My last couple of big running events involved plenty of testing and learning. That theme has continued into the autumn, as I aim to rehab an achilles/plantaris injury. So although I’d rather be writing about new adventures, it’s handy to note any lessons from the past ones while I remember. Wait, I’ve forgotten. Was it ‘Maybe don’t do ultras cos you get sick’? Nah, surely not. Apologies for my website auto-emailing out this post incomplete a few days ago too! That’ll teach me to test layouts on a whim late at night. First, I’ll roll back to the NZ 2022 24 Hour Championships in November. I’d re ..read more

The German customs officer wasn’t buying it. ‘All the way from New Zealand, for a run?’ Narrowing his eyes, he looked at my passport and back to me. If it seemed like a cover story for dubious activity, the white powder stashed in my bag wouldn’t help the case. ‘Why so far for so short a time?’ I blame Wayne Botha. When expressions of interest opened for NZ team selection in the World 100k Championships, I wasn’t initially going to apply. Thanks to cancellations, slow Covid recovery, and busy life, running a half-decent 100km on the other side of the world in two months’ time seemed ambitious ..read more

At the Sri Chinmoy event back in 2019, I remember Jamie Hawker cheerfully describing the folly of expecting a top result or PB every time you line up for an ultra. People think they can, he said, but it’s always going to be tick, tick, cross, tick, cross… Cheers, I said wryly. After two decent 24 hour races, that’s really encouraging to hear when I’m heading off to a World Championships for the first time. He was right though. The 2019 World Champs in Albi was amazing to be at, but tough going, and ultimately ended up a big fat cross. (Recap: A few tricky factors coincided, for anyone interes ..read more