The first thing I want to organize for my Cape Wrath trek is a reasonable training program that will get me to the fitness level where I will be able to walk 25 miles a day, over 8-10 days.
From my experience, the breaking point of long distance trekking or hiking is on day 3 – you can hike on the 2nd day with the soreness of fatigue from day 1, but if you are truly spent by the end of day 2, it is almost impossible to find the energy and strength to do another full day of hiking on day 3.
My plan is to be able to do 3 days straight of 25 miles, by implementing a training plan that includes a combination of runs, long (35 mile) day hikes, and a 4-day, 25 miles a day trail as my final “test” before going to Cape Wrath. The full program is attached, based on weekends only, with the occasional extra day thrown in (might use bank holidays).
I will do a monthly recording of the progress, going over physical strains and where I think an extra emphasis should be put for long distance trail walking at this speed.
Attached is my planned training schedule – Cape Wrath Training.
If you are interested in something similar, would like to join on some of my training trips, or have a better idea how to train for a trip of this nature, leave a comment and we can have a chat about it.