With five weeks to go until my first 100 mile race and the panic and paranoia is starting to set in. It’s the prequel to the ultimate taper tantrum that often includes buying shit you don’t need, over analysing your training, foam rolling (because you literally have never used the thing) and research into all … Continue reading The prequel to the taper tantrum- 35 days to go!
"Trail and ultra running is inclusive". There are few things at the moment that get my blood boiling as much as this sentence, especially when it comes from a middle aged white man. "Ultra marathon running attracts a certain type of person", they say when questioned about the fact that there are a significant amount … Continue reading How much does it cost to run 100 miles?
Every year at Christmas I sit down and watch the movie version of the Broadway musical 'Rent'. It's my end of year tradition. "How do you measure, measure a year?" they ask and each holiday season I asked myself the same thing. Luckily for runners, Strava has that in the bag, publishing their 2022 Recap … Continue reading 2022: A year in running
It had been a while. Quite a while actually, since I had run 100km. It seemed like something that had become part of my identity, running long distances, of how people saw me, but I wasn’t actually doing it. The last time I completed a 100km race was September 2017, the Surf Coast Century, over … Continue reading Race recap: Ultra trail Kosciusko 100k
If there is one thing that runners embarking on the Ultra Trail Kosciusko are worried about ahead of the big dance next weekend it’s snow.Australia’s highest peak still has a dusting after getting unseasonal snow a few weeks ago. That snow has now mostly melted down to sludge and mud, a trail runners wet dream, … Continue reading Pre-game: Ultra Trail Kosciusko
It's pretty easy sometimes to get caught up in dumb shit. I'm not proud of it, but the other day I spent all day stressing and desperately googling to find a solution to someone changing a running shoe. I'm sure if you follow me on Instagram or over here on this little blog you would … Continue reading A little perspective goes a long way
I bought a new pair of shoes this week. Hardly newsworthy or revolutionary I admit. "Runner buys new shoes" is hardly the stuff of Pulitzer Prizes. There was nothing fancy about them. They weren't a brand new make or model, a limited edition or anything with the word 'carbon' in the title (or the price). … Continue reading WTF! They ruined my favourite shoe!
“Proud of you for showing up”, that was the message I got from a running buddy when I got home from Halloween Howler last night after spending 5 and a half hours doing loops of a 5k trail course. “Me too”, I thought, “that’s the hardest part”, I replied. In fairness, that wasn’t what I … Continue reading Race recap: Halloween Howler marathon 2022
I used to sign up for races as “training” a lot but if I’m being honest, it wasn’t exactly training. It was mostly signing up for staircase races, you know you put a big A goal on the calendar of say 100km, so you also schedule in a half marathon and a 50k on the … Continue reading Race recap: Trail Series race 4
My favourite movie is Almost Famous, the based on a true story account of a kid and wannabe journo who became besties with his favourite band and followed them on the road, leading to his own front page story on the cover of The Rolling Stone. As a younger person, it seemed fitting that I … Continue reading My experience of “Mental skills for ultra runners”: A tail of a book review and unrequited therapy