training

Buying your #running kit

January 3, 2014

retail, running, shopping, training, ultraboy

As anyone who knows me I buy more running and training gear than is normal, it has gotten to the point now where I no longer have any real clothes – I have only running, hiking, swimming and activity kit. The few bits of real clothing I own are locked away in a cupboard somewhere and they almost never come out, my work clothes are on a bit of a rotation and I replace them only as they wear out – however, I’m not here to discuss the details of my wardrobe – no – I’m here to discuss some of the excellent retailers I have purchased from this year and perhaps the reasons I avoid other retailers

Sportsshoe.com
I’ve bought several pairs of running shoes from these guys, including my much loved and also much maligned S-Lab Sense trail shoes. These guys offer great value for money, they offer excellent service and I’ve never had a single days problem with them. Their website is pretty simple to navigate, although the top navigation could do with a little bit of clarity, perhaps the fact there is more than running gear here is the reason it can feel a little cluttered but it has never stopped me from finding the things I want and the payment system is quick and easy. Highly Recommended.

Wiggle
I only discovered Wiggle this year and despite a stupid name it offers excellent prices and excellent products. I was able to source my Suunto Ambit 2 from these guys at less than £300 and have purchased several excellent running tops from them. Their site tends to be crammed with goodies but it can be a bit of a chore going through it all and my recent search for gaiters led me to try elsewhere. However, the service is impeccable and incredibly speedy. These are good guys to buy kit from and the regular sales they run are generally very genuine. Perhaps the best bit is the inclusion of little Haribo sweets in their deliveries.

Sports Pursuit
There is something about trawling through my hundreds of early morning emails that I don’t mind and that thing is the offers that Sports Pursuit insist on sending me. Now this may sound like a bad thing, but it isn’t. Again this is a retailer I discovered only this year and while you are required to wait a little longer for your products they offer great value items that you can’t get elsewhere. Skora runners and Vibram Fivefingers have been my primary purchases from them during 2013 and each purchase has been excellent. It’s fair to say that sizes can difficult to come by sometimes and the returns are a little haphazard in what happens (there is no guarantee on return that they can get you a different size) but SportsPursuit are clear in their endeavour – bringing you great stuff at a decent price. Communication is excellent, packaging and delivery is excellent – what more could you ask for.

Centurion Running
What an ultra runner really wants from his shopping experience is people who know what they are on about. The Centurion store is not jammed to the rafters with kit – no. It has a couple of choices in key categories. So for example if you want a running vest/bag they have Salomon or Ultimate Directions, both of which are very high quality products and both used by in the ultra community. Additionally this was the easiest place I could find to buy Harveys Maps! It’s also nice not having to wade through oodles of crap choices and they have lovely communication, great customer service and speedy delivery. The fact that Centurion is run by runners for runners really shows and I’m very much looking forward to further purchases and events with them in 2014.

Ultra Marathon Running Store
A bit like the Centurion store really in that it covers a great selection of good quality gear but with a little more choice (and the home of Dirty Girl Gaiters in the UK). Service and delivery are top notch and you feel it’s good value for money. Again they tend not to fill their site with things that ultra runners won’t use – we get a range of products at various price points. No complaints about this store whatsoever. I shall be looking forward to further purchases in the near future.

Decathlon
This is a bit of strange one, I’ve got some running Tshirts that are nearly a decade old from Decathlon that cost about £2.50 each and they rock but these days I find their running kit no longer fits me very well, but they do a great range of bikes and this year alone I have bought a rockrider, a triban and a hybrid (for my OH). I’m also a fan of their general equipment, things like lights, bandages, tapes, locks, etc and they do a decent range of swim kit – though I prefer mainly their speedo stuff. The great thing is that Decathlon staff are generally pretty well trained and not only know their own sporting area but also a bit about other departments. Add in regular vouchers and competitions through their loyalty card and actually you have a company that seems on the face of it to care. The letdown is their website which seems to have been built by a six year old or had a management hand in the navigation. Once you drill down to product pages it’s all pretty good but finding stuff is a nightmare. With. Decathlon I’d always say try and visit a store as the experience is so much better.

