unwise men (myself and Rich) and one unwise woman (Mel) – would attempt to cross Dartmoor in the hours of natural light, just four days before Christmas.
We would start at the gateway town of Okehampton in the north and aim for Ivybridge on the southern edge of Dartmoor. Between those two points sprawls many miles of relentlessly rugged moorland, where footpaths that look clear on the map are often more rumour than reality on the ground. We figured it would be a 55km run if we managed to avoid getting lost. And that was a big if.
Tackling trails and tussocks(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Tackling trails and tussocks
Tackling trails and tussocks
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Dartmoor is extremely exposed, and conditions can turn nasty in a heartbeat – you need to be ready for anything. It wasn’t simply a case of staying warm while running, we needed to make sure we had enough gear between us to deal with any emergency that might arise.
But we were well prepared, withhydration packs and backpacksloaded with supplies and emergency gear, including lightweightwaterproof jackets, smallfleecesandbase layers. We each carried a goodhead torch, but we hoped to avoid having to use them.
It’s tricky to predict what you’re going to need during a Dartmoor escapade in terms of footwear (the terrain can be horrendously boggy, and you can get extremely cold if you end up with wet feet all day), but I opted for tried-and-testedtrail-running shoeswith good grip and decent drainage,over any sort of waterproof footwear.
Meeting Dartmoor’s wild horses(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Meeting Dartmoor’s wild horses
Meeting Dartmoor’s wild horses
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Off and running
Our starting gun was the rising sun, which reluctantly arrived around 08:10 that morning, at which point we simultaneously beeped ourrunning watchesand set off into the first blush of the weak dawn.
As we ran, numerous prehistoric stone circles punctuated the evocatively barren environment. Aside from paths, these Neolithic remains were the only evidence of people we encountered until Postbridge. Here, after crossing the village’s famous 13th-century clapper bridge, we passed a couple of dog walkers, the first of a handful of human encounters we experienced all day. It felt like we had the whole moor to ourselves on this wild winter solstice.
Running across the 700-year-old clapper bridge into Postbridge(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Running across the 700-year-old clapper bridge into Postbridge
Running across the 700-year-old clapper bridge into Postbridge
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Just beyond Bellever Tor, we made a navigational error that cost us dearly, but still reached the halfway point (where we’d left a car, complete withthermos flasksfull of hot soup and loads of sandwiches), with enough time – we thought – to complete the mission. There were about three-and-a-half hours of light left in the day, and the second stage looked easier than the first.
But maps can be misleading… We were lower down, and the waterways were swollen and raging. The path led us across the West Dart River twice. Stepping stones are indicated on the map, but mid-winter levels made a mockery of this, and the stones were submerged beneath 50cm of fast-moving water. Gingerly we crossed, as the torrent tried to topple us.
Dartmoor is covered in enigmatic pre-historic stone circles(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Dartmoor is covered in enigmatic pre-historic stone circles
Dartmoor is covered in enigmatic pre-historic stone circles
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Even the Abbot’s Way, when we met it, provided little relief. The path remained uncertain, and the light, along with our hopes of reaching Ivybridge before nightfall, started dying. Dusk was right on our heels, but fortunately, we hit the well-defined Two Moors Way just as the last real light faded on Huntingdon Warren. Reluctantly we donned head torches and ran the remaining 15km as fast as our weary legs allowed.
The challenge involved multiple stream and river crossings(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
The challenge involved multiple stream and river crossings
The challenge involved multiple stream and river crossings
(Image credit: Pat Kinsella)
Coming back for moor
Tracing the route of the old Redlake Railway line, the path was good, and just as my watch registered 60km, we ran into the outskirts of Ivybridge, where the van we’d left behind that morning was parked, along with celebratory beer and bubbles.
We quickly washed that away with some Dark Place Brewery’s Bleak Winter porter, though, and swore we’d be back for a rematch in a year’s time. Because that’s the beauty of a DIY challenge – you can do it as many times as you like without spending a penny.
And there are myriad other outdoor adventures out there to be scoped out and explored. Get together with some mates and let your imagination go wild – it’s definitely the cheapest and most enjoyable way to keep your fitness aspirations on track.
This feature is part of T3’sGet Fit 2024campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
This feature is part of T3’sGet Fit 2024campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
This feature is part of T3’sGet Fit 2024campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
This feature is part of T3’sGet Fit 2024campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
This feature is part of T3’sGet Fit 2024campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
This feature is part of T3’sGet Fit 2024campaign. We’ll be bringing you a wealth of guides, features, deals and news to help you get healthy, fit and ready for anything the new year can throw at you. Whether you’re a newcomer to fitness or someone with a passion for it, we’ll bring you all the best workouts, diet advice and gear to set you on the right track.
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