December 31, 2023,
by Pete
The descent through the forest was wild. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and I’m not sure I ever want to again. It was the dead of night and we were following each other’s head-torches through the trees. Flattish sections gave way to sudden steep drops that could only be managed by clinging onto tree trunks while the trail disintegrated beneath your feet. Emerging from the tree line a reflective arrow glinted in the head torches and pointed us left onto a road. A full moon hung in the sky ahead of us, illuminating the ribbon of asphalt as it carved its way through the alps. I increased my stride length a little to put some space between me and the guys I was near and turned off my head-torch to run by moonlight. It was as close to perfect as a running moment can be. The night was calm... View Article
It all started with an invite to Jane’s birthday party. She moved to Switzerland, seemingly 50% for the skiing and 50% so she could send photos of mountains home to taunt the rest of us. So her party happens to be in the shadow of Mont Blanc: bit of a long way if we’re honest but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for friendship. I’m benevolent like that. I start to look at flights and wonder if it wouldn’t be best to combine the trip with a little running. One thing leads to another, It’s UTMB week after the party and Chamonix starts to whisper my name. Could I really fly home only to sit in front of my laptop dot watching races and wishing I was there? In spite of my conflicting feelings about their influence in the sport, every year it feels like everyone is at UTMB.... View Article
There’s a saying, often attributed to Disraeli, that there’s three types of lies; lies, damned lies, and statistics. I can’t tell you if Disraeli ever said such a thing, but I can tell you it’s been true in my running. After being frustrated on my Bob Graham attempt in May, I wasted no time getting running again. I was back out within a couple of days. That next weekend I set a target to take a Strava crown on a four mile segment I’d been eyeing up and did so comfortably. The weekend after that was the Trail Pursuit half marathon, which last minute route changes had turned into a 15 mile technical fell run. Bad news for people who paid in good faith for an accessible trail, good news for gluttons for punishment like myself. All seemed to be going to plan until a frustrating outing at Blencathra Fell... View Article
I would tell you how many blogs I’ve had over the course of my life but I honestly don’t know. But I could tell you how many kilometres I ran last year and (of course) how many hours, not to mention how many metres of elevation gain. You have to remember the numbers that count, right? But this year’s running has been tough. In January, after a particularly ridiculous fell race where I turned my ankles more times than I could count, I damaged my calf. It doesn’t seem to have turned out to be anything too serious but it did entail a few weeks of fairly punishing sports massages and a drop in mileage. Travelling around Australia further dropped my mileage and if I’m honest most of my recent training runs have felt very tough. So two weeks ago, when Strava told me my fitness was the lowest it... View Article
