Went to Leeds, ran 31 yards, DNF’ed, went home again. That’s pretty much what our weekend at God’s Own Backyard Ultra amounted to, but at the same time it was so much more than that! Hours spent on the trail, time in camp catching up with our “backyard family”, seeing many people smash their ownContinue reading “GOBYU 2023”
Category Archives: Race Report
Orkney Backyard Ultra 2023
Orkney Backyard Ultra was my third big race of the year and I had deliberately taken it easy since Ultra Scotland 100 four weeks before. This felt quite strange and left me nervous that I wasn’t doing enough, but was definitely the correct approach for me as my final two runs felt great and IContinue reading “Orkney Backyard Ultra 2023”
There and Back Again…
Not “… A hobbit’s tale, by Bilbo Baggins”, but rather the Ochil 100 – both directions along the Ochil 50 route back-to-back 🤪 Julie had run (and won) the Ochil 50 last year so I’ll spare you the blow-by-blow route description (re-read her post if you’re looking for route info) and just give you aContinue reading “There and Back Again…”
Loch Ness 24 2023
This race was simultaneously the worst and the best thing I have ever done – I’m still buzzing from it 4 days later as I write this 😁 So many challenges along the way, but I managed them all and came away with a result that I still can’t quite wrap my head around! ButContinue reading “Loch Ness 24 2023”
By Way of the Glen
Some time last year I heard that Rocket Events were putting on an extension to their annual Great Glen Way Ultra, adding (just!) the whole West Highland Way beforehand to make a 170 mile + 21,500 ft of climb continuous route all the way from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It sounded just likeContinue reading “By Way of the Glen”
Thames Ring 250
Scroll down to the bottom for Strava link (spoiler alert!) The Thames Ring 250 is organised by Challenge Running, with race director Lindley Chambers. It is a 250 mile loop starting and finishing in Goring and made up of stretches of the Thames path, Grand Union Canal and Oxford Canal. I have been preparing forContinue reading “Thames Ring 250”
Beating The Drop
Last year I ran “The Drop – Edinburgh“, finishing second overall so I had a bit of unfinished business when it came to this race and I signed up for the 2023 edition quite early on. After a few short and fast races I knew this one would be a good test of my fitnessContinue reading “Beating The Drop”
February Roundup
“Winter miles mean summer smiles” is a well-known phrase among runners, and both of us are midway through out winter/spring training blocks getting ready for big races to come. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a few smiles along the way too 😃 Only 4 weeks after Feel The Burns, it was timeContinue reading “February Roundup”
January Hill Races
The plan was to take a little break over Christmas, have a couple of weeks to build back up my base mileage then run a couple of short, fast hill races in mid-January as a bit of a sighter as to where my fitness was before pushing on with a big training block ready forContinue reading “January Hill Races”
God’s Own Backyard Ultra 2022
Where to even start this post? Julie and I went to GOBYU planning to go a long way, exactly how far neither of us quite knew. This way my second Backyard Ultra (after the Cow Shed BYU in April – read that post for a quick intro to the format) so I aimed at aContinue reading “God’s Own Backyard Ultra 2022”