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Or "hitting the trails"? |
This is the second of the Vertebrate Publishing "1001 Tips" series that I have read, and like Robbie Britton's superb running tips book, this is one I know I will be dipping back into regularly.
I was initially quite surprised at how much of the book was relevant to the long distance trail or hill runner. In fact many hundreds of Paul's tips are snippets of advice for the runner that I haven't come across in any running book. I have encountered lots of adopters of trail running, sometimes out in the wilderness of Dartmoor, who have little to none of the knowledge necessary to spend a few hours in the hills safely. Walking and running are not different worlds, but just different ways of making forward progress, and even the elites of the trail running world are as adept at the walking part as the running part. I have always felt that many of us middle of the pack trail runners don't train the walking part enough. It can be a different mind set, and I'm pretty sure that Paul's book will inspire many a runner to take a few slow days that will ultimately improve their race performances, as well as developing skills that they may otherwise neglect.
Certain sections of the book were particularly good: the whole of the 220+ tips on walking (read running if you like) environments; 100 odd tips on gear; 100+ on long distance and multi day trips; and perhaps most of all the essentials of navigation.
The book is, like Robbie's, absolutely full of nuggets of advice that can only come with years of experience. Gear is expensive and Paul will save you lots of money by offering advice untainted by brand sponsorship. And all of it done with a degree of humour that keeps the reader engaged.
No real spoilers here as you should definitely buy a copy if you are "outdoorsy", but just a couple to tease maybe:
"When trying on clothing, leave optimism and self image at home."
"If you aren't carrying some form of chocolate, this book was wasted on you."
"The best walking companion is a dog."
Hear, hear!
