Fell running and blogging – with apologies to Edward Whymper
At 13st+ I am not much of a fell runner but I find being out in the hills utterly therapeutic. I was running down from Arant Haw above Sedbergh this morning and I enjoyed one of those rare moments that keeps runners coming back - I felt no pain. This is unusual as fell running involves suppressing the various distress signals being sent from the body. I admit it was fleeting and the gentle incline downhill contributed to a momentary delusion that I was, in fact, a bit of a superhero.
I was having a bit of a think about blogging as gravity eased me down. The Jobbing Doctor has been feeling a tad concerned too.
There is a classic quote from Whymper’s Scrambles in the Alps. I memorised it years ago and used to recall it often when out in the hills climbing. Whymper was involved in a tragedy on the Matterhorn in 1865 when he was the first to climb it but four member of the party were killed on the descent.
It is a fabulous quote and almost completely generic. Try swapping the one word climb for blog or practice medicine or make toast.
There have been joys too great to be described in words, and there have been griefs upon which I have not dared to dwell; and with these in mind I say: Climb if you will, but remember that courage and strength are nought without prudence, and that a momentary negligence may destroy the happiness of a lifetime. Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.
People choose to do lots of things in life that might be regarded by some as unwise. Perhaps it is climbing, or smoking, drinking alcohol or injecting heroin. Blogging may have some risks too so look well to each step.
Is that the hill that pupils from Sedbergh School were reputed to be made to run up in mid-Winter in their underpants as a punishment? This was supposed to explain why they produced so many army officers and England rugby internationals. Though I never heard whether any pupils died of exposure before the regime could make men of them…
They certainly run up there and they take in some of the other peaks too. Can’t comment on the underpant issue though…