Preparation is key to successful racing. So do and I say, and not as I do, to give yourself the best possible advantage. Do take it easy on the days before your race. Keep your weight off your feet.  Don't carry a bag the weight of another human on your back for the best part [...]

This week I turn 30. The kind people at the Thailand International Half Marathon reminded me of this just yesterday by sending me an online registration form to fill in for the race next week. For the first time I ticked 30-35 as that will be my box when I race. I don't mind turning [...]

Thousands of miles away from home where I don't speak the language or know anyone in a city of five million people, I knew a place I could go where a group of runners would welcome me like an old friend. A place where everybody knows your (hash) name. It's like 'Cheers' but with a [...]

I look for youYou make no soundMy wrist feels heavyYou are not there

In 1770 Captain Cook first set foot in Quensland at the town of 1770. I know! What a coincidence. He'd run out of food and water and came ashore looking for something to eat and drink. He found both and had a hearty meal of 'bustard', a large bird after which he named the area [...]

There's a huge tidal swell on the coast of Australia where I am at the moment. Surfers have been flocking here to ride the huge waves or, more often than not, get thrown about by them. Sports photographers too have positioned themselves along the higher ground with their wide angle lenses pointing out to see. [...]

We run for many different reasons: to look good; to stay healthy; to clear our heads or just because we enjoy it. There's no right or wrong reason to run (except maybe running away from a policeman or after a cat - I disagree with that).Today I've been reminded of two other reasons why people [...]

It's fair to say that there were three very good reasons for signing up to do a VO2 max test. Firstly it was free and if you decline something that's free it actually costs you money - which sort of makes sense. Second of all I was a little bit curious about what all this [...]

Setting the alarm to go off on a Sunday morning for earlier than it does on a weekday is something I don't do very often. If the little hand is pointing to a number that doesn't have a one in front of it when I open my eyes on a Sunday, there had better be [...]

Let's quote Matt Fitzgerald again: "If it does nothing else, a runner's training must make him feel prepared, because if he feels prepared, he is prepared, and if he doesn't, he isn't." Sound advice.This weekend and next weekend are the last big push of marathon training before the easing back into the leather armchair that is the taper. [...]