Sticks converts to sticks to stick it to the Lakeland 100 again. And so another year passes by. This statement could encapsulate so many different things in my life at the moment. I haven't written a blog for a year. Not because I don't want to; because I never have time. I wish I could … Continue reading Once, Twice, Three Times a Legend.

Celebrating my surprise pre-midnight finish with my support team! Leanne, Nancy, Lottie (front - tired!) and Hannah. 'The harder I practise, the luckier I get.' - Gary Player & Arnold Palmer (Golfers. They both used the quote although both, apparently, stole it from elsewhere!) Just for once, I have struggled with where to start for … Continue reading Practise Makes Perfect – Nailing the 2022 Lakeland 100

A spur-of-the-moment musical choice sparks a surprising wave of nostalgia upon finally returning to the Lake District. Friday 16th April, 2021. The last day of our school Easter holidays. The 4.30am alarm should kill me, or at least irritate me but, just for once, I was already awake waiting for it. Really, I am too … Continue reading A Journey Through Life To Junction 36.

As an end to lockdown restrictions edges ever temptingly closer, there is a palpable sense in the running community of athletes of all ages and abilities adjusting their training schedules or running routines in order to align them with when that dream, long-awaited, first comeback race might actually take place. For a huge majority of … Continue reading Under Starters Orders – Tips of the Ultra Trade!

Perfect Winter conditions in Beacon Park, looking South West towards Liverpool and North Wales. Thank you so much if you took the time to read parts 1 & 2 of this trilogy of getting my blog up-to-date, it is much appreciated. Part 3 - the bit you are reading now - is to lay out … Continue reading Part 3: the 2021 plan – Heed The Call.

If you read my last blog - thanks! If you didn't - wise lifestyle choice you! In it I reviewed a long period of blogging inactivity and covered my running from August 2019 to March 2020. If you didn't read it and you reeeeeeaaallllllly want to (which will be no-one) you can check it out … Continue reading 2020 – The Year No Plans Inadvertently Paid off!

Above Swaledale, October 2019. 19 months since a blog was posted. Did we miss anything?! Nothing of any real global importance springs to mind... I'm going to make a point of trying to stick to running here - that's the point of the blog after all, although it does feel fairly impossible not to get … Continue reading Running In The Olden Days!

Dalemain Estate, Saturday 27th July, 2019. 11.25am. 59 miles. The mind is the funniest thing. Sometimes trying to control it is the worst thing you can do. Negative thought processes are all-consuming, a vicious circle, a self-fulfilling prophecy - in everyday life, never mind ultra running. In our current climate of mindfulness and general awareness … Continue reading 2nd time lucky – knocking off the Lakeland 100.

So here we are again. Lakeland 100 week. Three days to go. The training is done. The lists are written. The kit sorting and packing has begun. The hourly weather forecast check is underway - never a good thing to do where the Lake District is involved! The mental anguish is in full flow! Like … Continue reading Lakeland 100 take 2 -time to close the loop.

Well, where do I start in order to pick up from my last blog? It was written on March 23rd, nearly three months ago, as I contemplated comeback number 4 from the not-so-little-calf-niggle that I experienced on February 10th. It covered the 11 mental stages of injury as I had experienced them in that six … Continue reading Clinging on to the hope of becoming a #lakelandlegend in 2019. (And the ethics of a deliberate DNF.)