This race was a prime example of why I hate cross country. Running through farmers fields full of big divets, bog patches that no spikes are big enough to do anything, and just a grim experience! I understand the need for 'tough' cross country and having done Parlment Hill over 15k I even liked it a .. Read More

  I have been having problems with my knee the last week to 10 days and I missed a couple of sessions and the boxing day race in my home town which I had to put is as part of training. Today though there was a local 5k race and I had planned to do an 8mile steady run after a couple of days of .. Read More

In the words of Kevin from 'Home Alone'....Woof!! That was a tough 10k run. Most runners will understand when I say there are different types of tough, you have the breathing out of your bum and going like the clappers....you have the leg burning churn...and then you have the dead, heavy legs and ju .. Read More

  So back to Swansea then, the course actually goes past blackpill which is where a lot of my sessions are done and the seafront is a usual warm up area so I know the course pretty well although i don't think it's much advantage on this course as it's a straight out and back. I arrived ab .. Read More

Back in Bristol for the half marathon and a test run for next month which I felt I needed but the most important thing today was finishing in one piece as I tried to manage a few injuries. The main problem is my Achilles tendonopathy but my hamstring is still yet to heel and my two groins (left .. Read More

  As a virgin of the UK trials it was all new to me that day although I was thinking 'how different can it be'. When I arrived at the track there were a few more people than normal at a track race I suppose and more stuff going on outside but I was still thinking it would be fine.   I w .. Read More

  So many times you see the marathon guys like Lemoncello and Wicks coming home as top British athlete in a 10k race (or sometimes shorter) and also in the case of the previous generation so is there a real need to run 3.4? for 1500m, maybe so but I can't run that fast over shorter distances b .. Read More

  So after Luke Cragg had a run in with the official about the colour of his vest (not quite sure what the problem was) and solicitor Matt Barnes had to come in and mediate the situation we were ready to get going.   It was a packed field with 28 runners so there were a few elbows and I .. Read More

Right at the top of Wales made this a bit of a trek to get to the day before and then getting back, I soon missed the M4 after an hour of winding single roads which went on for another few hours. It was quite blowy the day before driving up but when I woke up Sunday it was worse! Now I am quite used .. Read More

  I got to the race about 8am to collect my number before the runners staying at the race hotel started walking over towards us, Wicksy strolled over eating a Mars bar looking relaxed in his bin liner (apparently the new look from Asics) with his lovely wife and we had a little chat while we p .. Read More

This is the second year for the Bridgend city centre 5k race and a great effort by everyone is involved with the race as it is improving and a race a like. It's a 5 ½ lap course around the town centre and although it's quite twisty it's nice for a change to 'race' rather than just trying to g .. Read More

  Ah the 'Classic' Richard Burton 10k, known for being an unforgiving course with some very nasty climbs at 2 and 5miles, throw in some other sharp rises and enough twists to drive you round the bend, you certainly find out how fit you are. The week before on Sunday I did my 17miler on the cou .. Read More

  I arrived in Bath at 9.30am and went to a little car park near the leisure centre which went well as I thought Id never get a spot, I kind of made my own one like a few others.   So I was there, relaxed and apart from the £6 charge to park I was happy. I saw Dave Norman on my wa .. Read More

Having only raced once since Mansfield XC back in October it still feels a bit wierd racing and I feel a bit rusty which is expected. We eased the training a bit for a few days but both coach and I knew that it was unlikely to fresh dues to the big runs including a hard 21 last Sunday which is unlik .. Read More

  I managed to get to Mountain Ash having got lost on the way and at one point I was driving over the Brecon Beacons. I was working till 4pm in Swansea but still had an hour once I arrived at the park and ride. I went to pick up my number in town and paid the most I have ever paid for a 5k (&p .. Read More

I am in the pen and looking around at some good runners, which is always the case in the 6 or 4 stage relays...maybe in the 12 stage it's not so bad but it was full of quality. I had a very brief 'hello' with Draper as I havnt seen him for a while and last time we ran this close together would of be .. Read More

  What an absolute shit day. Every runner has bad days, lots of them actually but Saturday was the worst moment in my little running career. This was the day we had to win for reasons most will know and the team line up for the National Relay was looking good. Granted we were missing out best .. Read More

As with every Swansea race the traffic was a nightmare. I got to town in good time but then the 2/3mile road towards mumbles took me about 40minutes and then it was like a race to find a spot in the streets as they closed the road to the main car parks at midday, luckily some Italian job manoeuvre I .. Read More

