Trail running to explore the unbeaten path
The PIGUM (which is an acronym for Porth I’r Gymru Ultra Marathon) is a 30 mile race with around 1700m (5500ft) elevation gain/loss, starting in the market town of Abergavenny, Wales. Porth I’r Gymru translates to “Gateway to Wales”. Last year I deferred this race due to scheduling issues, and this year I wasn’t originally … Read more
I recently entered and took part in the Wild West Ultra. A 64km (40 mile) race local to me here in Pembrokshire, West Wales. It was great to have something local to look forward to. And even better, no absurdly early wake up time on race morning, and I could do race-specific training quite easily … Read more
I booked UTS 100k soon after running the UTS 50 event last year. The mountaineous terrain in Eryri is very challenging, and the race promises a ‘brutal but beautiful’ experience. Both of those claims were delivered this year with another hot race weekend in the mountains. Race Profile The race is 104km in length, with … Read more
As dawn broke on 2024, thinking about my goals around running, the air was thick with anticipation and the promise of adventure was strong. But at the same time, there was also an air of uncertainty about it for me. Last year was a good year in terms of ticking off some big items on … Read more
I just realised it’s been 3 months or so since I last wrote on my blog. Time has flown by this year already. I’ve had a busy start with work, family life, and of course running too. Now would be a good time to update my blog by posting a short trail running film I … Read more
I have spent many thousands of hours trail running. In those thousands of hours, I have fallen victim to my own stupidity on more than one occasion. This post will detail some of my personal (uncoventional) tips for trail runners. Don’t expect tips for enhancing your running performance or form. These are focused more on … Read more
Summarised, the Dragon’s Back Race was a week running the ‘spine’ of Wales in a week of particularly intense heat. This week-long adventure was interspersed with lasting memories and friendships forged in the shared enjoyment of the mountains of Wales (and the hardships we endured). The Dragon’s Back Race (Ras Cefn y Ddraig in Welsh) … Read more
The third day of the Paddy Buckley Round Recce Experience with Climb South West had us starting in Llanberis and finishing in Capel Curig. This would cover legs 4 and 5 of the route. See other posts in this blog series: Paddy Buckley Round Recce Leg 1 Paddy Buckley Round Recce Legs 2 and 3 … Read more
Continuing on with the Paddy Buckley Round blog series, this post details the experience over legs 2 and 3. These experience or ‘recce’ days were done with Climb South West as a group effort. See the the previous part 1 (leg 1) blog post here My Strava activity shows we covered about 38km (24 miles) … Read more
Over the last week I spent 3 days in North Wales doing a Paddy Buckley Round ‘experience’ with a group organised by Climb South West. The Paddy Buckley Round is a fell running challenge in Snowdonia, Wales (Eryri). The full route itself forms a circuit of a bit more than 100km, with around 10,000m of … Read more