Blog posts tagged 'training'

Dragons Back Race - is it worth it and advice for 1st-timers

The week-long Berghaus Dragon's Back Race is a major commitment in terms of both time and finance. Having just finished the race (blog post here), I wanted to give my thoughts on whether it's worth the investment and also how I would advise next year's first timers to do things better than I did.I should point out that I'm not sponsored in any way by anyone or any company with any relationship to …

Dragon's Back 2019 - 4 weeks to go

As I write, we're only 3.5 weeks out from the Dragon's Back race - surely the toughest personal challenge I've taken on so far.It starts in Conwy on the 20th May 2019 and ends almost 200 miles South in Llandeilo on the Friday, having covered pretty much every significant peak on the way down. Every day is an ultra distance over some extreme terrain with the added challenge of largely being left to…

Yarmouth to Sheringham on the North Norfolk Coastal Path

Great Yarmouth Seafront and PierEvery year since forever my extended family has decamped en masse to Sheringham on the Norfolk Coast, 4 miles up from its more well-known neighbour, Cromer.  My lot were in the shoe-making business in the distant past in Leicester and all the factories used to shut down in the Summer at the same time for 'Leicester Fortnight'.  Half the city would flock to the coa…

SIS Caffeine / Electrolyte Gels

SiS (Science in Sport) generously sent me some samples of their caffeinated energy gels recently and I've spent the last couple of weeks trying them out.  The original plan was to use them during the comprehensive set of long runs needed to build up for the Lakeland 50 in July and the CCC in August but.. as bad luck would have it, I've gone down with some heel-related niggle which has made a bonf…

Limassol Marathon

Some races Susie talks me into are ridiculously hard; some relatively 'easy'.  It's the good cop bad cop routine, as used by the Stasi.  But in this case even the good cop is peddling a marathon in the Cyprus sun.Some contrast to Haworth last weekend, this!  The misty moors and trails to the heat (warmth really; it never was to get completely boiling) of the seaside road course of the Limassol …

MarathonTalk Run Camp 2017

This was Tom and Martin's fourth MarathonTalk run camp down in the New Forest and my second. I was really looking forward to it after last year. I hardly ever do this sort of thing - the only other one I can remember going to in fact was years ago with Runners World - but last year's was excellent and this one looked even more full of events.It's hosted by the curiously-named Sandy Balls - which n…

Baker's Cysts - the D'oh rises

I fly out to Lavaredo 3 weeks yesterday - so close now it could easily be 2 weeks yesterday - for probaby the hardest race of my 'career' to date. The 100-miler may pip it but I'm not at all sure about that.I've been trying to fit some sort of training in around managing these Baker's cysts because some training seems kind of essential but it's been slow progress. Having had the ultrasound scan th…

Baker's Cysts

First off I know what you're thinking.  'What the hell is that cover photo about?'  Well I tried being clever and searched my Stock Image library for a good mug shot of Tom Baker, complete with scarf. They didn't have one. But this came up instead.  So I went with it.But this post isn't about forcing pets to do your cooking for you, it's about Baker's Cysts. I really wouldn't eat that. Would yo…

Running a 2:37 marathon on 60 miles per week

I caught up with an old friend of mine, Gareth, in Costa today by chance and we talked about - would you believe it? - running! The conversation at one point was about marathons and did I still fancy having a go at a fast one. It's 8 years since the PB in Amsterdam - I spent a few since trying to break it but frustratingly without success despite being in form. But that's the marathon for you. Any…

Belvoir Challenge Marathon

There's a rich seam of races that abandon the traditional trimmings of medals and goody bags and are instead intent on stuffing more cake calories into you than you could burn off if you ran the event twice. That's just fine by me.  Mike Wells (also running today, in the 15-miler and a tutu) put me on to this one and I was keen to see how it compared to the plated lunch at the Woodhouse Challenge…