My name is Guy and I'm the editor of Country Walking, Britain’s best-selling outdoors magazine, and the home of #walk1000miles. Pleased to meet you!
I'm going to level with you. Not that long ago I turned 40 and I was prepared for the rot to set in – ready for my belly to overspill my belt, to start saying “Ahhhh!” when I got up and sat down and (who knows?) begin ironing a crease into my jeans.
But then I got started on #walk1000miles. At the outset, the thought of walking just under three miles a day seemed too trivial make a big difference. A few long hill-walks would see that average tumble and I would barely notice I was doing anything so effortful as a challenge.
But actually, with kids and work and commitments I didn’t do all that many big hill-walks, and instead those many short walks formed the backbone of my walking year. On countless occasions I know my inner loafer would have arbitrarily vetoed lunchtime, evening or wet-day walks which I ended up coming back feeling elated from.
And all those little kicks up the bum amounted to the mightiest wallop. By the end of the year I felt fitter and more generally well than I can ever remember feeling – and I’d gone down two holes on my belt. I had discovered a huge community of fellow walkers who on a lot of things felt just like me, and were always there for me – supportive, encouraging, kind. You're probably one of them.
Welcome to your challenge, your group, and your amazing year. We’re going to have a lot of fun!
PS - Subscribe to Country Walking for a whole range of mini-challenges during the year, and with them the chance to win a money-can’t-buy GOLDEN #walk1000miles badge. And it costs less than a glass of wine a month!
