It's a fair few years since I decided that I needed a GPS watch. I'd been running for almost a year and I wanted to leave the gym behind and run outside, but I had no idea how far I was running outside. This was seven years ago, I didn't have a smart phone so couldn't [...]
I had my last day at work the day before Christmas Eve, and my last run commute to work the day before that. As I ran to work one last time I wanted to enjoy it, and to a certain extent I did. Being up and awake, setting off when it was still a bit [...]
I've been testing out a few fitness trackers recently with mixed reviews. One that I kept getting asked about (here and in pubs) by people keen to pop something on their Christmas list was the Fitbit. So when the people at Fitbit asked if I'd like to try one, I said yes please and then [...]
Thinking about the year ahead, it's tempting to sign up to do all of the things and all of the races. It's something I've been guilty of in the past, notably the past year. I like races - and for me that doesn't always mean 'racing'. Sometimes it just means that I know there'll be friends [...]
I did a lot of fun things this year. Having spent most of October and November not running at all, it's difficult to believe the running that these legs have done. But on reflection, it's obvious that at some point during the year I started to feel a little bit invisible so it's no surprise [...]
I asked one of the runners who joined my 0-5k group earlier this year to tell her story of going from beginner to 10k. Here's Vicky's story. “I want you all to run for one minute” said Laura to the group. Just a few seconds in I had a horrible feeling that I may not [...]
Two miles into my run on Saturday, I had to stop and walk. I'd spent the morning hungover on the sofa trying to convince myself that if I could just get my kit on and out the door, I'd feel better. I'd been looking forward to the run all week - it would be the [...]
How I quit my job and became a running coach For the past few years I'd been juggling a full-time job with coaching in the evenings (and sometimes in the morning at 7am), some freelance writing, writing a couple of books and training for races. The term 'side-hustle' has become popular for this, but at [...]
Yesterday I was on BBC Radio Scotland's Personal Best programme again, this time talking about fitness trackers. They first had me on a few weeks back reviewing running apps and invited me back this week to review a few fitness trackers in the run up to Christmas. I don't actually have to travel to Scotland [...]
On Sunday I got up and looked out the window at the reservoir. The wind was whipping up the water and making it almost surfable. The perfect day for a 10k race. I hadn't pre-registered for the Mornington Chasers Regents Park 10k. I was planning to pick up a bib in the morning at registration, [...]
