Untethered

I have been in a strange state recently. A period of higher intensity work and travel (with the resulting long days, short nights, and broken hotel sleeps) coincided with a forced break in my running, due to an injury which had come about from forcing my training and battering miles mindlessly. When work went mad… Continue reading Untethered

Summer of Run 

In the heat of this particularly sweltering summer my writing habits have melted away.  Thankfully, my running habits have mostly survived. My Strava progress chart is a steady mountain climb interspersed with brief, sometimes steep downhill drops indicating, probably, a heavy-ish weekend. I wanted to have a fun summer, and I have had one. I've been… Continue reading Summer of Run 

Running Man

2016, written by Charlie Engle Listened to on Audible Being a good storyteller, and having good stories, are separate matters. The same can be said for being a good runner, and being a good writer. Charlie Engle, for my money, is all four.  It was at Engle’s description of his first ever drink that I… Continue reading Running Man

Packing on (running) Meat

Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash For my last three big races I have written out a full running regimen and with resounding consistency I have failed to stick to it. Life didn’t cause me to come unstuck from my plans...I just didn't really like them. I am currently training for a trail half in… Continue reading Packing on (running) Meat

Downhills are Supposed to be Fun

The runners crashed by me, skidding on the loose rock trail, exhibiting tremendous speed and technical ability. I also ran. Just, not like that. Part of my interest in trail running is that it is beyond my comfort zone. I do not possess tremendous speed and technical ability, particularly not on steep downhills. Think less… Continue reading Downhills are Supposed to be Fun

Holidaying, Running, and Falling Out of the Stream of Linear Time.

Time changes when you run somewhere new. I can’t say for sure whether it speeds up, or slows down, but it feels different. The explanation is probably as simple as: you don’t look at your watch as much; or you aren’t making calculations in your head based on landmarks because you have yet to commit… Continue reading Holidaying, Running, and Falling Out of the Stream of Linear Time.

A Nice Spot 

With the price of everything on the up, and the planet burning, freezing, and falling over, I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of travelling I do for my running.  I have everything I need within foot-powered travelling distance of my bed. And sure, there aren’t exactly mountains in my back garden but I do… Continue reading A Nice Spot 

Talking tunes again

The idea of running with music has always been more appealing to me than the reality of it. In reality I find the music detracts from my ability to focus on the run, and I tend to not really be able concentrate on either thing, meaning I’m not really having fun running, or listening to… Continue reading Talking tunes again

Backwards, Forwards. 

And so, slightly belatedly, I find myself reflecting on last year. Because of this wonderful thing called recency bias we tend to pick songs, films, tv shows, games, races, from the latter part of the year as our favourite thing of the year. This is how I find myself, as I reflect, thinking of the… Continue reading Backwards, Forwards.