22nd June 2024 Journal Journal An early start to get to Dunstable Downs parkrun where I was made very welcome by run director Trish. The route was lovely, not as up and down as it threatened to be though Trish looked aghast when I called it nearly flat. The Tree Cathedral at Whipsnade was a…
My Big Tour of England gets underway on 1st July – 13 days from now. Throughout the tour I will be eating anything and everything. That’s because I am: Trained as an ultrarunner to make the best of any situation. The distances I run can’t be sustained by gels and I have to be able…
(top pic, David Miller) It has certainly been a busy month. I followed up completion of this dark and mesmerising 200 mile race in 54hours and 19 minutes (for context that Tunnel would join Bath to Lake Windermere if continuous) and recklessly followed it up 3 weeks later with 100KM in the bright and…
I’m very excited to be building up to my Big TOE next year and a major part of that is being accepted to run the Brathay Challenges 10 in 10. Brathay Trust is one of two youth support and development charities that I am supporting with the 10 in 10 an amazing curtain raiser ahead…
What an adventure! The Line 300 was immensely deceptive, so much more in reality than it seemed when I signed up for it. Here’s the TLDR bit for anyone either with just a passing intertest or a short attention span. I attempted The Line 300 by Cockbain Events, a 328-mile journey, self-supported, carrying a pack,…
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…
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…
On Saturday, I completed my 50th Marathon or Ultramarathon. It came up as a surprise. When talking the other day, I speculated that it must be nearing 30, so I had a check, made a list, appended with numbers, added in the one that I forgot, and suddenly it was 49. Maverick South Downs would…