Sweatshop
These guys have been a bit a bit of a class act for several years and although I’m not as regular a shopper there as I used to be I still find them pretty darn good and with a good selection of items. I suppose though that Sweatshop has been a victim of its own success via both growth and attempting to be all things to all runners. This means that there is a decent range from beginner to very experienced runner but not as much depth as you might like, it feels quite mainstream – although saying this I have seen more obscure products like On Cloudrunners, Nathan running vests and Salomon S Lab clothing in store over recent months and this was also the store I got all my OMM packs from. Sweatshop remains the best of the major high street running stores. However, on a couple of occasions (and a less positive note) I have noticed in store there has been a lack of running knowledge, especially in younger members of staff, however, I am still a reasonably regular visitor to Bluewater, Dartford, Rathbone Place and Trump Street and these guys have always been on top of things, so when considering a store to purchase from where you can try things on, these guys remain good.

Run and Become
I’m a bit of sucker for a good shoe collection and great service and this is something that you always get from Run and Become. The staff are all runners, all very knowledgable (at least in the London store I go to), they have a great range of products in store and there is a feeling that they wouldn’t sell you a shoe that wasn’t fit for purpose. These guys are so popular that there is often a reasonable wait to be seen by the staff but it is worth it. My last purchase was some Vibram FiveFingers and Injinji socks and what I received was not only the basic back story to the shoes but also a bit of knowledge about the lady serving me, who was also a VFF user. If you happen to be near St. James Park and are in need of some kit or just to view some running porn – this is the place 🙂

Pete Bland Sports
Pete Bland will be getting more of my business in 2014, great service and quick delivery and a website that despite a rather strange navigation it just works. I bought my first pair of Hoka from Pete Bland Sports and they generally have a great range of running gear but being based in the Lake District is the thing that makes me love them as the Lakes are just about my favourite place in the entire universe. The little thing I loved the most was the later Twitter interaction about my experiences with the running shoes I had purchased. Classy

Cotswold Outdoor / Ellis Brigham / Snow & Rock
No good if what you are looking for is road running materials but if you are looking for trail running kit then Cotswold Outdoor, Ellis Brigham and Snow & Rock are pretty fine. All have a good range of footwear, clothing and accessories covering brands like OMM, Rab, Salomon, Hoka and Inov8. If you are in London then all three can be found with big stores in the heart of Covent Garden and all have highly trained staff who generally know what they are talking about and if they don’t they’ll get someone that does. Each of these stores has provided me with key pieces of kit over the last year or so and will continue to do so. In terms of online then I find Cotswold to be the easiest to navigate and find what I’m looking for but both Ellis Brigham and Snow & Rock offer excellent online services.

Sports Direct
I do have one bugbear though and that is Sports Direct. I find myself disheartened every time I walk past one of their stores and if I ever find myself in need of going in to one I generally find myself leaving quickly without purchase. I know some will argue that they offer competitively priced equipment but I find what little Karrimor equipment I do own never gets worn because it just isn’t as well made as some of the similarly priced clothing from Sweatshop or Decathlon – this of course is just an opinion but it is based on the experience and longevity and general feeling of the kit. The worst part of the experience is the staff don’t appear interested in whether you are being sold suitable footwear, suitable equipment or your general well being as a customer. I haven’t bought much here for quite some time and I don’t see myself heading back there anytime soon. Overall a disappointing retail experience.

Favourites?
Anyway, there are lots of very good retailers out there, these are just some of my personal favourites and ones that I have gone back to time and again. I’m sure you’ve all got your favourites and I’m always keen to learn about new places offering useful kit, great advice and most importantly brilliant customer service.

#Running – a fuck up waiting to happen (contains blood and injury)

January 2, 2014

cycling, endurance, fun, running, trainers, training

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So I’d cycled the ten miles to my run, I’d locked the bike up, I’d strapped my bag on nice and tight and set the Suunto to go. 100metres, all fine on the track, 350metres, up the trail steps into the undergrowth and the mud, 750metres, tight cornering – use the tree to help balance me out, 800metres, fuck I’ve fallen and I’ce ripped my old favourite tights and I’m in a boatload of pain. My first thought was I’m in the middle of a forest and nobody around me, the second thought was I’m ten miles from home with no way back other than under my own steam, my third thought was, ‘shit if I’ve broken my leg then that’s the C2C out the window.

Thankfully I got up – ran back the way I came, took a quick look at the various cuts on my leg and saw the bleeding and made it back to the bike, lay there a little while and then raced like lightening all the way home. A lesson for us all, but mainly me, careful where you go running in these rather difficult conditions – if I were the kind of person who blames his shoes I’d say ‘naughty Merrell barefoots’ but I think that would be unfair they had been pretty good the rest of the adventure

Yesterday all my #running seemed so far away

January 1, 2014

christmas, running, trainers, training, ultra, ultraboy

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I ran 10km yesterday, pretty hilly, in crappy conditions, my shoes gave me a blister on my heel and my body reminded that I’ve been in near continuous injury all year by making my back and hips ache. But fuck it, it doesn’t really matter as I then sat in hospital waiting for hospital results from my OHs tests. Puts running into perspective really, sadly it meant it wasn’t going to be an all singing and all dancing NYE for me. So fellow runners I hope you had a good time last night and importantly two things for New Year ‘be excellent to each other’ and if you miss some training for something, especially something important, then don’t worry – there’s always another day.

