Dragons Back Race 2019: My Photo Diary
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
A more detailed write-up of my experiences of this years Berghaus Dragons Back Race will follow shortly but for now, here is a brief photo diary of my five-day journey from Conwy Castle in North Wales to Llandeilo in the south. In all, we covered 320km and climbed over 15,000m as we made our way across some of the roughest and toughest terrain the UK and not just Wales has to offer. It was an emotional and painful journey at times but was well worth it to be able to reach the finish, call myself a Dragon Slayer and receive my dragon trophy. Pre-Race in Conwy Day One: Carneddau, G ..read more
Visit website
Some (brief) Pre-race Thoughts on The Berghaus Dragons Back Race
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
Well, here we go. At 7am on Monday, I start the biggest mountain race of my running career, The Dragons Back race, covering 315km over five days down the spine of Wales. I’ve struggled to write any meaningful pre-race thoughts all week, as this is a race that both excites and terrifies me in equal measure. For years I’ve wanted to attempt this journey and 2019 is finally the year. What the outcome will be, I have no idea. All I can do is take it a day at a time and enjoy the journey whatever it may bring. This is not a race but a personal challenge and having fun and reaching the finish on Fri ..read more
Visit website
Race Report: Jurassic Coast Challenge 2019
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
Those that have been following me on social media or read my pre-race thoughts will know, I tried something a little different for this event. Namely, I took a GoPro with me and attempted to make a video diary of my three days of running on the Jurassic Coast. This was for two reasons. One, well I was keen to try video as an extension of the photography I already do during most of my runs. Secondly, I hoped it would provide an additional distraction and force me to hold myself back. It was an enjoyable process, both filming and editing and I learned loads thr ..read more
Visit website
Pre-race thoughts ahead of The Jurassic Coast Challenge
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
Once again that I have been really slack at writing these last few months. After my confident declaration at the start of January that I would like to write more regularly, I went in the opposite direction and have written nothing at all. The reason? Yes, you guessed it, injury once again! As you can imagine, this got me quite down and that, combined with the fact you are probably sick of me banging on about a running related injuries by now, had me avoiding writing at all. The Injury It was an ankle injury, something that seemed trivial at the time and I only became aware of as I go ..read more
Visit website
Recap of 2018 and My Running Goals for 2019 – The Year of The Dragon!
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
Apologies that this is a little later than normal but it has been a manic start to the new year, both personally and professionally.    However, as yet another running year passes by, and what a rollercoaster it has been, it is time to take a look back at 2018 and forward into 2019. First a Look Back at 2018 This time last year I was not running at all, nursing my way back to fitness from a stress fracture in my pelvis, which was identified in late 2017.  All race plans for 2018 had been canceled, with the exception of my Lakeland 100 entry.  I was fairly pragmatic about my ..read more
Visit website
A New Running Approach Towards The Bigger Picture
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
Last weekend I should have been in the north of England, battling the elements with friends, around the Montane Cheviot Goat. Unfortunately my body had other ideas and instead I was left to enjoy a local muddy twelve miles on my own and partake in a bit of dot watching (and cheering) from afar. I haven’t written about my training and racing on here since I finished Lakeland and that is for good reason, I wasn’t sure what I should write. Just like last year, my autumn was a repeated pattern of trying desperately to get back into running, battling against a body that had other ideas. Lakeland wa ..read more
Visit website
Summer Running Adventures in The European Alps
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
As the clocks go back and the morning frosts return, many of us turn our attention to next season and start drawing up plans for our 2019 running adventures. While there are adventures aplenty here in the UK, many are drawn to the larger ranges, with the European Alps a natural destination for those looking for bigger challenges and, the potential for, warmer weather. Within ultra running races such as The Ultra Tour du Mont Blanc (UTMB) are the dream of many and it certainly topped my bucket list for a few years. You don’t, however, have to commit to big races to get your taste of alpine adve ..read more
Visit website
Review of the Ultimate Direction Adventure Vest 4.0
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
Ultimate Direction have a strong reputation for the design and development of innovative packs, vests and waist belts for trail and ultra running. I have been a massive fan of their packs for a number of years and even went so far as to declare the Ultimate Direction PB Adventure Vest 3.0 “… as close to the perfect running vest I’ve found so far”, when I reviewed it back in 2016. I was therefore excited and a little anxious to hear that Ultimate Direction had further evolved the design, with the launch of the Adventure Vest 4.0. Could they fix the minor concerns I had about fit and make the ab ..read more
Visit website
Race Report: Lakeland 100 (2018) – The Greatest Show!
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
2018 marks my third year travelling to Coniston and starting Lakeland 100. With one successful completion under my belt in 2016 and a DNF due to a hip injury in 2017, it was one all on the score sheet and I was keen to make amends for last year and move 2-1 up. I had entered Lakeland before receiving my full diagnosis of a stress fracture in my pelvis. After months of rest and rehab, I finally returned to running in March 2018 and my participation in Lakeland was uncertain. I was pretty laid back about it, focused on my rehab and after a successful run at Race to The Tower in June, I was happy ..read more
Visit website
Our Lakeland 50 and 100 Nutrition Plans (and the reality!)
Ultrarun.in
by Giles Thurston
3y ago
This year’s Lakeland was a real family affair. In addition to my own attempt at my second completion of Lakeland 100, my wife Lea was running The Lakeland 50 and both our boys were also doing The Lakeland 1. I’m very pleased to say that it was a successful weekend and we all came away from Coniston with our t-shirts, medals and buffs! Since the race, we’ve both been asked to share our nutrition plans, so what follows are our own personal perspectives. Nutrition is work in progress for us both, especially myself with a weakness for sweet foods. Hopefully the following will be useful insight tho ..read more
Visit website

Follow Ultrarun.in on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR