Elise Downing

2 weeks ago | elisedowning.substack.com | Elise Downing

Hello,The last week has involved some ups and some downs. I was working in Dublin, then headed straight to Keswick Mountain Festival for the weekend, which was brilliant - and so, so sunny. It seems to always be sunny on this specific weekend in May. If you want to book a British holiday then make sure you time it for when Ultra-Trail Snowdonia is on - there’s been a heatwave on UTS weekend for the last four years, or maybe even more. The festival was great.

4 weeks ago | elisedowning.substack.com | Elise Downing

I’m really excited to be partnering with Project Pause again this year for another retreat in the amazing Howgill Fells. Join us August 8th-11th for a long weekend of walks, runs, swims, yoga, incredible food (honestly, so delicious!) and always the nicest gang to hang out with. Use PAUSEWITHELISE50 for £50 off - only a couple of spots left!I used to do a lot of hangover runs. Attempting to tick off the Sunday long run regardless of how I’d spent Saturday night.

1 month ago | elisedowning.substack.com | Elise Downing

It was the London Marathon last Sunday. It was always one of my favourite weekends of the year when I lived in London, whether I was running, cheering or that time Sophie and I set off at 3am from the finish to run the route backwards. I’m sad not to have been there this year but, if social media is anything to go by, it looked crazier than ever. Running really is having a moment, isn’t it? It’s also my annual time to wonder: would it be fun to run a road marathon again?

1 month ago | elisedowning.substack.com | Elise Downing

A few weeks ago, I introduced one of these newsletters by telling you that I was in Northampton, that it was a Friday morning and that I was eating toast and marmalade and drinking lukewarm coffee. And today I’m writing to you with an almost identical set up, from the exact same spot at my parents’ dining room table. That’s the thing about sending out weekly(ish) mail. You realise how often you do the same thing, how rarely you have something completely new to say, how boring you are, honestly.

1 month ago | elisedowning.substack.com | Elise Downing

You know that “when the trip finally makes it out of the group chat” meme? Well, that’s exactly what just happened the weekend before last - and it exceeded all expectations. But before I tell you more about the trip itself (keep reading for full details and costs of a 10/10 weekend camping in Wasdale), I want to tell you about the group chat. Some time in late 2022, I received a message from a then-stranger called Hannah on Facebook.