Monsal Trail – longest yet
This week’s runs have seen me on the Thames towpath just south of Oxford; from home to Drinkstone and back; knocking five minutes off my Thetford parkrun PB from two years ago; and then today’s big one. I was travelling … Continued
Official photos and reflections
The chunky entry fee for Sunday’s London 10 Mile run included “free” photographs. Most of my 18 are actually of other people entirely or I’m barely visible. But two are reasonable photos, at 5 and 10 miles… The official results put … Continued
London 10 Mile
Today was the day that running training for the last 17 weeks has, at least nominally, been heading towards. Although I would have been going out running anyway, I’ve been working to an Mbition training plan with today’s London 10 … Continued
Little ones
Wednesday saw me realise that the need to drop the car off at the garage meant that the window for a run was short, so it was just a brisk 3.5km across the village and back rather than the intended … Continued
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
The picture is at Languard Point, with the sea behind me, the exit of Harwich Harbour to the left, and shows a bit of the nature reserve, cluttered with the accumulated remains of several centuries of military defences and hemmed … Continued
Volunteering
This is me (in red, centre photo) enjoying Bury St Edmunds parkrun back in April, and at the time of writing still the banner photo for the event on Facebook. I’ve now done 72 parkruns. Volunteering is exactly that – … Continued
New things
With two weeks to go before the London 10 mile race in Richmond Park, Sunday was my last long run for the next 14 days. My schedule called for 15.3km at 5:37/km and I managed 15.3km at 5:36/km, coming in … Continued
Running on the move
I’ve said here and elsewhere that I’m using travel with work as an opportunity for my running, not an excuse. But that doesn’t mean it is without challenges. Some can be tackled with planning: when I need to stay away, but … Continued
Preston – parkrun location 42
Encouragement and magic gingerbread from friends helped me find the energy to get out of bed in good time rather than lie there listening to the rain. I headed down the M6 with the wipers on storm, wondering if it … Continued
Time to go Forth
Having said the other day that I had determined to use work travel as an opportunity rather than an excuse, I stayed in bed in Elgin yesterday (after all, it was a great bedroom with a four-poster bed and three … Continued
Dyce and Don
Travelling with work used to represent a challenge to my running – or perhaps “excuse” was a better word. I find travel tiring, and fitting in the running meant rising early before hitting the road, or finding the energy to … Continued
Public ballot
A record total number of 386,050 applicants registered for a ballot place in the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon. This is the highest number of applicants for any marathon in the world. 327,516 of those applicants were from the UK. … Continued
A bit too far
With the excitement of Friday’s news of the 2018 London Marathon place still simmering away (indeed, perhaps on a more active boil), and with the previous weekend’s 10-mile PB at the Lee Valley Velopark also not gone away, I perhaps … Continued
Stephen afoot
I started running indoors in late 2007, and after reaching 5km indoors in March 2008, started outdoor running, and immediately entered the first Royal Parks Half Marathon, run in October 2008. I did two more half-marathons in Reading in 2009 … Continued