Looking back on 2023

As we come to the end of 2023, it is worth looking back at my walking highlights, and the impact that they had on my thinking.

Back in January, I set myself three objectives:

1. To walk the Alpine Panorama Weg in Switzerland.
2. To make a significant start on the Via Francigena.
3. To complete at least two organised walks, each of at least marathon distance, maybe much longer.

I set out three Drauma Dolls, one for each objective. I set those dolls on a shelf in my office where they would look at me in my daily work, making me feel guilty if I wasn’t working towards fulfilling the objective. At the start, each Daruma Doll had one eye coloured in, marking the setting of the objective. For a large part of the year, all three remained one-eyed, but gradually things came together. And now, as the year comes to its end, I have marked in the second eye on each one, as shown in the heading photo.

I started the Alpine Panorama Weg that same month of January, and taking days here and there, I managed to complete all of it. My Swiss walking year effectively ended on December 10th, because on the 11th, I began my return to Ireland for the holiday season. And it was on December 10th that I completed that objective. It was touch and go whether I would get it done within the year, but I did it. 21 day hikes through the year added up to over 500km. And my takeaway at the end of getting it done just in the time is that there is a divine providence, and if you give something all your effort, that providence will allow you to complete it. The objective was completed and the second eye on that Daruma Doll filled in.

I started on the Via Francigena in September. At the beginning of August, I had nothing done in termsof the planning and logistics for this objective. I had not even booked the journey to Canterbury. My work schedule was so busy at that time that I was having second thoughts about the undertaking. I was seriously thinking of just taking the time to relax and do nothing. But I got my brain in gear in early August and started working out what I had to do. And so I walked about 420km from Canterbury to Reims, all described in these pages. I had a fantastic time walking through northern France, leaving me completely refreshed for some difficult work projects later in the year. And the takeaway from that one is that sometimes doing something worthwhile is not the easiest option, not even what you might feel like doing, but if you get going and do it, the rewards are tremendous. The objective was completed and the second eye on that Daruma Doll filled in.

My marathon objective was to walk two marathons. but those two marathons coalesced into one 100km walk, the Dodentocht, which was in August. It is described in these pages. I completed the walk inside the allowed time of 24 hours. My takeaway from that one was that it is not just a test of physical stamina, it isjust as much a test of mental strength and determination. One without the other is unlikels to succeed in such an enterprise. The walk is more than twice the length of a marathon, and so I consider that objective completed and the second eye on that Daruma Doll was filled in.

And what of 2024? Well again, there will be a Swiss objective, an international objective, and a marathon objective. The international objective and the marathon objective are already decided, following on from 2023, but the Swiss objective is not yet determined. For that reason, my Daruma Dolls for 2024 only have two with one eye filled in. The third will be ready soon. Life goes on, and so does walking. In Tolkien’s words: “The road goes ever on and on.”