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Everyone's distance is different. I walk slow and have a bad back, so won't be going 15 miles a day.
My suggestion is to walk each day and build up your distance ability. Then walk each day with your pack lightly loaded, build up the weight over time. By the time you are ready to leave for your Camino, you will know how far you can walk each day. Plan your stops to fit what you are able to do. And plan for some rest days in cities you would like to spend time.
 
Hi and welcome here Jim!

You are still young!! And from what I observed on the different Caminos the more senior pilgrims are more often than not less prone to blisters and injuries because they know their body better.

I would advice to start slowly ( same advice I would give to younger people btw ) and take it day by day.
If you start from St Jean Pied de Port you can break that first day up.
From then on there is an albergue/ hostal or peension at least every ten k ( except I guess the part from Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla but by then you will be on a roll ).
Do not feel you have to follow the " stages " the guidebooks suggests.
 
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Welcome to the forum Jim. I walked the Camino Frances as a relatively fit 65 year old 2 years ago. The first stages were slow going but then my strength and stamina slowly increased so longer days became possible and upon reaching Santiago the weight of my backpack seemed to have reduced by several kilos - it hadn't, but I was just so much fitter by then. @jo webber gives good advice. Be prepared to start with initial days of short mileage and see how you feel. Buen camino!
 
Take half of what you need to take and don't hesitate to forward your pack it is a great service. The best footwear is addis runners don't bother about hiking boots I just completed camino France and did not get one blister using my cushioned comfortable footwear, remember if you need anything you just buy it at a really cheap price in Spain which also has the cheapest medications in the world Have great time walk from about 6.30 and Finnish no later than 1 pm and you will still have 9 odd hours of sunlight to regenerate your body. Have fun
 
Welcome to the forum and good luck with your planning.
When I started my first camino I was sure that I would never manage more than 15km a day but it doesn't take long to build up stamina. The best part of the Frances is that there are plenty of options for stopping, just make sure you have a good guide book and know where the stopping places and the watering holes are and make good use of them. Spring is a wonderful time to walk.
 
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Welcome to the forum and good luck with your planning.
When I started my first camino I was sure that I would never manage more than 15km a day but it doesn't take long to build up stamina. The best part of the Frances is that there are plenty of options for stopping, just make sure you have a good guide book and know where the stopping places and the watering holes are and make good use of them. Spring is a wonderful time to walk.
Sulu's watering holes involve beer Grande lol
 
Welcome to the forum and good luck with your planning.
When I started my first camino I was sure that I would never manage more than 15km a day but it doesn't take long to build up stamina. The best part of the Frances is that there are plenty of options for stopping, just make sure you have a good guide book and know where the stopping places and the watering holes are and make good use of them. Spring is a wonderful time to walk.
Good advice from all I was thinking 15 mi a day , Thanks
 
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Hi, Jim, and welcome. As others have said, everyone is different. I assume you are asking about the average daily distance so that you can plan your travel. If you have not tested your walking at home with 2 or 3 consecutive days of 10-15 miles, then you really don't know how you will respond.

I suggest that you plan not more than 20 km/day (12.5 miles) on average. That means 40 days for the 800 km. If all goes well, and you get to Santiago a few days early, then you can walk on to Finistera or simply enjoy Santiago or another place in Spain. If you don't have that much time, then consider starting at a point closer to Santiago - Roncesvalles, Pamplona, Burgos are all easy to get to, and would provide a long enough walk to satisfy you. Remember also that you may need a day or two at the start to recover from your travel.

I would never say that "the best footwear is" a particular type or brand. The best footwear is whatever feels best on your foot. Heavy traditional hiking boots are definitely not necessary, but many people still love their lightweight boots (which I use). Many others prefer lower trail shoes (which I use for daily walking at home). Either way, you should be sure that they conform to the shape of your foot, that they are roomy enough to accommodate thicker socks (to simulate swelling), and that they feel good on your foot right out of the box.

No one has mentioned walking poles yet. I would strongly recommend that you use them. They take a bit of getting used to, but watch some YouTube videos and don't be afraid to asked more experienced walkers to give you tips.
 
Sulu's watering holes involve beer Grande lol
Now how do you know that??
Coffee is important too! Just sitting down and taking your boots off is pretty wonderful, though I do try to sit outside a bar to do that.
I would reckon that 15 miles is a reasonable distance to walk but probably not for the first few days, if you can help it. By the end you may find you can do longer, my experience says that it is good to finish early afternoon and have time to recover, my body takes a little while to relax and get over the days walk, I also often hit a wall after about a week.
It's also worth remembering Spain's strange eating hours, I can't cope with them generally and prefer to self cater but there are wonderful areas of Spain where you get a 'tapa' or 'pincho' with your drink, so nooo, I go for a small beer, after 2 and 2 pinchos I feel like I've had lunch. A cool beer and a piece of Spanish omelette is a wonderful way to relax once you get to your destination.
 
