running, reading, nonsense.
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
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
Why walk when you can run? Running covers more ground, quicker, so more miles can be put in the bank, and miles in the bank is what we like. Usually. I went for a good long walk in place of a run for the first time because I was horribly hungover and the slower motion… Continue reading A Change of Pace
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.
Last year it was the lockdown which restricted our running routes, this year - for me at least - it has been this little fuel crisis which we’ve been undergoing. Although, I suppose it’s not a fuel crisis at all, it’s a HGV driver crisis (which sounds considerably less dramatic, although clearly that’s unfair) -… Continue reading Close to Home
Is running therapy? Or is therapy, therapy? Exercise (and in particular running, I find) is good for clearing the head, for keeping an even keel, and staying generally healthy. Perhaps then, running on a regular basis will keep you mentally well but, then again, maybe it won’t. The brain is far too complicated to be… Continue reading A Sheringham Circular (and, what we don’t know we need).
and then when that thing changes, you immediately start complaining about the new status-quo. That describes the British and the weather. In fairness, we aren’t naturally blessed. April and May provided a grey and gloomy canvas, and then things flipped like a switch over the recent bank holiday. This, of course, was welcomed with righteous… Continue reading You spend all year complaining about one thing,
I found myself thinking when out for a run the other day that it was quite strange that, with all the extra trail I’ve been on recently, I haven’t fallen over. Stacking it is surely as much a part of running trails as getting muddy and wet is and yet, as of that exact moment… Continue reading Stacked It
I last visited the Chiltern Hills, and Ivinghoe Beacon, in warmer, drier times. My trail shoes got dusty from the chalk escarpments, but they weren’t muddy. My legs were sore from the climbs, but my glutes weren’t barking for working so hard to keep me upright on the slip ‘n slide sections. The Chilterns is… Continue reading A Run, In Words: 12 Miles in the Chilterns.
Markus Torgeby was an extremely talented teenage runner, but he could never quite get things together in races. The potential that everyone could see - his family, his coaches, himself - was struggling to come into fruition. Running was Markus’ solace, a way to make his body and mind sing together. He struggled in school,… Continue reading Runners Book Club: The Runner.
run into words 