Trail running to explore the unbeaten path
Last year I was invited to join 3 friends on an adventure of a lifetime – fastpacking the TMB over 5 days. Having spent time in Courmayeur last year, hiking and running the trails around there, fastpacking the TMB quickly became a bucket list item for me. It was a massive coincidence and simultaneous blessing … Read more
The Rollin’ 100 is a newly introduced one hundred mile ultra marathon (Runningmonk Trail Events), taking place in and around the hills of Shropshire, a county which borders both England and Wales. 2025 was the event’s inaugural year, and I was really excited to run it, not having run in these hills before. However earlier … Read more
Over the past year or so, whilst browsing various running-related subreddits (online communities on the reddit.com website), I’ve noted a number of recipes for home made running gels and nutrition that I wanted to try to make for myself. Recently I noticed the lifetime spend on my xmiles account (the place I order most of … Read more
In March, earlier this year I was noticing some discomfort in my right leg, near the soleus calf muscle. Most of the time it would be half way into a run, and it seemed more prominent when doing longer hill climbs. Soon after arriving back in Wales, I went for a tempo paced trail run … Read more
Recently I spent a weekend in Baviaanskloof, located in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is also host to the Leopard Trail, a multi-day hiking trail that I decided to explore in part by running. I took my camera along to showcase some of the views and features. Note: this post is a transcript from … Read more
We recently did an overnight trip with the kids, paddling up Keurbooms river from the coast to ‘Whiskey Creek Cabin’. Keurbooms river (Keurboomsrivier as its also known in Afrikaans) is in the Western Cape, South Africa. It flows in a roughly South-east direction, with it’s outlet feeding into the Indian Ocean near the coastal town … Read more
Soon after we planned a trip to South Africa to stay with family in Knysna, and with the idea of leaving the cold and rainy Winter behind in Wales, I began to dream of exploring the mountains in the Western Cape, and specifically tackling the 13 Peaks Challenge. Finding out about the 13 Peaks Challenge … Read more
We’re lucky to have a treadmill at home. It’s simple – speed and incline controls, going up to a maximum of 15% gradient, and not many other features. It’s not a smart treadmill. In other words it’s not able connect to smart devices or integrate with online platforms such as Zwift or Strava. I find … Read more
Long time, no update. I feels like an age since I last wrote on my blog. I’ve struggled to find time among work and life in general. I now find myself ‘reset’ in a way, after having arrived in Sunny South Africa for a 2-3 month stay visiting family. This year I have a bunch … Read more
Earlier this month I had a slightly unplanned race appear on my radar, the Hateful 8 “Loopy Winter Edition” race. The race is put on by Mad Running Junkies, led by the wonderful Kev. Kevin is a great figure in the local ultra/running community here in Wales, especially in the South. He has participated in … Read more