Challenge Stu

Apparently last year I wrote a long rambling "review of the year" type thing... I'm a bit disappointed in myself for doing that, so massive soz to any of you who may have read it. I feel I should close the year with some sort of blog though, so I am going to write something. It's called "Lots of hills and no hills at all", and it's about two bits of running I did recently. Before I start, I would like to point out a couple of blogs vastly more worthy of your time. The first is Runners against Rubbish , a wonderful little charity aiming to... OK it's me again. But the posts are shorter. The second is a genuine recommendation - Callum Rowlinson. I don't really know Callum, I beat him once and he has subsequently beaten me many more times, but his blog is great. It's mostly about dogs and slightly about running (which he mostly does fast). I enjoy it a lot: https://callumrowlinson.wordpress.com/ Callum and I, apparently deep in prayer, a...

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...

It's almost the end of September. The days are getting noticably shorter, temperatures have dropped a little, and if like me you live in a University city, the pavements have suddenly got busy again. Although I don't formally teach, working at a University means that summer is the easiest time to take holidays, and also the time when conferences and events tend to be organised. This means that August and September can be busy months! In the last couple of weeks I've been on two notable trips, the first a work trip to Cork and the second a holiday to the Ardeche region of France. I won't bore you with all the details, but I wanted to talk quickly about the major summits of each trip... Carrauntoohil and Mont Ventoux. Carrauntoohil Carrauntoohil is the biggest hill in Ireland. At 1038m it's higher than Scafell Pike, not quite as tall as Snowdon, and 300m or so shorter than Ben Nevis. It is bigger than the two remaining high points in the British Isles (Sli...

On Saturday 6th May, an audacious attempt to make sporting history took place. Some people didn't like it, saying it was all just a big publicity stunt. Others admired the technical advances and the precise data capture. I just thought it sounded like a good day out. I speak, of course, about Willy Kitchen's 50th Birthday party. Being that great chap that he is, Willy decided that he would like to celebrate his birthday by organising a mass run around the infamous Kinder Dozen route. A race you might say, but a special, one-off type of race. The route of the KD is similar to that of the Kinder Killer I ran a few weeks ago, and is another invention of the (clearly sadistic) Ken Jones. The idea is that you run around Kinder, zig-zagging your way between the the summit plateau and the surrounding valleys 12 times. This gives over 3000m of ascent in a bit over 20 miles. Ken's original map Willy had arranged a series of start times based on predicted speed. The firs...

***NEWSFLASH! I learnt a new muscle! Thanks to Laura for pointing out the existance of something called a "Ham-string". I have updated the main picture...*** So, apparently there are lots of muscles in your legs, and spending a few months running up mountains at a constant speed is great for some of them, but less good for others. Since we came back from Europe I've not quite been able to tap into the fitness and form I felt like I had in 2013, and it seems the reason is that I've forgotten how to run properly. This is where being part of Team Accelerate is great; yesterday I spent a couple of hours with Stu Hale and Laura Inglis, talking about what I need to do to re-learn how to run efficiently, and how we're going to do it. Mt Fuji 2013: Pre-quad dominance? It seems that over the summer in Chatel I have developed a strong quad dominance, to the extent that my glutes are very weak. I am pretty bad at anatomy, but fortunately these are two of the only...

After a successful and beautiful early-morning 3 hour outing last weekend without much more than a little niggle of the adductor pain I've been struggling with for a month or so, I decided to up the ante this weekend. Ox Stones sunrise last weekend One of the many fantastic things about Dark Peak Fell Runners is the wealth of experience in the club, so when you fancy a hilly 30-ish mile route to make your Sunday more interesting, a quick visit to the DPFR facebook page or website will give you a few options. I decided on the "Kinder Killer", a route invented by K Jones and currently marketed by Ian Winterburn. The idea is similar to another classic route, the Kinder Dozen, involving a zig-zaggy loop of Kinder Scout, alternately visiting the plateau and the surrounding valleys. There are seven climbs as opposed to the (obvs) 12 of the Dozen, but the Killer route is different and I think slightly longer overall. Ian also suggested that it's a nicer route, so I too...