What the hell is a 37 year old FKT ??? I'd only recently become aware of the concept of fastest known times (FKTs). This is essentially a way of tracking the best times run on predominantly ultra distances routes and trails, including those done outside of race or mass participation conditions. It got me wonderingContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..a 37 year old FKT"
o.t.s.o…..targets
As the dust settles on the Christmas and New Year celebrations, a reflection on another year done, and some targets to set for 2024. First things first - I'm really happy to still be in the game !!! By early May of last year I really thought my running days were all behind me. TheContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..targets"
o.t.s.o…..January
A short poem for each of the 12 calendar months to give just a flavour of how running changes as the cycle of the year rolls around. ------------------------------------------------------------- Jools hootenanny's come and gone December's glitter fading fast but look ahead and realise the best things aren't all in the past --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though now in winter'sContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..January"
o.t.s.o…..these hills are ours
Andy Howey and I had a brief but really enjoyable couple of days in Yorkshire and the Derbyshire Peak district recently, which in addition to a walk around a 12 mile stretch of the Edale skyline, also incorporated an evening in a small theatre in the town of Otley, a little North of Leeds toContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..these hills are ours"
o.t.s.o…..December
A short poem for each of the 12 calendar months to give just a flavour of how running changes as the cycle of the year rolls around. December There's no avoiding winter's chill the damp dark days grow shorter still you dream of longer warmer days and come they surely will..... You have to makeContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..December"
o.t.s.o…..November
For a long time, I've had the feeling that from a runner's point of view, every individual month of the year has some special characteristic that makes it that little bit different from each of the others. Quite how to put those sometimes subtle differences into words has previously escaped me. But in an attemptContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..November"
o.t.s.o…..on the road again !
Over the past two and a half years, I've had a series of running injury problems - hip, pelvis, both knees - which seemed to have put an end to my running days. By early May of this year I had become completely unable to run a step without severe knee pain, so I acceptedContinue reading "o.t.s.o…..on the road again !"
on the subject of…..Gordon Pirie
Number 2 in the "legends" series. The subject of the second of my mini-biogs of some of the great distance runners of the past, is Gordon Pirie. Maybe the passage of time means he is somewhat forgotten now, but in the 1950s he was the Mo Farah of his day, winning races and setting recordsContinue reading "on the subject of…..Gordon Pirie"
on the subject of…..thinking!!!
What do you think about when you run? When it comes to thinking on the run, runners tend to fall into one of two camps: ASSOCIATION or DISSOCIATION. In simple terms, association means you are very much focused on the activity of the run, and dissociation means you are (possibly very consciously) allowing your mind to wanderContinue reading "on the subject of…..thinking!!!"
on the subject of…..the 3000s final day
The first task on the final day is to position the cars, first driving both to the remote finish point up a winding single track lane inland from Abergwyngregyn. Leaving one car there, all five of us then pile into the other car and head back to the day three start point at Glen Dana.Continue reading "on the subject of…..the 3000s final day"
On the subject of running..... 