  Sunshine in the big city and decent weather for a 10k and the field looked pretty good. I was a bit nervous about my first 10k since last September in Prague (which was horrible in itself), I had a target time in mind of around 30.15-30.30 which I thought would be a solid first outing but di .. Read More

  Last track race of the year and was nice that I didn't have to travel to far for it with it being in Cardiff. I worked from 9.30am - 3.30pm as the boss was on holiday so wasn't the best preparation but you just have to roll with it. I got home around 4pm and jumped into bed for a quick hour .. Read More

  I will leave the weekend adventure with the soon to be Commonwealth hammer thrower, Matthew Richards for the blog and keep this to just the race (and maybe the little time around it).   I will start when I woke up in the car after a nap and walked over to the stand to put my bag down .. Read More

I got to the track early...I think it was about 6pm with my race starting at 7.45pm, the reason being I was only sitting in my brothers apartment Manchester city centre so thought I may as well leave rather than be late as I have never been to this track before. I caught the metro which was easy and .. Read More

I arrived at the course thanks to Matt Janes nicely offering me a lift, it was not exactly like the weeks we have been having for last couple of months and I found it a bit cold. The wind was not exactly welcome either, as we walked to the changing rooms a nice man (think he was the organiser) expla .. Read More

Bridgend Town Centre 5k I live about 6 miles from Bridgend but I don't really go there much and last time I went was probably about 4 years ago! I was a bit shocked as looked a lot better than it used to with decent looking streets and bit less....well, shitty. I only found out about the race when .. Read More

  5k race I thought it was, well just an hour before the start myself and the others were told it was now a 6k! To be honest it didn't really bother me that much as it was now going to be a pb if nothing else, I know it was a bit frustrating for some of the other guys as they were hoping to ge .. Read More

Not so much a race as a time trial really. I got in the pen and was chatting with Matt Almond (Coventry) while my stomach was turning over with the fear of the unknown in how I would run today. I said good luck to Matt as his incoming runner came up the hill; in fact everyone seemed to be leaving ju .. Read More

  I woke up and looked out the window and a sunny day with the trees hardly moving which is a good start as the race is on a wide open race circuit. Trouble was by the time I got to the race the wind was picking up and was a little worry. I was running for Neath 'B' team as it was likely to ge .. Read More

  I was treating this as a session so I was a bit more relaxed than I normally would be, also practising to relax in general as sometimes I do over think things and my nerves to get the better of me I think when I am aiming for something. I even had a roast dinner in the afternoon which I woul .. Read More

Cold... cold and windy... cold, windy and wet. It was at this point (just arrived) I thought 'what am I doing here!', but as we got to the course I was starting to look forward to it and hoping there would be a good field. I saw Mr Thie straight away with a couple of hisCardiff athletes so that was .. Read More

  I rolled up to the race on the last bus from the hotel and got to the course about 2 hours before the start of the senior men's race. I got a bit more nervous as soon as I arrived seeing the mud and a couple of climbs on the course! I walked around the course and waiting a few minutes for th .. Read More

  Phil Nicholls, Andy Vernon, Ben Tickner, Chris Parr, Darren Deed were some of the faces in the pen as I stood waiting for Goolab. So it was a little stacked, but then with only 4 legs in this cross country relay every leg had quality runners looping around a small lake and winding through th .. Read More

Preparation - Well this wasn't the best! I choose to run the National Road Relay's the day before at Sutton Park because I really enjoy them and with a chance of winning gold for the 8th time in 9 years I put my name down and was willing to give everything for the team. As it happens Newham turned u .. Read More

So while old 'Wicksy' was at the World Half Marathon in Birmingham I was getting ready for a local cross country league in Bridgend. There were top runners at the race even if they weren't actually racing with Greg Newhams (62 half marathon) a marshal for the day and top man Mark Morgan cheering on .. Read More

Ah well, what can I say. Not sure where to start really, not even sure if it was a good or bad run actually. I am a fan of the relays and think it's a great time to be part of a team for the day and think all the team managers enjoy trying to concoct the best team at their disposal for that particul .. Read More

I am standing behind a wall of Africans with 'Eye of The Tiger' blaring out of the speakers in old town of Prague. Sometimes I do wonder how I have ended up in these places running around!   As the gun went the Africans followed and were churning up the road with the offer of a car if the rec .. Read More

