It’s approaching 7pm on Friday evening. We are somewhere north of the Cromarty Firth approaching Alness.

I’ve been with the team since 5pm the night before. Sleeping in car for a few broken hours in a deserted Aviemore car park, driving hundreds of miles to get there and get home. I dodged trucks, ticks and got sunburn on my neck and blisters on the tops of my toes.

All to run alongside Dan for about 75 or so miles, to try and help his relentless march to the signpost at John O’Groats.

And it was worth it, and more. For at that point, as the sun shone down beautifully across the Scottish Highlands, I witnessed a resurrection that makes me want to cover The Stone Roses classic but to change the chorus to Dan is the Resurrection.

I had goosebumps watching Dan slug out mile after mile. Just five hours earlier Dan had pleaded with his crew for a rest. He was breaking down. The incessant mileage and the madness of Scotland’s most dangerous road, the brutal A9, had begun to put Dan in a dark place in both body and mind.

A team effort

I got to witness an amazing balance of athlete care, record focus and excellent decision making in what was approaching the 9th day of continuous epic endeavour. The next steps at this point could make the difference between success and failure. Too reckless at this stage could make for regrets. Not bold enough could make for regrets. The balance was delicate.

Make no mistake, this is not only physically and mentally demanding undertaking for the runner, but for their crew it is as brutal and demanding in its own way for so many different reasons.

But, where are my manners? You may have no idea what the hell I am yapping about here.

In short order. Dan Lawson set a new record running from Lands End to John O’Groats. He bested Richard Brown’s 10 days and 2 hours mark, taking it to 9 days and 21 hours (+change) and in the process beat the 10 hour mark. This is LEJOG’s 4 minute mile.

And I had a ringside seat for a small part of it.

Photo: Dave MacFarlane

The community has a front row seat

Ultrarunning is well known for its accessibility and community. I mean, you can’t just rock up and run with Laura Muir as she attempts a record run. But the average runner can spend a mile or two with Dan as he undertakes this LEJOG mission.

In fact, it is encouraged. From Penzance to Perth it was happening every day. It has the twin benefits of giving a fillip to the runner, the record chaser, whilst at the same time helping reinforce that sense of camaraderie that makes this facet of the long distance two-legged propulsion game so unique.

Meanwhile, Dan has a level of generosity of spirit – an attitude of gratitude – that makes people gravitate towards him like metal to a magnet.

Running alongside Dan for the short time I did (relative to his overall charge) was a lesson in determination and drive. His crew are exceptional. Charlotte is as focused and tough and caring as you could wish for in a partner. Always striking the balance of compassion and competition.

Robbie Britton is someone I have experience with in the GB24 team, but this is a different level, needing different decisions for different cares and concerns. As Dan began to wobble midway through Day 8, I watched Robbie and Charlotte get smart quickly. They understand the inner workings of their runner. Charlotte knows the man and the athlete, and Robbie the athlete and the man. That balance showed up so importantly in that moment.

Fresh plans late in the day

A new plan was hatched. A eye on how to best maintain the forward momentum needed to ensure that John O’Groats would be reached before 7am on Sunday. That was what was required to make the record happen.

I watched people come and go and give over anything that Dan needed, that the team needed, in selfless shows of support and it warmed my heart. I got to meet long time social media friends Jim Mann and Ally Beaven. Ambulance drivers shouting encouragement.

Random people with cameras rocking up in lay-bys and passing places to snatch blurred images or wobbly videos of Dan as he pushed north. Him always thanking them. Always.

Then there was Alan Rankin – the physio from the GB squad – who must have driven well over 1,500 miles to meet Dan in various locations at the end of many days just to rub some life back into his aching legs. And, of course, the indefatigable encouragement machine that is Mick Seymour. He’s my Mick Seymour on GB duty. But for 10 days he was Dan’s and Dan’s alone. Except when I needed coke and Clif bar.

As if to make the point about the way this sport is about the community, the previous record holder, Richard Brown, had used planes, bikes and automobiles to be there for the last few days and to help push Dan on. HIs interest was in seeing the record go down. His record. His mark. By his friend.

