Curled up in a ball, arms squeezing my stomach, stamping my feet on the floor like a toddler in a supermarket, trying not to shout: this was not the most promising start to my long run. Less than a mile in, and I was all set to turn around and go home. This might sound […]

A couple of years ago, I remember watching an interview with Jim Walmsley where he said that he wanted to break the Western States record. This riled me. Here was this young, inexperienced – admittedly very quick – runner, saying something I saw as really arrogant. But, after watching him attempt it, fail, but gut […]

Running ultras makes you do stupid things. One of these things is entering more ultras but that’s not what I mean. I mean things like deleting the biggest race of your year from your watch because your brain doesn’t work. Yes, I discarded Endure 24 from my Garmin because Endure 24 made me stupid for […]

You might not believe me, but I don’t see myself as a good racer. Like a lot of people, I started doing this because I enjoyed it, not because I thought I could win stuff. I’m not motivated by winning (although it is really nice!) and I often don’t enjoy the pressure that racing can […]

The Lakeland 100 in July last year seems like a distant memory in some regards, however the lessons learned from the build up and whole training year still sit firmly in my mind, albeit still a little uncomfortably to be honest. 8 months further on I feel like a very different runner now, and with […]

The day before the South Downs Way 50, some random radio station was on in the kitchen and The Gambler by Kenny Rogers came on. I remember my mum playing it when I was younger and I’ve always liked it but more for the jangliness than the sentiment. Listening to it a few days ago […]

To me, running is about enjoyment. Getting away from stuff that I don’t want to think about, into nature, moving forward under my own power, and being peaceful and relaxed. So why am I doing it to the extent that it’s making me really tired? Why am I finding that I want to stay in […]