Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other: 4 (Anna's Adventures)

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Anna is a breath of fresh air and an inspiration to women and girls everywhere. An honest description of an impressive feat (feet) beautifully written and engagingly told. Anna McNuff set out from the Shetland Isles in June 2019 and, after 2,620 miles - the equivalent of 100 marathons - reached the finishing line on Sunday, November 17. Why take the shortest, most direct route through life, when you could choose the wiggliest, most mountainous one possible?

Barefoot Britain: A Running Adventure Like No Other by Anna

Anna McNuff had never run a mile without shoes on before. And yet, one British summer, she set off to run a (very) wiggly route from the Shetland Islands to London – on a mission to cover the distance of 100 marathons… in bare feet. Like many of us, she read Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run, took in its message about the benefits of minimal running, bought a pair of Fivefingers shoes, ‘ran 10K and absolutely destroyed myself’. Getting ready to run this epic distance barefoot was a much longer process. ‘I essentially spent four and a half years transitioning down from trainers.’ I’m a big fan of Alastair Humphrey’s books about his big adventures. While I waited for his book about his time spent travelling across Spain playing the violin I thought I’d read the book which inspired his journey. Adventuremanis written by Anna McNuff’s boyfriend and tells the story of his adventure as he ran across Canada raising money for children’s hospitals after he spent a lot of his own childhood in one. Anna’s 2nd book tells the story of the time she decided to cycle 11,000 miles through each state of the USA after becoming disillusioned with corporate life.Starting in the Shetland Islands and ending five months later in London, I weaved my way along rugged coastlines, through small villages, across moors, along beaches, over farmland and even pitter-pattered down the odd picturesque A-road too.

Barefoot Britain (Audiobook): A Running Adventure Like No Other Barefoot Britain (Audiobook): A Running Adventure Like No Other

I have stepped in poo, glass - and even on a dead rabbit. You don’t have to run 100 marathons barefoot to have an adventure. Love the way Anna writes about her adventures. Her style is super fun and natural, and she beautifully describes the details. If there’s ever a “director’s cut” version released which is twice the length of this one, I’d read it!” While I’ve yet to read it, My Midsummer Morning, where Alastair recreated the journey of Laurie Lee mentioned above, is sure to be another great read. One I’m adding to my list while we’re at home! Final thoughts on the best outdoor books McNuff has completed a multitude of challenges, the smaller of which include running the length of Hadrian's Wall (86 miles) dressed as a Roman soldier, running the length of the Jurassic Coast (96 miles) dressed as a Dinosaur and rollerblading 100 miles around Amsterdam. I wanted to do a run where I felt that level of terrified and excited and the thought popped into my head – ‘why don’t you do it in your bare feet’? Straight away another little voice said ‘that’s mad!’ And I thought, hang on – if I think it’s mad then maybe it’s a good idea?” Starting on the Right FootI listened to a podcast interview with Diana Nyad and her attempts to swim across from Cuba to Florida. As of 2023, That Adventurer is a proud member of 1% for the planet and we donate at least 1% of all the money we make from this blog. This money goes directly to non-profits who help make the world a better place and protect it for future generations. This adventure is a huge experiment – I’m looking to see if I can coax my feet into doing what they were truly built to do, after a lifetime of being squidged up in shoes.” Completely and totally inspiring!! What an amazing journey Anna went on - and took me with her on the adventure! I feel that I ran every step and helped her eat every sausage roll!! A great book about running, but more about the power of the person to change the way people think about life. Another thing that came out of it is that they wanted to take part in adventure and not feel like gender was a barrier at all. So everything I’m doing feeds into that – telling them that they don’t have to think twice about it. If they want to go on an adventure, hopefully they’ll think ‘oh yeah there was that crazy girl with pink hair and barefeet that did an adventure’.

Girlguiding Ambassador Anna McNuff launches new book

Tough Anna crossed the line, in Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon, south west London, at round 2pm, completing her 'Barefoot Britain' challenge. Read More Related Articles But you do have to take that first step out of your comfort zone. I know that if girls can take those first adventurous steps, then they'll see what they are truly capable of.” Read More Related Articles Armed with limited Spanish and a desire to meet as many llamas as possible, they cycle 5,500 miles from La Paz to Patagonia, encountering dense jungles, pristine salt flats, towering volcanoes, thundering rivers, and snow-tipped peaks. Safe to say it took a fair bit of training for Anna to prepare her feet for the roads, though. “Being able to talk about tough days openly is not something that comes naturally to people. It’s showing vulnerability. But that’s the only way you’re going to help people. Everybody feels like that sometimes. ” Throughout her run, she stopped off to talk with groups of Girl Guides across the country, speaking to them about “ the joys of adventure and the great outdoors”.Whether you’re an armchair traveller or an outdoor enthusiast, these adventure books are sure to capture your imagination and take you on an unforgettable journey. Overall though, she seems to be coping remarkably well. Anna’s feet have been through the good and bad so far on Barefoot Britain. Photo: Anna McNuff

Books - Anna McNuff Books - Anna McNuff

I received an ARC copy of the book to review and absolutely loved it. As a fan of McNuff’s previous adventure books, reading this one felt like a big old adventure hug from the pink-haired goddess herself.I think now I’ve been through so many cycles of ups and downs now that I’m starting to roll with it a bit more. Being able to talk about tough days openly is not something that comes naturally to people. And often before I post something where I’m crying in a video I’ll have this barrier which wants me not to do it. It’s showing vulnerability. But then I realise that’s the only way you’re going to help people. Everybody feels like that. And I want to show people that I feel all the same things that they do. Funny, honest, inspiring. Anna is wonderfully bonkers, writes brilliantly and cares deeply about the guiding movement. Running well over 2000 miles barefoot in Britain she has adventures, hardships and meets some fascinating people.