#Shorne Wood and the trail #running adventures

December 24, 2013

Arse Kicking, cycling, endurance, fun, training, ultraboy

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There is nothing like an old friend and the Shorne Woods in north west Kent between Gravesend and Rochester are a bit of a love of mine. I tend to visit more when it’s winter as the ground is cut up, usually flooded and full of crap to give yourself a good going over with. But now with my new found love of cycling I decided that I’d grab my road bike (my beloved Decathlon Triban 3) and cycle up to the wood. It was a delightfully hilly ride and with the wind whipping in my hair and around my knuckles I hadn’t felt so good in ages. I drifted down to excellent cycle rack, locked up the iron horse, tweeted a few pictures and strapped my pack onto my back – I was going trail running.

I always forget how much I love trail running until I’m doing it. Hills, mud, wet, slipping and sliding – there is nothing like it, well not unless you’re a pig I guess. I raced up Cardiac Hill, I raced down it and then around it, I kept getting lost and following signs taking me round in circles, what fun I cried. I growled provocatively at passing walkers and dogs and threw myself with gay abandon into every inch of water I could find.

Oh the glory!

After an hour of fooling round in the mud I descended on the cafe, stood at the door not wanting to make the floor dirty and requested one of their delicious bacon sandwiches and a cup of steamingly delightful coffees.

My feet, legs, arms, back and head were wet with sweat, mud and tears but with a bacon sandwich in my tummy and a ABBA in my head I grabbed my bike and hurtled home – downhill almost all the way to the cries of WEEEEHEEEEEWOOHOOOOOOO.

Oh what fun!

It has been my pleasure for much of the last few years to be running on a very regular basis but the addition of cycling just adds a great new dynamic and I highly recommend it to anybody. Additionally I will also recommend the Shorne Wood to any trail runner who fancies a few hills and guaranteed mouthful of crap (you will fall over 🙂 ).

#Salomon S Lab Test Run

December 13, 2013

running, trainers, training, ultraboy

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I’m loving the look and feel of my Salomon S-Lab trail shoes but are they comfortable enough to run in? For me I’m having some doubts, but this morning I’m going to walk across London in them and see how they go and then hit the road in them for a short 3 or 4 miles tonight and see wants cooking. Wish me luck and enjoy Friday Running.

The fear of FAT #runchat #running #racingfear

December 11, 2013

age, endurance, family, FAT, fear, running, time, training, ultra

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Let me start off by explaining that the fear of FAT is not some sort of joke, the fear of FAT is my fear that there are certain factors in life that might overtake running. Family, Age and Time are the three things that send a bit of a chill down my spine and already I can hear the counter arguments that family make you richer in terms of heritage, immortality, etc and with age comes wisdom and that we must simply make time for the things we want to achieve. I believe all the counter arguments to the things I fear, however, fear of these things I have.

At 36 I’ve just acquired my second puppy and it’s exhausting – my family has grown by one (I already have one big puppy) and in the near future I am aware that my partner and her already stated ‘ticking biological clock’ are likely to want to start a family with a slightly less canine tint and more of a baby tint. This is fine in the grand scheme of things but the question it raises as a runner is how will this affect me? I’m already witnessing lots of tweets talking about the lack of training because of no babysitter or no energy or… well the reasons are many and varied. My ultra running often means I’m away from the house for relatively long periods of time when I run, it’s not like taking a half hour jog around the block or the 20 minutes I need to whip around the Parkrun course. A child might take away from the running and my key dreams of running the UTMB, UTMF and MdS (maybe WS100). Don’t get me wrong, extending my family is a lovely idea and I’m keen to do it but those centurion belt buckles are important to me and if I don’t start earning them now then being a good ultra runner might just pass me by – all of which leads me seamlessly into my second fear …

Age.

