I like trains. I like long train journeys, especially sleeper train journeys. I was going to travel on the Night Riveria train, from London to Penzance in far west England. Actually it was Cornwall, not England. Cornish is now considered a minority ethnicity in Britain. I woke up in Cornwall. Someone once said, “Cornwall was like another country, not… Read more »
Videos
Ultra Marathon Confidence (Jurassic Quarter Ultra Marathon 2016)
Confidence is the most important part of ultra marathon training. I had run 6 shorter ultra marathons this season, this had built my confidence. Now I wanted to test my confidence limit and run a longer distance. We took a train from London to Bournemouth for the Jurassic Quarter. It was an 73km/46 mi ultra… Read more »
Top Ten Ultra Marathon Finish! (CTS Pembrokeshire Ultra 2016)
The last race in the Coastal Trail Series was Pembrokeshire, and I finally felt like a real ultra runner instead of a tourist. Pembrokeshire is way out on the southwest coast of Wales. I caught a train from London Paddington out to Newport. I had plenty of time to think about my race a few… Read more »
Accidental Ultra Marathon Fail (CTS Exmoor Ultra* 2016)
Did I run the CTS Exmoor Ultra Plus or the CTS Exmoor Ultra*? Another month, another ultra marathon. (Click here to watch the video) This time I was traveling to… wait, where was I traveling to? Ah yes, Exmoor National Park. I had to look it up on a map, here it is. To get… Read more »
Ultra Marathon Improvements (CTS Sussex Ultra 2016)
(Click here to watch the video) This season I had already run 3 ultras, and a full marathon through the snow. The CTS Sussex Ultra was my 5th race of the season and I had to admit, I was feeling confident. I stayed at a guesthouse in Eastbourne, Sussex the night before the race to… Read more »
Snow Marathon in Siberia (Baikal Ice Marathon)
I first heard about the Baikal Ice Marathon when I was living in Moscow. It sounded insane. (Click here to watch the video) I live in London now, but for 9 years I used to lived in Moscow. Today, I was flying back to Moscow. Living in London is okay. It’s predictable, routine, and normal.… Read more »
Ultra Marathon Hurricane (CTS South Devon Ultra 2016)
The weather reports said there would be rain and wind all day. Gale force winds were expected to reach 65mph/105kph. I was running the CTS South Devon Ultra. The starting point was in Beesands, but I had accidentally booked a place in Beeson. Oops. It was cold and I woke up late, so I had… Read more »
How to Build Ultra Marathon Confidence (CTS Dover Ultra 2016)
(Click here to watch the video) Coastal Trail Series (CTS) Dover Ultra Marathon 2016: this was my second ultra marathon race. Last month I ran my first ultra marathon in Dorset, also on the coast. Last month in Dorset was tough. I knew it would be tough, but it was tougher than I expected. I… Read more »
Eating While Running a Marathon
It had been two months since my last personal marathon. I wanted to do another one. I planned a 22km route to take me from my house in Moscow to meet my friend Hans. Then we would run another 20km on the trails in Filievsky Park for a full marathon distance. It was November in… Read more »