Practice Makes Perfect

Preparation is key if you want to enjoy, and not simply endure, the TGO Challenge. Organisers Ali Ogden and Sue Oxley look at how to be ready for the demands of a long-distance walk

- Ali Ogden and Sue Oxley

Training for The Great Outdoors Challenge? Do you need to? After all, isn’t it just a fortnight’s walking holiday?

The answer has to be ‘yes’ if you want to get the most out of it. We always advise Challengers to put in some before they set off from the Scottish west coast in May. However, the very word ‘training’ can be off-putting, so perhaps better words are ‘preparing’ or ‘practising’ – or just getting out into the hills. Once you have one Challenge under your belt, you realise that good preparation does help and can mean the difference between successfully reaching the east coast and enjoying it rather than enduring it or even having to abandon your route midway. Training doesn’t mean hard gym sessions and hours on a treadmill (although some people do these). It’s more a question of getting out there in various weathers carrying your pack, and seeing how you get on.