She has been running five days a week, sometimes marathon distance, sometimes shorter, along a route that’s enabled her to inspire in person as many of the UK’s almost half a million Girl Guides as possible. That’s meant treading on sheep poo and thistles in all of the UK’s National Parks, but also chewing gum and kebab wrappers in plenty of cities.

Anna McNuff Ran 2,620 Miles Across Britain in Her Bare Why Anna McNuff Ran 2,620 Miles Across Britain in Her Bare

McNuff is an established motivational and keynote speaker. Her talks focus on the topics of resilience, growth mindset, dealing with change and overcoming a fear of failure. Her TEDx talk, ‘But what if I Fail?’ is a popular example of her talk.Overall though, she seems to be coping remarkably well. Anna’s feet have been through the good and bad so far on Barefoot Britain. Photo: Anna McNuff Safe to say it took a fair bit of training for Anna to prepare her feet for the roads, though. “Being able to talk about tough days openly is not something that comes naturally to people. It’s showing vulnerability. But that’s the only way you’re going to help people. Everybody feels like that sometimes. ” Having the support of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Rangers and all the incredible Girlguiding leaders, hosting me and cheering me on along the way was fantastic. When the going got tough and I wanted to give up, the reason why I had set out on this adventure in the first place kept me determined to reach the end.” While I’ve yet to read it, My Midsummer Morning, where Alastair recreated the journey of Laurie Lee mentioned above, is sure to be another great read. One I’m adding to my list while we’re at home! Final thoughts on the best outdoor books

Barefoot Britain: A running adventure like no other eBook

Anna’s team are editing clips from each stage into vlogs for her YouTube channel. They really chart the ups and downs of the trip, from the beauty of remotest Scotland to down days in tears on tarmac. Anna’s social media is full of photographs of her feet on the mend, bloodied, battered or covered in dirt.

What I’ve learned from all these years doing bonkers adventures around the world,” she says. “Is that if you take on things you think are just beyond what you can actually do, and then somehow make it through, you get this confidence you would never have had otherwise. I’ve also loved There are Other Rivers which is in a different style than the above books. This one tells the story of when Alastair Humphreys walked across India following the course of a holy river. He walked alone and spent nights under the stars or in the homes of strangers. India is a fascinating country and this book gives you a very interesting insight into the people that live there and the nature that surrounds them. Anna McNuff (born 18 October 1984) is a British endurance athlete, adventurer, author and motivational speaker for her long, human powered adventures – most notably running the distance of 90 marathons through Great Britain in her bare feet.