This is the third one of my “it’s summer, I don’t want to run” marathons. And under these premises it was a very good experience. Running trail is always a bit different to road and the organisers claim it to be “one of the toughest, prettiest trail marathons in UK”. It was tough and very, very pretty, especially on a great summer day like this, nice but not too hot. But toughest in UK? Prettiest in UK? Not sure. But…
The Dunstable Down Challenge is completed and I have to think of my favourite quote from Mark Twain: “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” The thing of getting utterly lost during this self-navigating trail marathon did not happen. Thanks God for Tracy and Hakeem. Both played a major part in turning the potential for running horror into something rather great and awesome. Well, and the organisers, who despite saying there won’t be any…
I am here in Dunstable 30 minutes before race start. I am looking out for marathon runners who look like they know what they are doing. Because I am not. The Dubstable Downs Marathon come with a twist: you get a map, 4 pages of route description and there you go, find your way. The chance to get lost had never been bigger, therefore my desperate need to buddy up with runners who know the course. Will I find one?…
I am trying my luck with spontaneous marathon running. Somehow summer does not want to become by running friend. Temperatures over 20 degrees take the fun out of the run. As a result I have not been running properly for the last 2 months. Boo! So the plan was not to have a plan, but to trick myself into it by quickly signing up for one telling myself its a new experience, running marathons without preparation. My friend Phil was running…
And tick. The ballot for the Tokyo Marathon opened today and will be open for the whole month of August. Followed by a lottery, results will be made known in September. Not sure how over-subscripted Tokyo is, but after managing to get drawn for New York 2015 and London 2016 I might be on a run here.
After 31 marathons it is time for a little bit of self-indulgence. Having started with this task 6 month ago, I finally completed it: creating a list of All My Marathons! It is a permanent site on my blog and can be found next to the Home link under the header picture. And yes, now it is there, I definitely will keep it up to date… Only problem: There is no next marathon in the pipeline 🙁 Must be a first…
Edinburgh is a great place and its distinctive blue/white Edinburgh Marathon Festival (EMF) branding suggests: this is something rather special, not just another running event. The organisers do say it is the fastest marathon in the UK and the second biggest after London. So I did run Edinburgh with some expectations and not all of them were met. Here the details: Is it special? Well, in some ways it is, but if you expect to run through the fantastic and…
It’s the 5th Marathon Michael and I run together. And this time it’s Edinburgh. Fantastic city, nice people, cool weather. Perfect.
I am still buzzing inside, so great was the event. I love London, I love how well everything is organised and thought through, I love how the London crowd’s cheers really give you this extra energy, I love the landmarks and London’s rougher bits. I love finishing at Buckingham Palace and the last stretch down the Mall. And I loved it all the same, when I run London in 2012. Back then it was my second marathon, today it was my 30th.…
I made it to the start! Glorious marathon weather. A bit chilly now, but it will be perfect when running.
Last cup of tea before leaving to run the London Marathon! Very excited!!
I went to the London Marathon Expo last night to collect my race number for Sunday. And then I saw this: the medal of all medals, for runners who have completed all big 6 marathons. So far I ticked 3 of them off my bucket list and now, knowing there will be a special medal for it, I want them all! Tokyo, Chicago, Boston – bring it on! Trickiest to get into will be Boston I believe. I heard…
Well, with the post title I am just explaining, what is happening on this picture. I don’t think it is very clear, and I don’t want to leave it open for interpretations. I am kissing (not eating, or chewing, or licking) the medal. And there is an other anomaly: I am wearing glasses. I think it is my first marathon where I had to wear glasses. Not because I run out of contacts, but because I did not find time…
It’s getting serious. After 7 years of tracking runs with my phone and good old Runkeeper, a new area is about to start: I got a proper Garmin running watch, FR 630, all singing and dancing. I never knew about my heart rate and permanent running data at a glance, and had always been a bit cynical about these over-ambitious, over-geared, wannabe running athletes, who check their watches in a 10 seconds tact. Well, now I am one of them…
Kingston upon Thames that is. If I had known in advance my first 50k run would have been perfect. Instead of treading known paths I decided in the middle of my long run to do something different and see where the Thames would lead me and how the world looks like after Battersea Park. It turned out to look really nice and it was a great motivation to carry on with running. I did not intend to do a 50k,…