Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

Lakou Backyard Ultra didn't go quite as planned, and there would have been a time when I would have cringed at my result, embarrassed that I hadn't performed as well as expected, and wanting to crawl under a rock to hide away from the scrutiny and judgement of friends and family who expected far more from me. These days, whilst there are occasions when I feel disappointed with how race day pans out, I don't feel any shame nor embarrassment with my results. When I was deciding on my race plans for 2024, Lakou was one of my target races. I had no interest in trying to make the Canadian backyard team this year - I know I can't hit 42 yards even on one of my best days to put me on the at-large list - but I did hope to exceed 30 hours. I'd had a couple of months off to give my mind and body a bit of a break from training earlier in the year, and during that time, I had made an attempt at an FKT on the Staffordshire Way. Although it was a great experience, the weather was...

April 18th 2024 was a special day - I finally became a Canadian Citizen, something that has been a dream of mine for many years. For those of you that didn't already know, my parents were meant to move to Canada back in the 1970's, and I would have been born Canadian had their plans come to fruition. But family ties and commitments meant that the move never happened, and therefore I spent my childhood growing up in England. Yet there has always been something that has drawn me to Canada, and I always dreamt of the mountain adventures in the Rockies, owning a horse ranch or a log cabin in some remote location, fishing for salmon in great rivers, and cross country skiing and ski-joring with the pups in the cold, Canadian winters. Even when at college, my final project was based on Canada. I remember writing to the Canadian tourist board for promotional material, and I hired a Mountie outfit to promote my booth at the travel fair that we attended which would determine our final gr...