The brand new ASICS Gel Nimbus 25 was put through its paces in an independent test to determine the most comfortable running shoe. How did it fare ..read more

It was the perfect morning in Paris with no wind and gentle sunlight. My marathon start time was at the very odd time of 1130am (I was in one of the later waves). However it did mean I had a leisurely breakfast and loaded up on cereal, toast and pancakes.  The 30 minute walk to the start at the Arc de Triomphe was a brilliant nerve tamer-I’m definitely going to arrange my accommodation with this in mind for future marathons. If you’re travelling via the metro you’ll need the stop “Charles de Gaulle Etoile”. I have only run one marathon distance before and that was years ago so this was a ..read more

I arrived in Paris in the early afternoon so decided to dump my bags and head straight out to the expo as I’d heard it got very crowded in the Saturday. The metro took me straight to the expo at the Parc des Expositions (metro stop=Porte de Versailles). It was relatively empty inside but there were crowds building outside slowed by the Covid checks. The expo itself was “okay”. There were games to get involved in (such as throwing empty plastic bottles into a basketball net) and the usual overload of stalls selling gels and even more promoting French marathons. But it was enough and I felt smu ..read more

Ever since I’d had my place confirmed, I’d half expected this event to be postponed. The world was still struggling with Covid and the goalposts changed frequently. So I tucked my acceptance email away in a ‘Paris’ tab amongst my emails and mentally put it all aside. Until, of course, it was time to start training. Marathon training is a hard slog but doing it without truly believing your event will take place is on another level. Still, I knuckled down. As the date drew closer and there’d been no hint of a cancellation or postponement I decided I’d better get a spurt on. I needed a medical ce ..read more

This blogpost was created for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and does not constitute medical or other professional advice. It simply details an experience I went through.  Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read or seen online.  One day I received two emails within minutes of each other – one confirming my successful entry to the Paris marathon and the other with details on applying for my senior bus pass. I was laughing ..read more

I had a long run looming on my marathon raining plan but luckily the New Forest Half Marathon was on so I decided it would be more fun to do that instead of flogging out a long run on my own (I got in a bit of a mess with bogs, streams, brambles and a snake the last time I did that ). I had no idea how it would go as I’d been diligently following my marathon training plan but not finding it easy and I’m still experimenting with what I can eat on these long runs so I don’t feel sick (I’ve tried loads of stuff!) Today I tried a bagel eaten 2 hours before the race with just jam (no butter) and I ..read more

I entered this race as I had 22K lined up on my marathon training plan and it seemed like much more fun to run this than to slog out those miles by myself. I entered late so my race pack wasn’t posted to me and was there to pick up on the day. How easy is it to get to? The start is situated in the centre of Southampton. The city can be accessed from the M27 or the M3 and the nearest train station is Southampton Central which is only 10 minutes walk away. What is the parking like? As you’d expect, there are lots of car parks in Southampton. Westquay is a large shopping centre with lots of parki ..read more

I kicked off the year with Dry January and I guess the clear head for a month let a little motivation seep in and got me deciding how to handle this never ending lockdown and all the running events being constantly rolled over to next year. As my only remaining event for the year that is still standing is a half marathon in May, I decided to train for it by following a Hal Higdon plan. Novice plan, 12 weeks, all mapped out. The plan assumes you can already run 3 miles, three to four times a week. I used the Run With Hal app and this is what it came up with (in kilometres): The little blue ci ..read more

As we’ve all experienced a strange and stressful year, I’ve decided to compile a super affordable runner’s gift list including a few novelty gifts, winter warmers and a relaxing soak with the notable exception of race accessories. I’m pretty sure that many of us are down on finances and most definitely down on races. Here are some ideas for the runner in your life. (Note: products listed on Amazon as ‘under a tenner’ at time of writing). Pravette LED Lighted Beanie Hat  I’ve used a hat plus head torch many times but never one of these. It’s getting great reviews so I have to give it ..read more

It was quite a few years before I had a go at trail running. I had images in my head of fell runners leaping about the Lake District like mountain goats and I didn’t think I could be that agile. It was a chance meeting with a friend who suggested a trail run in the New Forest that opened my eyes to what bloody good fun it could be. So if you’re sitting on the fence, here are a few tips to make sure you get the most when you take your first step on the trails ..read more