Dan Lawson LeJog 2020 Teaser from Dave MacFarlane on Vimeo.

More than just the runner, a whole community

On social media all you see are pictures of a runner. A bit of drama in the face at the smartly snapped shot, or a moment in time that cannot do the hours and days of toil, effort and emotion justice. It’s a snippet that can be positioned anyway the taker prefers it to. When you are inside the ropes as I had the honour of being for a couple of days, you see the inner workings of ambition, talent and team all combine to create legend and greatness. Which is exactly what happened here.

To see that was inspiring. It was humbling. It was something I am proud to have witnessed. It also has me google mapping. If that is a verb…

They say you should never meet your heroes. Frankly, if my experience of meeting Dan, a hero of mine, is anything to go by, I’d encourage you all to meet them and more. He is, quite frankly, amazing.

EPILOGUE: Dan and I passed an hour or so chatting as we created our dream teams for a West Ham v Celtic all star match. A nice example of how you pass time on a journey that lasts just shy of 240 hours. I have noted down both teams and may put them together for a simulated game, maybe Fast Running will post the match report one day. Jinky v Roberto Carlos (one of Dan’s wildcards) would be up there with LEJOG.

If you want to be one of the first to see the full film this autumn then the best plan of action is to follow @davemacfarlane on Instagram and join Dan and Charlotte @rerunclothing. We at Fast Running will keep you updated too. 

The post Down, but not out appeared first on Fast Running.

On Friday 3rd July Scotland lifted the five mile limit for leisure travel. For most, this just meant a drive into town but for one man it meant 134 miles on foot.

At 8am James Stewart (Fast 10 class of 2018 and experienced GB 24hr runner) set off on a mission to run an FKT on the John Muir Way.

Beautiful challenge

To quote James: “The route looks pretty cool”. Slicing right across Scotland from Helensburgh on the west coast, through Edinburgh, and finishing at Dunbar on the east coast.

FKT’s or Fastest Known Times are a growing phenomenon and one which James believes will only increase thanks to lockdown, “you can do it when it suits you, at your behest and to satisfy no-one but yourself’.

The aim is to run a distinct and repeatable route which can be followed by others. The best efforts are logged at fastestknowtime.com.

It’s the original socially distanced race. The John Muir Way was even more appealing because “you don’t need trail shoes for most of it – it’s a very runnable route and not super technical” – ideal for a man who hates ridge running and heights!

The John Muir Way

No recce, no problem

In October last year a long held desire to try an FKT solidified, with the aim to hit the John Muir Way at the start of July. Luckily the slight lockdown lifting came just in time (though not enough for his planned post-FKT holiday).

Lockdown restrictions meant James was unable to recce much of the route, though he admits he probably wouldn’t have done so anyway.  ‘It means you can’t be worried about a particular hill or dread a certain stretch’.

Consistent training

That said, he has found that overall, lockdown life has made his training easier. Normally he’d be commuting down to London or around the country in his role as Head of Learning for Sky but instead he’s had more time at home. That has meant more space for S&C (3 classes a week) and a different training cycle with less of a build and taper.

A normal solid training week would be around 80 miles, lifting to 120 at peak, but in current circumstances it has been less variable.

Lockdown life has meant he is able to “have a lie in and just get up on a Friday morning for my long runs which can be anywhere from 25-40 miles”. When pressed as to what time that is he concedes that he’s often out of the door at 4am to ensure he’s ready for meetings at 9am.

Tough conditions

Supported largely by his Dad Andy Stewart and friend Alan MacCuish, with coach Paul Giblin running an early section, James battled horrific conditions for the first 11 hours.

“The problem was, even when it wasn’t raining the ground was wet which means your feet get wet anyway, but I’m a Scot, I’m used to it”.

James had made a pledge at the start of the year not to buy any new clothes so when we talk about kit he’s very straight forward.

“I used whatever I already had that was comfortable – several pairs of Hoka ONE ONE shoes and socks, swapped out when they got wet, plus a Gore gilet that was a leaving present from a past job”, but in general he’s “not one for brands or lots of gear”.