  The thing about running is that it is sometimes a real pain in the bum! I went in to the race off the back of a 14.26 for 5k and then 29.54 for 10k even though I knew I had struggled more mental battles than physical. I went off nicely and got straight into a good group of guys including Mar .. Read More

  First off a good effort by the BMC to put on a track 10k and hopefully will be a few more next year as I need some practice if I am going to get the time for Commonwealth games next year (29.20). It is so different to a road 10k; you tend to play safe first few 'k's where on the road everyon .. Read More

  Confidence   As like all sports confindence plays a big part in sport, and this 5k was a perfect example. Lance Armstrong once said you cant fake confidence and it only comes from hard training and good racing....trouble is I only have one of those! I know I have trained hard over the .. Read More

A Churn!     'A churn' is the phrase I would use for this race! I knew after another tough week on the back of my biggest week ever was going to be tough to race 5k especially after a long hard run on Thursday, not exactly great preparation but the goals were simple - Get a tough sessio .. Read More

    Elbows flying...pushing in the back...these 3k races are brutal!!   It is my first ever 3k track race, I have done 2 others but both were just myself about a minute ahead on a Neath open meeting on a Tuesday night a year ago in about 8.45 so it is not really a 'race'   .. Read More

  Crash, Bang, Wallop!   It was like something out of a cartoon with people hitting barriers, guys falling over and poles being pulled to the floor!   Lets start at the beginning here....I walked to the start (about 1k from hotel) with Russell Dessaix-Chin, Matt O'Dowd and Dita B .. Read More

  9.17pm start, which is among the latest starts I have ever done but I quite like the old night races.   I got away quite well before some Notts AC runner decided to cut me up so I just let him know with a few words, then when I settled in nice spot in the pack some guy was jumping all .. Read More

  I was lucky to get into the 'elite' area with Billy Mitchell from Eastenders, Phil Neville the footy player (Booo) and half the cast of Emerdale....are there any runners in here!   After I found a spot for my bag in-between soap rivals we went for a jog and I did about 3-4k with a few .. Read More

      A very warm and humid night in the city which is great for the spectators, some have set up camp around the course with gazebos drinking beer and flipping burgers waiting for the 10k race and the end of the night. For the runners it's not ideal but I always think that it's th .. Read More

Great day! Winning the National 12 stage relay, breaking the club record and sending Captain Sharp off in style.   It was one of those rare days where you get the 'dream team' out and fit which doesn't happen to often for relays with people's jobs, injuries and other factors coming in to play .. Read More

  I shall talk about my leg first even though I went off number 5. I had a brief chat with Owain Matthews on the start line (Bedford athlete and fellow welsh man) just before the leader came around the corner for Aldershot, then another athlete, with one more before I saw the Belgrave co .. Read More

  Training went good in the week so I drove to Reading feeling confident even if a little tired as it was 6.15am (or 5.15am in my books due to clock change!). Having had to leave an engagement party at 7.30pm the night before leaving Lee to do all the partying for me, I dragged her out of bed .. Read More

  Atlantic College 10k   On the start line and with my new Saucony racers on (A2, blue and white) and my RunnersLife vest I was ready to go. As the gun went off I got a bit cut up but as soon as I rounded a few people I went straight to the front as we went up a little climb. Down the r .. Read More

  O heck this one was different to most races.....mainly as I never raced! I got to the race early as I wasn't sure of directions but it was quite easy in the end. I had a chat to a few guys and then when Steve Sharp got there we went for a run along with Mark Miles. We did about 16/17 minutes .. Read More

  14.28....a good time and to be honest it was a surprise. I must say first of all that it was perfect weather for a 5k with not a breath of wind and personally I felt the temperature was great, yes a little chilly but not enough to worry or affect you running but cold enough that you didn't h .. Read More

  I arrived at the course directed by some terrible signs to the race and ended up in a car park about 10 minutes walk away. It was a freezing cold morning and as I got towards the start I asked a steward where I could pick up my number for the race, he took me to a little tent close to the li .. Read More

  Saucony South Cross Country   That's right I ran cross country and after arriving (after driving past the turn off about 5 times!). I met up with the rest of the team and went for a jog around the course to see what I had let myself in for, after hitting the first river of mud I start .. Read More

I got there nice and early and after entering I went for a warm up jog with the Swansea runners and Martin Rees, after about 5minutes I started to have one of my 'coughing fits' and was nearly sick again which felt awful. Lewys was with me and I think he knew then that I was going to struggle, as I .. Read More