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Master the art of using your poles efficiently in The Lake District fells (poles provided).
Get the poles bug, and learn to love your new skill and those hills!

A bespoke Course for 13V Recce Participants for the - 13 Valleys, 7 Valleys, 5 Valleys & 2 Valleys events in September 2025.  You are welcome to book the course if you are thinking of trying any of these events, or indeed friends with someone participating.

Hiking Highs would like to thank The Great Run Company (event organisers), for the opportunity to work alongside them in delivering the Leki Poles Courses.

This workshop is ideal if you are entering these ultra distance events and wishing to increase your efficiency whilst hiking or running, uphill or downhill, or over technical ground.

Equipment: Leki demo poles will be provided to use and try before you buy with 10% off the retail price (no obligation to buy).

Time: 9am-2pm (5 Hours)

Workshop Plan:
Part 1 - basic techniques - begin with fundamentals of efficient use of poles, and how this changes the way your body moves once it becomes a quadruped (2 legs / 2 poles!).  
Part 2 - a journey on the fellside will follow moving onto hill techniques for both uphill and downhill and over technical ground with ease.
We will have fun with our poles, even learning to skip for strength and fitness too.
We do not cover more than 10km on our course, as this is about ‘learning a skill’ not the distance… 

Hiking Highs coach, Nicky Merrett, developed the techniques from the very beginning, for the rudiments of Nordic Walking, and using the upper body equally as hard as the lower body for movement in the fells.  Nicky begun her coaching for poles in 2015 and has taught over 1000 hikers/runners since then... Both Nicky & Sean have now qualified as instructors with British Nordic Walking and will be passing their 10 Steps System on to you.  A strong foundation of how your body moves is essential to building up to moving quickly with you poles....

You need to learn to walk before you can run - literally!

Our coach will teach you how to:

• Increase uphill speed by ⅓ with correct posture and pole plant
• Use 90% of your muscles, by using upper body equally as hard as lower body
• Strengthen lower back and core muscles - use these correctly and the rest of the body will just work alongside them with your poles
• Lift pelvic floor, essential for everyone, this is where the power for our shoulder/arm strength originates in the body
• Alleviate pressure on knees/hips/ankles on the descents
• Additional balance techniques/protection for speedy descents
• Manage your poles over technical and rough ground, to give confidence, allowing constant speeds where otherwise one may be hesitate
• Have excellent ‘pole etiquette’ around other walkers and runners, no one likes poles flying everywhere at gates/stiles or when not being used
• Understand when to use your poles, which will be different for everyone, depending on your goals
  AND most of all have fun in the fells with 4 legs!

Please note that this session is all about technique and not about the hike or run, you can head off to practice after your course.  The course will entail a 10km-15km distance, dependent on participants and weather on the day.

This course will be delivered by our Leki Poles Coach - Sean Bolland

 

View the Course Disclaimer / Terms and Conditions.

View the Course Cancellation / Refund Policy.

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