36 I’m fully aware is not old but I’m a few months from 37, I try to look after myself but I’m older, weight doesn’t shift as quickly, I spend more time stretching and keeping myself on the road as I do spend time on the road. On a bad week when knee, back, ankle and hip pain is bad I can be found languishing in a pit of my own making from years of overtraining and not looking after myself. If I could go back and tell the young UltraBoy what a difference looking after himself might make to his chances of running longevity then I would take that opportunity in a heartbeat. I’d tell him that running will become the thing that means the most to him and that actually ally that other crap, or life as some people call it, will carry on regardless of whether he runs. However, age has also given me appreciation for what I do have, it does make me grateful for the ability I have and it makes me savour it. I was at the Folkestone Coastal 10k a last year and there was a man running his final competitive race, he was 80 years old – I want to still be doing that, the only difference is that I don’t want to walk it, I would want to run it. So I guess I’m mindful of age because time can pass us by and I’m doubly conscious that my ability to even contemplate 100 mile ultra marathons is not infinite.

And so to time … ‘Time is a predator that stalks us all captain’ Star Trek Generations.

I’ve been working exceptionally long hours the last 6 months or so (well the last 15 years actually), coupled with the strain of being in a job I don’t like, the hours of this job killed my training and my attempt to complete the TG100 – I went into that ultra more exhausted than I have been in a very long time. I’m sat on a train this morning exhausted and as writing this I’m thinking that my hour long journey to London Bridge would be better used by getting some sleep. The arrival of a new puppy is adding an interesting dynamic with some through the night howling and all in all I wonder how I’ve fitted running into my daily routine. We all have our crosses to bear, I am fully aware of this but I’m keen to understand how the hell people manage to fit in running for ultra training. I already get up just after 5am, I never get home much before 8pm – I do tend to RunCommute where possible, I often need to start work again soon after arriving home and rarely get to bed before midnight or 1am and tend to be a crappy sleeper anyway. I have the upmost respect for the people who run before work, I see them tweeting and think ‘wow’ and the RunCommuters who push out 10 miles before most normal people are awake. RUNchers, mothers, fathers, Parkrunners, racers, jobbers, walkers, running clubbers you guys amaze me.

Solutions?
Ah, you didn’t think I’d write all this negative stuff and not have some solutions did you? Hmmm

1. New job, closer to home
This means that I’d have more time for a family, see more of the family I have, perhaps even have time to join a running club. My current daily commuting time (without running) is over 4hrs, often closer to 5hrs and those 5hrs could be better used.

2. Less hours
Over the summer I was working every possible second, laptops on the train, emails as I walked, at one point I didn’t sleep at all for 5 days in order that work was completed on time and to the correct standard.

3. Less rigid training
Go with the flow, find the time around things, look for opportunities and don’t let opportunity wait to find me

4. Eat better
Slow down the signs of ageing with an improved diet

5. Listen to advice
My partner, my physio, my body, etc. I can be stubborn and a bit of a fuckwit by listening to the advice of the people who care, or who know I might well benefit from some excellent pearls of wisdom.

6. Don’t give up
Nothing is impossible and everything can be reached by finding small compromises, especially for a fun runner like me. By remembering I do this because I love it I can break the shackles of my slightly creaky and worn body, I can find the time and I can have a family who appreciate me.

7. CaniX and a baby buggy with bloody big wheels
Take the family with you.

So there we go, I might fear FAT but FAT can be faced and with a reasonably sensible plan the future doesn’t have to mean the end of my running career just as it’s about to get into full swing.

2014 and the targets are forming #ultra #runchat

December 9, 2013

adventure racing, Arse Kicking, endurance, marathon, preview, Racing, running, training, ultra, ultraboy

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It’s that time again when runners the world over start looking back at their achievements in the last year, but I’m saving that for a blog post when I feel the need to improve my mood. I’m looking forward to 2014, it’s targets and what I can do to make them happen.

2014 is going to be a slightly different year to the last two, I’ve spent the last couple forcing my body over the line in as many races as was humanly possible – this has turned out to be about 50 races in one form or another (three ultra and four marathon distances included in the last year). However, 2014 has to be more refined as I discovered that during the last 12 months I’ve been suffering from a succession of injuries and this is as much to do with not enough training as it is to do with racing too much. Therefore, 2014 is to be the year of the ultra, Country to Capital will kick things off, followed by the St. Peter’s Way, then kicking on to the SDW50, staying with Centurion for the NDW100 and then with a bit of luck and a fair wind I’ll be adding in the UTMB inspired CCC at the end of August (surely much to the annoyance of my body after the efforts of the NDW100 three weeks earlier) and I will hopefully finish the year with the Saltmarsh 75 (the only nonUTMB qualifier) and back to centurion for the W100.

