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”
Tag Archives: Julie
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”
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”
Thames Ring 250 Preparations
I have been thinking about and planning for the Thames Ring 250 since last year. After a great end to 2022 with the Sunrise Ultra I took 3 weeks break in December to give my body a rest and focus on Christmas. The plan was to start 2023 fresh and ready for a big trainingContinue reading “Thames Ring 250 Preparations”
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”
Year in Review: 2022
Where did the year go? Time flies when you’re having fun, and we had a lot of it! Here are just some of the highlights: We hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures, and maybe going on a few of your own too! See you out on the trails in 2023 – we’ve got quiteContinue reading “Year in Review: 2022”
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”
Ochil Ultra 50 Miler 2022
The Ochil Ultra is our local ultra, with the route literally passing our front door. Iain and I thought we weren’t going to be able to take part this year with Iain having Glasgow to Edinburgh at the start of October and with my parents planning to stay. However plans changed and my parents weren’tContinue reading “Ochil Ultra 50 Miler 2022”
Loch Ness 24 2022
An inaugural event and my first ever 24hr looped race! The course was a 7km loop on the banks of Loch Ness just outside the small village of Dores and incorporated approx 300ft of elevation per loop, forest paths (with a lot of tree roots), a pebble beach and some fields. The organisers advertised itContinue reading “Loch Ness 24 2022”