Nettles

There is a comment in Richard Askwith's Running free about nettles stimulating the blood circulation. If this is true, I get my circulation stimulated at some point on most of my training runs between May and October. No, I'm not deliberately indulging in some kind of self-flagellation; it just happens that many of the otherwise excellent paths that I use for my runs have short stretches where they are encroached on by nettles. But does anyone on the forum have any definitive information about the effect of nettle stings on circulation?

Great writer, great book. Trouble is he wanted to Holmsie himself up a bit. The opening pages sounded worse than any run I've ever heard of....he is / was in awe of the legends and was highly aware he wasn't a Borrowdale shepherd, or dry-stone waller (like we mostly aren't). If you want to toughen yourself up on a run get a skinful down you, skip breakfast and wear a pair of shoes two sizes too small...

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Originally Posted by Derby Tup

Great writer, great book. Trouble is he wanted to Holmsie himself up a bit. The opening pages sounded worse than any run I've ever heard of....he is / was in awe of the legends and was highly aware he wasn't a Borrowdale shepherd, or dry-stone waller (like we mostly aren't)....

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I won't listen to a word against Richard and I donated an obscure book from Bill Smith's collection that he was seeking but...he is a journalist first and a fell runner a long way second.

His crime to fell writing is that FITC encouraged many who are fell runners to believe they are also journalists which has led to too many overwritten, hyperbolic, inflated descriptions of the mundane activity of just going out for a run.

Bill Smith didn't use many adjectives: and when he did he used them sparingly.http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/images/smilies/wink.png

So, Graham, I can't help feeling you've drifted "off-topic" here. FITC, Bill's bookshelf, journalism are all fine . . . but do stinging nettles have a place in the training program of a male, senior fell runner? Yeah, or neh?

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Originally Posted by Graham Breeze

His crime to fell writing is that FITC encouraged many who are fell runners to believe they are also journalists which has led to too many overwritten, hyperbolic, inflated descriptions of the mundane activity of just going out for a run.

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Surely "the crime" was that it encouraged many who are journalists (etc) into thinking that they could just rock-up and attempt a BG without the correct preparation?

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

Surely "the crime" was that it encouraged many who are journalists (etc) into thinking that they could just rock-up and attempt a BG without the correct preparation?

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Well for a time fell running became a topic of fashion: every newspaper and magazine and comic (and some TV programmes) would have to print/show its own "me too" article on what adventurous activity some non-runner participated in last weekend to show it was up to date with the latest trend (I almost wrote zeitgeist) . Whoo hoo Pippa Middleton!

;)

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Originally Posted by anthonykay

There is a comment in Richard Askwith's Running free about nettles stimulating the blood circulation. If this is true, I get my circulation stimulated at some point on most of my training runs between May and October. No, I'm not deliberately indulging in some kind of self-flagellation; it just happens that many of the otherwise excellent paths that I use for my runs have short stretches where they are encroached on by nettles. But does anyone on the forum have any definitive information about the effect of nettle stings on circulation?

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I have no idea about the effects on the circulation but I do like a good nettle sting, I reckon this time of year they're especially bad, as if in the throes of death they go nuclear, so if they are found to be good for circulation then nows the time of year to get nettled I reckon.
As an aside although still slightly on topic, I'm nursing what I think is a piece of Spartina in my little toe (sand dune running) I've had a dig but to no avail, I'm sure it'll self eject at some point but I reckon that Spartina grass is sharper at this time of year as well, unless due to the onset of Winter, runners get softer :D

to get back on topic, according to this seemingly fairly credible website, stinging nettle tea can do all sorts of wonders, but of the sting itself
"When they come into contact with a painful area of the body, however, they can actually decrease the original pain. Scientists think nettle does this by reducing levels of inflammatory chemicals in the body, and by interfering with the way the body transmits pain signals".

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Originally Posted by Graham Breeze

Well for a time fell running became a topic of fashion: every newspaper and magazine and comic (and some TV programmes) would have to print/show its own "me too" article on what adventurous activity some non-runner participated in last weekend to show it was up to date with the latest trend (I almost wrote zeitgeist) . Whoo hoo Pippa Middleton!

;)

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Which one is Pippa Middleton - is she married to Royalty?

I ran an ultra in Andorra that had Kilian racing in - felt a bit like running with Catalan Royalty!

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Originally Posted by luxinterior

Which one is Pippa Middleton - is she married to Royalty?

I ran an ultra in Andorra that had Kilian racing in - felt a bit like running with Catalan Royalty!

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Wow! What a privileged opportunity.

So...what are Kilian's views on nettles?

Some good info here: http://qi.com/infocloud/nettles

Interesting.

P.S. We live in an age of hyperbole. Richard is an awesome journalist-fell runner.

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Originally Posted by noel

Some good info here: http://qi.com/infocloud/nettles

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It mentions "increase circulation", but doesn't say whether this is done by being stung or drinking nettle infusion. I'm no wiser.

Either Yorkshire tea or selected hops, infused in Pennine water, are what you should be drinking

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Originally Posted by Derby Tup

Either Yorkshire tea or selected hops, infused in Pennine water, are what you should be drinking

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I assure you that my wife insists that our morning brew is Yorkshire tea.

You just need the Tim Taylors Ram Tam, or Ilkley Mary Jane, or Goose Eye Chinook of an evening and you'll be getting there . . .

