A few months ago I took part in a relay in Lapland. I was running a 15 mile section with two women I’d never met before. As we waited for the baton to be handed to us, we chatted nervously about our stage. Two cyclists sped towards us, handed us our baton and we were off running through an [...]
It's a while since I first opened up the floor to take questions. And as I've got a bit of spare time on my hands while tapering ready for Bournemouth marathon, I thought I'd do it again. So, just like last time: ask whatever you like. Stuff about running, stuff that's not about running. Questions [...]
Thirteen weeks ago I started training for Bournemouth Marathon with a lot of hopes and goals for what was to come. But when it comes down to it, if I had one wish for this marathon training cycle it would be this: make it through training without picking up an injury. And it looks like [...]
More and more runners are looking for a coach - and there's definitely a benefit to having one. But it's important to get a coach who is right for you. So shop around, ask around and consider the points below. Good runners make good coaches, right? I don't coach Olympians. I wouldn't try to. I [...]
Interval training is a great tool for runners of all abilities and can help you get faster and stronger. It can be a complicated business to get right though. I've tried to simplify it as much as possible below and this blog is aimed at those new to this type of training. Here's a few important points. [...]
Setting off to run to work this morning it definitely felt like the start of autumn. For the first mile I wished I'd dug out a pair of gloves, my hands were pretty chilly. In the spirit of 'don't be sad it's over...' I spent the nine mile run thinking of nine great things that [...]
When I trained for my first 10k race seven years ago, I was acutely aware that there was a big hill half way round the race route. I lived of the side of this hill and avoided even walking up it. I knew how big it was. So I did the obvious thing and avoided it [...]
Last week I shared the details of each of my runs, and any other training, via Instagram with the hashtag #mytrainingweek. I don’t often post the nitty gritty of what training I’m doing because I’m not sure how useful or interesting it is. But I wanted to show an example of what my week looks [...]
Me and Katie headed off to run 14 miles across London stopping for three dips along the way, on a swim adventure inspired by the likes of The Swimmer and the Breca swim-run. The thing about women not being able to swim in ponds and rivers until fairly recently is explained much better in this [...]
Yesterday I was a guest on BBC Radio Scotland's programme 'Personal Best' with Gillian Russell. The show was all about how to make running more fun - my specialist subject. I ran to the studio from my office (because nobody can see you sweating over the radio) and then ran home again. I thought it [...]
