Our Muddy Matches Locked Down Ways To Conquer These Famous Five Challenges

In Muddy Isolation, with our daily outdoor activity limited to essential excursions and just one form of exercise a day, you might feel that any planned challenges you’d set yourself for 2020 are now out of your reach. That marathon you’d intended to do? The Three Peaks challenge? Or how about that countryside triathlon you’d got in the diary? Well, all around the country, thousands of outdoor junkies are finding ways to reach their goals, all in their own homes and gardens. Intrigued? We’ve got all you need to know to bag that peak, smash that marathon or traverse the Pennine Way.

Challenge: Climb Snowdon

Solution: The summit of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, stands at a massive 1,085 metres and yes, my muddy friend, you can climb Snowdon at home. The average rise of a staircase in the UK is 2.6 metres, around 13 risers of 20cm. So, by our country calculations, that means to climb as high as Snowdon’s summit (from sea level) you just need to climb your stairs a total of 418 times. Easy! For added countryside kudos, don your best walking boots and outdoor gear, à la Julia Bradbury.

Challenge: Walk the Pennine Way

Solution: Your living room is your friend. At 431km long, we suggest you split this challenge up over three weeks. Aim for walking 20km backwards and forwards in your living room. For a lounge of 6 metres long, this means crossing it 333 times per day. Achievable, right? For added fun, bake yourself a tasty snack that is synonymous with whichever county you’re virtually crossing through. In Yorkshire, a slab of Parkin will sustain you then going into Lancashire, munch on a butter pie. For Northumbria, singing hinnies will give you an energy boost then grab a whisky to celebrate as you approach the Scottish border.

Challenge: Run a marathon

Solution: If you’d been due to run the London marathon this year (that’s 26.2 miles, FYI), April may now seem a little flat. You can still put your training to good use, though, with a garden marathon. Set your GPS tracker going and do a test route of your garden. Then simply work out how many revolutions you need to do to make the distance, get your table of snacks and drinks ready, pull on your trainers and marks, get set, go!

Challenge: Conquer the Yorkshire Three Peaks

Solution: Head to your stairs. You too can bag the three Yorkshire peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, a total ascent of 1,585 metres and a distance of 38.6km. By our rural reckoning, that’s just 610 ascents of your average staircase, over 24 hours. For more muddiness, search YouTube for videos of ascents of each mountain to watch as you climb.

Challenge: Walk the Coast to Coast path.

Solution: Head into your garden. At 90 miles (145km) long, the Coast to Coast walking trail crosses the North of England from St Bees, Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire. Created in 1972 by Alfred Wainwright, it passes through the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales, and the North York Moors. Why not create your own coast to coast during Muddy Isolation? The average garden in the UK is 15 metres long so you just need to walk to the end and back 484 times! Start with a paddle in the Irish Sea (your paddling pool) and end in the North Sea (a bucket of iced water) for true-to-life feelings.