Thomas P. Russell

Oct 23, 2023 | thebubble.org.uk | Thomas P. Russell

My alarm starts to sound. 5:30am. This is the time I went to bed the day before. The thought of getting into the North Sea is grim enough to clinch my duvet tight. There’s no light outside. I leave my bed with the thought of coffee. The kettle whistling, my second alarm. Drinking my coffee by the window, Hal arrives. It’s time to get going. I strap my board to the roof and hop in. It’s Monday morning at Durham and we are going for a sunrise surf.

Sep 7, 2023 | local21news.com | Thomas P. Russell

The severe threat is over for today. Strong storms will pop up again tomorrow afternoon. Staying warm and muggy overnight. TOMORROW: WEATHER WATCH DAY FOR MORE GUSTY STORMS:The timing tomorrow is later in the day, as once again potentially severe thunderstorms sweep through after 5PM. Unfortunately these storms could cause some delays for Friday Night Football games. The hot pattern breaks down even further, but the threat of showers and storms continues.

Jul 27, 2023 | thetrek.co | Thomas P. Russell

Day 31After filling up at the local bakery and stuffing a pizza in my pack we set off from town. We were starting the final section. Usually climbing out of town is heinous but this was lovely. A nice gradual climb in the forest before arriving at a beautiful lake. We couldn’t help but swim. We made a pack that if we could we would swim at every lake and not miss any opportunity.We refused to get caught up in the finishing sprint. Now returning to the mountains feels like returning home.

Jul 15, 2023 | thetrek.co | Thomas P. Russell

Day 25We set off from salardu after a breakfast of omelette sandwiches and magdelenas. The zero did the job (we needed it too) and we both felt refreshed and excited to get back into the mountains. Even after only a day I wanted to get back there. As much as the rest was enjoyed just lying in bed, it felt weird not walking. Straight away we could tell our bodies felt stronger. The little pains in my knees were gone. We climbed out of town, hitting a ski resort.

Jul 7, 2023 | thetrek.co | Thomas P. Russell

Day 16We bumped into Garett last night while eating pizza. So here we were, all four of us having coffee together in the morning. A new section was about to begin. Jack and I said our goodbyes and we headed off onto the trail. Climbing up out of town is always brutal. It was foggy and rainy. Yet Dan was so excited to get started on this trail it was rubbing off on me. Garett had packed out of town town this beautiful freshly baked blueberry muffin pie.