Well, 2022 didn’t quite finish as I’d hoped!  In fact, it finished exactly the same way it started – with a grumbly Achilles tendon.  Luckily, much of the time in between was relatively injury-free and I managed to get some semi-decent mileage in, and even a few races too!  February was spent building back up after the Achilles injury, ready for my annual warm-weather training camp in Portugal in March.  It was great to be back in Monte Gordo again, with my coach, Les, after an enforced break in 2021 due to the pandemic.  The weather was mixed, but I managed to get in ..read more

Logging onto my work computer one morning back in May my attention was immediately grabbed by a headline on our intranet page - Warwickshire County Council were looking to enter a team in the Europe Corporate Games!  I signed up immediately!  How could I turn down an opportunity to represent Warwickshire County Council in an international event to be held right on our doorstep at venues in and around Coventry?  I have always received a huge amount of support at work for my running, from immediate colleagues, senior managers and Councillors (I was even presented with a silver cl ..read more

I've been out and about exploring the trails again recently, resulting in two FKTs (Fastest Known Times).  The first was an inaugural FKT (unsupported) for the 20-mile Wanderlust Way in Lincolnshire.  The second was a women's FKT (supported) for the Arden Way in Warwickshire.  Both were lovely routes in beautiful countryside, and blessed with gorgeous sunshine and blue skies to boot.  Here are my accounts of the two runs, as submitted to FKT for ratification. Wanderlust Way, Saturday 30th April 2022  Setting off from Bradley Woods, near Grimsby, at 10:23am on Saturday ..read more

I decided at the beginning of this year that, as there is no international 100km championship this year, I would spend some time trying to get a bit of speed back into my old legs and try to do a few more races.  I run for lots of reasons, but my main motivation for training is to race.  However I’ve felt over the last few years that, due to preparing for ultras, recovering from ultras or being injured, I’ve not raced nearly as much as I would have liked.  I felt it was time to put that right this year and to just have some fun racing over shorter distances.  This has been ..read more

In the words of Blur “it’s not about you joggers who go round and round and round…” Well I’d say this definitely wasabout the joggers who went round and round and round, and the walkers, and the speedy ones at the front end who covered amazing distances too!  Everyone taking part went through their own personal battles, their own highs and lows and, in the words of Sri Chinmoy, everyone who finished was a winner.  24-hour running is a whole new ball game to me, and one that I’m really glad I decided to dip my toe into.  I’m not really sure who mooted the idea first – m ..read more

In my 'happy place' For the last 18 years I’ve been lucky enough to spend up to three weeks every spring with my coach, Les, warm-weather training in Monte Gordo in the Algarve, Portugal.  I absolutely love the area and training there is always one of the highlights of our year.  For that reason it has also long been my ambition to race there too, but races have either been non-existent, haven’t coincided with when I’ve been there, or haven’t fitted into my schedule of preparing for an important marathon or ultra.  However, this year I finally managed it!  The thi ..read more

From quite early on in the Covid pandemic, once I realised that all races would be cancelled for the foreseeable future, I took to exploring the local footpaths on my runs.  Up until now my training had been dictated by my racing programme and needing to hit specific time targets and goals.  But now, all of a sudden, pace didn't matter any more - for the first time in my life I was running purely for enjoyment, and I loved it!  I discovered all sorts of new routes, including the 41-mile 'A Coventry Way', a circular route through the countryside around Coventry. Start ..read more

“I thought you’d given up cross-country” everyone was saying to me.  Well, so I had.  But having announced my retirement from cross-country two years ago I now find myself having done two within eight days!  So how did that happen?!   I’m not sure, but I guess it’s difficult to really stay away from something that’s been so much a part of my running since the age of 15!  Cross-country was, for many years, the backbone of my running, giving me strength through the winter months to carry through to the summer track season.  And cross-country was where I gained ..read more

It’s now exactly 12 months since I last raced (well, not counting three parkruns, but they’re not really races are they?!).  Little did I know when I crossed the line to win the European Corporate Games 10k last August that I wouldn’t race again for at least 12 months, and still counting. First it was another episode of high hamstring tendinopathy, then two carpal tunnel operations (one on each hand, four months apart) then, of course, the small matter of a global pandemic!  But although I miss racing when I’m injured I haven’t really missed it all during the pandemic.  I think ..read more

The 2018 IAU World 100km Championships - my 6th appearance in a Great Britain vest, but sadly not one of my better races.  I'll start where I left off on my previous blog post, with a hamstring tear back in April.  I gave the injury the necessary time to heal before resuming easy running, but it wasn't until June that I was really able to start training properly.  When the Great Britain team for the 100km was announced in June I was over the moon to be selected, but knew I would be hard pressed to be back to my best shape by Sept ..read more