After 18 months battling achilles tendonitis and various other running-related issues, I thought I couldn’t be further away from my goals. And then I contracted COVID! I suppose the positive is that I couldn’t be any further from my dreams right? Well these dreams have changed over time. I’ve gone from, ‘I’ll be running in…
Leaps and bounds in lockdown
I went out to Portugal in March for a marathon training camp, excited knowing that I was in great shape and would come back in even better nick. It was a great 10 days, running with some really good athletes. All of us were out there expecting to come back and run our respective spring…
Team Phil and a second Guinness World Record!
On Sunday 8th December 2019 at Goodwood Motor Circuit, Team Phil – Phil, David, Guy, Nick and I prepared ourselves to take on the Guinness World Record for the fastest push of a wheelchair over 26.2 miles. The record stood at 3 hours 1 minute and 24 seconds. In the days leading up to attempt,…
A breakthrough!
It’s been almost two years since I last ran a proper personal best. I’ve been running more than 60 miles a week for two years without seeing improvement. And I’m very motivated by getting better. If I’d been told two years ago that I’d have to wait this long, I might have sacked it off!…
You only blog when you’re winning!
It’s fair to say that I had it easy for the first eight years of my running ‘career’. Dressed as Liza Minnelli in 2009 for my first ever race (in the grown up world), despite being inhibited by the French knickers that kept falling down my legs, I finished in under 1hr 32. Skip forward…
I said I’d be back!
21 weeks after being diagnosed with a stress fracture and I’m back doing something resembling running again! From my understanding, this was a 8-10 week break from running. Well double that! If I’d known at the time, I would have struggled with the prospect of that long out. I’m not sure what the learning is…
On the mend and not going round the bend
It’s been a long five weeks since I last laced up my trainers and to be honest, I expected to completely lose the plot. But the time away from running hasn’t been completely terrible. I’ve had time to have a fresh look at my body for all its strengths and weaknesses. Naturally my first focus…
Hero to zero
And things were going so well! Just when everything was starting to click… Calcaneal stress fracture!!! Alright, so I’ve exaggerated slightly. That’s a displaced fracture. My issue looks more like this – Bones can react well to stress provided you don’t overload and give them time to recover. Runners tend to have stronger bones than…
Scorchio!
What a race the London Marathon is! I challenge anyone not to enjoy at least some of it. That said, beach weather and marathons do not go hand-in-hand – the conditions were anything but enjoyable! Thankfully I was better prepared than some, armed with salt tablets, plenty of carbs in the system (I’d eaten 22…
A week to go until London!
Not that I’ve been counting down EVERY SINGLE DAY but I am now just one week out from the London Marathon. I’ve run over 1,400 miles since hitting the streets of Berlin back in September. The knee injury I picked up (touch wood!) is almost completely healed (*check out some strengthening tips at the end…
Run for your life 