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
“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
Mountain miles are different. This is a phrase that my coach Maggie said to me a while ago, when I was route planning for this trip to the Alps. It’s something that I took in but didn’t really understand. How could I, the only experience I have is some shortish hikes a few years ago … Continue reading TO THE MOUNTAINS!
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
So Jon, you want to run an ultra? This is the question I asked myself in the summer of 2017. It was an idea but I really had no idea. I had run 1 road marathon, booked my first trail marathon, (Beachyhead), for October and Paris for the following spring and here I was on … Continue reading DISCOVERING ULTRA TRAINING/RACING FROM A NEWBIE!
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
15 races That's how many I ran in 2018. In amongst that I had a 3 PB goals, I hit two but missed another😢. The one I hit, (HM), I am still a little disappointed I didn't get to 1hr29 something. I also got an accidental 10km PB at the vitality race but was just … Continue reading I miss racing
This is the second attempt at this blog. I got halfway through the first and stopped because it didn't feel right. What is the aim of this piece? Why am I writing it? I am still not sure if I am to be honest. I wanted to write a review of the year, but I … Continue reading 2018, a year to remember
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
“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
The Life of Jay Z 