Archive

Up and Running Great name. And back then still pretty original. My reasoning behind setting up my version of the early sweatshop was (1) There was an untapped demand for such a shop in West Kent (2) It would happen sooner or later anyway, and if anyone was going to do it, it was going… Read more

The Sweatshop Olympic gold medalist and founder of the London Marathon, Chris Brasher was ahead of the curve in the late 1970s. He had opened a sports shop a few years earlier, but perhaps anticipating the running boom, it had become focused almost entirely on running gear. The first London Marathon in 1981 was a… Read more

It’s tempting to play this game in the last few days of the year; a look back on what’s just gone and to have a few thoughts about what lies in store in the New Year, but you can be excused from playing it this year if you’re feeling frazzled or fragile!  I’ll keep this… Read more

I’m writing this sitting at my kitchen table, mid-evening, midweek, mid-December, contemplating the fact that I’m running twice tomorrow. The first run will be at around 6.30 am to get to work, then the same route in reverse at about 5.30 pm to get back again. So a big consideration for tomorrow is the weather… Read more

Sometimes when it’s cold, it’s raining and it’s dark outside, even the most committed among us might struggle to find the enthusiasm to get our gear on and step out for the training run we’d planned. When this situation arises ( as it quite often does ) there are usually two options: The first is… Read more

I had always loved running anyway, but taking part in the 1981 London Marathon moved things to a different level for me. That was when I realised that this sport was going to play a large part in my life and it prompted me to start a diary to record all of my running, training,… Read more