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Poet on the Run

Finding sense and making art – one run at a time

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Reflecting on upcoming adventures and being a terrible influence on people, so this poem got pulled out for Twisted Tongues tonight 😅 To my crazy trail running family - this one was always for you. #poemsfromthetrail #friendshipandhilltraining
Throwing it back to the Birmingham half on Sunday. This here? This is not your usual service and smiles. This is the face of pain. It was tipping down with rain. It was cold. The course was shin deep in water in places. I felt rubbish from the out - heavy legs, no zip to draw on. No surprises there, I'd done basically no specific training all year (note to self - don't do that again!) But, having decided to come to this race curious and leave everything I had on the course, I took a leaf out of the @tommy_rivs handbook and mentally went "that's nice - you want a fast time? Then fight like hell". . At mile 1 I was wondering what on earth I was doing there. By mile 4 I could no longer feel my arms 😅 I pushed harder. At mile 6, I lost Weaver who I'd found early on and who had been running on my shoulder for a while as he dropped back. I kept running. At mile 9 I barely recognised the friend on the water station yelling at me to keep running (sorry Hannah!). Remembered how much I loathe short and fast distances. At mile 12, the course zig-zagged through what felt like half the streets in Digbeth before spitting us out into a freezing headwind for the last section. Coming round the Bullring and up what isn't even a bee-sting, never mind a hill, I had nothing left. Walked a few steps to persuade everything to damn well play ball. Got past Moor Street and ran as hard as I could. Mentally cursed the course for the finish line being up a hill. But, it was right there. All I had to do was hold on a couple minutes longer. Finished. *Was* finished. Cursed myself for a fool trying to go for a time when I hadn't trained for it. Finally looked at my watch. . ⏱ 1:48. My first time breaking 1:50. A new PB by 8 minutes. Slow by most people's standards, but a world of possibility opening up as I realised what I could do if I put the specific work in next time. At which point, a nice volunteer came over to check on me while I contemplated my questionable life choices and heaved gently over the barrier. "You alright bab?" "Yeah," I grinned/grimaced. "I just bloody hate short races." . #birminghamhalfmarathon #racedaystories
Oh hey weekend 👋 Last race for this year incoming at the @great_run Birmingham Half on Sunday. After a year of anything but training for speed, let's see what the legs can do. We've got a load of us from the @advent.running Birmingham group and @mikkellerrunningclub all taking the streets, so it's going to be a blooming good morning out regardless. Big shout out to @storminformin also, who will be taking on his first half marathon 🙌 Who else is gonna be there? #friyay #crewlove 📸 Loving life at mile 18 of Loch Ness Marathon last month.
I have a fascination with the things we haven't said out loud. #poemsfromthetrail
I may have been living in the Midlands for more than ten years now, but I still manage to forget we have places like this on our doorstep. Lovely 15ish miles with Weaver taking in Kinver Edge, some unexpected caves, bits of the Wyre Forest, the river Severn and a steam railway 👌 Thank goodness for long run buddies who find interesting routes and are happy to talk nonsense for hours while bimbling up and down some hills and through fields full of hungry sheep 😁
Just your regular Sunday bimble, interrupted by sheep... Yes I am talking to them. #welcometothecountryside

Recent Posts

  • Tales from the Trail: Inconvenient Water
  • Tales from the Trail – Homecoming
  • Tales from the Trail – Dorset
  • Saddle Up
  • A Memory of Witches: Hiking the Harz

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Reflecting on upcoming adventures and being a terrible influence on people, so this poem got pulled out for Twisted Tongues tonight 😅 To my crazy trail running family - this one was always for you. #poemsfromthetrail #friendshipandhilltraining
Adventures, Running, SWCP, Trail Running

Tales from the Trail: Inconvenient Water

So it’s been a little while since I did a proper write up but this one seems apt to start … Continue reading Tales from the Trail: Inconvenient Water

Tales from the Trail – Homecoming
Adventures, Hiking, Running, SWCP, Trail Running

Tales from the Trail – Homecoming

And on the fifth day, I was in Devon. My running buddy John had decided to come down and run … Continue reading Tales from the Trail – Homecoming

Tales from the Trail – Dorset
Adventures, Hiking, Running, SWCP, Trail Running

Tales from the Trail – Dorset

Well, I have a whole new appreciation for why they call it ‘the Rollercoaster’…. Day 1 took me from Studland … Continue reading Tales from the Trail – Dorset

Saddle Up
Adventures, Running, SWCP, Trail Running

Saddle Up

It’s go time. Eighteen months of preparation, of training, worrying, pushing myself to the limits of what I could handle, … Continue reading Saddle Up

A Memory of Witches: Hiking the Harz
Adventures, Hiking

A Memory of Witches: Hiking the Harz

“So, I need to test this shiny new tent out – fancy thru-hiking a trail up by you?” Those famous … Continue reading A Memory of Witches: Hiking the Harz

Poetry

On Growing and Forging

Over time, I’ve learned a lot about survival. How it can shape you. How sometimes growing is the last thing … Continue reading On Growing and Forging

Beginnings
Poetry

Beginnings

I had a conversation with a dear friend some years ago, about the circular nature of time. While he was … Continue reading Beginnings

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