Some 13 years after starting the process of Mountain Leader training, I have finally completed day one of a course - and then, after five hours of navigation, I popped up Moel Siabod just in case a Paddy Buckley Round becomes a possibility, ideally not in another 13 years time.

Day two of Mountain Leader training: navigation around Y Garn, followed by - for me at least - more Paddy Buckley Round wanderings, this time up Moel Eilio. There was a theme.

To commit to any of the Big 3 UK 24-hour rounds, the loop and the mountains have to get under your skin. This evening, as I clambered through the slate mines above Llanberis to Elidir Fawr, I finally began to feel that way about the Paddy Buckley.

Lunch.

Mountain days.

A final, lingering look on the walk out.

A different hill every day, for 31 days. ‘What was the point? To simply do what I set out to do: to celebrate the hills in as pure a way as possible. Isn’t that always the point?’ heightsofmadness.com/2022/04/17/a-h…

Famous Edinburgh footpath facing permanent closure theferret.scot/edinburgh-foot… via @ferretscot

Something new and worthwhile for Earth Day: the birth of TheGreenRunners 🌍How you move 👕How you kit-up 🍎How you eat 📢How you speak out thegreenrunners.com

On Tuesday, charged with self-pity, I took this photograph of the lowering sun over the Pentlands. My foot was immersed in a burn, having again twisted an ankle. Perhaps it offered a miracle cure, for 72 hours later I am marking up a map for tomorrow’s Trotternish Ridge Race.

If anyone was wondering why people run up and down mountains for ‘fun’, this is the start, middle and end of the staggeringly-beautiful Trotternish Ridge Race.

Only a few miles apart, two versions of upland Scotland: the domain of the sheep and the embryonic forest.

Big hills, the best of days.

Coastal hill running in Spain. I still prefer the Pentlands.

It seems the 30-gel approach to round-running is faster than the 22-banana approach. A stunning insight into the niche fascination of Tranter’s Round. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/epi…

The juxtaposition of Drumochter, with just a whisper of autumn snow up high.

Early afternoon on Cairngorm.

Mountain Leader assessment? ‘The worst two days of my life’ is the most memorable ‘review’ I’ve heard. It definitely wasn’t that bad.

The Tinto Tiptoe for under-14s will be held on Saturday, starting shortly after adults set off in the main Tinto Hill Race. It is the only place to earn a Carnethy HRC ‘I am a hill runner!’ badge. (2pm, 2km, 10p to enter.)

November swim.