Before this race even started, I contemplated quitting. Pulling back the curtains the morning before the race revealed a hurdle I had not accounted for, let alone trained for: a heavy deluge of snow. The snow lay thickly upon the ground, silently mocking my precarious mental strength. The race ahead was the biggest running challenge … Continue reading My First DNF
Try not to panic but there are only 75 days left until the London Marathon! With the big day getting ever nearer I thought now would be a good time to check in again with The Morning Coffee Run Crew. Ever since I picked them to be part of this interview series on runners who … Continue reading THE MORNING COFFEE RUN CREW – 75 DAYS
This post is over two months late. Hurtwood 50K was held in early December and while it has been on the top of my blogging ‘To Do’ pile, I have dodged writing it up because it was the hardest race I have taken part in to date. Not because of the distance, terrain or bad … Continue reading Into the Hurtwood
On Sunday I set a new marathon personal best and, if I’m honest, it was a complete accident. The day before the race I confessed to my friend that I didn’t even really want to run this marathon, my running mojo had been kicked into the long bushes as the fear of Marathon des Sables … Continue reading Marathon Tactics – Divide and Conquer
It is less than a hundred days now until I will be undertaking the toughest foot race on the planet: The Marathon Des Sables. Every time I say that out loud my whole body pulses with exhilaration crossed with paralysing fear. For those of you who haven’t heard of this race before it is a … Continue reading My Marathon des Sables Shoes
During all my races I have three voices that twist and scurry through my subconscious, battling for control. My mind, the hardened but sensible part of myself created through hours of training and self reflection. My body, the big kid inside that just wants to recklessly run and run. The old me, if Tigger is … Continue reading My Internal Monologue
I have often been asked by runners and non runners alike what it is like to hit the wall. The boogeyman of endurance sports, a place where your body succumbs to the sheer strain you are putting it through and your mind follows like a lamb to the slaughter. It can last for seconds, minutes … Continue reading NEW YORK STATE OF MIND – PART THREE
"Don’t just think, don’t just mark your calendar, don’t just post about it, don’t just dream, actually f**king do." These were the words that surged through my body as my feet began to do what I’d travelled 3,000+ miles for. As soon as we began I knew that one factor could massively obstruct my goal of … Continue reading NEW YORK STATE OF MIND – PART TWO
New York is the backdrop to countless cliché movies, Hollywood’s dreams are woven through it’s every avenue and street. It is a place that you can’t help but feel hopeful in. Those cinematic endings where the music swells and everyone gets their happily ever after overrides your self-held sensibilities. It is intoxicatingly inspiring. On December … Continue reading New York State of Mind – Part One
For anyone who has ever dreamed of getting that coveted six-star marathon majors medal, this is the product review for you. Not many of the runners I have spoken to knew that apart from qualifying, ballot or charity places there is another way of securing one of those elusive spots in marathons such as New … Continue reading 2:09 – A Review
