“You’re insane! Why on earth would you want to do that?”
That’s the universal and entirely reasonable response I got from people when they found out about my little run. The answer is fairly simple: because I can, and because I wanted to set myself a difficult challenge. Being a long-distance adventure junkie and not being good for much else apart from staggering around in the wilderness with a backpack, I figured the SWCP would fit the bill nicely.
And why in a fortnight specifically? Realistically, I could have done the whole path in 18 days without any preparation or too much effort. 35 miles a day is my standard daily thru-hiking distance, but I deliberately chose to make it 45-50 miles this time, as it would force me to run the distance.
Pasty planning
Thankfully, for my sake, I’m much wiser these days than to be so blasé about such a trip. Firstly, I needed to get fit, so I found a 5-month training plan for a 50-mile race online and jumped in with 7 weeks to go. In between running 90 miles a week and working, I got my head around the rest. The main headaches involved how to get enough calories in me each day, how to fit a full sleeping setup, water, food, and everything else I needed into a 12-litre running vest, timing the estuary crossings right, and most importantly, where to find the best pasties on the way!
I put dots along the route on a map in 45-mile increments and sent packages out to the nearest pubs to them. Inside the packages was my food for the next day (running gels, energy drink mix and some bars) and I would pick them up at the end of each day. The set timings for each of the twelve ferry crossings gave me extra impetus to keep up with my ridiculous schedule. Seven weeks later, with 2kg of gear crammed into my tiny running vest and a few potential pasty shops pencilled onto the map, it was time to get going.
All a blur
After I took those first few steps it’s genuinely quite hard to recall with much detail what happened in the next 13 days, 13 hours and 43 minutes – a whirlwind of coast, villages, gates, stiles, way markers and horizontal rain. It was an incredibly challenging and humbling experience, full of literal and emotional highs and lows. I was definitely pushing my limits during this trip, but it was amazing to experience what the human body can do when you put your mind to it. I never knew I could run 60 miles one day, followed by 50 miles for 12 days in a row straight after, often on 4 or 5 hours sleep a night.
Some of the more challenging aspects were sleep deprivation, nausea, and being so out of it I didn’t know how to operate a self check-out machine or remember which side of the road cars drove on in this country. On the other hand, the many highs were unbelievable and put me in an out-of-body state where I couldn’t differentiate between myself and the ground I was running on. In these moments, I was totally in my element, floating effortlessly on as a spectator while the stunning coastal scenery flew by me. I had some stormy days battling to stay upright and restless nights sleeping outside, but it all added to the experience.
Reasons to be thankful
Would I recommend doing the coast path in under two weeks? Probably not. Well, maybe if you are slightly unhinged. Would I do it again next year? No chance. Am I glad I did it? Absolutely! It was one of the most intense journeys I have undertaken, but also the most rewarding.
I’m delighted as I set a new self-supported record, but most importantly raised nearly £6000 for the Devon & Cornwall Air Ambulances, who would come to the rescue for anyone in trouble on the coast path. I was incredibly touched by all the people who I spoke to along the way, their stories of how the Air Ambulance and the coast path have affected their lives. And thank you to the SWCPA, the amazing charity who protect and improve the path for all of us to use. Even for someone who has lived most of their life next to the coast path it was breathtaking to experience the diversity of landscapes and places it brings you along. What a wonderful thing it is to have one of the most beautiful paths right on our doorstep, free to enjoy in a million different ways.
Written by David Myers, SWCPA member
For more information on David’s guided trips in Cornwall and his own adventures visit davidmyers.co.uk or follow him on Instagram @davidmyersguide
The South West Coast Path 
Well done – I couldn’t do that but I did walk in in 30 days during June. I am not an endurance athlete nor particularly young and many of the experiences you had were similar to mine, albeit I irreparably damaged a toe on day one and then suffered 5 days with a norovirus.
Would I do it again? Possibly. Did I enjoy it? Most definitely.
But the thing that really stood out for me as the wonderful nature of those I spoke to along the way and how everyone was so keen to help.
Enjoy your next challenge, mine will probably being the C2C.
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