As the title says, I do love cross country, but it is definitely a love/hate relationship. I love the great team atmosphere and camaraderie, but hate when you line up to start and you are off for 30-40 minutes of sprinting. You are holding yourself in that pain zone, no relaxing like for some parts of an ultra. I just want the easy life at my age. Why can't I just turn up for … [Read more...] about Why I Love Cross Country But Hate It
Blog – Latest Posts
GUCR 2019 Ballot Draw
2nd November 2018 - The Draw I was way too excited for a cold, November Friday night driving over with Lucy to The Woolpack pub in Buckingham for the draw for the Grand Union Canal Race (GUCR), the iconic 145-mile race from Birmingham to London. I ran GUCR in 2016 in 34 hours and 11 minutes and in 2017 in 33 hours and 24 minutes, finishing 7th in the Canalslam in 2017. I … [Read more...] about GUCR 2019 Ballot Draw
Abingdon Marathon 2018 – my pb course
Every year for the last 5 years I have come to Abingdon and run a marathon pb (personal best). It is my local marathon and my pb course. But this year... After running Spartathlon 3 weeks before and the Autumn 100 only a week before I had low expectations for Abingdon Marathon. Plus I have only run nine marathons in total and two of them were trail marathons, London once and … [Read more...] about Abingdon Marathon 2018 – my pb course
Autumn 100 2018 – Grand Slam in the Bag
Autumn 100 is the last race of the Centurion 100 Grand Slam. Often shortened to A100, it is race 4 of a series of 4. I needed to complete this after the disappointment of Spartathlon. This post is my vague recollections of the race, how I overcame Spartathlon to complete the 'Slam' and a bit about how the other races went, as I have not posted about them (yet). Hopefully, I can … [Read more...] about Autumn 100 2018 – Grand Slam in the Bag
Spartathlon 2018 – So Near, So Far
Spartathlon, a 246km (153 miles) race from Athens to Sparta in Greece. https://www.spartathlon.gr/en My first ever blog post is about this great race and my DNF. This is only my 2nd DNF in 32 ultramarathons and after three weeks I am still gutted. My other DNF was Thames Ring in 2017 after 134 miles. In both cases a problem with my left lower leg seemed too much to overcome. … [Read more...] about Spartathlon 2018 – So Near, So Far
