Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra 2022

After having three big races – the Cow Shed BYU, Ultra Scotland and St. Cuthbert’s Way – all completed by July, the rest of the year was looking pretty quiet. I was keeping the calendar free to allow for an attempt at Ramsay’s Round in August (more on that another time!), but after volunteering forContinue reading “Glasgow to Edinburgh Ultra 2022”

St. Cuthbert’s Way Revisited

This year I’ve not had a lot of races booked far in advance – in fact after Ultra Scotland in June I had nothing in the diary. Julie had been telling me how much she’d enjoyed St. Cuthbert’s Way last year and how it was “my kind of course” so when I saw that theirContinue reading “St. Cuthbert’s Way Revisited”

Ultra Scotland 100 2022

A hilly hundred miler across the heart of the Scottish Southern Uplands was never going to be easy was it? Only now, nearly two weeks on from completing Ultra Scotland 100, have I been back out for a (short, slow) run again. The recovery has begun, and I’m feeling ready to start blogging about theContinue reading “Ultra Scotland 100 2022”

Cow Shed Backyard Ultra 2022

Last weekend, we travelled to Wheelbirks Farm in the Northumberland countryside so I could run my first ever Backyard Ultra. Since the first “Big’s Backyard Ultra“, hosted by the legendary Lazarus Lake in his literal backyard in Bell Buckle, Tennessee in 2011, hundreds of similar events have spawned worldwide, each of which gives entrants theContinue reading “Cow Shed Backyard Ultra 2022”

Dropping in to Edinburgh

Last weekend I travelled down to Edinburgh to take part in “The Drop“. If you haven’t come across it before, the concept is simple but makes for an interesting event. Competitors are blindfolded, bussed out to an unknown location a set distance from the finish location and race to make their way back – butContinue reading “Dropping in to Edinburgh”

A tale of two Garmins

Note: post contains Amazon affiliate links. These help support the blog at no extra cost to you! Earlier this year, I ditched the trusty old Garmin Forerunner 35 that I’ve been using for several years in favour of a Garmin fÄ“nix 6 Pro. Both are great watches actually – and I would recommend them both,Continue reading “A tale of two Garmins”

Leeds & Liverpool Canal Race 2021

Like the race, this blog is rather long and took me quite a while with several breaks to complete. I’ve described all the main features of the route (that I can remember) so it might be of interest to folks considering trying the race in the future, or at least give an insight into whatContinue reading “Leeds & Liverpool Canal Race 2021”

Seven Hills of Edinburgh 2021

Today I had the chance to run a race that’s been on my to-do list for several years. I think I first heard about the Seven Hills back in 2016 or earlier when I was working in Edinburgh. Taking in the seven major high points of central Edinburgh – Calton, Castle, Corstorphine, Craiglockhart, Buckstone Snab/Braid,Continue reading “Seven Hills of Edinburgh 2021”