The Euro Cross is always a very strong race at the front end and very competitive. Last year in Portugal I was 29th and 3rd Brit home, my aim was to build on that performance and hopefully break into the top 20 this time round. Qualifying for the event was very tough and the trial in Liverpoo .. Read More

I decided to go up north and run the Saltwell 10k this year because it was the 100th anniversary of England’s oldest road race. It’s a pretty special race within my family after my dad won it 16 years on the trot- I thought it was 17 but looking at the program it was 16, from 1974 .. Read More

Earlier in the winter I didn’t really want to focus on the Euro Cross having had a bad summer I was looking for ways to adjust my training and racing plans so that next summer didn’t go badly. However after a decent Great South Run John decided he wanted me doing Liverpool but not comp .. Read More

Better late than never... I'd forgotton to write this race report so apologies for that. Mansfield was always pencilled in by John for me even after the Great South however the decision was to be made after doing a few runs and seeing how my legs responded and how well they recovered from the 10 mi .. Read More

Probably my favourite race of the year. I don’t know what it is about 6 stage day but I absolutely love this race. I think it goes back to when I was under 13 and the day my name made it onto the ‘fastest legs’ list. I was the last name to be shown on the individuals result shee .. Read More

I’m a little bit delayed in getting this posted up due to work commitments over the last week or so. The Great Yorkshire run in Sheffield was all about just having a run out and getting used to racing again as it had been such a long time. Off the back of the summer I’d struggled wit .. Read More

  This was the target and the chance to run fast especially since last years race had so much depth in it. The plan was to be competitive in the B race and if I could do that then I knew the fast time in the low 13:30's would come. When I arrived at the meet I found myself on the list for the .. Read More

I raced the Stretford BMC Gold meet 1500m on Tuesday night. The aim of this race was to turn the legs and get some pace in them. I haven't done any speed work what so ever so I was hoping to run even spits off my strength. Ideally I was looking to run close to my PB by getting out quite hard and hop .. Read More

  The Blaydon Race is a race I desperately wanted to win. It's not often a Geordie wins it, the last one was Ian Hudspith in 2009 and before that was his brother Mark Hudspith in 1997 so I really wanted to get my name on the trophy. It was a very windy evening and with the race being point to .. Read More

I was always hopeful of a new personal best in Manchester as I feel that my 10k pb going into the race didn't reflect the shape I was in. The plan was always to go out pretty hard but in control, if I was struggling at halfway then I would be in trouble and risk blowing up. I thought going through n .. Read More

Back in September last year I said to Nuttall I really wanted to run a fast 5000 this summer and after seeing how well the Brits did at MtSAC & Stanford last year I fancied getting out there. I opted solely for MTSAC so it was a big one for me as it was all my eggs in one basket, I paid a small .. Read More

This is THE toughest race in the world, anyone who's done it will not argue with that. It is just so fast from the gun and there is no let off. For me my plan was to approach this cautiously and not overcook things early on and then try and run a strong middle of the race and hang on till the e .. Read More

The Inter Counties is always a great race to be apart of and as a youngster that was the highlight of my season. I used to love the bus journey down with the North East lads, staying over then having a race covered on TV when you're under 15 is fantastic! It's great to see the race still have S .. Read More

Having had a bit of a disappointing run for my own standard last weekend I was thrown a lifeline and given the opportunity to race in Birmingham. Only problem was that it had been changed from a 3000 to a 5000 so Mo and Galen could have a crack at their respective national records.  I was told .. Read More

Every athlete hates bad days and that's all I can say it was for me. I was hopeful of a good run yesterday after opening up with 8:01 a few weeks back and having done some great training in between. I honestly though if the race went the right way I thought I could have a crack at the Euro time. Tur .. Read More

Having been grinding out long hard sessions and long fairly long tempos over the last few months I fancied a run out to see where I was at off the back of that training. This week saw the start of some slightly more specific work- the group is moving from the longer sessions into alternating be .. Read More

My first race of the year for a number of years has been the Great Edinburgh XC, this year it had a team challenge spin on it, that meant I had to be selected for it if I wanted to run. Fortunately I was chosen after the Europeans and it was an honour to pull on the GB vest for a 2nd time as a senio .. Read More

Apologies in the delay for this report. I came back from Portugal and went straight out to New York for a holiday. The Europeans was a target for me all year and I was delighted to have made the GB team. I went out there in good shape and my last session went well indoors in Sheffield. The course .. Read More

The plan was simple, come back from altitude and have a good race. Things like that are never easy though and there's always complications. First up I had to deal with 20 hours of travelling, a night flight and the awful weather conditions back in the UK! I took a sleeping tablet for the flight and .. Read More

I've always loved the relays at Sutton Park and there was the place I ran what I considered to be my first great race. I remember as an U13 making it onto the list of the fastest legs in 20th position and to have my name on there felt amazing. Back then my club Elswick finished 4th the following yea .. Read More

