Running the Breeze

Guest author Hannah Walker, my wife, has taken over the keyboard on this one for a different perspective on our Nepal Adventure. As usual, don't believe anything she says about me! Here I am standing on the start line of the 2019 Nepal Impact Half Marathon…. I won’t lie, I have SERIOUS imposter syndrome right now! Everyone around me is telling stories of runs past and how they got on, times I could only dream of at the moment are banded around with effortless enthusiasm…. Nerves had well and truly set in! What have I got myself into here?! I’m not a runner! Over a year ago, whilst discussing with my fiance at the time ideas for our honeymoon, Matt said “how do you feel about Nepal?” My mind instantly wandering to exploring the city, views of the mountains and eating my way around a country that has always fascinated me…. Suddenly I was brought back to earth with a thud at the word “marathon’. Erm… WHAT?! Wait?! I’m not a runner…. But after telling me more about...

Kathrine Switzer, the first woman  to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entrant once said “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon”, I would like to adapt that to “watch, or better yet run, an Impact Marathon”

" Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the colour of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran .” - Dean Karnazes

Distance running legend Emil Zatopek is quoted as saying “If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon” In 2013 I went from non-runner to completing a marathon, I have been running ever since. The marathon has already changed my life, it can’t do it again...can it?

This race was proof that sometimes you don't need to try new things to have new experiences, and sometimes you can find yourself outside your comfort zone when you are least expecting it! I first did this brilliant race in 2015. Back then it was my first ever fell race. How things have changed in the last four years! Sitting here writing this, excluding relays, I can’t think what my last road race was! It isn’t that I dislike road racing but I have been increasingly drawn to fell and trail races, and with so many to choose from the calendar quickly fills up! Like many good fell races, Simonside is part of a country show. £4 each got us entry to the show and all the prize worthy veg and baking we could want to look at, not to mention the stalls and entertainment in the main ring. There was even the opportunity to play hook-a-duck using a mini digger! No time for that though, registration was already underway for what is also known as the Mark Webb memorial race. It is 6.5 m...

Part two of my mini Fishwick

There is a word in the fell running community that can bring a smile ,and a grimace, to the face of those who know it:  Fishwicking : (verb) To run more fell races than most people deem sensible over a short period.

One of my favourite things that running gives me is a great way to see a new city. Pounding the streets brings you closer than watching the world through the window of the air conditioned taxi as you zip between tourist hot spots. Running often necessitates a visit to a quieter, less touristy place in search of the elbow room, and safety, to run. So when my wife and I set off for our honeymoon in Thailand , naturally, the first thing in my bag was my running shoes!

There is blood on my hands. Dirt clings to my legs and face. Barbs grab at my ankles as I frantically try to make progress towards the track. I can hear them moving through the brush behind me, their sense of urgency as clear as mine. I see a flash of colour as one of them darts through the dense woodland and I lose my footing. I heave myself off the sturdy birch that caught my slide and leap down a small drop, praying I don't snag my ankle and the clawing brambles; now is not the time to take a tumble. I am starting to feel desperate, I must find it soon.  No, I am not being chased by some wild assailants or on the desperate hunt for some exciting treasure. I’m not even running the Barkley marathons….this is orienteering!...Although I might be doing it wrong... In November I attended my first orienteering event organised by Newcastle and Tyneside Orienteers (NATO) set in the beautiful Simonside hills. A few months ago, one of the organisers of that event got in touch t...

This is a post I told myself I wasn't going to write. At my lowest point of lap two I knew this was a moment to park and move on from, to be buried down a deep hole and only looked at from a distance. But then, just over 24 hours on I realised that if I didn't post about the times when it goes wrong then I am just as bad as all the fake polished plastic accounts on social media that I abhor. Not only that, but if I don't think about it properly I won't learn anything from the experience and will find myself going through it all again. So here it is, the Saucony English National Cross Country Championships 2019 , what can I learn from a bad day in the spikes?

The 25th Hexhamshire Hobble was a great race and one of the most spectacular days I have ever experienced. It just goes to show that you don't need to travel very far to see some of the best mother nature has to offer.

Do you get lost heading down to the local shops but want to improve your navigation skills so you can take part in some of the more challenging fell races? Maybe you run and want tot try something new? Perhaps you took a navigation course before GPS had been invented and want to keep the skills up. Orienteering is the answer, and I have finally got round to giving it a go and I think its a great sport that more runners should try.

When my alarm chimed at 6am I was already half awake. I would love to tell you it was because I was excited. It was the day of race three in the 2018/9 Start Fitness North East Harrier league and to be my first of the season! I love every aspect of cross country, the team camaraderie, the challenging courses, and especially the mud. No dear reader, it wasn't the excitement that woke me up long before dawn; it was the rain hammering on my bedroom window! Normally I would hop out of bed and think, "Great, this is proper cross country weather!", but normally my alarm would be set much later in the day. The race was to be put on by Gosforth harriers with support from Heaton Harriers, and my club, Tyne Bridge Harriers and I had volunteered to help with setting up the course. To get it ready for the first junior race at 12pm we had been told to arrive at Gosforth Racecourse for 7:30. I'm always quite well organised for cross country, with my bag prepared the nigh...