Introduction


Kitted out ultra-runner

A bit about me
I suppose I call myself a runner. I used to call myself a cyclist, then a triathlete, but recently it's been mainly running. I'm not the best there is, I don't win races, but I do OK - I managed a 2:57 marathon PB in 2017. Twice. Two weeks apart.
Sometime I should write a little about the triathlons I've taken part in, I did quite a few Ironman races too, but could never get good enough at the swimming bit.
I started running some time in 2008 after I noticed, at work, that I was getting a little fat around the middle, so I started doing short lunchtime runs at work and cycling to work from the station. Initially a two mile run was my limit and I thought that was a long way. I heard about the JPMorgan challenge (5.6k) and that was my introduction to racing, after that I challenged myself to a Half Marathon (2009 Royal Parks) - at mile 11 I swore I would never run again, then by Monday felt the draw of the marathon and entered the following year's Brighton Marathon. After that it just got out of hand.

Latest blog posts can be seen here: Latest

Collected race reports grouped and linked below, highlighted by completed✊ or failed.☠

Centurion races
I love the Centurion races they're brilliantly organised and run, I've done quite a few more than listed here - I think most others are mentioned in the first NDW post, but the ones I've written properly about are here:
TP100 - 2018 ✊
SDW100 - 2018 ✊
NDW100 -2020☠ 2017 ✊
A100 - 2018 ☠ : 2017 ☠
POSFR - 2019 ✊
WW50 - 2021 ✊

Other stuff
Again I've done a few more than those here, quite a few marathons and other trail races, but these are the ones I've written about. Perhaps I should write a results page or something for the others?

Spartathlon - 2023 ✊
Extreme Energy "Humanity Direct" Tring Ultra - 2019 ✊
Ridgeway Challenge - 2019 ☠
Crawley 24hr - 2023✊ 2021✊ 2019 ☠
Gloucester 24hr - 2021 ☠
Country to capital - 2022 ✊ 2020 ✊ 2019 ✊
Piglet plod - 2017 ✊
Mince Pi run - 2018 ✊
GUCR - 2023✊ 2022 ☠ 2018 ☠
London Marathon - 2018 ✊

Tech talk
Lots of posts about my GPS tracker:
Tracker1, Tracker2, Tracker3, Glucose monitoring, Water monitor, VO2 max measurement

Random musings
Then some random rambling on about running equipment, a bit about wildlife.

The accident
The drugs work

In 2018, I had a serious accident riding home from work one day. I wrote about it here first. I found that the writing about how I felt and how I was coping helped me immensely. So there were a series of updates:  August, November, March and July

Next

It's taken me just over a year, two, three years... to come back from that, some days I feel I'm done with it, then occasionally, not.

2020 is going to be my second Centurion 100 grand slam attempt (all 4 100 mile races), then, we'll see.

The 2020 goals didn't happen, global pandemic and all that, so I'm coming up with some new goals. 
..
Todo. must update with 2025 goals... 🙄

Popular posts from this blog

seven month update

Image
so how's it going? Seven months on. I've been trying to work out how to communicate this all week (and a bit), mulling over different ideas. going for a run, thinking it over, but never actually getting around to writing it down. Similarly, I'm supposed to be writing a short bio for an upcoming race, but I have absolutely no idea what to say about me. "Started late in life, runs a bit, doesn't take it too seriously"? Reckon I'm going to have to find someone else's to copy. 😀 After finally summoning up the courage to finish reading Anne's ' one year update ' - that spurred me on, I think it's good for me to get this down on paper and out of my head, hopefully someone will find it useful or helpful and I think it will be good to be able to look back on my thoughts in the future. I try to keep getting back to a normal (for me) routine, so it can be deceptive looking at what I've been up to and thinking everything's ...
Read more

Tracking running Part #2

Image
Part deux tracker blog posting...  If you're just interested in running and not technology, this is probably not that interesting for you so head over to the run post instead... ( link ) If you are just interested in technology, this is the post for you! If you're interested in both, probably wander off and read that one first, then come back here. 😁 After several improvements and reworks from the first build of the tracking website ( described over here ) I was happy with my tracking website now, and it had worked well on the race day... The site can follow several trackers, supports several different types (mine, tk102, tk104, lk109, orux map), can show the track taken for each, overlay a "course" show the elevation profile with aid stations along the way, highlight the viewers location... (ok it is possible I may have over-engineered it since it's just a personal site) S o decided it was time to stop adding bells and whistles and should return to the idea of b...
Read more

back from the brink

Image
Another weekend, another 100 miler in the calendar after the disappointment of the failed GUCR attempt two weeks ago. My cough is still lingering but feels like it's finally shifting and the forecast is for a hot dry day, so I’m feeling confident. Well after all, I *know* I can run 100 miles.  Getting to the start was slightly more stressful that usual: I probably ought to either take Friday afternoons off for races, or be a lot more organised in the week beforehand - rather than trying to find, pack and arrange everything into drop bags, run bag and finish bag in under 45 minutes. Check online and trains showing as on time.... so I grab a coffee passing through Croydon, grab a sausage roll in Clapham... then hear the announcement over the tannoy that there are severe delays of up to 45 minutes expected. Uh oh, I'm not going to make evening registration, not a huge issue since I can just sign on in the morning, but I'd wanted to be ready to go from waking up. T...
Read more