We are fast approaching the end of the year, meaning it’s almost time where many exchange gifts. In lieu of this, I have jotted down some of my favourite running gifts and gadgets, should you have a runner in your life that you need gift inspiration for.

“I became more daily” was the answer I found myself giving Tom when he asked how I trained for my latest marathon. The race date was not going to charge, nor was my current situation or training ability. As opposed to hypothesising about what “could” or “should” be, I pulled everything back to the current moment.

It would be unjust to say I didn’t train for this race. It would be disrespectful to those who help me, undermine the work I have put in, and be a lie to my clients.

Sit in your comfort zone the entire time, and you might notice things don’t tend to progress too much. Alternatively whack yourself out of your comfort zone and you might get that initial dopamine hit, but potentially followed by a crash back to reality as you feel things spin out of control.

When you have a goal or agenda, you most likely have a vision in your head of how it ought to play out. But what about when it doesn’t go to plan? Have you failed? Or have your expectations simply be somewhat different to the reality that you now face? 

When people do incredible things, it’s amazing, inspiring, tear jerking, the list is endless of what we might feel when we witness something special. But how do we define incredible? Perhaps running really far, or really fast? Yes, of course, I find such things very inspiring. It really is remarkable what the human body is capable of.

From work deadlines, to family commitments, to relationships dramas; life can be stressful. In the right doses we need stress, and it’s certainly something that we factor into training cycles in order to improve.

A “classic” runners injury, and to be honest, a frustrating one! If you have ever encountered IT Band Syndrome you will have experienced an excruciating pain in either your hip or your knee. For me, it was on the outside of my left knee.

At the end of last year, like many, I set some goals for 2023. One of which was “to focus on recovery from sessions”. The reason for the goal was fundamentally because I knew that if I wanted to train more, I need to recover more (better). When I wrote it out as a goal, or course it seemed super simple. Then I started to unpack it, and realised that there were many, many layers. 

Have you ever been asked by someone for help with something? How did you feel? Chances are you felt honoured. You had been recognised for having experience, expertise, or knowledge in the particular area.

If you sit down for a large portion of your day, it is likely that over time you will discover that your hip flexors start to feel tight. From personal experience, the 9 years I spent in an office job did my body no favours. Constantly slumped at my desktop, I naturally stopped using my core.

The alarm was not necessary, due to the 2-hour difference from Dubai, we were certainly already awake on race morning. So, it was a pretty relaxed start to the morning, perhaps a touch too relaxed for race morning. Coffee in bed as the sun came up.

Having goals in running is common. But sometimes it can be tricky to know where to start. There are multiple avenues that people go down; so here are some tips to help you set and accomplish your next running goal(s)…

Travelling for a race is extremely exciting; it’s certainly different to racing locally. But it also means you might need to be a little bit more organised. Here are my top 10 tips for your racing travels:

One of the most common running injuries is shin splints, especially among those who are new to the sport and training has suddenly ramped up. Broadly speaking, shin splints refers to pain and/or tenderness along the shinbone (tibia).

Dubai, like many cities is a busy place. People come and go. And for many, the weeks, months, or years just fly by. Perhaps you sit down at the end of the weekend and wonder where the time has gone, or worse, you dread the upcoming week. I have certainly fallen into this pit previously, and found myself constantly chasing my tail to keep up.

Post race blues are real, they happen. It’s quite natural that regardless of the result of your race, you feel a little bit lost once it’s all over. So, how do we combat these blues? That dreaded answer… it depends. But it’s true.

I race for me. I don’t do it for a living, it’s not my job. Racing is hard, really hard. To allow yourself to mentally relax, but physically push is no easy task. In a race, no matter the distance, you are vulnerable and exposed. But when we overcome difficult situations we acquire confidence, strength and a sense of achievement.

 'Tis the season!  Whether you are celebrating a religious holiday or not this December, the end of a calendar year is often a time to connect with loved ones. Perhaps spend some quality time with your family or close friends, or re-connect with some long-lost ones for your annual catch-up.

You go to an inspirational talk, have a meeting with your coach, or watch a big city Marathon on TV…motivation is high! You are hungry to improve, eager to get better at life, and inspired by the achievements around you…