So, parkrun returned after the 16-month Covid “pause” on 24 July 2021, and it saw Lucy and me travel to Soham Village College for their 18th event. It was both reassuringly familiar and very strange, being around people again, not … Continued
Well, sort of. The title of this page is what was shown on my bib, after the race was postponed three times, eventually taking place on Monday 31 May 2021 rather than the originally planned Sunday 19 April 2020. I … Continued
The day after my last blog post, and this from MK Marathon: We have been working so hard with our partners, including Milton Keynes Council to stage the Rightmove MK Marathon Weekend on 1-3 May 2021. However, unfortunately, due to … Continued
My last post, entitled “What’s next?” (which I struggle to write without hearing Martin Sheen in my head) was as long ago as August. It’s hard to decide whether a lot has happened since then, or not very much. Whatever … Continued
Well, before I get on to what’s next, first a reflection on the months since April. It’s been too long since I last posted any running news. In part that’s because there was relatively little positive to say, running-wise, but … Continued
Sunday 19 April should have dawned with me in a Travelodge near Boston, Lincolnshire, ready to drive the final distance to the town to arrive about 8am ready for the marathon later in the morning. Instead, I rose at 6am … Continued
So, in 2018, I stuck to my beginner’s training plan, but I was probably too ambitious about my target pace, and more problematically I had knee niggles going into my first marathon, and they duly manifested themselves a little over … Continued
The volunteer team was small but very efficient and friendly, setting up the course, conducting the new runners’ briefing, and even finding time to help with the all-important selfie. Some of the equipment for the course seemed non-standard: apparently the … Continued
It was a week where the UK started to shut down properly as the coronavirus epidemic intensified (though with much more to come), and we staggered from one extraordinary government announcement to the next with barely time to take breath, … Continued
So the almost inevitable has happened, and the Boston UK marathon has been postponed, until 13 September (maintaining the link with Boston USA). I will be contacted in due course, and offered one of three options: 1. Do nothing and … Continued
At the end of last week’s blog, I reported on my plans for my personal marathon on 19 April in the event that the Boston UK marathon is cancelled. By Tuesday morning, as the evolving situation worsened, I was suffering … Continued
I started the running week on Tuesday with 10km comprising a 1.5km warm-up, then 3 lots of 2km brisk with 500 metres recoveries, concluding with a 1.5km jog. Wednesday saw me setting out before dawn from Whittlesford station for a … Continued
So, what’s been in the news this week? Very little reporting of my running in week 9 of the 16-week training plan, but a fair bit on Covid-19. Let’s start with my running. Tuesday saw me travelling to Bury for … Continued
Week 8 of my 16-week marathon training plan had a half-marathon race, and I’d chosen Dorney Lake. This is only a small race, but is simple, almost flat, and I hoped would give me what I needed – a little … Continued
As I mentioned last week, for my birthday I received a pair of Nike Vaporfly Next% running shoes. They weren’t a surprise – they’d been sitting in a box in the spare bedroom since just after Christmas when a discount-on-a-discount … Continued