{"id":71768,"date":"2024-07-30T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T09:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/the-priest-who-is-going-to-run-right-across-iceland\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T10:04:12","slug":"the-priest-who-is-going-to-run-right-across-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/the-priest-who-is-going-to-run-right-across-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"The priest who is going to run right across Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>If you go down to the woods today, you\u2019re sure of a big surprise \u2026 because if it happens to be a Saturday morning at Lochend Woods in Dunbar, the chances are you will witness a priest in clerical collar \u2013 and possibly a kilt \u2013 taking part in the weekly parkrun as training for a ten-day coast-to-coast run across Iceland.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iCtd-6AOVB0?si=8Nvh_9nz2IjubDNI\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>On 22 August, the Rev Diana Hall will set off from Akureyri on the north coast of the island at the start of a 209-mile traverse which will include crossing half a dozen rivers, four days of seeing nothing but volcanic sand, wild camping at night, and passing only a handful of places of civilisation en route \u2013 specifically, three mountain huts, one of which is reputed to have electricity. And all of this will take place in temperatures ranging from minus five to 20 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s fair to say Diana likes a challenge.<\/p>\n<p>For the past seven months, the Rector of St Anne\u2019s Scottish Episcopal and Methodist Church in Dunbar has been in training for the <a href=\"https:\/\/expeditions.dannybent.com\/products\/great-norse-run-2024-ft-statuscode14-and-rock2recovery\">Great Norse Run<\/a>, described as \u2018a team adventure like no other\u2019. The event\u2019s website says: \u201cIceland is home to some of the largest glaciers in Europe and some of the world\u2019s most active volcanoes. We\u2019re going to be passing over these whilst waving goodbye to stress with a ten-day trip of a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whether this is everyone\u2019s idea of \u2018waving goodbye to stress\u2019 is open to debate, but for Diana \u2013 who admits that \u2018two years ago I couldn\u2019t run the length of myself\u2019 &#8211; the challenge sounds crazy yet in fact it makes perfect sense. To understand why, a bit of context is required.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never been a sporty person,\u201d says Diana. \u201cAt school I used to get sick notes to get out of cross country running because I hated it so much.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut at the age of 30 I realised I needed to get myself into better shape, and I started doing couch-to-5k. In the dark. Over the course of a year, I lost six stones. I trained for a half marathon, then decided I wanted to do a full marathon, in Paris. Just before it took place, there was a bereavement, and I dropped out. Ever since then I have had unfinished business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI came out of Covid overweight and needed a better life balance, and in 2022 I joined an outdoor gym \u2013 again under the cover of darkness. I found that was really good for my mental health and self confidence.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-63028 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Diana-Hall-3-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"407\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Diana-Hall-3-scaled-1.jpg 2132w, https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Diana-Hall-3-scaled-1-300x360.jpg 300w, https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Diana-Hall-3-scaled-1-800x961.jpg 800w, https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Diana-Hall-3-scaled-1-400x480.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 407px) 100vw, 407px\" \/>\u201cIn 2023, just as I had got fit and healthy, my mum was diagnosed with cancer. I was sucked into the vortex of caring for someone who was sick and dying. My prayer life wasn\u2019t in a good place. But I found that the rhythm of running offered me a meditative place, often surrounded by natural beauty. It gave me a space to remember that God was in the midst.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found life very difficult after my mum died. My grief reaction was physical, and I just couldn\u2019t run when I needed to run. But eventually I started out again last winter, and I was inspired by a book called <em>Running to Resurrection<\/em> by Clark Berge. The author talks about running as a contemplative practice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt had been a very difficult year, and I felt I needed a new challenge to focus on. A marathon didn\u2019t seem a big enough challenge, and then I saw the Great Norse Run advertised online. My immediate thought was that there was no way I could do that. Then one night after a glass of wine, I hovered the mouse cursor over the \u2018Book now\u2019 button, and clicked it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diana\u2019s 20-week training plan of running, weightlifting, stretching and mobility \u2013 and how to rest \u2013 has put her on track for this incredible challenge, with almost 600 miles clocked up in training so far, including a DIY full marathon in July. Careful time management has allowed her to combine this schedule with her responsibilities as a full-time Rector, member of the Provincial Standing Committee, and an approved Supervisor in the Methodist Church.<\/p>\n<p>At Lochend Woods parkrun, there have been appearances in clerical collar and more recently in kilt \u2013 a stiff challenge for someone who doesn\u2019t do skirts. These special request appearances have helped to increase the funds Diana is raising for Rock2Recovery, a charitable organisation working with military and blue light personnel who have had damaging experiences of stress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m probably a pacifist so this might not seem like a natural fit,\u201d says Diana, \u201cbut the fact is that people do suffer in these roles and they need support. There are people going on this expedition who say that without Rock2<u>R<\/u>ecovery, they would be dead.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>There is now talk of the fundraising effort receiving an additional boost if Diana is prepared to do a gym workout in a cassock \u2013 and as for completing the Iceland challenge in clerical collar, well, Diana says she would listen to offers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere has been a lot of laughter and support at Lochend Woods parkrun, which has been a big help,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve trained hard but the distances are not as far as I will run during the event, which includes one day when we will run 50 kilometres.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should point out that I\u2019m not the oldest taking part \u2013 but I think I am the only priest!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Diana will need thermals, waterproofs, midge protection and Factor 50 sun cream \u2013 \u201ca bit like Scotland, really, apart from the ski goggles I will need for volcanic sand\u201d \u2013 and she will have to eat every 30 minutes to keep her body strong enough to go on. There might also be a hip flask sneaked into her backpack \u2013 each participant has to bring something from home, and Diana\u2019s taste of Scotland is likely to be a bottle of cask-strength Springbank malt whisky.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still don\u2019t know if I can really do it,\u201d she admits. \u201cIf I find the limits of what I am physically capable of, and don\u2019t complete the distance, that\u2019s okay. I\u2019ve already done more than I ever thought I was capable of doing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe process is all about overcoming adversity and pushing your limits. I\u2019ve learned a whole heap of things about resilience, adapting and choosing to go on even if you think you can\u2019t. And I believe that if we keep going, we find we can do hard things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anyone who would like to sponsor Diana can do so by clicking <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsgiving.co.uk\/sponsorship\/entry\/1195249\">here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[<em>Main photo courtesy of Rich Taylor, second image courtesy of Val Hale<\/em>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you go down to the woods today, you\u2019re sure of a big surprise \u2026 because if it happens to be a Saturday morning at Lochend Woods in Dunbar, the chances are you will witness a priest in clerical collar \u2013 and possibly a kilt \u2013 taking part in the weekly parkrun as training for [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71768","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71768"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71768\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73148,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71768\/revisions\/73148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71768"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71768"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hillside.work\/sec\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71768"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}