12/01/2026
Do you live in Exeter and have you ever travelled on foot on the Green Circle route?
It's a signposted loop of about 13ish miles that takes in beautiful parts of Exeter that are accessed by off road footpaths and bridleways. Not going to lie, there are some hills 😬 but these only make you stronger! The great thing about it is you can do it easily in sections which you can find on the website.
On Saturday Pearl and I jogged our way around 8 miles of mud and beautiful views and bumping into friends on horses and a big hill and quite a lengthy spotify playlist!
Why would I run this when I can just run on the roads? Because the terrain variability is great for strengthening different muscles, improving proprioception and changing the impact on the joints. Because it's interesting and the miles go a bit quicker. Because incorporating hills into my runs improves my technique and endurance on the flat. Because incorporating really steep hills lets me give myself permission to walk and catch my breath and take stock of how the run is feeling.
Walking is also a much more sensible way of accessing this route! 🤣
Regular walking strengthens muscles and reduces strain on joints and can help to reduce joint pain. It is a low impact exercise for weight loss. Now this is something that I won't talk about often but pain CAN be related to chemicals called cytokines being released from fatty tissue which cause inflammation. It is not about how you look in a swimsuit.
Walking, running, swimming, skipping, rollerblading etc in nature is just good for us. It improves our mood, our sleep, our focus and we get vitamin D from being outside so every step is strengthening our bones.
If your new to any kind of exercise, start slowly and build up. Maybe dont do the whole 13 mile loop in one go straight away, but explore and enjoy and let me know which your fave part is.
