This morning I was up and out for 06:30 determined to get one final, long walk in for October. I almost beat the rain, though the last couple of miles were very wet.

According to the wonders of FitBit, with a bit of help from Microsoft Excel, during October (and with the rest of today still to elapse) I have walked 626, 410 steps... that's a little over one for everyone who resides in Glasgow!  That equates to approximately 284 miles - or the equivalent of walking all the way to Derby going south, or Thurso going north!!

It has been a genuine challenge, not so much the distance, but the getting up early almost every day and fitting in a couple of hours walking around other commitments.

It has been fun though, I have loved listening to the birds, watching squirrels, once seeing a fox, and of course the sunrises (and occasional sunset) have been incredible.  I have been blown away by people's generosity, raising over a thousand pounds for the charity, at a time when many people are struggling.  I feel fitter than I have done for a long time, and I'm sure the endorphins are a good thing.  I am sleeping more hours a night than I have for years (still not the recommended level, but more!).  And of course the bonus of eating cakes with impunity - I've eaten a LOT of cake!

And God in this?  Oh yes.  In the stillness before the world gets up, it's just 'me and God' and I love it. In the beauty of nature.  In the generosity of others.  In the smiles of strangers.  In the fleeting and in the continuing.

It's been a blast.  And I am so pleased to have been able to do it.

With three days of October left, I have, apparently, walked 583, 073 steps, which is evidently 256.84 miles (that feels at least two decimal places too precise).

It's been a good challenge, and I have really enjoyed getting up and getting out to see what each new day brings.  Will I keep on stepping?  Yes, but probably not at quite the same level (although at this level I can justifiy eating cakes!).  I find that the early walks have a number of benefits for me...

• I return energised for the day ahead
• I have time and space to reflect and pray
• I am better able to separate 'work' from 'home' (indeed, on the days I get a second walk after work, it's a great wind down)

I am probably a tad odd, but early dark feels different from late dark, so I think it'll be mostly early walks going forward!

This morning as I strode around the streets, enjoying the fact that the return of GMT meant it was light by the time I was half way round, I saw the most beautiful rainbow.  Unusually, I could see the full arc and where it touched the rooves of building either side of a main road.

The wonders of a smartphone camera meant I could take a 'panoramic' view to capture it in its entirety.

A few minutes later the rainbow was gone, but the joy and hope carry on.

This morning I broke through the 400,000 steps in October target... it was a very soggy walk, starting out in the dark at 8 o'clock and still remarkably grey two and a half hours later when I sat down with a lovely hot cuppa and hot buttered toast.

Technically, I could stop walking now, but I won't, of course.

For one thing, for each completed 10k steps in a single day, I call to mind one person I've known who died of breast cancer.  I reset those steps to zero each day, so in nineteen days I have recalled 36 names... still a few to go.

For another, it suits my personality to get up and out early, to pound pavements, to ponder important things and even to pray.  I don't anticipate walking 20 thousand plus a day, as I've done today, on a regular basis, but keep on stepping I certainly will.

And it's a lived metaphor for life or spirituality... one step at a time, whatever the weather, from the old to new, God travelling along with me.

It's a few weeks now since the outrage that prompted #BlackLivesMatter events.  There is a risk that it all gets forgetten about.  A group of Baptist Ministers, and their friends of other traditions and none, have created this video to encourage people of goodwill to petition the UK Government to act on what it has previously identified as necessary.  Take a look, and if you feel so moved, consider signing the petition here.