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

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. 

Running the Coast of My Youth

Hunstanton and Heacham are the coastal towns of my youth. Would I recommend them as a holiday destination to some strapping young couple, looking for adventure and sensual excitement? No, absolutely not. But both towns, like so many British coastal towns, serve up a very specific kind of laid back leisure. My family had rented… Continue reading Running the Coast of My Youth

MUD

Image by Matt Seymour, from Unsplash.com The North Midlands Cross Country league is sort of the premier event for endurance runners at my athletics club, but I’ve never actually been involved before. The combination of recurring lockdowns and my previous job consistently eating up my Saturdays has prevented me from ever being able to turn… Continue reading MUD

The Debut

Fresh from my trip to the Peak District, I had a feeling that I would enjoy my first half marathon.  The word enjoy, as always with running, is relative. In running terms it means a type II kind of pleasure - that ‘oh that was fun’ kind of feeling, not a ‘oh this is fun’… Continue reading The Debut

Always Time

I’ve worried about time quite a lot. In relation to running, I often worried about having enough time to run. In the process of applying for new jobs I’ve considered how the positions which I am applying for may impact the time I have to train.  The thing is, I realised it doesn’t matter. Time… Continue reading Always Time

Close to Home

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

To Watch Less

With the transition of the seasons comes a transition in training. It isn’t exactly a new year, or a completely clean slate, but the gradual shifting of nature’s palette has encouraged me to take stock and consider what might I do differently in the year’s final chapters compared to it’s long open, and sun-stunted middle. … Continue reading To Watch Less

Breath of the Wild, and the Joy of the Trail.

I don’t know if any of the designers behind The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are trail runners, but they certainly managed to capture some essence of what makes travelling on foot, off the beaten path, so beautiful.  This is old news, of course, Breath of the Wild was received as one of… Continue reading Breath of the Wild, and the Joy of the Trail.