Ultra Runner And Countryside Volunteer

You may be surprised to discover that just occasionally they can be one and the same person. Although the former may evoke images of fit, strong athletic types in shorts, compression socks and running vests, and the latter, village worthies in wellies, picking up litter and removing red marker tape, nothing could be further from the truth.

I am an Ultra Runner and a Countryside Volunteer. It all started when one day there was a knock on the back door and another such species invited himself across our threshold and wasting no time with polite pleasantries, asked me if I would be willing to become a Countryside Volunteer. Yes, images of joining a group of village Do-Gooders, picking up litter, reporting dog poo and setting up a community watch speeding squad did spring to mind. I was wrong. I had been asked because I was frequently seen running in the village and probably making two fingered salutes at vehicles drenching me from the spray of puddles as they passed me.

The job description entailed working on the inaccessible footpaths around the village with a group led by a lead volunteer under the direction of the Powys Footpath Officer. Apart from the mundane tasks of keeping the footpaths clear of undesirable vegetation in the summer months, inspecting hardware such as stiles, gates and bridges, and yes, picking up litter, we are also responsible for opening footpaths that have been neglected and redundant for decades.