Realistic km to walk per day

[tammyb]

Hey, I am 53 and planning to walk from Leon to Santiago in late Sept of 2012. This is the first time I have done anything like this and am VERY excited. I have rheumatoid arthritis that is somewhat under control but limits me a bit. I will be a wanderer and not a fast walker. Friends and family have told me to stay close to or under 15 km per day (they have not walked the camino) but that doesn't sound like a lot. I will be traveling from the US so need to factor jet lag into the scenerio as well. Is 18 days sufficient to walk from Leon? Also, what can I expect from the weather that time of year?

 

[KiwiNomad06]

Tammy, I am a similar age, and it took me 14 days from Leon to Santiago in 2008. My body was walking-fit but tired by that stage. There are a couple of climbs en route- to Cruz de Ferro and O'Cebreiro. You might be fine, or you might want to make your daily required distance a little shorter perhaps by visiting Leon (a beautiful, vibrant city) and then busing ahead to say Hospital de Orbigo to start your walk from there. To receive a Compostela, you do need to walk all of the last 100km from just after Sarria, but if you are finding it tough going before you reach Sarria, you could always make a judgement call somewhere en route to skip ahead a little bit by public transport or taxi.
All the best,
Margaret

 

[julie]

Tammy, I was 54 when I went for the first time. By the time we're in our 50s, we've lived long enough to know when our body has had enough. Be kind to yourself. Some days you'll walk much further than you thought you would but, on other days, you're likely to want to take it easier.

Leon to Santiago in 18 days would normally give you time for a few days to savour Santiago at the end. However, that information needs to be qualified because I don't have rheumatoid arthritis.

You're the only one who can actually answer your question. After a few days walking you'll know what's possible and what's not. You can then decide whether you need to skip a few stages.

I set out from St Jean Pied-de-Port on 31 August and found September to be terrific for walking the Camino. The weather was settled, still quite hot but not overly so. Perhaps I was just lucky that time.

I've since done a few other pilgrimages and other long distance walks and what I've found is that it doesn't really matter what the weather is like. When you are walking for a few weeks and traversing a country, the weather is bound to change. It's something you have no control over so just go with whatever happens.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

I'm 73, reasonable fit - but over-weight! Last year I averaged 16 kms a day - maximum 24 kms. I leave in 4 weeks for Via de la Plata, and have scheduled the same daily distance which should give me time for a few days break here and there, after the mountainous paths.
Buen camino!
Stephen
http://www.calig.co.uk/camino_de_santiago.htm

 

[mspath]

Hey, I am 53 and planning to walk from Leon to Santiago in late Sept of 2012. This is the first time I have done anything like this and am VERY excited. I have rheumatoid arthritis that is somewhat under control but limits me a bit. I will be a wanderer and not a fast walker. Friends and family have told me to stay close to or under 15 km per day (they have not walked the camino) but that doesn't sound like a lot. I will be traveling from the US so need to factor jet lag into the scenerio as well. Is 18 days sufficient to walk from Leon? Also, what can I expect from the weather that time of year?

Tammy,

As others have written each day depends on many factors.

Remember few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much....Ralph Waldo Emerson

Drink lots of water and relax.
Water helps prevent painful tendonitis. One of the most important 'rules' of the Camino (and life) is to 'let it be'.

Walking pace and determination
Start walking slowly and go very easy for the first week. Daily distances cited in the guidebooks are not sacred; do not attempt 40 km the first day! ‘Slow, but dependable’ could be my motto. Since I am old (73) I average 20 km per day for 55 days to walk from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago and continuing to Finisterre. The furthest I ever walked was 33k in heavy rain to Olveiroa ; this was one of the WORST days ever and as exhausting as my first time up to Roncevalles!... Consider the topography and the weather plus your health and pack weight as well as personal strength and ability to endure. On the Camino everyone moves as he wishes; only the last 100km MUST be walked in order to receive the treasured Compostela or pilgrim certificate in Santiago.

...
What matters is to DO IT!

As pilgrims said in the Middle Ages Ultreia! or Further!

Margaret

 

[eslinda]

My husband and I walked from Leon to Santiago in late September, 2010. We were 62 at the time, first time pilgrims, and hikers, really. The second day I walked 33 km and got such horrible blisters that I felt disabled for the next two weeks, walking very very slowly, as each step killed, but we did walk that distance in 15 days, probably averaging 20 km per day. Having said that, I know that the best days were those few when we walked 15 km per day. It's one thing to walk 15 - 20 km one day, but when you walk that distance every day for two weeks or so, your body reacts differently. I think your goal is reasonable but, as others have said, it's such an individual experience that it's hard to predict what someone else can/will do. Buen Camino!