I first started competitive sport back in the early 80's with my local swimming club. I was fortunate in that my swimming club had a biathlon club attached to it, so I was soon involved with running. I continued with the multi sports theme and eventually took up all 5 sports of the Modern Pentathlon (fencing, shooting and riding being the other 3.) I got my first international call up in 1997, for a Pentathlon in Switzerland and went to Junior World and European Championships in 1998. As a senior, I went to a further 2 World and 3 European Championships, making the final of the World Championships in 2002.
I retired from Pentathlon in 2002 and decided just to do running as that would allow me to combine doing my job in the legal profession. At first, my intention was to just do local events but having joined Altrincham AC, I soon started taking the running more seriously. I met some great friends at Altrincham and when I got married in May 2011, one Alty runner, Nick Leigh, was my best man whilst another, Dave Norman, was one of my ushers. Indeed, my 2 other ushers, Darren Talbot and Jason Moody were both great friends that I had met through sport - Darren through competing for Alty and Jason from the early days at my swimming club (and via a lifelong passion for Sheffield Wednesday.) If I hadnt been into sport, my life would have been a lot different.
I currently train under the expert guidance of my coach, Norman Poole, in a group of North West based middle/long distance runners, including the likes of Tom Lancashire, Mike Rimmer and the aforementioned Dave Norman, in Manchester.
I work full time as a solicitor in the centre of Manchester and so the majority of my running is done as part of my commute. I often think what people driving into Manchester must think of me as they see me running along the side of the road so often. Their thoughts probably vary dependent on the weather.
Whilst not the most naturally gifted runner of all time, I like to think that I train hard, but also in a well disciplined and organised way that has helped me achieve the results that I have earned. I would also put myself in the category of runner who has a passion for the sport itself and someone who runs because he enjoys it, as opposed to being compelled to run, because I am just phenomenally talented. As a result, I also take a great interest in the sport itself and enjoy watching Athletics, both live and on television. I have been to watch 3 Olympic Games (Barcelona, Sydney, Beijing) and already have my tickets for London! Although it would have been marvellous to compete at an Olympics, I feel very fortunate to have competed so long at the level that I have done and met some fantastic people along the way. Hopefully my fortune will continue for a few more years yet.
* 1500 meters track 3.42
* 1 miles track 3.59
* 5 KM track 13.58
* 10 KM road 29.32
* Half Marathon 67.32
* Sub 4 minute mile in 2007
* AAA's finalist at 1500m in 2007
* Northern 1500m Champion 2004 and 2007
* English 5k road Champion 2010
* 3rd Northern Cross Country Championships 2007
* 14 team medals with Altrincham at National and Northern Road/Cross Country Championships
* Leg 1 winner at National 12 stage 2010
* GB international, Ekiden relays, 2006
Raced on
I have raced the Alsager 5 once before – 3 years ago when I was 5th. It’s a good race and often comes the week after the Northern Cross, so although the legs might be a bit heavy, it’s a relatively short distance, so means you can still attack it.The night before the race this year .. Read More
Raced on
It gives me monumental pleasure to write this race report as on Saturday, Altrincham won the team gold medal at the Northern Cross Country Championships at Pontefract. I am reliably informed that Leeds had won the last 9 titles and were en route to 10 in a row, so to take the trophy from a team that .. Read More
Raced on
I've only just got the hang of this, and have only just got to grips with the separate section for race reports. On Saturday, I raced the Cheshire County Cross Country Championships at Knights Grange Sports Complex. As I said in my training diary, the course looked fairly innocuous, being r .. Read More
published on
I am very much looking forward to the National next weekend. It promises to be one of the highlights of the endurance calendar and this year we are fortunate as the race returns to its spiritual home of Parliament Hill in London. I was once told that Athletics Weekly always gets a good spike in read .. Read More
published on
Whilst I know this is a running blog, I have been interested with the progress of the Times newspaper's recent cycling campaign, which can be found on the attached link:http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/cyclesafety/contact I see that the campaign has already provoked a Parliamentary .. Read More
published on
Even in the run up to a race which you have been focused on for a long time, it's very easy to get distracted by external pressures in the days leading up to the competition, or even on the day itself. The absolute classic is getting lost, stuck in traffic or somehow having your travel plans disrupt .. Read More
published on
For my blog this week, I would like to point you in the direction of my overly long race report of the Northern Cross, which can be seen in the race report section. Enjoy. .. Read More
published on
I have had the words of that great football philosopher ringing in my ears this week. Yes, none other than Alan Curbishley (if nothing else, my mate Ed will be glad that I wrote that, even if everyone else thinks I'm losing it.) I once remember hearing an interview with "Curbs" after his team, Char .. Read More
published on
I was thinking the other day how significantly my whole "running experience" has changed in the last few years. I know there are some people who go on about running being their release and at one with nature etc. etc., but to be honest, I don't buy it. Sure, I like a decent view as much as the next .. Read More
published on
Firstly, thank you very much to the RunnersLife team for giving me the opportunity to write a blog on the site. Hopefully it will be an insightful read. It is great to be part of a site that includes many of the guys that I know well and have run against on plenty of occasions.Secondl .. Read More