James at the finish with his Dad. Photo: Adrian Stott

Despite the conditions at the start, shorts and t-shirt were enough for most of the route. As for fuelling, his wife’s banana bread got him a good way through the challenge along with sports drinks (SiS) and other solid food until he couldn’t stomach it any more and switched to the ultra-runner’s standard of Coca Cola and gels to get him through the final stretch.

Mental toolbox

James says that breaking the race up into the next few miles or until the next place he’d see his support team was key. While he did do some mental preparation he aims to “have a whole toolbox of tricks rather than one specific strategy, because if that stops working you’re stuck”.

It was eight miles from the end, with a truely stunning sun rise over the Scottish coast and the realisations that a sub 22hrs was in reach, that he “really began to enjoy it”. As Adrian Stott commented “they don’t call Dunbar ‘Sunny Dunny’ for nothing!”.

Photo: Rob Turner

“I worked out that I needed to run 10 minute miles which doesn’t sound like much but after that distance it is. But just like a football team who are several goals up and minutes from the end, it was then that I started to really feel it flow and be able to take it in”.

He finished in an unofficial time of 21:53:22 – smashing the previous record by over 7 hrs.

Support team

Having the support of family, supporters and other runners was an important part of the achievement including the CEO of Scottish Athletics Mark Munro, who joined James on the bike for the last eight miles.

GB trail team manager Adrian Stott said “special mention to GB 100k international and former GB 100k champion Rob Turner who buddied James on the last 50k.”

What an athlete, now @james_stewart13 is the true definition of tough, as he smashed the #FKT for the @johnmuirway route, 130+ miles from Helensburgh-Dunbar by over 7 hours in 21 hours 53 mins! @pyllon @VP_Glasgow_AC @scotathletics pic.twitter.com/yISNAaF21L

— SALMarkMunro (@SALMarkMunro) July 4, 2020

Impressive achievement

Clearly tackling 134 miles is an incredible physical challenge but for non ultra runners it can be hard to get a sense of how impressive James’ performance was.

Part of the GB24hr management, Robbie Britton highlights that “what’s always impressive about all of James’ performances is his work ethic.

Even if the odds are against him he will always give his best, so when it comes to a good day like this, when things are generally going his way, he achieves something really special”.

“I was sick at just over 100 miles. That was really hard. Just gone midnight and all that,” remembers Stewart. “But the experience of the the 24hr races kicked in. Salt, Pringles and dark chocolate saved me.”

Stott adds “The JMT is not too technical and pretty much all runnable s played to James’ strength as a 24 hour runner. It will take a top effort to beat this but no doubt others will be tempted”.

Just out for a run with a bottle of pop and the shortest shorts James could find that morning. Photo: Gerry Healy

Looking ahead

Being able to speak so coherently about his experience just seven hours after finishing, James is clearly able to bounce back fast but he’ll be taking some time to recover.

“I’ll take a week off doing anything and tonight I’ll put my feet up and I’ve promised the kids we’ll have a Dominoes.”

The European 24hr Champs in September, where he was due to represent GB this year, has been cancelled so the next big competition is the World Champs in Romania in May 2021.

Selection is still to be confirmed but ”things like this can only help to remind selectors that you’re in good shape and can cover good distance without getting injured”.

Intrinsic drive

With James’s experience, he’ll be hoping to make the 2021 World Champs team, but having said that he’s conscious that his love of running has evolved over the years. Now, racing and placings is not the only thing that drives him. Nowadays it’s “all about the story” and he’s certainly got more FKT’s on his mind.

The best part of the FKT? “The real best bit was that I must have had 30+ different people run with me at times, many of whom I didn’t know. Add to that scores more out supporting and saying hello, waving flags etc. That was so cool”.

He says that having just finished this challenge his mindset is at the point “where I think never again” but in the same breath laughs “I’m sure I’ll have a few more adventures”.

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here. 

The post Stewart smashes record on 134 mile John Muir Way appeared first on Fast Running.