This is a good number of ultras and with consistent training and good form I’m hoping to qualify UTMB 2015 after my failure this year. The changes that might well be adopted to this list are that the CCC might be replaced by the Ring of Fire which would act as my first multi day event and I might not get a place in the CCC. And should I not get in to the W100 then I would consider the Saintelyon Ultra which looks amazing, though depending on when W100 runs I might go for both and risk my body a bit.

So my targets currently stand at the following

Complete a minimum of five ultra marathons
Qualify for the UTMB 2015
Improve training regime
Consider once again joining a running club
Bring my 5km time back under 20 minutes
One cycling event (at least)
One outdoor swimming event (at least)

On paper it all looks surprisingly easy but after just three ultras this year I am acutely aware of how much of a burden this is and with my body still not quite right (back and hips continuing to trouble me) it will be an even bigger challenge. What has dawned on me is the value of looking after my body and for the first time ever I’ve started doing Pilates and stretching regularly, rather than when I’m forced into it by my other half. I’m still not doing the eating clean thing though, I just can’t bear to eat vegetables, it just gives me the shivers and despite knowing that there are so many benefits to eating clean my mouth and mind just won’t let me do it – not even for a place in the UTMB.

Well that’s my list started, what about yours? Have you started to map out new targets for the next 12 months and what will keep you on the road? Happy running kids.

250 miles and still happy

November 19, 2013

endurance, marathon, review, running, trainers, training, ultra, ultraboy

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I felt as though I couldn’t accurately write about my experience with Hoka Stinson Evo until I had some experience and with my spate of injuries running across the spine of 2013 I felt I might never get the opportunity to properly test them. However, Govember has been a moderate success for me and this has in part been down to the Hoka. The first thing to note is that I’ve been running in my Stinson Evo on road and trail despite them being described as a trail shoe I have found them surprisingly engaging on the tarmac and very giving and while they aren’t perhaps the fastest shoe on the road they have provided me with the necessary support to avoid further damage to my Achilles while continuing to run.

Questions about the Hoka are many and varied, but the key information is that they aren’t heavy, especially given the size, they are well cushioned but you still get enough feeling from your terrain to get a rounded sense of where you are running and they love going down a hill. What I will concede is that they are less enjoyable going up a hill and compared to say my Vibram FiveFingers, Saucony Peregrine or even Adidas XT4 they aren’t as much fun but only in the uphill sections, however, this was as much down to my technique as the shoe and once I had gotten into the rhythm a little more I found the Hoka handled most hills (on Tarmac) with great aplomb. On trails, it’s slightly different, they will just eat up the hills – taking my Mafate 2 onto the Oliver Fisher 10km race a couple of months back I was able to witness firsthand how they scythed through the wet conditions and mud. Perhaps most interestingly from that race I noticed that as I came to the top of inclines they offered a very smooth and gentle transition that has improved my pace coming off an incline.

The ride is incredibly comfortable, to the point you do sometimes have to remind yourself that you are wearing them. I’d gone out on a 20miler to treat the feet, so to speak and noticed that my toes suffered none of the fatigue that I often came to associate with barefoot running, there was no dull ache from where I had accidentally heelstruck a branch, no mud or twigs got lodged between my toes and my legs felt free to stretch. I benefited, especially in the Stinson Evo from a wider toe box and having stuck with the fast lacing system have come to appreciate it despite not thinking that I ever would. Initially I was convinced that the Mafate where the more comfortable of the two Hoka I bought (yep that’s right I don’t bother with freebies from the manufacturers :)) but after going 250miles in the Stinson Evo and nearly 100miles in the Mafate I think I prefer the former rather than the latter. It’s possible that Hoka being such a young company are still learning the best forms for their shoes and they are obviously making regular improvements as even the Mafate 3 compared to the 2 are an improvement in the fit (well for me at least).

Are there any problems? Well just one that I found and that was there ability in very wet conditions. My Mafate came with me for the TG100 but the day, the race and course was more like a 100 mile swim than an ultra run and after they took a soaking my feet became pretty vulnerable to blistering and actually within five miles I had developed quite nasty blisters. Now in defence of the Hoka I was wearing some very old and worn out Injiji socks that day, it was about the wettest day of the year and I wasn’t in good form anyway. This hasn’t happened since but I’ve yet to have another significantly wet run to determine whether it was the shoes, my socks, my form or the conditions that played the part in destroying my feet.

