The Road to Endorphia - Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

Writer/Performer Joe Donnachie Prepares for
Edinburgh Festival by Running from
John O’Groats to Lands End

The Road to Endorphia
Devised and performed by Joe Donnachie

In June 2009 writer and performer Joe Donnachie will run from John O'Groats to Lands End. A thousand miles or so should get him in the right mood for his running related one man show, The Road to Endorphia, which premieres at the Edinburgh Festival in August.

Joe Donnachie currently specialises in producing running related works.
2003 Various Dates - Beat the Bus - Joe races a London Bus along its entire route
2008 Edinburgh Festival - Run Man Show - solo show based on various runs undertaken in summer 2008 including Glasgow to Inverness and Inverness to Glasgow
2009 Edinburgh Festival - The Road to Endorphia - solo show largely based on a run from John O'Groats to Lands End to take place in June 2009
The Edinburgh Festival promises to be another marathon for Joe. In 22 days he will perform his show 36 times and plans to jog between his venues on the Royal Mile and in Leith.

Royal Mile Tavern, 127 High Street,
Starts 1.30pm (running time 55mins)
Daily from August 8 – 29
also at
Cruz, 14 The Shore, Leith
Starts 6pm (running time 55mins)
10 – 13, 16 – 20, 23 – 27 August

www.joedonnachie.com

(photos and blog about preparation and execution of John O’Groats to Lands End run)

Contact Joe Donnachie 07709 588 531 joedonnachie@hotmail.com

Richmond Park Deer

There were lots of deer around when I took this picture. That's the path I run along.

There were lots of other people around too. The deer seemed pretty chilled out about it though.

Last Richmond Park Run Before John O'Groats

I bought a new bag the other day. A nice little twenty litre day pack, the Salomon XA 20. It's the bag I'm going to use on the John O'Groats to Lands End run.

This morning I packed it up with pretty much everything I'll be taking with me. Tent, sleeping bag, waterproofs. The Camelbak water bag zipped into it's own compartment and the sleeping mat got lashed to the outside. I even packed food.

It was a beautiful hot day in the park and it was a lovely run. The new bag was a lot more snug than the old one and ten miles was little effort.

I had the iPhone on my belt in its rainproof Aquapac and banged out the miles to high energy music. I raced a couple of cyclists up the big hill and left them behind easily.

On a sunny Sunday the park was busy with walkers, runners, cyclists and picnicers. That didn't seem to bother the deer though. They were grazing right up to the main path. I took some pictures with the iPhone.

Ok, now this is really unexpected. I can't, at this point, decide to attach a picture of the deer to this message. And I've checked online. Once you've started a message on the iPhone there's no way to attach a picture.

Instead, this is what you have to do. If you want to email a picture you need to go to the picture you want and then select the option to email that picture, and then write the message. That seems silly to me. It makes me wonder if you can email more than one picture at once. Hmm.

Never mind. The deer gets a post all to himself.

Heading to John O'Groats - First iPhone Post

OK I cheated on that last post and emailed from the laptop. I'm still
not too slick on the iPhone keypad.

But I won't be taking the laptop with me so I'll have to get used to
the phone.

Actually, it's not too hard to get used to. And the predictive/corrective text facility on the iPhone is brilliant.

If this posts ok the next step is to see if I can get some pictures
and video up here from the phone.

Anyway, I've got my ticket to Glasgow. I'll be traveling overnight
Tuesday and arriving the morning of Wednesday 3 June.

I'll head up to John O'Groats a couple of days later and just start
running.

Right. This post is being emailed from the iPhone.

Updating Blog On The John O'Groats to Lands End Run

During the John O'Groats to Lands End run I'll be updating this blog daily from the road.

At least that's the intention. I can email my blog update from the iPhone. That's what I'm testing out now.

So as long as I can keep the iPhone charged up I should be OK.

When traveling along the West Highland Way I found that pubs were quite happy to let you plug in and juice your phone up. I usually asked just as I was about to order my food. Maybe that made a difference, I don't know. Anyway, that way it can be charging up while you're waiting for, eating and resting after your meal.

There's also a little portable gadget called a Freeloader which charges itself up from a small solar panel and then allows you to use that charge to recharge a range of different mobile devices. It's about 20 to 30 quid I think. So I may get one of those.

I should also be able to attach pictures and video to the posts.

Oh yeah, I just bought a thing called an Aquapac for the iPhone. Effectively the Aquapac is a watertight plastic bag for the iPhone (or any MP3 player really) which allows you to plug in earphones and allows access to the touchscreen so you can continue to use the iPhone/iPod in the pouring rain without it getting water damaged. The lens is obscured by the bag so you don't have use of the camera but, hey, who wants pictures of the pissing rain.

