Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

Back in January, I was selected to represent Great Britain at the European 24 Hour Championships but about a month later, we found out that we would be making the move back to Canada. Having already done 2 international moves, I was well aware of the stress and chaos that accompanied these things and by the end of March, I had made the decision to withdraw from the GB team. I just felt that I wouldn't be able to give running my full attention which meant I wouldn't be at my best for an international race. Although I had withdrawn from the team, I still wanted to do an ultra around about the same time as I needed a focus to ensure my running didn't take much of a back seat. I knew that the Blackfoot Ultra took place in May and being the same weekend as the Europeans, it fitted perfectly with my plans - I could still follow the same schedule but without the same pressure, and it really didn't matter if I missed some of my key sessions as I would be competing for myse...

It's hard to believe that 6 years ago, I would happily have called myself a road runner and would have had no hesitation going to races with the sole aim of running as fast as I could. It would be a test of strength and speed endurance and I'd feel confident knowing that I could cope with the pace which could be anything between 5.30 and 6.30 minute miling which used to feel "comfortable". These days I dread the thought of having to run fast, even for just a mile, but I know that speed work is a huge benefit to my overall running goals, whether long or short, road or trail. When moving back to Canada, I was hopeful that I would continue to be coached by Adam. His plans over the past 18 months have been the perfect fit for me and I can say for sure that I've had a good streak of races where I've achieved or even exceeded my own expectations under his guidance. I wanted to keep that continuity and hopefully have some good race results here too - it'...

Those that know me well will know that I have 2 passions in life – my dogs and my running – combine the two, and I am completely in my element! That’s why last weekend was probably the best I’ve had in a while. A couple of months ago, I became aware of a Canicross event that was to be held in Canmore, and all proceeds would go towards the Canadian Coalition for Sled Dogs. For those that don’t know, Canicross is a big thing in the UK and across Europe. As the name implies, it involves trail running with dogs and it can be competitive with championship events held throughout the year with distances ranging from a short couple of miles to 10km or more. Whilst I used to run with my old boys Sam and Leo when living in the UK, I never competed with them, and when Wilson arrived on the scene, he was just a young puppy that wasn’t physically mature enough to run at the time. We then moved to Canada when he was just 12 months old and whilst I started to run with him whilst living in Calga...

Since I last wrote just over a week ago, things have already happened that have had an impact on our lives here in Leduc. Firstly, last Monday we lost our little cat Khayman. Although he was an old man, his passing was unexpected and so sudden that I still haven't got my head around the fact that he isn't with us anymore. He'd been fine on the journey up from Phoenix and he appeared to have settled into the new house quite comfortably, but by late Sunday evening, he was very lethargic and just wasn't himself. By 2am he had passed over that rainbow bridge and the little cat died in my arms whilst I cried my heart out. I felt guilty that I couldn't do anything to help him, but I was grateful that I had been there with him and he wasn't alone at the end. I still wonder if there was something I could have done but the reality is that at almost 20 years of age, his little body had more than likely had enough and it was just his time to go. I'm happy he made ...

It's hard to believe that we only left Phoenix just over a week ago after an emotional goodbye to the city we had called home for the past 2 1/2 years. Sitting here now in our new home in Leduc, the intense heat and the desert trails to which I had become so familiar seem so far away in both distance and time. It's been a strange week - I've been so excited to be on the road heading north to start a new chapter in our lives, but I've felt pangs of longing when I've seen friends' pictures of those same trails on social media. The build up to our move was pretty stressful what with Andy working away most of the time and me having to pack and arrange pretty much everything in his absence. Looking back, I'm surprised we managed to get moved on time and I'm pretty sure if our amazing friends Skye and Ian hadn't been there to help us load up in those last couple of days, we would have really struggled. Thankfully we hit our schedule and the truck with...

Do you ever do something and then wonder afterwards what on earth you were thinking about? That's what happened with the Daisy Mountain Half Marathon. Coach Adam had given me a 10 mile tempo run to do and having admitted that I struggle with the longer tempo runs on my own and prefer to do them under race conditions, I thought it would be a good idea to enter the half marathon to make it easier. I also thought it would be interesting to see how quickly I could run given that my last road race was San Diego Marathon almost a year ago whilst the last half marathon I had done was over 5 years ago at the Hypothermic Half on a freezing cold day in Calgary. Back then I just dipped under 90 mins - I've since slowed down even more, especially with my focus being on the longer distances and trail running these days, but I thought maybe if I could motivate myself enough, I might just be able to do it again. Hypothermic Half Marathon, Calgary - a very cold day and the last time I w...