It happens every time I lead a pacing group. There are always a few runners who just can’t stand to run in the pack. This year’s Flora London Marathon was no different. They were there – the lead clique. They were less than a metre ahead of the pack, but still ran clearly in fron...
I’ve always liked travelling by car. And I’ve always subjected my family to my endless wanderlust. On many outings when my son was a small child, he would moan from the back seat, “Are we there yet?”My response was always, “Yep, we’re here.” He would sit up eagerly and look out o...
People are always calling me names. I’ve been labelled a hippie, a yuppie, cool, uncool… and even clueless. In addition to these, I’m part of the Television Generation. It’s true. Growing up, I spent time with Rowdy Yates, the Lone Ranger and Pancho and Cisco. I learned about tru...
Some of life’s lessons I’ve only had to learn once. For example, don’t put your tongue on a frozen flagpole, no matter how funny your friends think it is. Some of life’s lessons took me a little longer: as in, don’t wait to start a 16-week project until the day before it’s due. A...
This month I am going to ask for a point of personal privilege. For those of you who don’t have a copy of Roberts’ Rules of Personal Order handy, a point of personal privilege is when, in the middle of a formal debate, someone feels the need to speak passionately about a topic n...
There are times when it’s hard to tell the difference between being in the groove and being in a rut. To see either of them clearly, you need time and distance. You need perspective. For me, this perspective came after 37 minutes and 40 seconds of agony on Buzzard Bait Hill. It...
It was hot, really hot, really, really hot. It was the kind of day that race directors and veteran marathon runners dread, and which new runners ignore as they chase their dreams. Trouble wasn’t brewing; it was boiling.I ran the first few miles of the marathon just to see what it...
I’m a ’90s guy, or at least I was. That all seems so 20th century now. I’m not ready to call myself a ‘noughties’ guy (although others might). I know all about male bonding, I’m in touch with my feminine side and I’m way too familiar with my inner child. However, I’m only just le...
Many runners are too tense. They’re tense before they run, while they run and after they run. But it’s not their muscles that are tense – it’s their heads. Rather than running in the present tense, they’re always running in the past or future.Men my age – solidly middle-aged – ar...
Recently I received an e-mail from a woman who hoped to become more active. She wanted to start walking and running, maybe even compete in some local 5K or 10Ks. She thought this might be a good way to lose weight and feel better. Not a bad plan.But, she wrote, she wasn’t willing...
