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A tree of veins…

July 27, 2010

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Flights Booked, now the adventure begins…

“Are you a Freedom Fighter?” – My Visa Interrogation

2 thoughts on “A tree of veins…”

Lewis Morgan says:
July 27, 2010 at 9:54 pm

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Wow just…WOW
Squiddo says:
May 18, 2012 at 1:40 am

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reminds me of the baobab trees here, their called upside down trees they look awesome

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AD | MY NEXT BIG ADVENTURE • So excited to reveal that I’ll be heading off in March to take part in UltraX Sri Lanka. • Like it says in the photo, the race is 250km in five days through the incredibly beautiful countryside of Sri Lanka, a country I have longed to visit for years. • The route in their own words “takes in the most beautiful and challenging aspects of the distinct tea plantations, 10,000 year old rainforests and sandy beaches.” • It’s going to be brutal but having completed Marathon des Sables I now know the monumental strength I’m going to have to muster to conquer something like this. • Having seen videos from this year’s race I know I’ll have river crossings, sticky humidity and elephants to contend with but also amazing locals, brilliant support teams and utterly jaw dropping views. • I am teaming up with UltraX and I’ll be able to offer discounted entries so if anyone is interested in coming along with me on what promises to be an incredible adventure of a life time, just message me! • #ad @ultraxco • 📸 @benedict_tufnell • #ultramarathon #multistagerace #ultramarathoner #ultratrailrunner #srilanka #ultrax #theultraxperience #ultrarunner #runnersworld #ukrunners #runnersofinstagram #runnersofinsta #medalmonday #runnerslife #xtremerunnerslife #runningadventure #runningmotivation #ultraxsrilanka

BRITISH 10K • Best of luck to everyone running the #ASICSLDN10K today. I love big race days when I’m not running as it means I can watch everyone’s stories and celebrate all the incredible achievements you can miss out on if you’re too busy running your own race. • The British London 10k, as it was called back then, was the first race I ever ran many years before I actually got the bug and started this ridiculous running adventure. • I would do no training and have a miserable time during the race but still loved that feeling of finishing! After this race I wouldn’t really run again until I had hit rock bottom and found running as my way out. Read my blog post linked above if you don’t know my story. • It amazing for me to look at this picture and think how many races I’ve done since that day and how many medals I’ve chomped down on! • • #10km #10k #sundayrunday #instarunners #ukrunners #ukrunchat #london10k #runnerslife #weightloss #runningismytherapy #runningmotivation #runforlife #10krunner #britishlondon10k #british10k

5K. No Pace. • So that run was allllll over the place! I had said I wasn’t going to run this week to give my knee a bit of a rest after Race to the Stones but decided to head out anyway to get a bit of a sweat on (see pic for evidence of sweatiness!). • But I just couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm at all which I know is because my body is still recovering from 50km along the Ridgeway but was still very frustrating! • I had good pace for the first 3km but then my body simply decided to shut down and from then on in it was a real struggle just to keep running. • I know I still need more time for my running to recover so I’m going to head to the gym now and work on strengthening my body up so I can get back to running the miles I crave once again. Marathon season is just around the corner and I want to be ready.... • • #5km #endure24 #runfit #sweatymess #runnersofinstagram #marathontraining #runhappy #marathoner #marathonprep #ukrunners #runningblogger #runningmotivation #instarunnerswales #instarunners #runnerskneerecovery

Review Time✍️ • This review time is all about what I use to avoid chafing, which is a bit of a sore subject for me (bad pun I’m sorry 😂). It’s a bit TMI but it’s an important topic as we all suffer from it in one place or another! • When I first started running I was 130kg, so my thighs were a bit chunkier then they are now so chafing would often stop me mid-run as the pain would be too bad. While I’ve now got the kit down to a fine art I know that if I didn’t this pain would have crippled me during Marathon des Sables. • First let’s talk about what didn’t work for me: • Bodyglide and Vaseline would work but if I missed one spot or ran anything longer than 10km the crotch sandpaper would return. During a race I would have to work out when to apply otherwise I’d risk it not being affective come the start of the race or having to run with a little pot of Vaseline in my pocket. • Runderwear were entirely useless for me, the material they use is too thick and as such would cause me to overheat which any bloke will attest isn’t pleasant. They also didn’t cover my thunder thighs so they would still rub and despite them having a sticky liner I found that they wouldn’t stay put. • Shorts with an inner mesh felt uncomfortable and restricting. • So what did work? Well if you look in this photo you’ll see it is lycra/compression shorts. • I now use @2xu and absolutely love them (not an ad!). The ones I wore for MdS had cooling technology and while it might just be PR hype I had no chafing at all during the sweltering heat. I use them and also @underarmouruk shorts, typically used for rugby players, for all my runs now. I’ve not had any chafing issues since I started wearing them as they typical are long, keep everything in place and as an added bonus actually help ease muscle soreness. • I actually also wear Under Armour or 2xu tops as I find they restrict my wobbly bits from wobbling and stop nipple and armpit chafing. • Honestly, they have been a complete game changer for me. • • #runninggear #runchat #2xu #underarmour #instarunners #ukrunners #marathontraining #runnersofinstagram #runningkit #runningblogger

BALANCE • While doing my strength and conditioning work I got thinking about balance. Ironically I was mulling it over while trying and failing to stay balanced while doing far too many squats on the Bosu Ball... • Having finished my ultra season until March next year my mind is turning to marathon training and my sub four hour attempt in October. • I could start it straight away but I’m going to give myself a couple of weeks of just doing what I want training wise which will probably mean not a lot of running while I get my knee back to full strength. • I am incredibly excited for my marathon season and the training cycle for it but it’s important to have balance. I’ve been at risk of pushing it too far for much of this year with my training ramp ups and it it’s what ultimately caused my knee injury so I know I need to work on balancing my training out. • P.S yes I know trying to balance on that thing gives me a vein in my forehead like a super villain! It might look easy but I promise you IT IS NOT! • • #gymtime #balance #bosuballworkout #bosuball #runningmotivation #marathontraining #runhappyteam #ukrunchat #runchat #garagegym #instarunners #marathon #goaldiggers #trainingrun #marathon #strengthandconditioning #gymlife #runnerslife

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Race to the StonesJuly 13th, 2019

The big day is here.

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Running With..

A set of interviews with runners that inspire, excite and encapsulate the great sport we lace up our shoes for.

Marathon des Sables

In 2019 I took part in the 'Toughest Footrace on the Planet'; The Marathon des Sables. You can read about my journey in the desert here

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