While I was in France the other week I looked everywhere for a race on the weekend I was due back. Originally I was due to fly back Sunday evening but if I could find a race I was prepared to fly home early as I could get a flight for under £100. I eventually found the Wimbledon 10k online so .. Read More

This was my chance to go quick, I was hoping for a pb and to get into the 13:40s, maybe even dip under if things went really well on the night.  After my 3000 I was full of confidence knowing I could go through in 8:07-8:10 and feel fine then it would just be a case of really working the last .. Read More

What can I say, you have those days that feel just perfect and last night was one of them! I went into the race with no expectations and just knowing i'd nailed a really good session at the end of last week (5x1mile) and because I had a sore calf I backed off my training a slightly more than I shoul .. Read More

Originally I hadn't planned to run this event but it would be silly not to run a national championship event with the chance of a medal. I spoke with John and said i'd like to run it and stretch my legs on the Tuesday before at Stretford. I ran the 1500m at the Stretford BMC gold meet and managed t .. Read More

I had high hopes for this one after finally getting into the high standard meet. It started great as when I arrived at the airport I sat down next to another athlete waiting for the minibus and it happened to be Craig Mottram. I chatted a little as I hadn't seen him race for a while and he seemed a .. Read More

  This year's field was so much stronger than last years. Loads more guys had broken 14 minutes and I knew I was going to have my work cut out to even make the top 5 especially after the way everyone ran at Sport City. Add into the mix Chris Thompson and Andy Vernon, both who have ran under 13 .. Read More

A famous race with a lot of history and some Geordie pride at stake. I've ran this race quite a few times now and I think my best finish is 5th, 3 years ago. Last year I had a disaster and was struggling when I returned from altitude and wanted to get that result put to bed this year with a good per .. Read More

Sport City has never been kind to me and I don't think i've ever come away happy from that track! Saturday night was a slightly different story I was happy with how the race went, after looking back and thinking it over I don't think I could have ran much different with the way the race panned out. .. Read More

This was my first test after altitude training throughout April and May and one I was really looking forward too. All week I had that exciting feeling of wanting to race but as soon as I woke up Sunday I was beginning to worry about what was to come! It's not often a get a fear of failure but after .. Read More

Going into the 12 stage the team had aspirations of a medal as we were pretty strong. I was put on leg 5, a long leg (around 5.5miles).  Our first 4 runners were quite strong and Nigel Stirk handed over to me in 5th position after a good short leg, I set off in pursuit of the teams in front of .. Read More

I've covered my race report in my blog here .. Read More

The first race of the New Year for me was as always the Great Winter Run event in Edinburgh where I usually compete in the domestic 4km race however this year my coach wanted me running the international 9km race instead. He knows best and plans out my season so I take his word for it that it's the .. Read More

In my most recent blog I have talked about how the race went for me, please click here. .. Read More

Going into Liverpool I was struggling with a bit of cold in the week leading up to it so I took things very easy in the hope it would shift before the race and i'd be ok, luckily it did and by the Thursday before I felt tonnes better. The race itself was always going to be tough for me due to the c .. Read More

This was the first real cross race of the season for me. Mansfield had gone well but that was more of track runners course and this would be a true indication of fitness on a course that had good running with some testing hills. I headed up home on the Friday night and I noticed the rain tipping dow .. Read More

It's not often I go for 9 and a half weeks without having raced so I was well and truly up for this race. I was told by my coach to ease down so I could get a true indication of fitness and also more importantly come away from the race with some confidence. I Went into the race not really knowing wh .. Read More

As usual I was hoping for a fast one here, the aim was to try and break 8 minutes. It was going to be tough but I was up for the challenge! I'd asked Lewis who I train with to give me a hand on getting the pace moving which I owe a thank you for as he was on his break and did it as a favour for me. .. Read More

I went to Stretford with the intention of running an 800 to get my legs turning. I didn't want to go there, run 2 hard laps of the track, then come home as i'd feel as though i'd have wasted an evenings training as I had no idea how the 800 would go! After a chat with my dad, I suggested running a .. Read More

I was hoping for a fast time here as it was my last chance of running another PB over 5000 this summer. I didn't want to go off at 64/65's which is what the pace was set at so I arranged for my own pacemakers at 66seconds per lap. It doesn't sound much but if I went through 3000 at 8:05 it's a big d .. Read More

I fancied another fast 1500 and I wanted to see if my legs could get near that new personal best of mine (3:43.5) which I set at Stretford a few weeks back. I did a tough session Saturday which I'll mention in my blog when I get a chance to update it and I just wanted a good workout tonight as I kne .. Read More

This was my chance to go out there and run fast, the break i'd been waiting for. I knew the pace would be very hot up front, Mo was looking to run in the 12:50's lapping at 62's. I was hoping that there'd be the front group at that pace and then a group of Europeans and Americans running at 13:20 pa .. Read More