The transition period between the mud season and the nettle season has been rather short this year. Indeed, following this morning's rain, I ended today's run with both nettle-rash and muddy socks.

I had a mug of nettle (and ginger) tea yesterday. It was quite nice actually. Didn't give me a sore throat either.

I'm awake late with tingly legs from an onslaught of hundreds of the buggers earlier in the day.
My grandad many years ago had stinging therapy around an ankle injury 50 years after sustaining it in the war. He swore by it (and probably during!), and it did increase mobility immediately following a dose.

I have let some corners of my garden go wild, and I have just noticed a couple of nettles there that must be 7 feet tall!

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Originally Posted by anthonykay

There is a comment in Richard Askwith's Running free about nettles stimulating the blood circulation. If this is true, I get my circulation stimulated at some point on most of my training runs between May and October. No, I'm not deliberately indulging in some kind of self-flagellation; it just happens that many of the otherwise excellent paths that I use for my runs have short stretches where they are encroached on by nettles. But does anyone on the forum have any definitive information about the effect of nettle stings on circulation?

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I seem to recall reading somewhere that North American indigenous people (on the east coast) would rub stinging nettles into their calves when they became fatigued while running long distances (the horse only arrived as a means of transport after the Europeans colonised the place). Sorry, I can't find the original source and a quick online search hasn't revealed anything. They certainly inject some speed into my pace :)

After yesterday's run, I will now have to abandon a particular route due to the blighters. Shoulder high grass, nettles and brambles. Almost impenetrable but persevered as the thought of turning around was equally unappealing. Will return next in the autumn if the Worcestershire CC path clearing team don't show up.

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Originally Posted by PeteS

After yesterday's run, I will now have to abandon a particular route due to the blighters. Shoulder high grass, nettles and brambles. Almost impenetrable but persevered as the thought of turning around was equally unappealing. Will return next in the autumn if the Worcestershire CC path clearing team don't show up.

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Surely the trick is to use all your local routes on a regular 'rota' to stop or stamp down such growth before it becomes excessive?

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

Surely the trick is to use all your local routes on a regular 'rota' to stop or stamp down such growth before it becomes excessive?

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Nice idea but sadly the amount of running I do does not keep pace with the growth of weeds. I'm also one for going off the beaten track so doubt they get much footfall other than me and the dog. In some ways it's a good thing - I enjoy the seasonality of some of my routes knowing that the clear, fast path of winter will at some point become impassable later in the year. A chance to rethink old routes and take in some different scenery.

I was once told that the serotonin boost nettles provide acts as a light stimulant, but that too much can leave you wobbly.

Also that having a good sting in spring can raise antibodies to reduce the immune system's response to pollen, lowering susceptibility to hayfever for a period of time.

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Originally Posted by ba-ba

Also that having a good sting in spring can raise antibodies to reduce the immune system's response to pollen, lowering susceptibility to hayfever for a period of time.

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Makes sense: I am the only one in my family who doesn't get much hayfever, and I am the only one who goes running along nettle-lined footpaths.

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

Surely the trick is to use all your local routes on a regular 'rota' to stop or stamp down such growth before it becomes excessive?

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Or invest in a sickle and spend an hour chopping the brambles and nettles down; I've "adopted" a stretch of path nearby so I can use it wearing shorts. The sickle is carried in a bag before use so I don't frighten passers-by!

SO read somewhere else that a good sting occupies the immune system so it's too busy to get het-up over Pollen.
Tried this the other day but still suffering. Need to find a few more patches I think!

Competed in the 4th round of this year's lakeland lanequest series last night at Ulverston. After 75 minutes of the permitted 120, I was collecting my 9th control whilst asrtide the top tube of my bike when the vegetation beside the fingerpost gave away and my front wheel dived into a hidden ditch, This pitched me over the 'bars; I demolished part of the thorn hedge and landed in the bottom of the ditch covered in nettle stings, thistle and thorn scratches with the bike on top of me and some of the hedge on top of the bike. Keswick AC's Angela Brand-Barker was directly behind me; she first rescued the bike then me. I thanked her profusely but did remonstrate that in rescuing the bike she had not valeted it!
In the remaining 45 minutes I managed to punch at another 9 controls - driven on by the stimulation of the nettle stings and embedded thorns in all 4 limbs and nose.

Ian Roberts, Bowland F.R.

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

Competed in the 4th round of this year's lakeland lanequest series last night at Ulverston. After 75 minutes of the permitted 120, I was collecting my 9th control whilst asrtide the top tube of my bike when the vegetation beside the fingerpost gave away and my front wheel dived into a hidden ditch, This pitched me over the 'bars; I demolished part of the thorn hedge and landed in the bottom of the ditch covered in nettle stings, thistle and thorn scratches with the bike on top of me and some of the hedge on top of the bike. Keswick AC's Angela Brand-Barker was directly behind me; she first rescued the bike then me. I thanked her profusely but did remonstrate that in rescuing the bike she had not valeted it!
In the remaining 45 minutes I managed to punch at another 9 controls - driven on by the stimulation of the nettle stings and embedded thorns in all 4 limbs and nose.

Ian Roberts, Bowland F.R.

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Well done in completing Ian though sounds like a minor scrape by your standards.

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Originally Posted by wheezing donkey

Keswick AC's Angela Brand-Barker was directly behind me; she first rescued the bike then me.

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Name-dropper!

Have you thought of adding nettle extract to your infamous briney Coke Ian?