In a kilt for 30 days and the Fort Vancouver 12K!

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                                                                 Over the last four years, I have witnessed some of my fellow kilted friends, from all walks of life, wear their kilts daily for a certain length of time. This could have been for a variety of reasons, from showing their pride in their heritage to raising money for a worthwhile charity. Some of them simply wanted to see if they could wear one every day and how it would impact their lives. This is a great challenge and one that I have always wanted to tackle myself. I've now been able to assemble six kilts and feel better about wearing them for more than a few times a week. But....how long should I make this challenge? And why should I do it?

After looking at the calendar, I think that starting with a thirty day challenge as the best. It is very possible I will extend that after the 30th of March, but I will NOT shorten it. So, there you have it. I'm now going to wear a kilt daily until March 30th!!!

This challenge is not going to be for a charity, to raise funds nor to bring awareness to any specific holiday. Just to show pride in my Scottish and Celtic heritage as well as to show how kilts can look good and make a man proud to wear them.
Now, I might have to find a few more to add to the collection!


Now that I have agreed to take up this thirty day kilt challenge, I'll have to remember to switch up ensembles and NOT to wear trousers (unless it is necessary and needed). Of course, there will be times I cannot wear the kilt, such as when running,etc. But, I shall wear a kilt daily until March 30th!

                                                                                     The challenge began yesterday as I celebrated St Davids Day, a Welsh holiday known by millions around the world. I donned my Welsh Pride tartan kilt and a Cymru jersey as a tribute to this delightful event!

The colours in this kilt are superb, representing the Welsh flag in red and green and also adding yellow for the daffodil. I've always enjoyed the casual kilt combo with black boots and short socks. During the challenge I will also have some more formal kilt days with long hose and sgian du added as well as nicer and more dress up sporrans.


There you have it. The start of the kilt challenge. I shall try to get a blog up weekly with pics of the week's kilts and then post all 30 at the end of the month. Should be great fun!!















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                                                                Yesterday also marked the start of the racing season for me in 2015. I was not at my best after the last four weeks of illness. But, I was ready enough for a fun run and to not really be competitive. It was a cold yet sunny morning at 30° at Fort Vancouver. My running family was there as well as Dena as she attended her first race ever! Ann couldn't make it as she and Rob had previous plans. So to the starting line I went, sizing up who was going to be speedy racers this year.

 Last season it was a 15K race and this year, a 12K. but what a beautiful morning for a race!!   As I ran over the starting mats on my way eastward with all of the runners, I could feel it was going to be a decent day. The hill on 5th and to Evergreen was easier than I expected and I ran with Darhl most of the way till the river. At mile 3 my right hip, which is THE culprit of most of my body pain, was starting to scream at me. I ignored it and pressed on. but at mile 4 near the industrial area along the waterfront my sides started to hurt badly. Just the usual side splits a runner can get and these were nasty. They slowed me down from an 8:04/mile pace to 8:28/mile, making me drop back quite a bit. But, not much can be done when that happens and everyone reading this knows how that goes. So I lumbered on and hit the land bridge knowing it was getting close. The side aches lasted till mile 6, making it a tougher finish. Yet, I made it to the finish at 1:03:11, under the 1:10 I set as a goal yet not under 1:00 which I really wanted.  There were a few photos snapped and then it was time to get going and make our other appointments! A great racing day and I look forward to more this year!!





 As for results...I placed 79th over all out of 397, 8 out of 16 in my age group. Not a bad start to the season in my opinion!!

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