London 2 Brighton Challenge: The Debrief
In running events I very quickly find myself in an enforced solitude, I start in the pack but within yards of the start the group have spread thin and my mind is free to wander. As a reformed antisocial loner I’m quite a fan of solitude. With mass participation walking...
Earth Runners Minimal Earthing Sandals
Flip flop sandals have always filled me with fear, particularly the thong style with inter-toe strap, which seems like an horrific big toe accident waiting to happen. Obviously I’ve been intrigued by the huarache sandals made famous by the Tarahumara and the book, Born to run. Intrigued, but not even...
Packing my Bags
I’m in to the final taper week for London2Brighton. I was scheduled for a gentle 10-miler but due to the actions of rogue trader, Russell Hollick we were rather pre-occupied attempting to clear up his mess. We were unfortunately introduced to this serial scam artist (aka Russ Hollick Heating Engineer)...
Operation Surgical Spirit
This weekend was going to be epic. Mileage to the max plus a curry with Rach. We ticked the curry off no bother, which just left the miles to deal with themselves. The plan was for Lynn to drop me close to the start of the Grantham canal which happens...
Long Walks and Gadget Melt Down
I’m still struggling with the temporary transition from running to walking and yesterdays outing with multiple gadget failure just hammered another nail in the coffin. Today’s gadget doesn’t support the long drawn out monotony of a distance walk and if I can’t play with technology I’m just not that bothered....
Sophisticated Ladies Run for Bolly
Back in 2007, at my first Bushy Park Run I was introduced to two women who exposed me to the joys of sophisticated running. I’ve never been a stranger to the pleasure of a post run Stella but these two raised the bar with their post run champagne and canapes....
Return to Running School
Just over 18 months ago I enrolled myself on a crash course at The Running School determined to overhaul my running style and evolve into an efficient, faster, pain free runner. Back in the summer of 2011 I was racked with plantar fasciitis pain and experimenting with barefoot running as...
New Year Planning of Ultra Proportions
I’ve never been a great fan of New Year’s eve, the social pressures generally make me quake with inadequacy. In recent years though I have discovered the joys of New Year planning, preferably to be conducted with a glass of wine and a credit card in hand. You need to...
An Excuse of Seagulls
I knew today’s run was going to be a struggle. I awoke raring to go but somehow managed to squander 90 mins with pre-run faff, I wasted another 20 mins in the car trying to program the sat nav to take me to my “usual” run destination and when I...
The Great North Run and the ABC Plan
It’s always good to have a plan B but why stop there? The A plan would have seen romping home at the Bupa Great North Run in a new personal best of somewhere shy of 2:56:14 but when I failed to lose the 2 stone accumulated since the last PB...
Alternative Wisdom for the Great North Run - 9 Insider Tips
As I prepare to head up north for my fourth running of the Bupa Great North Run, I feel it is time to assemble a top tips post, illustrated with snippets from earlier race reports. Treat the Great North Run as 4 individual stages – XLMan from the runnersworld forum...
A Return to Richmond parkrun
It’s always easier to pose questions than offer solutions. Despite my last post pondering the training options that might see me recover PB potential in the remaining 3 weeks before GNR, I’ve somehow managed to spend the entire week on my backside – not a single run has been taken....
Thames Meander Half Marathon
I’ve discovered the relative anonymity of mixed distance races and intend to exploit them. The fear of entering official races as a routine, back of the pack runner, is that you stagger towards the finish line to find all the volunteers packing up and waiting impatiently for you to pick...
GNR Anxiety
The Great North Run race pack arrived yesterday. A high level of anxiety followed its opening. Enclosed was a Team Bupa technical t-shirt which was so tight it finished a good few inches above my belly button. It might have super wicking properties but I don’t think the good folk...
Convict Conditioning
I’ve long held the fantasy that the only thing between me and a perfectly honed physique was a long stint in solitary confinement. I was obviously inspired by prison movies in my youth and still have images in my head of physical transformations behind bars. I’ve been tempted to buy...