Category Archives: Uncategorized

“What a drag it is getting old” (to quote the Rolling Stones) Despite that sombre start, don’t be despondent, there are reasons to be cheerful !  Maybe there’s no getting away from the fact that aging isn’t a non-stop laugh, but all you can do is take care and make the best of what you’veContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..getting older and slower”

Having made our mark in the British Powerjog championships, unexpectedly we received an invitation to take part in a demonstration race at the 1984 London Marathon exhibition “pasta party”. I suspect that word had got around about this guy who had developed a new twist on being a human cannonball, using a treadmill rather thanContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..treadmills #2”

Although I don’t like running on them,  I’ve had a couple of entertaining incidents involving treadmills. The first was way back in 1983, when against my better judgment I went along with an idea to enter an event called the British Powerjog championships being advertised in Athletics Weekly. Our completely ill-prepared 3 man team travelledContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..treadmills #1”

I love reading biographies and autobiographies of great runners, and I read 3 marvellous books in quick succession during the summer which helped me understand why I had never really been cut out for ultra distance running. “North” by Scott Jurek, “Running and stuff” by James Adams, and “There is no map in hell” byContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..ultras (part 2)”

I played with a bit of ultra running over the years, and probably competed in a total of between 15 and 20 ultra distance races, but at no point did I ever consider myself an ultra runner. To earn that title you have to be tougher than I am. In 1982 I took a gentleContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..ultras”

Racing –  Anyone can run in a race. You just pay your money, turn up and run. But to actually race is a different matter, and requires a certain attitude.  To me, it’s just as important to win your own personal race however far down the field you may be. Your personal challenge may be to beat oneContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..racing”

There’s a lot less mystique about getting good running shoes than the major brands would have you believe. The truth is, so long as you go with a running brand that has a good reputation the shoes are likely to be well constructed, made of suitable quality materials and will give you plenty of milesContinueContinue reading “on the subject of…..running shoes – a buyer’s guide.”

Whatever your level, with the right balance of a well planned training regime, determination, hard graft and a bit of luck you’ll probably achieve the best you can. For the first year my only training tactic was to run more often and to increase the distance covered, and that alone was enough to improve myContinueContinue reading “On the subject of…..getting quicker”

***Apologies if this feels like deja vu – this is a re-post of the original as it had mysteriously disappeared from the blog (I’m still learning how this stuff works)*** When my schooldays ended in 1974, I did no regular running at all for several years, as I focussed all my efforts on becoming oneContinueContinue reading “On the subject of…..what got me started”

Taking the Marathon as the starting point when thinking of racing isn’t really very logical. Even in the current era of mass participation running, 26.2 miles is never an easy prospect, and wouldn’t normally be your very first racing distance. However, as fate had determined that it would be my first race as an adult,ContinueContinue reading “On the subject of…..marathoning”