So here goes. Let's see if I can email my blog update.

One More Run Around Richmond Park

Up and out this morning at 4.45 for ten miles before breakfast and I have Richmond Park all to myself.

Except for the rabbits and the jackdaws and the deer.

And the coots. The coots, out of the water, walking in the grass at the edge of the pond in their big comedy feet.

And at last another runner, and a cyclist and another. And then I'm headed home along Priory Lane and Upper Richmond Road and ten miles is over before I know it and I'm sitting in bed typing and eating porridge and honey and then I'll snooze for half an hour before getting up for work.

Fantastic!

John O'Groats to Lands End - The Preparation Continues

Still running, still eating, still sleeping. Still routeplanning. Still making decisions about equipment.
I've got my new iPhone 3G. Communications, music, internet access, maps, photos, video, note taking.
Only two weekends left before I head up to Scotland, round about the first or second of June. Visit family. Start running a couple of days later.
Excited and fearful. Trying to run conservatively. Every twinge is a snapped tendon or an exploded knee. But then the excitement gets to me and I run like a lunatic.
The last few days of office work are an agony of tedium. Human physiology is not built for this endless sitting, the human brain for this routine.
My social skills are shutting down. I say nothing or I say the wrong thing. I swear inappropriately, talk to myself, laugh at my internal dialogue. I stretch, stand, look out the window. I gather weather evidence from clouds, light, moving trees.
Soon. Soon. Soon.

John O'Groats to Lands End - The Coleman Kraz X1

After a scorchingly fast ten miles this morning and a pasta lunch I pitch the tent in the back garden. Even though my construction skills are pretty rusty I manage to put it all together in about eight minutes. It looks great.

I bought the Coleman Kraz X1 early last summer in Tiso in Glasgow's Buchanan Street. It has been a fantastic deal for eighty quid.

It sleeps one person comfortably with room for your gear especially if you're traveling light. And it packs up small and light, weighing in at 1.65kg, or 3.63lbs.

I gladly testify to its remarkable waterproof qualities. It kept me dry through some pretty vicious downpours last year. It's also insect proof which is vital if you're out in the bush in Scotland's midgie season.

Some users of the tent have reported online that it's not so great in the cold. I can imagine that. It is a two skin tent but the outer skin doesn't quite meet the ground so there's a gap. And although the lower part of the inner skin which protects you from the ground is absolutely waterproof, the upper part is just an insect proof mesh. Apparently the wind whistling through that gap can make itself unpleasantly felt.

Having said all that, I used it all through the mixed weather of last year's summer and never spent an uncomfortable night.

And looking at it now I'm thinking about the good memories of last year and the new ones I'll make this year. I can't wait to get started.

John O'Groats to Lands End Calorie Binge and Press Release

My mirrored fizzog has been looking back at me in a rather wan and gaunt manner of late. So yesterday I took the day off from running and tried to ingest as many calories as possible while expending the absolute minimum of energy. I need to put on a few spare pounds before setting off from John O'Groats.

A late breakfast of eggs, sausages, bubble, tomatoes and a couple of slices of toast was followed by chocolate chip pudding and ice cream.

And this was the sunny afternoon that Glenn decided to inaugurate his new Weber Grill so lunch was a beefy barbecue excess. With another gooey pudding.

I'm usually strictly an H2O guy but today I invested in a couple of litres of a fizzy orange abomination whose brand name shall get no oxygen of publicity from me. And I guzzled and guzzled and guzzled.

In the evening I spent some time sluggishly working on the press release for Edinburgh while dunking chocolate digestives.

I was invited to a second barbecue sitting but couldn't face it.

This morning I don't feel a gram heavier. Ho hum.

But today I am as excited as I have been for months. I read my own press release with growing wonder. An unexpected email from a friend I haven't seen in ages tells me that she will be performing at the Gilded Balloon in August.

And once again the Edinburgh Festival begins to exert that peculiar artistic gravity which pulls all the spare creative energy of the planet to its heart.

I'm heading out for a ten miler now and when I get back I am going to practice packing the bag I will take with me on the Big Run. I need to check I have everything I need. I'll pitch the tent to make sure all it's poles and pegs are present and intact. I'll take a walk to the pharmacy to stock up on bug spray (midgies) and micropore tape and sun block.

I have to do route planning and trawl the internet for sources of GPS waypoints. I have to work on my press list. Oh yeah, and I must I must I must finish designing the flyer for the show and get it print ready soon soon soon.