The day before Snowdonia Marathon I woke up in a hotel in Athens almost 4,000kms away from the start line. 14 hours of travelling and five different modes of transport later we arrived at the expo, five minutes before it closed. A good night's sleep and an unhealthy amount of porridge later I was on … Continue reading Mountains & Miles
I said in a blog post last year that marathons come down to just a few moments, sometimes they can just come down to 93 collected seconds. Moscow Marathon had seemed like a far off venture for so long that it some how managed to sneak up on me rather unprepared. After Lakeland 50, my … Continue reading One Minute and Thirty Three Seconds
Distract your brain and your body will get it done I kept thinking. But as the hail pelted against my waterproof I could struggle to think of little else but the horrible here and now. Then I remembered the post-it note. About a week before the race I was having one of my many sleepless … Continue reading GOING THE DISTANCE – MY FIRST ULTRAMARATHON (PT 2)
“The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.” - Arthur C Clarke When I first started running in 2015 just getting two miles down the road without stopping seemed impossible. My burning lungs and lead like legs would slow me to a walk. As the months went by … Continue reading Going the Distance – My First Ultramarathon (pt 1)
As I am training for my first ever ultra, Trail Marathon Wales seemed like a perfect ‘training run’. It offered similar elevation gains and terrain to Lakeland50 and it would get me used to running on trails for prolonged periods in a race set up. It seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. I … Continue reading Trial by Trails – My Trail Marathon Wales
I had planned to make this post a debrief of my experiences running the London Marathon but following the death of Matt Campbell during this year's race I can’t. The harsh reminder that what we do for fun can have tragic consequences has jarred my gleaming memories of that day. My inconsequential marathon is not worthy … Continue reading Our London Marathon
The Paris Marathon marked one year from the start of my attempt to complete the Marathon des Sables so I’m glad it didn’t go to plan. I’m glad the heat buckled me at the knees and my emotions got the better of me because it showed that when things don’t go my way, I still struggle … Continue reading Je Ne Regrette Rien – My Paris Marathon
Sometimes in life you have to take that leap of faith. A metaphorical stumble into the unknown, blindingly hoping. As I stood on the edge of a bridge in New Zealand about to take a literal leap, with nothing but bungee rope to stop me from plunging to my death, I couldn’t help but think … Continue reading Leap of Faith – My Queenstown Marathon
With almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain, very challenging terrain and being exposed to all the elements of wet and windy Wales the Snowdonia Marathon is regularly called the toughest marathon in the UK. Regardless, I chose this race as my tenth marathon. Why? Because despite all the reasons I shouldn't have done it I … Continue reading Running the UK’s Toughest Marathon
Hours after the volunteers had gone home and the finishing line packed away for another year, I stood on a rooftop drinking a cocktail. Darkness had long taken away the humid sun and as I over looked Millennium Park (where the Chicago Marathon had started and finished) sipping the last dregs of my Old Fashioned … Continue reading Why I Keep Running – My Chicago Marathon
