***El Camino de Santiago***

500 mile, 1200 year old pilgrimage across Spain

An interview with Anne Sieverding
1-What adventure did you just tackle?

My husband and I walked El Camino de Santiago — a 500 mile 1200 year old pilgrimage across Spain. There are many Camino routes but we chose the most traveled route — the Camino Frances. We walked from St. Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The first section took us from France across the Pyrenees Mountains and into Spain. The rest of the walk traveled through five Spanish provinces including crossing 200 miles of flat-as-pancake plains and finally over the Cantabrian mountains. We walked through the ancient cities of Pamplona, Burgos, and Leon, as well as dozens of tiny villages.

2-How long did it take you?

We took 38 days to complete the walk, 32 days of walking and 6 rest days. On rest days we visited the historic cities along the route and some incredible gothic cathedrals.

3-What was a day like?

Each day’s walk was different because the distances between the hostels and villages varied, the terrain varied, and the weather varied. Our longest day was 21 miles and the shortest was 6 miles. Over the 500 miles walked we climbed 43,000 ft. We usually walked 15-20 miles each day. We’d leave early am — sometimes before coffee because the Spanish schedule is very different — stores open at 9 or 10, close again at 1, and re-open at 5. Dinner is usually eaten at around 9 p.m. So we had to work our plans around availability of supplies and food and accommodation. We carried our packs and refilled water as needed. We’d walk 5-8 hours a day. Scenery was amazing and the people were delightful so we took our time to enjoy the experience.

4-How has CrossFit helped prepare you for this trek?

CrossFit helped prepare me with all around strength to walk for hours each day while carrying everything I needed on my back! We needed core strength, balance, endurance, and determination! All those days at Pallas when I figured there’s no way I could do the WOD but once I tried there was a way. Maybe not the way Tim would do it but my own way and that was empowering.

5-How long have you done CrossFit?

I started 4 years ago when I turned 63.

6- What was your favorite part of the journey?

The meditative process of putting one foot in front of another for hours on end and just being where my feet were. A totally immersive experience.

7- What was the hardest part?

It was really hard to stop. When we got to Santiago we wanted to keep going and returning to reality was a jolt. We are incredibly fortunate to have been able to take this time out of our lives to walk together across a slice of romantic and ancient Europe.

8- What would you tell someone hesitant to start CrossFit?

Do it your own way. There’s a way to do CrossFit that honors everyone’s abilities and goals. Modify, scale, have fun, and listen to your body.

Walking Across Spain with Anne Sieverding

An interview with Anne Sieverding