It’s been a year with injury management and physical breakdown a constant threat, but nevertheless 27 marathons and ultras were completed in it and some of the most epic experiences in life, let alone in running. 1 Greenham Common A looped marathon. A looped marathon is a great way to test a sore leg. If…
Is ultrarunning – and long hours of physical activity – good for your mental health? Recently my friend Stewart gave a full account of a DNF at Copthorne 100, a very hard hilly race of 10×10 miles laps. It is a race with an extremely high attrition rate. At 50 miles Stewart wasn’t going so…
It’s all to do with the training: you can do a lot if you’re properly trained. Queen Elizabeth II The collective unconscious consists of the sum of the instincts and their correlates, the archetypes. Just as everybody possesses instincts, so he also possesses a stock of archetypal images. Carl Jung Man needs difficulties; they…
Midway through a ‘what a year I’ve had’ type year for me I met a man who also lives between one exhilarating adventure and another. I was in Uganda, nominally for the marathon, truthfully for the adventure and the life-enhancing envelopment that comes with visiting the associated charitable projects. The man I met was Steve…
This time next week I will be in Chamonix awaiting the Friday 26th August start of Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. It’s a prestigious race and for many the ultimate goal of ultrarunning, the nearest thing ultrarunners have to cycling’s Tour de France. It’s a full circuit around Mont Blanc, Europe’s biggest mountain, anti-clockwise from…
Frank Wainwright was recently a runner participant in the Mongol 100, a 100-mile, 4 day crossing of Lake Khovsgul with participants making the journey on foot, skating or by fat bike. The event had just 12 participants – all of whom had signed up in 2019 for the COVID casualty 2020 event. The lucky 12…