Do you ever find yourself singing in the woods? A song just pops into your head and the chorus just goes on a loop and it becomes your mantra, that thing that will carry you to the end, where the pain will stop and a tear will form. Well this happened to me at some … Continue reading IF THE WOODS HAD EARS
I’m not a fell runner
As I ran up alongside a fellow competitor I noticed a Lakeland 100 tattoo on his ankle. We got to talking as is traditional on the trails. It turned out he had run this race a couple of years ago and had also done the Lakeland 50, 4 times. For those that don’t know, these … Continue reading I’m not a fell runner
TURNING MOUNTAINS INTO MOLEHILLS
“No, it won’t be gone from your memory, but it will be settled. You will have faced the fear, the anxiety and the trauma”. These were words that came from my therapist’s mouth at the end of a particularly hard session dealing with some childhood PTSD. This sentence came back to my mind this morning … Continue reading TURNING MOUNTAINS INTO MOLEHILLS
The North Downs Way 50 – A short story
Prologue “There's this race that starts in Farnham, (where I grew up), and finishes in Knockholt, (about 5 miles from where we live now). I'm going to sign up because it's like I am running home and Poppy and you can come and support me.” That's the gist of the conversation I had with my … Continue reading The North Downs Way 50 – A short story
At home with the Mavericks
Racing a trail race is something very, very new to me. Project Hurtwood, was my first attempt and that was a 50km event. Always good to start racing on trails at Ultra distance right? The Maverick Original Hampshire Long was a whole different beast though. Not only is there something very special about the half marathon-ish distance … Continue reading At home with the Mavericks
4 POINTS FOR THE WIN
I am not a fan of jigsaw puzzles, I don't think I have the patience for them. I remember trying one at a family holiday in the South West of France a few years ago. I felt no sense of accomplishment about finding that tricky piece or completing a section. This is because at heart … Continue reading 4 POINTS FOR THE WIN
Pacing, Puking and a PB
“Please, will you just leave me! I’ll meet you at the finish”. These are the words coming out of a tired and slightly angry runner named Emma, about 20ish miles into the Chicago Marathon on 7thOctober. I could have left, I could have run off on my own, but I’d made a promise to Emma and … Continue reading Pacing, Puking and a PB
Losing myself, finding a way to Berlin
Honestly, I don’t really know where to start and where to end. I don’t know how much I want to share as a lot of it is too raw but here goes. Berlin was a dream race for me in 2017 when I was mapping out the year ahead. The original plan was to smash … Continue reading Losing myself, finding a way to Berlin
Understanding 100K, racing to some stones.
I wasn't sure how to write this, it's been 1 week since I crossed the finish line of Race To The Stones (RTTS), and I am sat on a balcony of a hotel on the southern Spanish coast. I am not sure how I feel anymore. I look around and no one really understands what … Continue reading Understanding 100K, racing to some stones.
My First Ultra
When I was a kid, Sony introduced a range of electronics called the “My First” range. They were basically simpler versions of things like a Walkman. For those that are too young to understand… these things had something called a cassette tape in, the cassette tape played music. The buttons were big, the colours were … Continue reading My First Ultra
