I am not going to romanticise cross country. It would be easy, though. Cross country is real running, the pursuit of the running purist, the preserve of the tough. I will stop there because the romantic idea of cross country at the quagmire of Denbies Vineyard lasted about three minutes yesterday. However, In these three…
Category: Running
‘Do you want beans with that?’ A tribute to Stan Allen
Athletics has lost Stan Allen. With his passing, a part of Herne Hill Harriers has died. Stan was an athlete, coach and wordsmith, but – more important than splits and positions – he was a shining example of humanity. His association with Herne Hill Harriers spanned an astonishing 62 years. I knew Stan only in his twilight years,…
A wet and wild start to 2014 at the Serpentine New Year’s Day 10k
There have been some inspirational athletic feats in Hyde Park over the past 18 months. Not me. Not today. Hyde Park – the grey setting of the annual Serpentine New Year’s Day 10k – was wet, windswept and wild. The new year had awoken with a hangover. Some races you enjoy; some you endure. Today…
The myth of ‘I can’t run fast…’
In a decade-and-a-half of running that has encompassed road, cross country and fell, and spanned 10k, marathon and ultramarathon (and everything in between), I never believed I could run very fast, that is relatively very fast for me, over short distances. The demands of running long distances would inevitably counter my ability to master 5k…
Running and writing: top tips from the Write This Run conference
Write This Run, which, funnily enough, unites writing and running in both an online, virtual community and at real life conferences, is one of those annoyingly good ideas that I wish I’d had. Laura Fountain and Liz Goodchild got their first. Incidentally, I know Laura from university a decade ago. Had I suggested she join…
Running in London: where are the hills?
The run from Keswick town centre to the summit of Skiddaw sees the runner gain around 900 metres in altitude. The only time I have set my watch to this run was during my Bob Graham Round in 2012; Skiddaw was hill number one and not the place – or the time (1am) – for…
The loneliness of the 10,000 metre runner
Helene Bellahn is confused. Her mum, Inga, runs towards her. The two-year-old watches expectantly. Mum rounds a corner. Nearer. Very near now. Helene’s smile grows. Mum is level – and, suddenly, gone. Tears. This happens 25 times. Helene’s bafflement is understandable: her mum is running 10,000 metres on a 400-metre track. An unchanging vista. Running…
Discovering Strava
I have discovered Strava. Or Strada, as my wife likes to call it. ‘That’s a restaurant chain,’ I point out annoyingly. ‘Totally different.’ I joined Strava earlier this year, but I did not really get it. Another way to record how far and how long you have been running or cycling, I thought. I used…
A sprain in the ankle
A stop-start 2013 has stopped again. I have sprained the right ankle of a troublesome right leg. A physiotherapist delivered the verdict. He looked at me in horror when I told him I would probably be running if I was not seeing him – 72 hours after the twist. It is a second degree sprain,…
DIY physiotherapy for the fed-up and injured
I have struggled with injury since completing the Vanguard Way in mid-June. My succumbing to injury was all the more frustrating as I recall thinking on the final miles of 68 what a relief it was to be ‘intact’. Tired and fading, but intact. Or not, as it turned out. A ball of tightness gathered…
Stretching is bad for your health
I dabbled with proper mountain running when I lived in Scotland. Ben Nevis, Paps of Jura, Goatfell, Loch Lochy. That sort of thing. One of my strongest memories of this period was the Slioch hill race, a 12-mile dash up and down a Munro and its top. It is brutal: two to three (or four)…
Cornwall: Britain’s best county for running?
Some time ago I posted musings on the best place to run in Britain. I decided on Edinburgh, having spent a while scampering around and about Arthur’s Seat. I have changed my mind. Cornwall – that utopian land of coast, sea and moor – has turned my fickle head. Is this Britain’s best county for running? The case could…
Heights of Madness 