Let the music move you

16 Feb 2015, 1:27 p.m.

I used my rest days wisely last week.  At least that’s what I told myself, according to my wife I was just making a mess.  She had a point – I’d recovered boxes from the garage where things were safely packed away after our last house move in order to d...

Headlines, hills and helping ...

9 Feb 2015, 12:47 p.m.

When I’m not running or blogging my day job is a public relations manager.  It’s something I’ve done for nearly 17 years now (isn’t it scary when you start counting…), seeking publicity and handling the media on behalf of clients when I was in agency, a...

Happy (with my) New Year

2 Feb 2015, 1:53 p.m.

There was a bit of a hoo-ha after last year’s Great Birmingham Run when some starters (including me) experienced a glitch with their chip times.   Due an issue with one of the electronic mats, certain runners were seeing a two minute discrepancy between...

Unchartered waters

26 Jan 2015, 5:43 p.m.

Now things start to get either tough, scary, interesting or exciting depending on your outlook in life.  I’m crossing a threshold this week, all part of parcel of training towards a new distance (in this case, of course, a full marathon).  Because this ...

Brand on the run

21 Jan 2015, 1:29 p.m.

My mind began to wander during a recent long run (inevitable when you start hitting 90 minutes plus!) and I started to think about how much kit appears to be involved in semi-serious training.   In theory to go for a run you need a half decent pair of s...

But I don’t WANT to

19 Jan 2015, 5:58 p.m.

Got children?  Then this expression will undoubtedly be familiar to you.  Even if you haven’t, most of us will have bellowed something very similar in our own youthful years when presented with a task or instruction we’d rather not carry out.   I did a ...

Mister blister

16 Jan 2015, 5:53 p.m.

Fortunately in my running career to date I’ve been able to avoid any unpleasant injuries.  Can you hear that knocking sound?  It’s me touching wood repeatedly so that this trend isn’t broken before London!   The only issues I have encountered are planta...

Man with a plan

15 Jan 2015, 1:43 p.m.

If the marathon is a serious challenge then it makes sense to take the training seriously as well.   I’m comfortable running up to half marathon distance and usually try to get out two or three times a week just for general fitness.  It always surprises...

The road to London

14 Jan 2015, 5:31 p.m.

There’s a reason why I don’t bother with the lottery any more.  I have an unenviable track record of never winning anything, be it prize draws, raffles, competitions…and now I can add ballots to the list!   Like countless others, I stayed up late, shout...

Couch to 42.2k

14 Jan 2015, 1:04 p.m.

OK, perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration but it is true to say that my ‘marathon journey’ will be taking me to new distances and levels of endurance that I’ve not had to square up to in my running career to date.   I used to run as a kid.  My brother wa...