It’s the question that comes up most often before booking. Here is a straight answer, so that nobody gives up for fear of not being fit enough.
I’ll be direct, because that is what reassures people most. No, you do not need to be sporty for a RandoSpa. If you can walk for two hours at an easy pace, with breaks, you have the level. And most of the people who ask me, convinced they will never manage it, finish the walk without even noticing, because we have been chatting the whole way. Let’s look at what those two hours actually involve.
Two hours, but at what pace?
The word walk sometimes puts people off, as if it meant grinding out ascent with your teeth clenched. It is nothing like that. We move at the pace of a brisk stroll, the one that lets you talk without getting out of breath. I choose the routes with exactly that in mind, favouring easy rolling paths over steep climbs. There are breaks, we look at the landscape, we get our breath back. Two hours at that pace go by far quicker than an hour on a treadmill in a gym, and without the feeling of a chore.
Nordic walking, an easy extra
On some outings we use Nordic walking poles. Plenty of people imagine they are reserved for the initiated. In fact they are the opposite of an added difficulty. The poles spread the effort, take the strain off the legs and the joints, and make walking easier, not harder. I show the technique at the start, it takes a few minutes, and everyone gets the hang of it. It is often what puts the people who doubted themselves at the beginning most at ease.
To put it very concretely, a RandoSpa is nothing like a race. We stop to look at a viewpoint, to drink, to get our breath back for a couple of minutes. The ascent stays moderate, and I avoid it as soon as it adds nothing to the outing. The idea is never to push you into the red, but to get you enough fresh air for the body to wake up and the head to empty. You finish the walk pleasantly tired, never exhausted, in the perfect state to enjoy lunch and then the spa.
What really matters
Rather than physical fitness, what makes the day enjoyable comes down to three small things.
- Good shoes that hold the foot, or walking trainers.
- Water and comfortable clothing suited to the weather on the day.
- The wish to get some fresh air at an easy pace, without putting pressure on yourself.
The rest is my job. I adapt the pace to the group in front of me, I keep an eye on everyone, and I make sure nobody feels left trailing. As there are never more than eight of us, it is easy to stay attentive to everybody, to slow down when needed and to leave nobody behind.
What I notice is that the fear of not being fit enough almost always comes from a bad image of hiking, the one with endless climbs under a blazing sun. The RandoSpa has nothing to do with that. It is a wellbeing walk, chosen and paced to stay gentle, where the aim is pleasure and not performance. Once that idea sinks in, most of the doubts fall away on their own, and all that is left is the wish to get outside.
And what if I really am unsure?
Then write to me before you book. Tell me where you are at, whether you already walk a little or not at all, whether you have any particular discomfort. I will answer you honestly, and I will tell you if the outing coming up suits you or whether it is better to wait for a gentler route. I would far rather have someone reassured beforehand than someone anxious at the start. The point of the RandoSpa is wellbeing, and it begins long before the first step.
You will find the full programme on the RandoSpa page, and if you want to understand why this combination does so much good, take a look at the five benefits of combining hiking and a spa.
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Reassured? Come and join us
The RandoSpa runs in a small group, at an easy pace, with lunch and the spa in a partner four star hotel and spa, for €65. Join the RandoSpa WhatsApp group to get the next dates and ask all your questions.