Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other: 4 (Anna's Adventures)

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I’ve done some really long runs in trainers before,” Anna tells us, as we jog out the centre of Edinburgh.

Books To Read In 2023 The Best Adventure Books To Read In 2023

Like many of us, she read Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run, took in its message about the benefits of minimal running, bought a pair of Fivefingers shoes, ‘ran 10K and absolutely destroyed myself’. Getting ready to run this epic distance barefoot was a much longer process. ‘I essentially spent four and a half years transitioning down from trainers.’ McNuff has written for a number of magazines and newspapers, most notably The Telegraph Travel section. Anna McNuff had never run a mile without shoes on before. And yet, one British summer, she set off to run a (very) wiggly route from the Shetland Islands to London - on a mission to cover the distance of 100 marathons... in bare feet.If you need some inspiration, then read this or any of McNuff books as they always make me want to find my own adventure. At adventure pace, of course, and with lots of cake.

Barefoot Britain: A Running Adventure Like No Other Barefoot Britain: A Running Adventure Like No Other

I started with A Walk in the Woods (probably my favourite) and also polished off Notes From a Big Country, The Lost Continent and The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid. In 2013 McNuff completed a 7-month, 11,000 mile cycle through North America. She travelled through every state of America, solo and unsupported. Meeting with Girlguiding members along the way Anna has helped inspire them to have the confidence to seek out new challenges and believe they can do anything. Anna met with over 70 units along her journey and many of these heart-warming moments are featured in her book. Anna’s team are editing clips from each stage into vlogs for her YouTube channel. They really chart the ups and downs of the trip, from the beauty of remotest Scotland to down days in tears on tarmac. Anna’s social media is full of photographs of her feet on the mend, bloodied, battered or covered in dirt.The daughter of two Olympians, McNuff grew up in a family where the pursuit of physical and mental excellence was encouraged. From age 6 she played football in a boys league and later went on to play for Wimbledon Ladies FC. At aged 16 she took up rowing and went on to represent Great Britain. During her time in the Great Britain Squad, McNuff became a World Champion at the University Games in 2006, [1] and won a bronze medal at the 2007 European Championships. Due to injury she retired from rowing and embarked upon new endurance challenges as an adventurer.

Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other: 4 (Anna

I’ve read all of Anna’s book but I have a tile and it’s that I have to be travelling. It’s a self imposed rule but it feels McNuffy so I go with it. Because of said rule this has been patiently waiting for me to get on a train and March 2023 I finally went on many trains, a plane and quite a few tube/metros and went in headfirst.While I’ve yet to read it, My Midsummer Morning, where Alastair recreated the journey of Laurie Lee mentioned above, is sure to be another great read. One I’m adding to my list while we’re at home! Final thoughts on the best outdoor books Along the route Anna is stopping in cities and towns to speak to groups of Girl guides, with the aim of encouraging young women to dream big in adventure. And anyone can join her and run along on one of her stages – whether that be for one mile or 26.2. So we did. Anna’s Barefoot Britain challenge saw her run along rugged coastlines, through small villages, across moors, over wind-swept mountains, along beaches, farmland and even down the odd picturesque A-road, all of course, bare foot. The warm-hearted, funny and painfully honest read, reveals the reality of taking on a an epic challenge, and above all, shows how one person’s will to dig deep and carry on can encourage others to know they can do the same.

Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other (4) (Anna Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other (4) (Anna

Overall though, she seems to be coping remarkably well. Anna’s feet have been through the good and bad so far on Barefoot Britain. Photo: Anna McNuff McNuff has completed a multitude of challenges, the smaller of which include running the length of Hadrian's Wall (86 miles) dressed as a Roman soldier, running the length of the Jurassic Coast (96 miles) dressed as a Dinosaur and rollerblading 100 miles around Amsterdam. I have to admit I got a bit emotional in the book when she reached the final day of running as it touched me so much. She started working in marketing and, conditioned by structured training programmes and organised competition, did an Ironman, some ultra runs and the Swedish swimrun race Ötillö. ‘But I realised what I really wanted to do was just GO,’ she says. In 2013 she cycled across every state in the US and one Canadian province – 11,000 miles over seven months.And with that, and a trademark McNuff hug, I retire from the group and watch the 10-strong remaining runners head further south down the map of Britain. One is running in their barefeet, all the way to London. When running with Anna, she was so welcoming and positive that I would never have realised how low she had felt. That makes me think about how often we all cover those emotions to the outside world and that we often have no idea what is going on in someone else's orbit. She has been running five days a week, sometimes marathon distance, sometimes shorter, along a route that’s enabled her to inspire in person as many of the UK’s almost half a million Girl Guides as possible. That’s meant treading on sheep poo and thistles in all of the UK’s National Parks, but also chewing gum and kebab wrappers in plenty of cities. The group are waiting for Anna McNuff. And they let out a huge cheer as the floppy pink hair and bare feet of the acclaimed outdoor adventurer bounds across the street to meet them.