Me, my boy, my dog
After a week chained to the computer bashing out thousands of emails and sorting endless organisational details for the forthcoming adventure it was great to slip on a pair of running shoes again. And even better to do it in the company of my 13-year old son Beinn (who is training to join me over [...]
The Final Block!
My training programme for this year’s 7in7 Challenge kicked off in early March, before I even knew what tracks I’d be running. It was not too demanding to start with, but has become increasingly intensive as the year has progresssed. It has been interupted by injury a couple of times and disrupted by two ‘mercy [...]
What a week!
Weds 6th October: I flew from Auckland to Wanaka, taking an hour and a half out at Christchurch to meet up with 7in7 runner Duncan Woods, Natasha Utting from Campbell Live and a cameraman. If you haven’t already read Duncan’s story you should. Then watch Campbell Live on October 20th to be further inspired by [...]
The Wild Wild West
Has there ever been a more miserable winter? The weather all over the country has been unbelievable and not exactly conducive to training! But yesterday I had no choice. Despite dire forecasts I just had to get out there and do a long run – it was well overdue. I wasn’t looking forward to a [...]
Cross-training done
It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for me. First there was the lightning trip to England to celebrate mum & dad’s 60th wedding anniversary, then it was straight down south for a week’s ski touring – an indulgence that I have justified to myself as ‘cross training’. Actually ski touring is definitely not for [...]
Loved Ones, Stinging Nettles and Real Ale!
Regular subscribers to this blog may wonder why I haven’t posted anything for a few days now. Well, it’s because I’m in England on a lightning week-long trip….. LOVED ONES My reason for being here is my parents. They are both suffering the ravages of old age. Dad is 88 and has Parkinson’s. Mum is [...]
A Big Weekend
Training got serious over the weekend, despite some pretty awful weather and quagmired track conditions. It was time for some big hills, big miles and big tests of the fitness levels – so where better to head than Karekare? From the door of our bach it’s straight on to a brilliant network of rough, tough [...]
100 days and counting….
Time sure does sneak up fast …. unbelievably there are just 100 days to go before I slip on my running shoes to tackle Day One of the 7in7 Challenge 2010 (The Twin Lakes Marathon). Ahead will lie 360kms of rough, tough trail running through stupendous southern lakes scenery and who knows what kind of weather [...]
A double boost
Two things have me smiling this morning: 1. We have just broken through the $10,000 fundraising barrier. With 36 support runners now set up with their own fundraising pages things are starting to tick along nicely. Just $140,000 to go to reach target! 2. The sun is shining, the rain has stopped and I have [...]
Upping the tempo
I’m two weeks in to a 6-week block of big mileage running and so far so good. Another 100km+ week was concluded with two great runs. Yesterday I spent 4 hours in the company of three great people – Lisa and Penny (both of whom are signed up for 7in7 this year) and Dan (who I [...]
16 hours of fun
I have always maintained that running with others is more fun than running solo. And on returning from a sodden wet, very muddy 4-hour solo effort in the bush today I was reminded of just how much fun it can be…. waiting in my inbox was a video that good friend and two-time 7in7′er Pete [...]
Cranking up the miles
I have a confession to make - I love spreadsheets! I know this isn’t the coolest thing to admit to but there you go, it’s out of the closet. Under the 7in7 2010 folder in my laptop there are many Excel marvels but one of the most important is the one bearing the label ‘Training’. It [...]
Making Friends
One of the most rewarding parts of organising the 7in7 Challenge – both last year and this – is the number of great people I have met. Many of these have become firm friends and I’m sure many more friendships will eventuate over the coming months. The most recent example was yesterday when the Law [...]
We’re up and running
I can’t tell you how good it feels to be moving into the next phase of the 2010 Challenge. After all the early frustrations we are now moving into the fun bit – sharing the vision, inspiring people to get involved and getting stuck into some serious training. The last week has been AMAZING with [...]
Sharing an epic
Over the last 18 months I have trudged out many solo miles, often wishing I had someone to share the experience with. Running with friends in amazing places is, for me, one of the great joys of life. And making new friends through a common love of the trails is another. Just yesterday I was [...]
A weekend of two halves
It’s been a long time since I raced in earnest. And of course when I entered the inaugral T42 marathon I swore I’d be doing it for the experience, not the competition…. Yeah Right! Even on the start line for Saturday’s race I was still deceiving myself. But it took only about 5kms of gentle [...]
It’s more fun with friends
Even this early in my training I’m finding the solo runs to be really mentally taxing. Every day of 7in7 last year was a celebration of friendship, and a great example of how much easier it all feels when you have good company. So with this in mind I am going to organise a few [...]
Running My Age
I woke up yesterday and had to confront the fact that it was my 50th birthday - although how that came along so fast is still a mystery. I had decided some time before that I would kick off the ‘celebrations’ by going for a 50km run – all good training for 7in7 2010 after all! [...]
Back to the bush
Last year, while training for the inaugral 7in7 Challenge I ran close to 2,000kms on the myriad trails of the Waitakere Ranges, just a short drive west from my home city of Auckland. This year I’ve been slow in getting back into the long runs and most that I have done have been elsewhere in [...]
A trip down memory lane
Having not slept through a huge storm that battered Te Anau all night long, I thought twice about taking on the mighty ascent to Luxmore Hut on the Kepler Track this morning. In fact I thought so long that it was midday, a coffee and a caramel & banana muffin before I started. Fond memories [...]
What was I thinking?
Well, I knew it was time to start training in earnest again – one look at the bathroom scales confirmed this – but was it wise to go out and run the 5th longest run of my life so early on? Answer = a definitive NO! But as I was in the Fiordland area anyway [...]
