{"id":3707,"date":"2018-06-06T19:57:53","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T18:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=3707"},"modified":"2018-06-06T19:57:53","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T18:57:53","slug":"transition-training-and-fundraising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2018\/06\/06\/transition-training-and-fundraising\/","title":{"rendered":"Transition training and fundraising"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s less than three weeks until the Highland Cross so I&#8217;ve been upping the training in preparation for the 20-mile run and 30-mile cycle.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday I headed out on some of our popular running trails, climbing up to the old fort at Craig Phadraig and then to the masts at Dunain Hill before getting home and jumping &#8211; not quite literally &#8211; onto the bike for a spin around the firth.<\/p>\n<p>My run was just over 13 miles with some good hills and the cycle was around 31 miles. It was hard going, especially in the heat, but this was really the first time I&#8217;ve actually trained for the run and ride together, so hopefully it will stand me in good stead on 23rd June.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, our team fundraising is progressing. We have our <a href=\"http:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2018\/05\/22\/set-your-compass-for-mini-orienteering\/\">Mini Orienteering<\/a> event on Sunday 10th June and I&#8217;m looking for sponsorship via my JustGiving page, which you can access on the link below:<\/p>\n<p><code><a title=\"JustGiving - Sponsor me now!\" href=\"http:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/JDHighlandCross2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.justgiving.com\/App_Themes\/JustGiving\/images\/badges\/badge10.gif?resize=270%2C50\" alt=\"JustGiving - Sponsor me now!\" width=\"270\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/code><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3713\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3713\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"3713\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?fit=5472%2C3648&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"5472,3648\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;John Davidson&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1528026858&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;John Davidson \\nwww.johndavidsonoutdoors.com&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;10.2&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;125&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_0275\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?fit=640%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-3713 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275-960x640.jpg?resize=640%2C426\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?resize=960%2C640&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?resize=450%2C300&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?resize=250%2C167&amp;ssl=1 250w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0275.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">John at the fort on Craig Phadraig during his training session.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Highland Cross has been raising money for charities that benefit the people of the north of Scotland disadvantaged by disability, ill health or social need since its inception in 1983.<\/p>\n<p>Each year an independent charity selection panel chooses a number of nominated charities to receive substantial donations, either in the form of vehicles including minibuses and specially adapted vehicles or cash donations towards major projects.<\/p>\n<p>This year there are some fantastic projects set to receive such funding thanks to your generosity. Teams of three have to raise at least \u00a3500, though in reality many raise substantially more than that in order to help these wonderful causes.<\/p>\n<p>This year Abriachan Forest Trust will use its donation to help build a respite bothy for vulnerable adults; Blythswood Care will use a new minibus to help its food bank operation in the Highlands; Highland Hospice will replace its van to help it fundraise in the community through its shops and other services; MS Therapy Centre is looking to operate a second bus to help people from a wider area; and Skye and Lochalsh Mental Health Association will replace the van it uses to distribute donated furniture and other goods to those in need.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for donating and helping these and many other vital projects in the Highlands survive and thrive.<\/p>\n<p><code><a title=\"JustGiving - Sponsor me now!\" href=\"http:\/\/www.justgiving.com\/JDHighlandCross2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.justgiving.com\/App_Themes\/JustGiving\/images\/badges\/badge10.gif?resize=270%2C50\" alt=\"JustGiving - Sponsor me now!\" width=\"270\" height=\"50\" \/><\/a><\/code><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s less than three weeks until the Highland Cross so I&#8217;ve been upping the training in preparation for the 20-mile run and 30-mile cycle. On Sunday I headed out on some of our popular running trails, climbing up to the old fort at Craig Phadraig and then to the masts at Dunain Hill before getting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"New blog post: Transition training and fundraising for the @highlandcross","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlandcross"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_0278.jpg?fit=5472%2C3648&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5M0xs-XN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1585,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2013\/06\/02\/get-set-for-the-highland-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":3707,"position":0},"title":"Get set for the Highland Cross","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m taking part in the Highland Cross - a 50-mile duathlon (20 miles running off road and up hill followed by 30 miles road cycling) going coast to coast across the Highlands - in a few weeks\u2019 time. The Highland Cross has a history of raising money for charities that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;John's blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"John's blog","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3748,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2018\/07\/01\/making-it-count-at-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":3707,"position":1},"title":"Making it count at the Cross","author":"John Davidson","date":"July 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s a chance that the total raised by the Highland Cross will surpass \u00a35 million when this year\u2019s donations are tallied up. That\u2019s a huge amount of good being done for causes across the north of Scotland from an event that began as an emergency services challenge in 1983 and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Active Outdoors&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Active Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/active-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/HighlandCross2018-8948.jpg?fit=1200%2C1126&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/HighlandCross2018-8948.jpg?fit=1200%2C1126&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/HighlandCross2018-8948.jpg?fit=1200%2C1126&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/HighlandCross2018-8948.jpg?fit=1200%2C1126&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/HighlandCross2018-8948.jpg?fit=1200%2C1126&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3006,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2017\/06\/30\/uphill-battle-to-overcome-nerves-in-highland-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":3707,"position":2},"title":"Uphill battle to overcome nerves in Highland Cross","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"No matter how many times you\u2019ve done the Highland Cross, it never seems to get any easier. Conditions were favourable this year, with a strong westerly blowing us through the hills \u2013 as well as keeping the midges at bay \u2013 while the sunshine in the east hid the dreary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Active Outdoors&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Active Outdoors","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/active-outdoors\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Highland-Cross-2017-by-Robin-McConnell-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C934&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Highland-Cross-2017-by-Robin-McConnell-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C934&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Highland-Cross-2017-by-Robin-McConnell-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C934&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Highland-Cross-2017-by-Robin-McConnell-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C934&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Highland-Cross-2017-by-Robin-McConnell-2.jpg?fit=1200%2C934&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8130,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2022\/06\/05\/ready-for-the-return-of-the-highland-cross-in-2022\/","url_meta":{"origin":3707,"position":3},"title":"Ready for the return of the Highland Cross in 2022","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Like so many other things, the Highland Cross has been absent from the calendar for the last couple of years, meaning the last time the coast-to-coast challenge took place was 2019. That's three long years with no Cross to look forward to, so it's great that the event will be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Highland Cross&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Highland-Cross-for-WEB-0265.jpg?fit=1000%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1899,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2014\/06\/22\/highland-cross-2014-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3707,"position":4},"title":"Highland Cross 2014","author":"John Davidson","date":"June 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The legs are slowly recovering after completing my second Highland Cross. I knocked around seven or eight minutes off my time from last year, coming into Beauly 5 hours, 22 minutes and 12 seconds after setting off from Kintail. The coast-to-coast duathlon involves a 20-mile run including a huge climb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Highland Cross&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14871,"url":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/2025\/07\/11\/heat-is-on-after-trophy-triumph-at-highland-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":3707,"position":5},"title":"Heat is on after trophy triumph at Highland Cross!","author":"John Davidson","date":"July 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"John Davidson looks back at the 2025 Highland Cross and the wider impact of the annual event on the region","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Highland Cross&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Highland Cross","link":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/content\/highlandcross\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-06-21-10.48.49-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3707"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3707\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3715,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3707\/revisions\/3715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bl6.co.uk\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}