Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

The past week has been bitterly cold in the Edmonton area, and whilst being hopeful that the warm-up was coming, we've been met with extreme cold warnings on and off for a few days now. I'm one of those people that still prefers to run outdoors regardless of the weather, assessing the risk and knowing my own limitations before deciding whether it's a good idea, or whether pounding the road to nowhere or climbing to the summit of the topless hill is the preferred choice. It usually results in me heading outdoors, which is probably a good thing to some degree, especially as I have a tendency to sign up for winter races that are usually scheduled for February! This past weekend, I had signed up for two completely different races, one at each end of the scale - the Hypothermic Half 10k in Edmonton, and the Frozen Ass 50k in Calgary. This would be my third time doing the Hypothermic Half since moving back to Canada, but this year, I registered for the 10k rather than the half ma...

Although I try not to over indulge during the festive period, I am guilty of eating far too much chocolate - those Lindt ones are lethal, and I find it extremely difficult to limit myself to just a couple each day. I suppose that's why we don't buy chocolate very often - not only can it be expensive, but it also doesn't last long enough in our house and is usually guzzled within a couple of days. No doubt you're wondering what the heck this has to do with the price of peas, or indeed an update on my running, but given that I always feel quite chubby after the Christmas break, and given that it was the annual "Fat Ass" run in Edmonton this past weekend, you might just spot some logic in my trail of thought! Before I start, let's be clear about the term "Fat Ass". I've never really given the term much thought, but when I spotted a comment on this year's event that said they found the choice of words disturbing, I had to try really hard not ...

Well here we are again - another year over, and a new year on the horizon as I start to look forward to 2025 with excitement and anticipation. I seriously cannot believe how fast time is going, and it's even more crazy when I think that we're coming up to our 13th anniversary of leaving the UK and starting a new life in Canada. This year hasn't been a bad year, but it's been a funny old year. Two visits to the UK to see the family, the first due to my mum being sick earlier in year, a rather shitty year at work that's made me question why I'm still doing the job that I used to love, Andy working away lots and me being home alone far more than I would've liked, and for a third time, I'm convinced that I came down with Covid again back in the summer. But then I think about stuff that's happened to others, in particular those affected by the wild fires in Jasper who've lost their homes, their jobs, their livelihoods. My bad days are trivial in compa...

December is usually the month when I declare my racing season over, and I tend to ease back a bit to allow my batteries to recharge as I start thinking about and preparing for my running goals the following year. Despite easing back, I do still keep things ticking over, and in the past couple of years I have set myself challenges to get me through the festive period, those challenges included The Snow Queen Ultra, the Advent Run Streak, and last year, I decided to do The Dark 24-hour event at the last minute, which saw me racing in early December and hitting 100 miles give or take during the race. This year was no exception, although I didn’t feel fit enough nor focused enough to compete in an ultra. Instead, I found myself registering for “Racing Dusk”, a 20 mile trail race in West Bragg Creek, located in K-Country just outside of Calgary. This year it would be taking place on the Winter Solstice, and I thought it would be a perfect way to finish off my year of running. The race its...

 After the Iron Horse Ultra back in October, I took a couple of weeks off to re over from the race, and just enjoyed a bit of downtime without any pressures. I did a couple of parkruns with my pup Wilson, and even though he recently turned 14 years of age, he still loves to join me on my runs, even though we have to keep them much shorter and slower for him these days. Running with Wilson always makes me so happy, and I really don’t mind if we end up walking most of the route, simply because he’s an old boy now and definitely isn’t as agile as he used to be. I also did a parkrun with one of our other pups, April, and she ran much quicker and finished with a respectable 27 minutes as opposed to Wilson’s 38 – she is capable of going far more quickly, but she can be quite a lazy dog and can’t be bother to put in the effort sometimes, unless she really has to. Edmonton River Valley parkrun with Wilson River Valley parkrun with April Whilst I haven’t really raced since Iron Horse, I did...

Training leading into the Iron Horse Ultra had gone well, and even though I knew that getting close to my course record of 21 hours was quite ambitious, I honestly thought that I would be able to do if I had a good day But those of us that are runners will know that whilst running is a physical sport, there is also a mental element to running well, especially when it comes to racing those longer distances. It was the mental side that let me down this time, although it wasn't during the race that I struggled but rather the weeks leading up the race itself, and in hindsight the signs were there that I wasn't going to be able to perform quite as well as I was hoping.  Let me explain .... I like to think that for the most part, I am a good person, and I treat people with the respect that they deserve. Although some things do wind me up in life, I tend to be very laid back and easy going, taking things in my stride and trying not to make a big fuss about things. I'm also an intr...