About
ABOUT
Run. Explore. Adventure. Enjoy.
Running is the chance to explore, travel to new places, take on exciting challenges and push yourself. I love endurance running and getting out on the trails; a chance to constantly push my limits – attempting to run further and faster than I’ve ever gone before. The last couple of years have seen me increasing my ultra marathon distances whilst also finishing in podium and top 10 positions. I’m excited for the next couple of years and what lies ahead!
A chance to get fit
I started running in 2008 in an attempt to get fit and lose weight; a student lifestyle coupled with little exercise had seen me become a little out of shape. Fast forward a couple of years and in 2010 I ran the Great North Run after successfully getting a place in the ballot. I had no idea what I was in for, training was sporadic with no structure, my off-the-shelf trainers were causing knee issues and I’d never run a race before. I set a target of aiming to run the half marathon in two hours and only just succeeded, running over the line in 01:59:05. It was one of the hardest things that I’d done and I said afterwards that there’s no way I could run a marathon. Eight years later and I’ve improved my half marathon time by over 40 minutes to 01:18:13 and I’ve completed over 25 marathons and ultras clocking up to distances including 100km and 100 miles. In the process I’ve taken my marathon PB from 03:20:37 at Paris in 2013 to 02:42:18 at the London Marathon 2019.
I’ve previously been a member of a local running club, Ipswich JAFFA, where I took a lead in organising events and races as the Course Director of the Ipswich Half Marathon (now the Great East Run) over multiple years and the Race Director of the Ipswich Friday 5. I’ve always been self-coached; writing my own training plans and working out exactly what works best for me. This goes across everything from training to racing, including pacing and fuelling on marathons and ultras. I structure my training around my family and full-time job at a marketing agency, often getting up in the very early hours (at times I never used to know existed!) to head out for training runs that are up to 24 miles at a time. It’s a privilege to be able to exercise and enjoy the outdoors. Whilst I have my health and fitness I intend to keep pushing myself to run further and faster with more races and challenges to come in the near future. Keep an eye on my racing page and blog for more details. See you on the trails.