First Time Marathoners Read On
My work brings me into contact with lots of runners so I get a good idea of what’s on the horizon regarding future races. A good proportion of the people I have talked to are working towards their first marathon next year with London, Edinburgh and Paris high on the agenda for April/May time. It [...]
Walk Yourself to Fitness
Walking is arguably the most natural thing we do, and we have been bipeds for tens of thousands of years. However, as most of us are aware, the modern world has gradually reduced the amount we walk. Transport, especially cars, mean that even on the shortest of journeys people have ceased to walk. Recognising this [...]
The Positive Cycle
I recently wrote an article about nature’s high. This was about how exercise can secrete feel-good chemistry in your body with even mild exercise. This is part of achieving what I have called “the positive cycle”. When training people and giving advice about exercise I believe it is a good method to give imagery to [...]
A run, jog or walk in the park
Up and down the country in various parks there is something going on every Saturday morning at 9am which I would recommend you take a look at, even better join in – ParkRun. My park is Hyde Park in Leeds and the event in every park is a 5k race or time trial or whatever [...]
Money in the Bank
I have trained and advised people regarding their running for some time now. For people looking to start running for the first time or for those who have just started there are always lots of questions and one of the most fundamental to crop up is “How do I train?” This may seem simplistic but [...]
Do the Hippy Hippy Run
In the sixties there was a band called the Swinging Blue Jeans who sang a song called “The Hippy Hippy Shake” which was also sung by the Beatles. This was during the era of flower power and the advent of the Hippy movement, which was based on a return and respect for nature (there are [...]
There is no such thing as a junk mile
I have been an avid reader of running magazines and articles for a long time and have seen trends and fashions come and go and even be re born. For a while now the phrase “junk miles” has cropped up now and again, inferring that some miles that are run are in fact useless miles. [...]
Obesity and Weight Loss
I have just been watching another programme about the “obesity time bomb”, this time with teenagers who are demanding gastric by-pass surgery. There appears to be a problem with someone spelling out some simple facts. If you eat more calories than you burn (particularly the wrong kind of calories) and do not exercise you will [...]
The Mystery Pyramid of Skiddaw
I have just returned from a few days in the Lake District where I was staying in some lodges near Keswick at the foot of the wonderful mountain of Skiddaw. Being a seasoned hiker in the Lakes I know and love the ever changing moods of the mountains. However, there is a particular view of [...]
A Classic Wensleydale walk
I have just spent a few days in the northern Yorkshire Dales with my wife. We stayed at the historic Simonstone Hall, a former shooting lodge now turned into a fine hotel, which is found just above Hawes on the road to Butter Tubs and Swaledale. As usual we left the car in the car [...]
