Climbing Pen y Fan

Extract from Stronger Every Mile

There was a buzz in the air as we slowly hiked up Pen y Fan, the tallest peak in the Brecon Beacons. It was steep and we were exhausted. It was cold and windy, and I felt alive. This was going to be our coping mechanism—our therapy. This was Caitlin’s way of getting over the recent breakup with her boyfriend and my way of finding a path through my midlife crisis.

We arrived at the top and the views were absolutely breathtaking. We gave each other a massive hug and screamed with excitement. Our screams were carried away with the ferocious wind to a far-off place over the horizon.

The Historic Town of Brecon

After the hike, we were cold and ravenous, so we drove into Brecon. We loved it instantly. It was a thriving market town full of character, with pubs, cafés and quirky shops. We had lunch in a bustling café, where there was a beautiful painting of the mountains on the wall. It was adorned with hundreds of wooden sheep. Some had been coloured in, others written on and stuck on the wall.

We both ordered hot chocolate, pie and chips. I asked the waitress what the sheep were for and she said they were to raise money for mountain rescue. We bought one each and she gave us a pot of felt tip pens to decorate them with.

I drew a rainbow on the front and wrote ‘Caitlin and Libby’ on the back. Caitlin drew two stick men and wrote ‘Ironman’ on the back. We stuck them on the wall and agreed to come back after we had been to New Zealand. This sealed it. We had to do it now.

We walked around the corner and discovered a chocolate shop tucked away. We went inside and couldn’t resist the intoxicatingly sweet smell. We bought a selection, some of which we had already eaten by the time we left the shop. They were delicious.

We went for a 2 km run that evening. It was a start, but we were sore the next morning. We knew this was going to be hard, but this was our escape. It would be tough training throughout the winter, but I was motivated and knew if I followed a training plan, I would stick to it.

Caitlin worked in London and stayed there during the week, only coming home at weekends. So, it would be unlikely that we would get much training time together. She was young, strong and determined. She also went to the gym regularly, so she was fit. This was, therefore, going to be solo training, which was okay. I knew I would be good at this. All I needed was some good tunes to get started.