event

I turned up at the competition venue for East London’s Strongest. I signed in, collected my t-shirt and then the anxiety started building. I looked around at the scattered weights and I began to doubt myself big time. I’d already told myself that it didn’t matter if I couldn’t do...

event strongman east-londons-strongest

It’s amazing how nervous a grown woman can get when faced with the prospect of lifting weights in a public arena. For this, my first powerlifting competition I’d managed to work myself into quite a state about various disastrous possibilities including the risk of my underwear being deemed “illegal” due...

strength event

I seem to be lurching from one dirty weekend to another but who’s complaining? Last weekend we were at Winter Wolf for our first attempt at the Leicestershire course. It has such fabulous quality mud that this is now my favourite adventure course. The black soggy clay grabbed me firmly...

event running

This weekend saw the start of the inaugural Grand Union Challenge and it was time for me to stage another attempt at a 100km hike. Vicky and I set off in glorious sunshine, from Paddington just before 10am. We were down on the canal in no time and began watching...

event walking

I’ve done quite few of my long training walks in my hiking boots but none of them were considered successful. I decided quite a long time ago that the London2Brighton 100k Challenge would be completed in my super cushioned Hokas’ with my Inov8s’ held back for the second half when...

event L2B walking

This weekend we took part in our first Obstacle Race – The Wolf Run. A 10k trail run through Woods, over Obstacles, across Lakes and finally through Fields. Our team photo says it all, it’s wet, muddy and results in belly aching hilarity. There are many obstacles, ranging from tyres,...

event wolfrun running

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...

event L2B

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...

event L2B running

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...

GNR event

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...

event

I thought the Lake District might have breached its banks as we aqua-planed much of our way up the M6. We were heading towards Keswick for the inaugural running of The Great Trail Challenge. This is the Great Run team’s foray into the world of off road trail events and...

Great trail challenge running event

So the big day arrived, not quite the day that every girl dreams of, but as days go it was big enough to require the same sort of dietary preparations. 6 weeks of off and on Stella abstinence brought me to a point where I was prepared to at least...

event swimming

Call that a bike ride….? At one point I thought we were actually going to be walking all the way to Brighton. Experienced L2B’ers had warned me to start the event early but I’m too lazy to get up for a 6am start. I may have had a leisurely 8:30am...

cycling event L2B

I love this event, it is a complete pain to get to, it costs a fortune, it’s almost impossible to get out of South Shields before night fall, but it still remains the highlight of my year. Grubby street urchins high fiving you, toddlers squirting bottled puddle water at your...

event GNR running

I am such a social cretin before an event and watching the city boys arrive at the coach station in their pin striped suits and titanium s-bar bikes didn’t go anyway towards making me feel at home. I cheered up a bit on arrival at Blenheim when friendly faces appeared...

cycling event