January 2023 opened my eyes to the Spine Race. I was comfortably in my Arc 100 taper and I stumbled across this crazy event where runners try to run 268 miles through snow and over some damn lumpy hills with the minimum of outside help.  Of course I decided I needed to try it out. Thankfully there is a few options, so I ent conservative and opted for the 108 mile Southern Challenger from Edale to Hawes. Deep Pockets Once I actually signed up I got stuck into the mandatory kit requirements and quickly choked on my coffee. The kit list is huge, ranging from sleeping bags, knives and camp stoves ..read more

Prior to July 2023 I hadn’t run a step in the Lake District. I had visited once about 20 years ago and thought it was beautiful. Having taken up running the idea of venturing there for a race had often crossed my mind. Forward to July 2023 I was about to break that duck and see what the lakes had to offer by taking on the Lakeland Trails Ultra 100Km. I chose to camp at Ambleside Football Club which offers camping associated with the Lakeland Trails event, and also is a general campsite when the football team aren’t using the ground!). Great little site, basic but excellent value. It’s also abo ..read more

Here I am little more than 36 hours away from the start of what is regarded as one of the UKs hardest, most brutal 100 mile races.  And I don’t mind sharing with you that there is a whole heap of nerves going on. Having run for 5 years plus now and having taken part in races from 5Km to 100miles, I’ve started to reach a point of being comfortable in the fact that I have as much right as anyone else to be at the starting line.  But this is different, this is a seriously different challenge.  That sense of not belonging, that imposter syndrome is back with a real vengeance. The re ..read more

Yesterday I did my first stint of volunteering. and I really enjoyed it. I took on the 3am to 11am slot at Pangbourne for the Centurion Running AUTUMN 100. This was the aid station between Goring and Reading so, was the final station before the finish line.  I was a little concerned that the graveyard shift would be tough. I knew I wasn’t going to get any sleep (or nothing worthwhile) before heading out. I also wondered if we would get the real walking wounded, dead on their feet runners that really needed massive help. I have to admit that whilst I have always been grateful to ..read more

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It was definitely a chillier than hoped for morning but as I walked from the car park at the station to get my train to Goring at 7am I still knew it was going to be a good day.   CW50 was another of the races I had chosen to build the body up ready for the Arc in January. Hills, trails, varying terrain – all sounded good.  The race itself starts on the riverside in Goring, heads south on the Thames before turning away from the river and heading eventually north into the Chiltern Hills. This first section is narrow river paths so not a time to be a front pack runner starting at ..read more

When we go on UK holidays I am always thinking of running opportunities.  In recent years Cornwall has featured heavily and I have taken on the challenge to run as much of the South West Coast Path as possible.   This year we were staying by Towan Beach.  A stretch of the coast path which is around 43 miles long, with a ferry from ‘Place’ to Falmouth, via St Mawes to the west and a ferry from Fowey to Polruan in the east. Towan beach is about 2 miles from Place. As I have committed my self to running the 2023 Arc of Attrition 100 mile race I thought this was ..read more

Boom and half a year has slipped away. So what’s happened? I would say a decent amount. I started this quarter with 1 race under my 2022 belt, I now have 6, so April, May and June have been busy – April especially: 2022 races Jan to Jun I’ve been very satisfied by the progress this year. Reading Half was a race that I took with one eye on Brighton Marathon only a week later. So I took that easier than I could have done and so was really pleased to get a 1:30 time. Reading Half Marathon, 2022 Brighton Marathon was ace. I really wanted sub 3:30. I had in mind sub 3:15 (to beat my treadmill marat ..read more

Getting the fuelling wrong can so often be the reason behind a DNF. As the endurance requirements for a race increase, so does the need for thinking about fuelling that activity. Usually the right answer is very personal and there’s no ‘one size fits all’ option here. The top folk at Precision Fuel and Hydration have this great post about it and there’s some good tips and advice in there to help you out. Their nutrition products are also pretty good (and that’s just my personal opinion!). Sports Scientist Andy Blow offers 10 practical guidelines to help you train your gut to absorb more carboh ..read more