Trail Running Nepal: Campaign to support Nepali athlete's in European races.

Upendra and Phudorjee

My friend Richard Ball at Trail Running Nepal is once again trying to support Nepali athlete's to race on the International Trail Running Circuit; including The Skyrunning World Championships!

Whenever Nepalese athletes get a chance to race at oversea's events they usually surprise a lot of people!

These guys are awesome and their performances, and particularly their endurance, is the envy of many.

Sadly it can prove almost impossible for them to travel without the assistance of generous benefactors.

Please click on the link below and take a look at Richard's campaign to secure funds for Upendra and Phu on his website.

Richard is a great guy and he also organisers a number of excellent races in Nepal. I took part in one of his "Kathmandu Trail Race's" earlier this year and it was a fantastic event. His events give the Nepali athlete's a chance to gain valuable race experience and to run against international competition on their home soil.

People, like Richard, who support and nurture others with real potential deserve our support!

Even if you can't afford to donate a few Dollars please share his page on your social networking sites and help spread a little love.

Trail Running Nepal - Phu & Upendra Campaign

Review: Osprey Talon Lumbar Pack.

Osprey Talon 8 being put to good use during The 2014 Yak Attack in Nepal.

Regular readers will know that I am a big fan of Osprey Packs, I have used their products consistently for a number of years, and with good reason; they are outstanding!
I purchased The Talon 8 Lumbar Pack in February 2013; after borrowing a Talon 4 from my friend Mitchell Bryan to use in The Strathpuffer 24hr Mountain Bike Race.
Mitch had been singing it's praises and I was keen to see if it would be suitable for me to use in The 2013 Yak Attack and The Everest Marathon in Nepal. It was, and I did.

Jogging on. An Interlude in The Lake District.

Great shot of me climbing on Helvellyn courtesy of Graham Kelly.

Not so long ago I was browsing Facebook, as you do, and I came across an interesting link to a page calling itself The Trail Running Team. They were recruiting for applicants to attend a weekend for their 2014 team selection. A weekend running in The Lake District with like minded folks and the potential, if successful, to win a three day training camp in The Alps and a bunch of kit from the team sponsors, Berghaus, LED Lenser, and Torq Performance, was an opportunity not to be sniffed at! So I sent in an application.

And guess what? I got in! My confirmation email arrived on April 4th and the realisation set in that I was actually going and would be found out as an impostor forthwith!

Earthing the current.

Earthing the Current.

I've been on an awfully big adventure!

The real problem with long trips and big adventures is coming home!

Now don't get me wrong with that statement, it's not that I don't like coming home, because I do, and I always look forward to the warm familiarity of family, friends, my own bed, my real life, even a little bit of routine; and I'm not the biggest fan of routine at the best of times! But it's oddly reassuring and it gets my feet back on the ground. And aside from all that I like to see my Son, and my Mum & Dad.

Most people, it seems to me, suffer from a touch of the "holiday blues"; I hear it all the time. Guy's I work with go away for their annual fortnight in the sun and then come back to work, regale us with their tales of lying around the pool, relaxing, getting sun burnt, drinking beer, and generally letting off a little steam, before they start to mope around for a few days and come out with the age-old statement "I hate this country, I wish I was still in "... (add destination of choice)..." and the timeless classic "I need another holiday, to get over that holiday!".

After longer trips, and especially those involving a challenge like the Yak Attack, the physical and psychological dynamic is slightly different.

The problem, as the title suggests, is earthing the current. Let me try and explain.

It's Time to Burn!

Nepal and The Yak Attack 2014

The Yak Attack Circus comes to town!

It's raining today in Kathmandu!

That's only the fourth time in the two months since I arrived here, so I can't really compain!

My source of all things Nepali, Jenny Caunt from Himalayan Singletrack, tells me that after today the Nepali Summer arrives.

Apparently it rains for three days towards the end of February (which it did) and then once more on Shivaratri, the day that Hindu's celebrate Lord Shiva. She was pretty much spot on with her prediction, except that it's two days late; Lord Shiva's "Birthday" was on Thursday. (Today is Saturday, but hey, who's counting!)

And tomorrow brings's the registration for The NorthFace Yak Attack 2014. The sun will surely shine on us for that :)