Sport Walking doesn’t have to involve formal challenges, you can have just as much fun and feel just as fulfilled challenging yourself through adventure as by setting yourself a Sport Walking test.
Adventure, by it’s very nature, is challenging but it’s that element of discovery, of exploring, going into locations that require more of you than many Sport Walking trails might, which really separates adventure from formal Sport Walking challenges.
Now you might just think that’s semantics but with challenges, you’re seeking to complete a route in a given time and that route could be quite benign. In fact, many organised challenge walk routes are just that, in order to make them as accessible as possible.
With adventure though, the scope of your objectives can be much bigger, as is the landscape you’re going into and it’s freed from the objective of completion in a given time. It’s still about moving at speed but whereas with challenge walks, your test is to reach the end within a time goal, with adventure, it’s all simply about moving fast in challenging locations, there’s no real need to have a fixed route or time goal.
It’s the same, only different!
Essentially, you’re taking the same approach as you might use in a challenge walk and applying it to a different environment or, a similar environment but with a different objective. This could mean going into wilderness, mountainous regions or taking on multi-day routes along technical trails, where you split your Sport Walk into different stages not out of choice but necessity because of the overall distance and how difficult the terrain under foot is.
A good example might be to go into a renowned National Park and to go off exploring using a Sport Walking method – so, moving fast, travelling light and challenging yourself in some way (perhaps pushing the boundaries of what you’re comfortable with)
Adventure always brings an element of the unknown into play. The terrain itself may be more difficult to navigate, there could be risk, potential for difficult weather or it could simply be that the scale of the terrain is far bigger than anything you walk on normally.
Fundamentally, adventure in the context of Sport Walking, is about removing all the safety nets and conveniences of organised challenges and experiencing the landscape in its most raw state. There could still be way marks along the trail to follow, especially if the route is historic but, equally, your journey could be completely ‘off piste’, traversing terrain which has yet to be conquered.
Whatever the landscape, whatever the terrain, whatever the situation and your approach, fundamentally you apply yourself to this walk in exactly the same way as for any other Sport Walk. So you bring a Sport Walking approach to an adventurous scenario.
Do it your way
Just because you’re perhaps in terrain that’s more usually travelled slowly, doesn’t mean that has to be your approach. As a Sport Walker, you’re seeking to cover the ground quickly. That’s your method – you’ll do this trail your way!
Of course being sensible and realistic about your experience and capabilities is really important but there doesn’t have to be any greater risk involved than in Sport Walking on wide downland trails. It’s not about a test of skill and expertise, it’s about going into wilder landscapes and pursuing your Sport Walking there. It’s about going somewhere you’ve not been before and exploring by Sport Walking.
Sport Walking adventures don’t have to be major expeditions either, you can have infinite ‘mini adventures’ in wild or more challenging spaces too. Take a quick walk up a small mountain, circumnavigate a lake, you name it, you can bring adventure into play with it. In fact, once you identify places and situations where you can push your comfort levels, you start to realise that you can bring adventure into your day to day Sport Walking, it doesn’t have to just be for big expeditions.
Mini adventures are perfect for ‘Weekend Warriors’ – those who love to be in the outdoors and seek adventure at the weekend. Going Sport Walking fits this perfectly because you layer on a little challenge and push yourself to walk faster but you don’t need to have completed a training plan to do it. You just head off and have a really fulfilling day out.
Finding adventure in normal Sport Walking
Even if you’re following what could be considered to be a relatively normal Sport Walking objective – to complete a route in a given time – you can turn it into an adventure. This was something Sport Walk’s founder, Roger Burlinson discovered on his 100 mile South Downs Way challenge.
Even though the Sport Walking itself was no different to that of an organised event and the terrain, while challenging in terms of the number of climbs, was relatively benign, this walk really was an adventure.
Firstly, Roger was going beyond his existing capabilities by quite a long way – so this was about going into the unknown. The duration meant that he would be on trail for over 24 hours continuously and would spend the night up on the downs, again an adventure in itself. Then, there was his need to have a support crew meeting him at pre-determined points for refuelling and gear swaps.
All these elements enhanced the basic challenge aspect of trying to complete a route in a given time and turned it into a wholly bigger experience – an adventure. So, even when you follow a normal Sport Walking challenge path, you can still make it an adventure.
Adventure is about dreaming big, about going into the unknown and really discovering yourself, as well as the terrain. It’s best done with friends, even if they’re just your support crew and it lends itself to those really impactful life experiences we all seek.
Just take the knowledge, training and fitness you acquire through your Sport Walking and apply it to something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Go have a Sport Walking adventure!