Rock of Ages

I did not rise early from slumber but I did manage to get out for a long run - as planned. Starting near Charterhouse I ran an anti-clockwise loop of the main part of the Mendip Hills. Some parts of the route were new to me so there were a few little stoppages to take stock of my location. From Charterhouse I headed across the north side of Burrington Combe before dropping down to the road and the 'Rock'. Then it was up the other side and around to Dolebury Warren. From there to Rowberrow - yadda yadda yadda - loop of the woods, along the bottom, up to the top, down the other side, Velvet Bottom. The end.

In all I covered about 19 miles and 2,500 feet of ascent. I am a little bit knackered just about now but it's another good, long run under my belt. And as I tread the route I decided to definitely have a crack at running the Cotswold Way in it's entirety (105 miles) in 24 hours - with one proviso, and too be fair it's a biggy, as I'll need a helper or two along the way and I wouldn't want to waste anybody's time - that I actually believe, having racked up enough training miles, that I can complete it inside the 24 hours by the scheduled attempt date. My initial thoughts are to go for the late summer bank holiday weekend to allow for a variable start target of the Friday, Saturday or Sunday night to take account of the weather forecast. The downside of that weekend is that it only gives me fifteen weeks to get there - and that ain't really that much time...

Today's route;