Run Brighton: new marathon launches

My home town became my home city as part of Britain’s millennium celebrations. As a result the city has seen development to public facilities, a redesign of Churchill Square shopping centre, substantial residential property investment and – finally – the approval of work on the controversial new Brighton & Hove Albion football ground and sports [...]

3 weeks later

Recovering from the London Marathon A lot can happen in three weeks! My plan post-London was to rest up for a few days, consuming lots of protein, vegetables and a modicum of alcohol to sooth mind and body, before easing back into cycling, swimming and finally running. The first two days were spent hobbling around with [...]

Blackheath to The Mall: 26.2 miles around London

6.30am: Fairfield Grove, Charlton Village. My alarm goes off to signal that the day of the London Marathon has arrived. 99 days of training and a day of rest has preceded this day and – despite a few pre-race nerves (and two surreal race-day calamity strewn dreams) – I’m buzzing with excitement. Memories of gorging on [...]

Marathon training in numbers

3 days, 10 hours and 6 minutes to go until the gun goes off to start the 2009 London Marathon.  I’ve broken in my shoes, worn in my vest, shorts and socks. I’ve read the marathon magazine, studied the route. I’ve run my last speedwork session. I’ve had my pre-race massage.  I’ve planned my pre-race diet. I [...]

Listening to your heart

How important is your resting heart rate? An interesting question. For the last two years I’ve trained using a Polar heart rate monitor (HRM); training in heart rate zones helps me ensure sessions have maximum effect and prevents either under- or over-training. It’s easy to see general trends as a given training plan progresses, with average pacing [...]

Reading Half Marathon 2009

I told myself after completing Amsterdam in October 2008 that I would put my marathon running career on hold to focus on Ironman 2010. Running marathons – especially when sucked in by the promise of PBs – has the tendency to take over everything. The majority of 2008 was spent running 7 days-a-week, following Mike [...]