Last year I ran a personal best in this race, I was happy to finish 11th in 14:13 so it's definitely a track I like running at. This year the race was looking like it was going to be a tough one but as Mo decided not to run, Chris and Nick who I both train with decided to run the 1500m. This caused .. Read More

Tonight was just about going and helping out my training partner. Lewis was after a fast race, under 3:43 so he could get the Euro u23 qualifying time. Originally I offered to pace him through at least 1K, maybe even 3 laps if I was still feeling ok then i'd finish with whatever I ended up with. For .. Read More

It's that time of the year again, the Blaydon Race. It's a race i've done a few times in the past and always loved running it because of the amazing atmosphere, fast course and good competition. Last year I finished 5th overall which I was pretty pleased with so I was looking to try and improve on .. Read More

I was hoping for a big performance here after coming back from Font Romeu where i'd been training so well. I was happy to follow the pace as I knew I could cope with going through in around 8:10 and hopefully not fall off it too much in the last few laps. The race got underway I we went through .. Read More

Well the time came last night, the first race of the season for me. It wasn't in the original plan but I didn't want to go into Sports City this weekend having not raced. We chose to do this 15 to get the legs turning a bit just to blow the cobwebs out. The idea was to just get through 800m nice and .. Read More

I just realised I hadn't written a report for this race so it's just over a week late so i'll do my best from memory! My week leading up to the race wasn't great as i'd been suffering with a shin pain from running fast downhill the previous week and also managed to pick up a head cold in the pool w .. Read More

I went into this race wanting to run faster than last week in the UK Champs/AAA's, ideally I was looking to run an overall personal best for 3k which would be under 8:04.8 and hopefully under 8 minutes if things went well. I knew the race was going to be shifting up front, but I didn't th .. Read More

I've covered my race report within my current blog here. .. Read More

Well Alsager didn't go the way I would have liked it to. Training had been going well, i'd eased down during the week after the Midland cross and I was there to run fast. I had a time in mind so I knew what sort of pace I wanted to go out at and try and hold.  I warmed up on the course; which .. Read More

Taken from my 'Solid run in the mud' blog.   I went into this feeling a little tired as I haven't eased down at all this week as i'm racing Alsager next week and we felt it wasn't a race that I was going to target, just wanted to turn out and get a solid run in for the team. I had a jog ro .. Read More

The Nova events are always very well organised and as an athlete you're looked after very well and mix it with some of the world’s finest! So I’d recommend to anyone if they get an opportunity to run on of the Great Run events to do so. I was in the 4km event and having had an absolute .. Read More

Last weekend was a bad day for me, not only did I disappoint myself I let my country down. I find it tough having a bad run but this is feeling is amplified 10 fold when running for GB. I guess you could say it wasn’t a bad run as such because of the circumstances. The race was 4 laps of 2k .. Read More

I wrote this blog on Saturday however I could only submit it onto my own personal website as I have an app on my iPad for that and due to the rubbish internet I couldn't get onto the RunnersLife site.   I thought I’d do a quick blog while passing time in the hotel here in Velenje befo .. Read More

In my last blog I spoke about how I was upping the training and really pushing the winter training. I completed that week off with another triple figure worth of miles which was a nice satisfying feeling as it's all new territory for me this type of volume.  I was given an easier week going .. Read More

The last couple of weeks have been the toughest 2 weeks I've ever done in terms of training volume and i'm still not finished. After Mansfield I wanted to get some good miles in which then allows me to back off slightly for Liverpool. I'm not sure how my body is going to react/recover from all the .. Read More

10 miles was always going to be a real test for me having never really got my head around the longer stuff on the roads until recently. Until May this year I'd only ran 30:48 on the roads for 10k but Manchester 10k changed all that where I PB'd in 29:04. Going from 10k to 10 miles is a big jump .. Read More

It's been a pretty hectic last few weeks for me, mainly with work and training. My business has been going great recently and I've really enjoying doing my web & graphic design work, something which was a hobby has turned into a decent business and I feel it's added some good structure t .. Read More

This weekend seen the 31st running of the Great North Run. A fantastic race and a huge event for my hometown, Newcastle. I always enjoy being around the North East whenever the race is on. A few times in the past I've ran on the Quayside in the 2mile/3000m event but with the new format, GB vs USA .. Read More

An hour a day. That's my current training regime at the moment. I am slowly building back into training after my down period. I took a little longer than I would have normally done with feeling so bad and chopping my season early. Last week I built up to a volume of about 45 miles and this week i .. Read More

It’s 3 weeks since I last updated and i’ll not lie, I was pretty down back then and I knew something wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t put my finger on it- the only think I could of was that i’d given everything I could in training and racing for such a sustained period .. Read More

I can’t put into words how frustrated and annoyed I am with myself, mainly for doing the lowest thing I could possibly do in a race and stepping off the track. The trials was the first sign of bad things for me and I should have paid more attention to my poor race rather than thinking/hoping t .. Read More