I was reading something about medieval pilgrims and they used to do some very short days and some very long. Nowadays people all seem to think they should be doing the same distance each day, I wonder why.
 
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I was reading something about medieval pilgrims and they used to do some very short days and some very long. Nowadays people all seem to think they should be doing the same distance each day, I wonder why.
It's possible that the facilities such as albergues were not spaced so evenly across the distance. At each stop, they were likely advised of where accommodation would be for the next few days, and that's where they stopped.
 
I was reading something about medieval pilgrims and they used to do some very short days and some very long. Nowadays people all seem to think they should be doing the same distance each day, I wonder why.
If I do a very long day I have to do a short day next day, I suppose it depends on how you define long and short! But perhaps this is about listening to your body, as someone else said, and not feeling you have a commitment to be somewhere on a certain day.
 
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Like they would walk 40km, and then 10km.
When I walk 40k anything beyond 10 the next day is very hard but it does depend on accommodation. At least on the Frances there is plenty of accommodation so 40k's are never necessary, they would only be done because of an 'I feel great I'll carry on' moment, or I'm superman/superwoman moments and those people often come a cropper. Having said that I met a 74 year old Frenchman on the Aragones who walked 40+ every day but it was what he did!
I wonder what those medieval pilgrims were really like, they were certainly more used to walking than we are, other forms of transport were not easy to come by, but just think of their footwear!! They didn't carry back-packs though!
So Jim, do what you think is right but listen to the medieval pilgrims you may come across on the way, and I do not joke, I am sure some of them still hover about, I could sense them all in Hospitales, but that's another camino.
 
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Hola Jim and yes a very warm welcome to the Forum. You have just inherited a whole new extended family. Sorry if we overwhelm you!!

Starting the Camino is often a bit apprehensive. My advice - start slowly. If you intend to take the "Napoleon Track" (via Orisson) then plan to stay here the first night, yes its only 8-9 km (5 miles) but it is ALL UP Hill from St Jean. If the weather is or is forecast to be adverse then the valley route via Valcarlos is available - again overnight here. From Roncesvalles set your own pace, if you are happy with 15km (8 miles) for the first 4 or 5 days then thats what it is. You need to get what I like to think of as "being Camino Fit" (in both mind/body/feet). Buen Camino
 
@Jim McMurtie ,hi
You've had a lot of good stuff to mull over.
As someone who was born before you I have a different perpsective.

That is to do a lot of preparation beforehand. With the objective of making the days is Spain more enjoyable.

My suggestion is that you have a regular training walk at least once a week with all you gear, including pack etc. That way you find, for example, what shoes or boots best suit you.

Start, of course, with easy distances and not much in the way of hill work.

And build up to, say, regular trips of 30 km (20 miles?) trips with elevation gain of up to 700 metres (2 000 feet)

My first training walk was a whole 5 km and was a nightmare. It took about 3 months to crack 30 km. And quite a bit longer to crack 700 metres of elevation. As well as getting the body used to that regime I was also getting the head ready to cope.

So whether the hill was just after Saint-Jean or Pamplona I was able to enjoy the scenery and the people.

Kia kaha (take care, be strong, get going)
 
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My suggestion is that you have a regular training walk at least once a week with all you gear, including pack etc. That way you find, for example, what shoes or boots bet suit you.
That is very sound advice. Quite a lot of people run into problems because they start walking with little practice and with brand new and untested clothing and gear which they have been carefully setting aside for their journey. Far better to give everything - your body and your kit - a good testing well in advance. Any problems you spot in the run-up to your Camino are likely to be far easier to fix before you board the plane for Spain.
 
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One further suggestion for uphill work

I have found, for me, the steeper the hill the shorter the pace.

For example: shortly after leaving Saint-Jean the heel of one foot did not go beyond the ball of the other foot. About 200 mm ( 8 inches). Further, as one foot went down I would breathe in and breathe out as the other foot went down. Coupled with my training regime I stopped at Orisson only to check on the weather.

As the path levelled out so my pace lengthened.

Kia kaha
 
I am planning to walk the French Way this spring. I am 72 and relatively healthy. What is a reasonable distance for me to walk each day.
As a 68 yr old very fit my walking pace 5 km per hour. I walk 4 to 6 hours so a 25 to 30 km day very easy. Most pilgrims average 25 km a day buen camino
 
I have short legs. I am a 3km an hour girl, leaving at 7:00, arriving, assuming albergue choices of the Frances, around 3 or 4pm. 23 km a day is my zone. 20 once in a whole is a welcomed break, less than that and I find the need to fill the void, more than that and I walk the last strech :(:confused::eek::mad:o_O in my head.
 
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