Challenge Stu

There was a suggestion box at the Fellsman this year. I spotted it as I staggered towards the showers about an hour after finishing, took a little piece of paper from the pile and wrote "I BLOODY LOVE THE FELLSMAN!". When the organisers open the box they may well think this was written by a drunken child with a pencil loosely taped to its broken fingers, but it was actually written by a very happy person who just rediscovered what he loves about racing. Run happy. It's been a while since I properly enjoyed a race, but there were numerous occasions during this race when I stuck my arms out and for a moment just ran for the love of it. There were also moments when my legs hurt, I felt sick, I didn't know where I was going, I didn't want there to be 5 hours of running left, but the overall level of enjoyment was high on Saturday. --- Anyway, the race: The Fellsman is more accurately described as a very long fell race (an AVL?) than an ultra, beca...

So, my winter BG plan didn't quite come off as I'd hoped... but it tested my feelings about running and I can confirm I'm still in love. I've been keen to have a go at a winter BG for a long time, and this season seems to have been popular for attempts, possibly inspired by Jim Mann's completion of all three rounds last winter. This deservedly won him the FRA Long Distance award - congratulations Jim. Among others this winter has seen Kim Collison complete a fast round in 20:36, and Ally Beavan attempting (and getting so close to completing!) a solo unsupported round a few weeks ago. It is this solo unsupported on-your-own approach that appeals to me. One of the things I like about long-distance running is the feeling of being out somewhere on your own, possibly in the dark, probably with some weather, and almost certainly lost (if you're me) but remaining in control. In a world of constant interaction with other people I like that rare moment of "It...

I hope everybody had a fantastic bank holiday weekend. I was lucky enough to spend it on the West coast of Scotland with Lorna and my Mum and Dad. We were in a place called Tayvallich, a little village on an inlet of Loch Sween. A mile's walk takes you to the other side of the peninsula, where from the even littler village of Carsaig you have a direct view across to Jura. It's a stunning place. Tayvallich Bay. After a monster 10 hour drive north (though a stop at Mungrisdale was well worth an extra hour or so), we arrived and set about preparing ourselves for a weekend of adventure. The first step was to inflate my funny old blow-up kayak. I bought it originally to practice for using inflatables at WARC 2013 in Costa Rica, but it has far outlasted my predictions and has been great. There are numerous patches, the non-return valves have died, and it's short fat shape means it waddles around the sea rather than carving swiftly through the waves as a fibreglass boat migh...