photo credit Corinna Halloran | Red Bull Content Pool Anyone who knows anything about Ryan Sandes knows he epitomises the phrase less is more. The less I’m referring to isn’t less training, less speed or less talent – not even by a smidgeon ..read more

It’s a week on from Western States 2017, and yet still we’re seeing articles focusing on the guy who didn’t win the race. I’m flummoxed. Anyone would think this was the first time in running history a race favourite didn’t end up the race winner! Surely the answer is simple? He didn’t win because he wasn’t the fastest on the day. That’s a fact no one can deny. But then why is it so difficult for the US media to understand? And the thing is, it’s not as if the guy was pipped at the post, or lost the race by a few minutes. No, Jim Walmsley didn’t only not win; he didn’t feature at all in the ..read more

photo credit Mark Sampson I’m torn. And I mean, really torn. My head wants to write about the wonderful experience I had last week, telling the world how fantastic it was to run in the African bush with wild game and to see, feel, taste and smell true southern African bush veld. But my heart wants selfishly to keep it secret, sharing it only with those closest to me for fear of word spreading and hundreds of humans flocking to spoil a corner of beautiful, unspoilt Africa. I’m going with my head this time, trusting that the folk who’ll be reading this blog aren’t like the average tou ..read more

Imagine covering 515km with 36,000m of ascent – under the pressure of a ticking clock and a specific number of peaks to be bagged… The Wainwrights are the 214 fells in England’s Lake District, and visiting all of them is a popular challenge for peak-baggers. There’s even a register kept of those who have completed the Wainwrights. Bagging those 214 peaks within a specific time, however, is quite another level of challenge. The first continuous round of all 214 Wainwrights was completed in 1985, in 9 days and 16 hours. The following year a new record of 7 days 1 hour was set by the legendar ..read more

It’s a strange phenomenon, New Year. In Western culture we’re socialised to see the first day of the year as a new start, a time to reflect, look ahead and to set goals for the next 12 months. And yet January 1st is really no different from any other of the 364.2422 days in our calendar. Logically, there’s no reason why we should suddenly start doing things differently, turning over new leaves or, in some dire cases, uproot entire trees (figuratively speaking of course) in our need to make change in our lives. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for us to rather use the start of each day to rea ..read more

It has been ages since I profiled anyone on Rockhoppin’ Trail. Back in 2013 it had been my plan to write regular profiles, but somehow life, time and training got in the way and instead I stuck to the loose, unscheduled kind of style that is more appropriate for Rockhoppin’ Trail. Well, ok, for me. There’re no rules for who gets to be profiled on Rockhoppin’ Trail – I decide! The person can be South African or international, man or woman, short or tall, young or old, carb crazy or paleo…  There’re only two criteria: - they must have achieved something incredible on trail; and - they can ..read more

Tomorrow will be staged the third running of Ultra-Trail Cape Town (UTCT), when 1 000 extremely privileged trail runners from 40 countries will experience the exhilaration of running up, over, down, around and across South Africa’s most photographed landmark, Table Mountain. Depending on whether they’re running the 35km, the 65km or the full 100km, some will be slogging further and for longer than others. Many will have already recced their race route in sections or in its entirety, while others will be seeing this special mountain up close and personal for the first time. But one thing’s ..read more

Running an ultra is no doddle. Anything over 42km is gruelling on the body, and the further you push, the tougher it gets. Add to that the conditions you’re running in and the terrain you’re running on, and things can get rather interesting… Imagine running 50km a day for 20 consecutive days, in heat and humidity that saps every smidgeon of bounce from your legs, across all terrain from tar to dirt road to sodden rice paddy. And then, on the 20th day, adding the toughest stretch of all, a formal 100km trail ultra marathon, just for good measure. And now, imagine if every slogging step of t ..read more

This is not a race report on the Tor des Géants 2016. It is instead a colourful, or rather dark, description of my short experience of that fantastic race. (Warning: this post is not for readers whose stomachs are of a sensitive disposition...) There’s a first time for everything. This first was one I’d been salivating over since my brother convinced me a year ago it was a must-do race. The Tor des Géants (TDG - directly translated means Tour of Giants) is renowned for its ruthless character, and it has the stats to prove it. It involves running (well, fast-trekking) 339km over 20 mountain p ..read more

Harsh, rugged dolomite peaks and mountainous landscapes ripped, cut and carved over millennia of geological shifts, this is Zagori – a 1 000km2 region in northwestern Greece near the Albanian border, far off the tourist path and majestic in its isolation. Slavic for “beyond the mountain”, Zagori is Greece’s best kept tourism secret, a land of natural beauty quite beyond expectation, and home to what has become the country’s most popular trail running ultra, The North Face Zagori TeRA (Tymfi Endurance Race) 80km. The brainchild of race organisers Mara and Vasilis Kalogirou of the Fifth Ele ..read more