Last year I dropped out of a marathon at half way and didn't run for two months. I had a problem with my leg that only a prolonged rest was going to resolve. So I took my medicine and served my time on the bench. After a lot of weeks it was time to try [...]

Phil's training for London Marathon continues despite a trip to Texas. As John Lennon never said: “Training still happens when you’re busy making other plans.” This translates as “Just because you’re working away, still jet-lagged and foggy from drinking Texan beer doesn’t mean you can drop the scheduled ten mile run”. Arriving from London that [...]

I love half marathons. I think they're the perfect distance. Whether you're looking to run hard and get a new PB or completing the 13.1 miles for the first time, a half marathon is a challenging race. Back in January I decided to withdraw from a 50 miler that I was training for. Life and [...]

This morning another group of my beginner runners finished their 10 weeks of training with a 5k run around Hampstead Heath. It's always the best run of my week when I get to run 5k with those who are completing the distance for the first time. After 10 weeks of training I know that they [...]

In my old job I once made an exercise DVD. It was ironic, given that back then I'd only just started to get into running, that I was involved in the project. I wasn't involved in setting the exercises or anything like that, I project managed the production and enlisted experts in exercise rehabilitation. I [...]

Over the past couple of months I've been sent a few bits of running kit to try out. Here's a round-up of a few pieces. Music on the go Sometimes, heading out for a run can feel like you're a mobile branch of Dixons: phone, watch, iPod, heart rate monitor. The idea this TomTom music [...]

Since withdrawing from South Downs Way 50 back in January, I've focuses my training on Cambridge Half. I was excited to race a half again and it was the right distance to juggle training miles with running with my clients. I did four training runs a week and topped out at 40 miles for a [...]

The human body is pretty fascinating. I still marvel at the things that it allows us to do and bad races have to always be put into perspective with a bit of 'I ran 10 miles on my own two feet - that's still pretty awesome'. As I've learnt more about how the body adapts [...]

Back in January I made it one of my goals for the year to 'find stillness'. Going from working full-time with coaching and writing on the side to just doing the coaching and writing bits, I thought this goal would pretty much take care of itself. So I did nothing to make it happen beyond [...]