Robbie Britton and inov-8: two great things come together
I have recently had the chance to get to know ultra runner, adventurer and all-round top-bloke, Robbie Britton and we have crossed paths at a number of events – almost literally at the Bristol half marathon last year when he was pacing a group (did they have any…
Eat, Run and Talk – an evening with Scott Jurek
Bloomsbury Publishing is possibly most famous for taking a chance on a book that had been rejected by almost every other publisher in the land. It is all about a quiet, shy young boy who came from a difficult background which was full of challenges and who, it…
And you thought the UTMB was ‘ultra’: Philippe Gatta & Berghaus take on the Great Himalayan Trail
I am happy to admit now that I was pretty nervous about tackling the UTMB CCC with Julie, my wife, a few weeks ago. We were aiming to cover over 100km, with more than 6,000m of vertical ascent, in one go. By foot. Without motorised assistance. Ourselves. However,…
Hot dang! An ashmei merino wool product review
Disclaimer – please read this: I want to make it really clear from the very start that as the co-owner of freestak, I work for ashmei supplying social media marketing services. Stuart, the owner of ashmei, was very generous and sent me some ashmei kit to try out…
Book review: Feet in the Clouds by Richard Askwith
One of the things I love about running is that at it’s heart is a purity that doesn’t exist in many other sports. There is not much that is contrived about trying to get from one place to another as fast as you can. There are no balls,…
Runners At The Sharp-end #6: Tom Payn
I was introduced to Tom by my coach, Nick Anderson from RunningWithUs. I knew of Tom from some of his amazing race results, but I didn’t realise how hard he has worked to become the inspiring runner he is and the struggle he had to overcome illness to…
The thigh’s the limit
Before I get started, I apologise for the terribly cheesy title to this review: I love thinking up snappy and catchy titles for the articles I post on here and sometimes a groan-inducing one will pop into my head. Normally I try to replace it, but in this…
Show me the evidence
Belief vs. empirical evidence – it’s a bit like a battle between love or magic vs. science or logic. The romantic in me always wants to believe that there is a magic and an art to running, but the truth is, I believe that running is a direct…
Let Simon Wheatcroft show you what is possible
Simon Wheatcroft should be familiar to anyone who has ever said “I can’t”… and let’s face it, that is pretty much everyone in the world. I think next time you are about to allow the words ‘I’ and ‘can’t’ to cross your lips, take a look at this…
The selfishness of the long distance runner
I worry sometimes that my ‘focus’ when it comes to running is actually sheer, unadulterated selfishness. I am incredibly lucky that my wife is so supportive, but it nags at me sometimes that she might get a touch frustrated by being woken before dawn day after day as…