Keep going.
Its not hard , come on!
You should be able to run up this.
Stop being pathetic its just a hill!

This is what I hear when I’m struggling on a climb or a hill or even in the gym. It’s not my voice. It’s my dad’s.

Man up.

As its father’s day I decided to post a short piece about my dad – Derek – who passed away very suddenly a few short  years ago.

To say it all boils down to these things I hear him say is of course totally inadequate, and ludicrous if you knew the man we all loved who was in equal parts the soul of the party and old school gentleman.

When I say I hear these words its not with derision, but a rueful smile he will always be remembered for.

Like my grandfather before him he worked extremely hard, he expected the same of others and he entrusted the responsibility of the household to me as a young boy without siblings when heading off to work away from home.

I like to think I have adopted his gentlemanly expectations. I have manners, I work hard , I respect others . And now that I’ve found the mountains I’m happy to know I’m making him proud in my physical achievements.

On our summer holidays we would head north and spend time in the highlands and only looking back now do I realise how much he loved getting outdoors i was privileged in the true sense to experience it with him.

He’s with me on my mountains now and I raise a glass of Speyside whisky tonight to him.

Man up.