Week in review: My first ultramarathon of 2021 (2021 - Week 8)

Welcome back to another post on my blog! This week is largely centred on the solo 50km run I did on Tuesday. This was a key landmark in my 9 month training plan for the South Downs Way 100 as it was the first ultramarathon of 2021, and only the 2^nd I’ve ever done. Overall it was a fantastic success, but it wasn’t without its mishaps…

My running bucket list (2021 edition)

Welcome back to another post on my blog! This week I want to discuss 9 races which are on my running bucket list. From the longest to the biggest, the oldest to the toughest, every single one of these races would be an incredible experience. It’s events such as these which I use for inspiration during training or difficult days.

A new weekly mileage PB (2021 Week 7)

Welcome back to another post on my blog! Thankfully this week it’s been much warmer so there were no concerns about snow, although as you’ll read not everything went to plan…

Mistakes I made in my first ultramarathon

Welcome back to another post on my blog! For this midweek post I wanted to look back on my first ultramarathon, the 50km Round Reading race which I completed in August last year. Since it was my first time running that distance, I was very pleased to finish in 4:56:22, putting me 57^th out of 258 runners. However, in hindsight I made some major errors which prevented me from doing better. In this post I’ll discuss some of those errors and what I am doing differently now. Hopefully this will be helpful to those of you looking to complete your own first ultramarathon, or step up to any distance.

Week in review: A cold week of PB's! (2021 Week 6)

Welcome back to another post on my blog! This week the main theme has been the cold temperatures we’ve experienced. Thursday was the coldest day in the UK since 1995 (before I was born!) with -23ºC recorded up in Scotland. Thankfully it’s not been that cold for me, although I’ve still had consistent below-freezing conditions to deal with. Still, with a bit of flexibility I did manage to get all my runs done!

Thankfully this
melted by lunch!

My favourite energy bar recipe - the ideal running snack

Welcome to another post on my blog! Last week I was baking my favourite homemade vegan energy bar, and when I shared it on Instagram was asked for the recipe. So here it is:

Week in review: A new 1km PB and plenty of mud (2021 Week 5)

Welcome back to another post on my blog! After my recovery week last week, this is the start of a new 5 week training cycle towards my 100 mile race in June. My main aim this month is to log consistent 50 mile weeks, culminating in a 50km training run, my longest so far.

My goals for 2021 - first 100 miler, first FKT and more!

Welcome back to another post on my blog! This is the first of the midweek posts, where I’ll be discussing a topic related to running or ultraendurance more generally. This week I wanted to start with an overview of my goals for 2021, to give you an idea of what to expect from me. Obviously all these goals are dependent on the course of the covid-19 pandemic, and so could be subject to change. In fact, I’ve already had two races postponed this year! But I believe it’s important to remain positive, and if further changes are forced due to travel restrictions or race cancellations then I’ll just have to adapt appropriately.