2020 review – racing/training summary

2020 - let's not try too hard to remember it. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster of a year, and I know lots of people have really suffered in a number of ways. But, there's still been plenty to smile about. The real silver lining probably being that this post might be shorter than …

Goodwood marathon – 06/12/20

Regular subscribers will once again note that it's gone a bit quiet on the ol' blogging front in the last couple of months. That tw*tty virus is very much still amongst us, like that annoying hanger-on at a party that you just can't get rid of. I'm struggling with it, as I'm sure are 99.9% …

Valencia Marathon – 01/12/2019

As reported on these pages, as well as in various national and international press publications, 2019 hasn’t entirely gone to plan for Joe Spraggins. Seemingly never-ending waves of viral fatigue, bouts of depression and just a general attitude of can’t be arsed has led to a decline in fitness and results to match. However, the …

Frankfurt marathon – 27/10/19

Frankfurt. The financial centre of Europe, apparently. It was time to go and cash in some of those training chips. Unfortunately, I didn't have many, as alluded to in my post last week. However, this trip was all about the cleverer, prettier and less annoying person in our household - and she'd been working hard …

Challenge Roth – 07/07/2019

Challenge Roth is one of the biggest triathlons in the world. It’s been running since 1984, taking place in the small town of Roth, near Nuremberg, in Germany. Ever since I started triathlon it had been on my bucket list of races to do, and when I got the chance to sign up shortly before …

London Marathon – 28/04/2019

Last Sunday I was fortunate enough to line up against (quite far behind) some of the best runners in the world, in my 4th London Marathon. I've said it before, and no doubt I'll say it again - it's the best race in the world. As long as I'm lucky enough to run a time …

Mince Pi Run – 50km – 17/12/2018

Christmas. A time for relaxing, indulging and wading through a freezing cold river crossing 10 times. I've always assumed this was everybody's idea of fun, so I was surprised to only see 200 people hanging around a field just outside Guildford, ready for the 2018 Mince Pi run. Now, before you all start correcting my …

Valencia marathon – 02/12/18

Valencia - the home of paella and tapas. The Spanish city holds only the fondest memories for me, as last years visit resulted in a shiny new marathon PB (probably never to be repeated). It also offers some much needed December sunshine, which is always a nice accompaniment to a cerveza or seven post-race. However, this …