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Two Turtle Doves
It was a glorious boxing day morning. There was no snow to indicate that Christmas was still in the air but this didn’t matter, the sky was blue and clear and the sun warmed our faces as we waited in the start chute. I wasn’t sure what to try for, the Christmas day parkrun was…
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Beacon Parkrun #175
A return to Beacon Park for the last Parkrun opportunity of the year and jetting off for a week of skiing. With the Christmas Day Parkrun at Concord and a Boxing Day Two Turtle Doves fell race in my legs I wasn’t holding much hope in finishing this year with a sub-20. I had to…
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Percy Pud 10k 2024
I had a panicked shuffle through the crowd to get to my place. With no speed training or running of any real kind since the 7 Valleys I set myself the target of running a 42:30. This would be a small PB and I felt it was within my abilities. I started a little too…
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Hathersage Night Fell Race 2024
The race began fast and flat, packed stone pushing back against hundreds of feet. My effort here was moderate, no point in pushing too hard now when over 300m of climbing lay ahead. Out of the darkness a cattlegrid materialised with a silvery glint from my headtorch. The behaviour of runners ahead gave no indication…
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Concord Parkrun #648
A quick one. I keep saying to myself that I want to run a 17:30 5k. But to get there I am actually going to have to run fast. This isn’t going to happen if I keep doing events that imply running when it’s really just me doing long power walks in the hills. To…
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Trunce #8 2024
I had every intention of running socially again this week. I’ve really enjoyed the social club runs on a Tuesday and Wednesday and any excuse to run with another person makes the miles all the easier. This week though, Mark told me to get on with it and run a faster one, maybe last time’s…
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George Fisher Espresso Round
My unexpected completion of the George Fisher Tea Round definitely reignited a spark for the fells. Undertaking big challenges, or even running for that matter, isn’t second nature. As much as I’d like it to be the case, I must actively push myself to get out there. Sometimes this means I don’t do things, and…
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Trunce #7 2024
After saying to myself I would get to each and every Trunce this year, I finally turned up for the 7th one… Progress isn’t linear, but you actually have to do something to progress and with the 7 Valleys looming I have been trying to hold myself accountable and be a bit more consistent. This…
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Dronfield Relays 2024
I will keep this one brief. The Dronfield relays runs the Dronfield circular walk in three legs of paired runners for teams of six. It is a handicapped race, with faster teams starting later with a time penalty. Connor and I had the final leg. We arrived far too early and fought to stay warm.…
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Round Sheffield Run 2024
I had never heard of an enduro format until this year when I was talking to a friend about a mountain bike race he was about to do. The idea of a race but you’re only racing certain sections and then get a bit of a break in between sounded fun. Do you make the…
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Outside Hope Valley Round
I first did the Outside Hope Valley Round in May of 2022. With a sore knee – later revealed to be a symptom of muscle loss – I power hiked my way around in a respectable time of 05:36:42, laden with big bag, hiking boots, and too many packets of sweets. Two years later and…
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Three Lakes Classic
The Three Lakes Classic is a 14.5 mile route that begins in Rother Valley. It takes in a leisurely loop of both the big and small lake (for namesake purposes these are treated as one), before heading out towards Treeton Dyke and into the Waverly (also two lakes but shh…) and back, for a total…
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Sheffield 10k 2023
I have done a lot of runs by myself or raced others but still on my own. The Sheffield 10k was different. I would be running with Fi to get her a 10km PB. Both being at the University of Sheffield at the time, me as an employee and Fi as a PhD student, we…
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Déjà Vu Dash – Groundhog Day 10k
We didn’t come all the way to Long Beach, LA, for an obscure local 5k/10k/10M/HM race. We are here for Fi’s Orthopaedic Research Conference, and I needed to find things to entertain myself with. $28 later I was signed up to run two out-and-back 5k loops of the beachfront for Groundhog Day (repeating the route…
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Trunce #9 2023
Here we are, the last of the series. I can’t say I’ve been waiting long for it as I’ve only done the last three of the year. But this one is different, it’s fancy dress (optional). Of course, I had to partake. The question was, what was I going to wear? My initial plan was…
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Trunce #8 2023
After the amount of fun I ended up having at the Trunce it was a no-brainer to return and have another shot. I had set a goal of averaging 5:00/km last time, which is a fair improvement over the 5:05/km I first ran, a full 31 seconds faster. Though I had a feeling that this…
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Trunce #7 2023
I think I have run one ‘fell’ style race. It was up Win Hill god knows how long ago, and I think I did alright (this was before my Strava days), and I distinctly remember nearly obliterating a drystone wall on my descent. I’m not too sure why I haven’t done any others, but Fiona’s…
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Rothay Parkrun #102
Look who’s back in Ambleside. Twice in a month, what a treat. My initial plan was to get a 15 – 20km run in with around 500m elevation to keep on track with my training plan, but the allure of standing in a park in the sopping wet and running the same loop 3 times…
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Rothay Parkrun #101
Rothay Parkrun is slowly becoming my home event. I found myself back in Ambleside for a stag do but of course I had to get a quick run in. So, slightly hungover and with only a cup of tea in my belly I set out with Mark. The heavens were well and truly open for…
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Rothay Parkrun #93
I’m back in Ambleside for the fifth time this year, and the second time doing the Rothay Parkrun. The course is not a favourite of mine. It includes numerous 90o+ turns, narrow gates, thin sections of path, and an alley where runners pass both ways making jams a weekly occurrence. It is also three laps,…
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Beacon Parkrun #96
I am in Lichfield this weekend with Fiona, staying at her parents. She has an outdoor swim booked for Saturday morning, so I think, let’s go do the parkrun. I am told I can park in the back corner of the Morrisons carpark, and dubiously arrive to see the entire area is people clad in…