Finding the path less paved.
What began back in 2014 as an unsteady Couch to 5K has slowly and is steadily evolving into a lifelong journey off-road. Along the way, road shoes gave way to trail lugs, pavement turned to muddy tracks across the downs, and short recovery jogs grew into 50-kilometer ultramarathons.
Where the Trails Began
When Cha joined our family back in 2012 and later Togo in 2021 during the pandemic, early on leaving Cha waiting by the front door while I headed out for a run started to feel impossible. Hooking into a canicross harness changed everything. Running side-by-side through the Sussex woodlands with mud up to our shins turned a solo discipline into an adventure shared with a four-legged companions.
For years, this space existed primarily to map and document dog-friendly trail routes, because great routes shouldn’t be kept secret, and navigating stiles, livestock, and the very rare technical path (at least in Sussex!) with a dog can be a horrifying endeavour, especially when nothing is more frustrating than running a Kilometre in the wrong direction or coming up against an impassable gate or stile when you’ve just got your hound running in a straight line.
Running, like life, moves through seasons. What the trails taught us is resilience, patience, and the value of slowing down enough to take in the landscape.
Path Unpaved
As distances stretched further into ultra territory, training evolved to balance long hours of solitary movement, mountain challenges, and the changing rhythm of running with older and a young dog alike.
That evolution led from Canicross Routes to a Path Unpaved
What You’ll Find Here
Route Guides & Maps
Curated trail routes with honest appraisals of terrain, mud factor, water stops, and navigation details (including GPX/TCX downloads).
Endurance & Ultrarunning
First-hand accounts, training notes, and reflections on long-distance trail running and endurance events.
Running with Dogs
Practical advice, gear considerations, and the hard-earned realities of training and living alongside canine companions.
Reflections from the Mud
Honest thoughts on keeping moving, navigating life’s milestones, and what we discover when we leave the pavement behind.