Now as for some technical specifications, as I’m sure some of you would enjoy poring over details, these are the specs for the Stinson Evo, lifted directly from the Hoka One One site (thanks chaps)

Weight
10.4oz
Drop
6 mm
Upper
Debris-proof, closed mesh
Extending lacing for adaptable fit
2 elastic lace holders for customized lacing
Light weight tongue: foot conforming, slim, microfiber
Reinforced toe cap
Flexible molded T.P.U. support strapping/thermo-polyurethane reinforcements
Traditional and Quick Lace System

Midsole
2.2X Midsole EVA Volume
30% softer EVA
Profile: Late Meta-Rocker

Outsole
Varying lugs (large and small)
High version, sticky rubber compound
Interior small lugs
Outside larger lugs
30% wider

I’m not really a specifications runner, I tend to go on my gut feeling and prefer experience to technical specifications. But this information highlights the difference between these shoes and the ever increasingly popularity of minimal running.

In conclusion I can say the following – Hoka offer a range of great running shoes, but they aren’t suited to everyone, you’ll need to test them, you’ll need to get out on the trails and see if they are for you. Some styles will suit you better than others and you will be laughed at, stared at and generally mocked from those who’ve never seen them. They are visually appealing though regardless of their slightly moonboot likeness and they are like nothing else on the market. They are great across bigger distances and therefore are ideal for marathons and ultras but I find them rather pleasant over the shorter distance too – though they aren’t as swift as my MV2 or VFFs. They are pricey but you are getting a lot for your money in terms of technology, comfort and quality (and hopefully longevity), so buying these perhaps make sense if they suit you. But for my money they are at the very least worth a bit of a look if nothing else.

Happy running.

13th day of #running in #Govember

November 13, 2013

endurance, govember, running, training, ultra, ultraboy

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Govember is going okay, I’ve run at leat 10 miles on each of the #RunCommute days and I’ve done swimming, cycling or both on the non work days. It’s 100% true that my hip feels a bit like it’s been sat on by a baby elephant and that I can barely move around my office all day. It’s true that the weather has been challenging and there simply aren’t enough showering facilities in my workplace but it’s good to be being out there and actually running on a daily basis. The questions are though, can my body cope with going from no training to a minimum of 50 miles per week? Does my bum look big in this very heavy heavy OMM rucksack? and can I afford not to be doing the training given that the Country to Capital is just around the corner?

The best #ultra marathoning tips I’ve ever been given

November 5, 2013

Arse Kicking, endurance, marathon ultra, Racing, running, support crew, teamwork, trainers, training, ultra, ultraboy

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Three ultra marathons in 2013 (five in for 2014 so far) and the thing I really enjoy is the little nuggets of advice you get from fellow runners. Below are some of things they have suggested that I consider as an ultra marathoner to be worth listening to.

1. Walk the big hills
2. Walk the big hills as quickly as you can
3. Drink before you are thirsty
4. Eat real food
5. Prepare physically, do the miles
6. Prepare mentally, think positive
7. Train at night, prepare to feel lonely
8. Keep your feet dry as long as possible
9. Get kit you’re comfortable with, cheap, expensive, branded, white label – just make sure you’re happy with it and make sure it’s fully tested and fully prepared
10. Make friends as you run, chatting to make those miles drift away and if one of you struggles the others might offer words of encouragement
11. Know your route, maps, recces, GPS files (in my case my iPad mini has been known to go with me)
12. Always remember this is endurance and not a race, it’s more about completing it than sprinting it
13. Run your own race and own pace and don’t go out too quick
14. A crew can be invaluable, if you have people willing to join you as support on the course then take it
15. Be prepared to give up! Sometimes the best thing you can do is stop, injury, exhaustion or mental fatigue can kill an ultra. Not completing an ultra doesn’t make you a failure, it probably makes you a hero – knowing when to stop is as important as knowing when to push on.

I’m sure there’s lots more advice, contradictory advice too in some cases, but these bits are things I broadly agree with. I’m looking forward to Country to Capital to pick up a few more useful things. One day I’m hoping someone will advise me about how to read a map…

—UltraBoyRuns

Saving the world one run at a time

Archive

training

Buying your #running kit

#Running – a fuck up waiting to happen (contains blood and injury)

Yesterday all my #running seemed so far away

#Shorne Wood and the trail #running adventures

#Salomon S Lab Test Run

The fear of FAT #runchat #running #racingfear

2014 and the targets are forming #ultra #runchat

250 miles and still happy

13th day of #running in #Govember

The best #ultra marathoning tips I’ve ever been given