I must be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to this race - and I don't say that about racing very often.  I think it was due to the fact my training had been disrupted over the previous two weeks because of a cough, which still hasn't completely gone, and I wasn't sure how it would affect .. Read More

Two races, two wins so far this year - so not bad going!  It won't last though!  The 12km 'Not the Roman IX' (and its predecessor the Roman IX) has become quite a regular fixture in my race calendar, mainly because it is local and is a very well organised race.  This year I used it as .. Read More

After cutting my previous day's run short with a very tight buttock / hamstring I was a bit worried I wouldn't even make the start line in Coventry Godiva's annual New Year 5 mile race.  I really enjoy this race as it's local to me and a good opportunity to have a good workout after the Christm .. Read More

Pittville Park in Cheltenham was the venue for my third cross-country outing of the winter, on a chilly but sunny Saturday afternoon.  The course was two laps of undulating parkland and fairly firm underfoot - thank goodness!  That is, apart from the stream we had to cross twice!!  I .. Read More

Well, all I can say is I'm surprised I didn't get blown to Holland!  I think that must have been one of the windiest races I've ever run! On a 'normal' day it would have been a pretty good course - two undulating laps starting and finishing on the Norfolk Showground.  This year, though, t .. Read More

My second cross-country outing of the season proved to be a bit more enjoyable than the first.  Being on 'home turf' at Leamington I certainly had plenty of support around the course - so a big thank you to everyone for that - it really makes a huge difference.  The unseasonably warm weath .. Read More

I've decided to run a few cross-country races this winter, at least up until January.  I'm not targeting them as important races but just using them for training, although I have to say that as they only tend to be around 6000m they're a tad short for me!  I need to make sure I do a decent .. Read More

In the words of Miranda's mum - "such fun"!!  It's three years since I've run in a road relay for my club, Leamington C&AC, and it was great to experience the team spirit that relays seem to bring out.  Apparently, or so I'm told by some of the club coaches, when I run in a c .. Read More

Sometimes it's a refreshing change to get away from the high-profile events and take part in smaller, more low-key events.  For the last seven years the village where I live has held a 5 mile multi-terrain race at our local tourist attraction - Hatton Country World.  The race is put on joi .. Read More

Well, I think I'll put this one down to experience!  It wasn't a total disaster, but I must admit I was hoping for a bit more. I was a bit nervous before the race, not knowing quite to expect from my first 100K, but was really proud to be representing my country in a World Championship.  .. Read More

Race day dawned bright and sunny and the England team met up in the hotel lobby at 9.15am.  Armed with carrier bags full of our own drinks bottles, gels etc. we made our way over to the start of the race at the newly resurfaced 8-lane athletics track - just a few minutes walk from the hotel!&nb .. Read More

Well, once again I seem to have found myself racing on the track - I feel I'm making rather a habit of this!  Like my other recent track races (see blog of 4th July) I was using this as a training session - more of a tempo run than a race. For some reason I find it very hard to pace myself on .. Read More

Great news!  The Warwickshire Golf & Country Club have agreed to continue supporting me by giving me complimentary use of their health club facilities.  This support is invaluable and I'm extremely grateful to them. I mainly use their gym for my weight training where I tend to do a .. Read More

After a rather up and down start to the year I've now managed to get in a couple of solid weeks training.  My sacroiliac joint problem meant I had some down time at the beginning of January, and sadly I missed the County x/c champs.  However, I've now had a couple of very painful visits to .. Read More

Happy New Year everyone! Christmas was just as I predicted - far too much to eat, several pounds gained (actually I daren't stand on the scales yet!) but a lovely time with my family.  I didn't run on Christmas day but managed to get out most other days, even if only for a few easy miles.  .. Read More

Training has picked up a bit in the last couple of weeks, although I'm finding it hard to motivate myself in the cold weather!  I've been trying to get a bit of speed back in my legs for the last 3 months or so, and was beginning to despair that it wasn't happening.  However, I've had one .. Read More

Last week I gave a talk about my running to a group that my Mum belongs to.  Afterwards came the usual amazement about the distances I run - "That's further than I drive in the car" or "That's like going from here to London"!  Then followed various questions including three that I could ha .. Read More

Well, it's that time of year again - the clocks have gone back and it's back to running in the dark evenings again.  It seems to come round all too quickly!  The problem for me is that living in a rural location it's harder to find suitable routes - I can't do my usual summer routes along .. Read More

I appear to have recovered fairly quickly after the 100K, so obviously I didn't run hard enough!  In fact, though my legs were a bit sore, the worse part was my upper back, shoulders and jaw!!!  I must have been really tensed up!!  How many people run 100K and end up with jaw ache?!!! .. Read More

So, despite my slightly disappointing race performance (see race reports for detailed account) the trip as a whole, and being part of the Great Britain team, was a fantastic experience. The team comprised four ladies (Ellie Greenwood, Karen Rushton, Jo Zakrzewski and me) and four men (Grant Je .. Read More

Having qualified for this year's 50k World Trophy Final by winning last year's event in Ireland I was really excited about going as 'defending champion'.  It was a slightly odd situation to be in, though, as I wanted to race hard to try and retain my title, but at the same I knew I would have t .. Read More

Several people have asked if I've got any photos from Comrades, so I thought I'd post some here.  I was actually going to include some with my blog about the race (posted on June 28th) but I've been waiting for my 'official' photos which I only received a few days ago! 5.30am - the start of th .. Read More