Crossing the finishing line of a marathon is a momentous occasion. After months and months of intense and dedicated training, the sweet satisfaction of heading towards that final stretch - those last few 'feel-like-they're-never-going-to-end' metres, that culminate in a heart-lifting crescendo as your feet, oh your tired, weary feet, pass over that finish line, is such a euphoric experience. It's called a 'runners high'. And you can understand why. But what happens after the race? What happens once the post-race rapture starts to wane? A sucker-punch, aimed right at the soul. That's what happens. "What goes up, must come down". [...]

Ok, so let me just start by saying that 50 kilometres is a really long way, guys. When I initially signed up for Women's Running Magazine's, 'Operation Ultra', and found out that I'd be running the Royal Parks Foundation 50K Ultra, I nonchalantly justified to myself that 50 kilometres was just 50 kilometres: "5 x 10 kilometres? That's not so bad!" I reasoned. And yes, I was right; 5 x 10 kilometres isn't so bad. IF YOU RUN EACH 10 KILOMETRES AT SEPARATE INCREMENTS, AND NOT ALL IN ONE GO. Of course, when I lined up at the start line, with [...]

On Sunday, I ran my last long training run before the Royal Parks Ultra, which is this weekend. This. Weekend. THIS WEEKEND! PEOPLE, I'M SCARED! This particular training run was to be a 'dress rehearsal' for the ultra marathon, and I was advised by my coach, Phoebe, to run slow and steady, wearing the kit I plan to wear during the ultra race, and to stick to the fuel and hydration strategies I have meticulously prepared my body for during the last three months of Operation Ultra. All in all, this training run was like every other long Sunday run in my training schedule. Well, except [...]

The Berlin marathon is looming, and so is my apprehension. My running coach, Phoebe Thomas, has made it quite clear that I am to run the marathon at a deliberately slow pace. "Treat it as a normal training run", she advised, "It's important that you conserve your energy, and remain injury free, for the ultra marathon the following week". The thing is, guys, I'm nervous. See, I know that I can run 26.2 miles, I've done it before, so that's not the problem here. As stupid as it sounds, I'm actually nervous about running slowly. Over the last few months of my Operation Ultra [...]

Iceland; home to active volcanoes, the Northern Lights, Björk, waterfalls, the delicacy of rotten shark, and most importantly (for me), the Reykjavik half and full marathon. With a penchant for combining running with travel, the Reykjavik half marathon instantly appealed, as did the lure of visiting the world-famous geothermal Blue Lagoon, just the tonic for soaking exhausted leg muscles post-race. I read up on some reviews of the Blue Lagoon before my visit actually, and although people advised that it’s a definite ‘must see’, it was suggested by many to not attempt to pick up the sand that covers the [...]

"Come on, have another drink, it's your rest day!" "I can't", I reply, "I've got a heavy weekend of training ahead, it's just not worth the hangover". Cue befuddled eye-rolling. Last Friday night, sitting in a bar amongst my friends, alcoholic drinks flowing (theirs, not mine), it suddenly dawned on me that ultra training is taking over my life. Supping on my non-alcoholic beer, my eyelids started to feel heavy and I longed for my bed. With a full day of work ahead of me on the Saturday and then a tough hill interval session in the evening, followed by a further two running sessions [...]