What race are you running?Running the race with endurance

At the End of the World?
Joseph Beattie
Reflections
At the end of Sojourning in 2015 we had arrived at the small fishing and surfing village of Sagres in Portugal. Known in antiquity to the Trailblazers and discoverers of the worlds’ continents as the ‘end of the world’, we could not help but run along the most south-western cliff edges of Europe. This Tale brings an end to Sojourning in 2015, as we...
Sojourning – how it’s done
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
As we Sojourn, one may wonder how it’s done, or how we get through. This Tale provides a bit of a background into what goes on behind the scenes to Sojourning in 2015. Each of these are graces, graces that we could not do without and without them, Sojourning in 2015 would not have been possible… Planning our next move at Venice train station. “The ...
Common language – Marathon Trail Sierra Norte
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
By the time we arrived in Spain, we had got used to navigating through the language barriers of the various countries we had passed through using Google Translate. Taking part in the inaugural Marathon Trail Sierra Norte, as part of a shorter version of the Ultra Trail race just north of Seville, proved to be even more of a challenge language-wise,...
Journeying – Part 3
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
We are all on a journey. Each of our journeys have reasons behind them. The Apostle Paul had a reason behind his well-known Missionary Journeys. Christianity, the only religion in the world which places so much significance on places, largely has Paul to thank in its spread. The Apostle Paul has been one of the reasons for us embarking on our Sojou...
Boundary line
Joseph Beattie
Cycling
As we made our way to the start of the trail we spoke to a local who said he was from West Germany. This confirmed what we were thinking: that with every idea there is always a consequence. The Berlin Wall in Germany was such an idea that has led to numerous consequences, even today. This consequence led us to explore this 50km long vast section of...
Railroad Coffee – szklarka BISTRO
Joseph Beattie
Coffee Journeying
Just north of the Czech Republic border and 70 kilometres east of the German border there lies a little town in Poland called Szklarska Poręba. Sojourning so far showing Szklarska Poręba. World famous for its incredible cross-country ski slopes, this place immediately warmed our hearts as we disembarked the train at its own railroad station ca...
Passing through
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
Sadness and happiness. That’s what we sometimes feel at the same time as we leave a place or site. Unlike usual travel, Sojourning in 2015 has been about passing through – places and sites. Usually setting this almost daily goal in our minds, we do everything we can to get there. The sadness has been inevitable, but not something we think about as ...
GR20
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
It was the night before and we struggled to fall asleep. Trepidation had mounted as we could not help but think about what the next 12 days and nights would hold on what we knew is known as the toughest trail in Europe. The GR20 (Grande Randonnée), Corsica’s long distance trail, is 200km long and traverses diagonally, over and through the rugged mo...
Journeying – Part 2
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
We are all on a journey. Each of our journeys have reasons behind them. The Apostle Paul had a reason behind his well-known Missionary Journeys. Christianity, the only religion in the world which places so much significance on places, largely has Paul to thank in its spread. The Apostle Paul has been one of the reasons for us embarking on our Sojou...
Victoria Lines
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
Britain has the Hadrian’s Wall. China has its Great Wall. Malta has the Victoria Lines. Stretching across the width of its main island, the Victoria Lines in Malta was built by the British army in the late 19th century along the edge of a natural escarpment to defend the island from invasion. Utilised in the Second World War, the Victoria Lines con...
Crossing Borders – Relationships Matter
Joseph Beattie
Reflections
The title gives it away – it’s all about relationships. Sojourning 2015  has enabled us to cross many international borders. Crossing borders has highlighted to us that these are based on prerequisites of permission, but underlined by a relationship between our own nation and that of the one(s) we pass through. So, using permissions as a backd...
Triglav
Joseph Beattie
Sojourning 2015
There is a tradition that exits that every Slovenian is expected to summit Triglav (2860m) at least once in their lifetime. The ‘conquering’ of this summit is usually celebrated in rather the most bazaar of ways. This cultural norm is underpinned by an inspirational active lifestyle value that most if not all Slovenian’s adhere too. It is no wonder...