If there were two words to sum up Scottish sport those would be them. Threaten to succeed just enough that people start to believe then, in the dying seconds, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
They are now the words I am using to describe our attempt to walk from Glasgow to Aberdeen via Inverness. We’ve finished up at yet another casualty department. Three strikes and you’re out, and so, after so many miles, it has now become the time to finally throw the towel in.
Heley can now add shin splints to her list of injuries. The doctor looked at us and asked if we were able to listen to what our bodies were telling us. We said no and asked for a translation. She spelt it out for us; we needed to stop. It was that simple, either we stop or we risk chronic problems and turning our recovery time into months.
Essentially, it is now time for us to stop playing silly buggers and to be proud of what we have achieved. Three months ago this crazy plan had not even entered my mind. I’ve previously only camped out for long weekends, Heley hadn’t even been camping in seven years. Despite both of us being quite fit, neither of us are great walkers. Heley even admitted to not particularly liking either camping or walking!
It’s difficult to describe how I feel sat here on a train. Relieved not to have to put myself through any more punishment. Disappointed not to be making it to Aberdeen by foot. I think overall we should be satisfied with what we have achieved.
We think we have walked 230 miles in eleven days of walking. We should hopefully have a GPS log of where we have been, so more detailed and accurate figures will be uploaded along with photos on our return.
Heley and I would like to thank everyone who has shown us support during our journey. Thank you to everyone who left us words of encouragement along the way. We rarely had time to respond, but all the comments were appreciated.
We shall rest up in Aberdeen for a few days. After that if we are able we shall go for a few walks to keep the journey going and to increase our total number of miles. But for now we are done.
It’s been fun but I’m exhausted. In some ways it may have been a failure, but by god it was glorious.
I know that doing the right thing sometimes can be the hardest part – and I assume that this was one of those times. For that you two deserve all our respect! Also congratulations for basically hiking a marathon a day and having gotten this far – cant wait to hear all about it! Wish you a speedy recovery and looking forward to seeing you soon :)
An outstanding performance!
I heard the alarm bells ring when you mentioned Heley’s shin a few days ago, a problem of many runners and hikers. I’m actually surprised the doctor had to spell it out for you.
In any case: Well done! I’m looking forward to the complete coverage including GPS tracks and hopefully pictures. You guys kept me excited for almost two weeks now, I checked this website first thing every morning. We now need to enter negotiations about the number of sunny days you encountered, I tend to believe there was sun all the time. :-)
Since it’s officially over, I’ll document this comment instead of text, so it will be in the online trip collection. I was going to say that knowing the people involved, choosing to call it a day may have been harder than the trekking itself. And then I remembered the photos. Let’s call it even. In short, we know it was a big decision not to finish, and we all have a lot of respect for you both. Besides, there’s always next year ;)
Well done you two I’m so proud of you and glad we have you guys in the gym. A fantastic effort andyou should be proud of yourselves. A great idea and a lot of money raised. Rest up and be fresh for a restart in the gum soon. Most important is to enjoy your homely surroundings. A nice warm bed and done good food. Maybe with the experience you have gained from this and what you have endured might make another crack at it possible. Wouldn’t mind a go myself. But after seeing the injurys I’m a little put off. Once again well done the both of you….