A team of 12 athletes will represent Great Britain at the IAU 24 Hour World Championships in Albi, France over the weekend on October 26-27.

2016 IAU European 24-Hour Champion Dan Lawson leading a senior men’s team balanced between experienced internationals and those making their debut in a British vest.

Lawson has a personal best of 261.483 kilometres, and with his previous success at the major championship, he will be an integral part of the British contingent in France.

Steve Holyoak and James Stewart were part of the European silver medal-winning team in 2018, both contributing to the overall distance covered by the top three scorers.

Oman-based Holyoak has been part of British 24-hour squads since 2012, while Stewart was the second British scorer last year.

Alongside this trio will be three athletes making their debuts in the men’s team; Grant MacDonald, Paul Maskell and Michael Stocks.

Tracy Dean, Wendy Whearity [née Shaw] and Ali Young – all of whom were part of the European bronze medal winning team from 2018 – are once again in the British fold in a six-strong women’s squad.

With only those athletes finishing the women’s race in 2018 after injury and illness impacted upon the other squad members, the trio produced a special performance to claim a podium place and will be seeking to replicate their fine displays at the world edition later this year.

They are joined by Jess Baker, who holds the biggest personal best within the women’s team at 238.713km, so she will be one to watch in France.

Sam Amend and Sarah Morwood complete the team who will head out to Albi.

“We’ve been working on developing a strong squad over the past few performance cycles and that shows with one of the highest levels of applications we’ve ever seen,” said Team Leader John Pares. “The standard across the board was excellent and we’re really pleased with the teams we have selected for Albi 2019.”

Full GB team

Senior men: Steve Holyoak, Dan Lawson, Grant MacDonald, Paul Maskell, James Stewart and Michael Stocks.

Senior women: Sam Amend, Jess Baker, Tracy Dean, Sarah Morwood, Wendy Whearity [née Shaw] and Ali Young.

RELATED: James Stewart – In 24-hour racing the team always comes first

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post GB name team for 24 Hour World Championships appeared first on Fast Running.

There you go. That’s the year done. A whole year. 365 days. 52.14 weeks. A year in which I have personally had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in running terms.

It’s funny how we use the concept of a calendar that was brought together to account for equinox drift to underpin our construct of achievement versus time. As humans we kinda need some boundaries and framing to make sense of time so I guess that’s ok. Right?

And with that preamble I have lost 96% of the readers I was likely to have today. There is a point.

It tends to be that at this time of year plans for the next year are forming. Aims and targets are drawn up with the best intentions, races are entered and new gear is gifted, all against the backdrop of party nights and calorific excess. Who doesn’t love a contradiction after all?

Time off at the end of the year

One thing I always do in the early part of the winter is have some time off. The importance of allowing for muscle recovery and mental recuperation is one of the most overlooked parts of training in my experience, yet arguably the most critical. Taking a break is essential to allow for longevity, especially when you are training for ultras. You can only go to the well so many times before you find the bucket comes back dry.

For my part, I timed the rest with getting a wee procedure that means the risk of hearing the patter of tiny feet is now eradicated until grandparent days. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined but when you imagine something akin to being in the middle of a Road Runner and Wile E Coyote, ACME fuelled battleground as the level of pain you might go through everything else is better than that. And phew, it was. I was laid up for just over a week. Which was perfect on the back of a little rest in the weeks leading up to it.

All of which has me entering the festive period in the freshest state I have felt in a long time. And that is super important. Never scrimp on your rest and recovery is the message. It’s the foundation on which your fitness will be built.

A man with a plan

Looking ahead and planning for a new running year in that lovely 12 month window that Pope Gregory XVIII devised for us is mega-exciting. On a personal level I tend not to have any more than three focus races. Last year I only had two big races and I felt I lost a bit of sharpness as a result. A common mistake I see from runners is that they race and race and race. Which is fine if that is what they want.

However, I want to perform in races, not participate. Hence the focus on a few races. Quality over quantity. That doesn’t mean I won’t do more than three races but anything outside of a focus race is simply a training run. It will be used to practice race conditions, build fitness and glean information that will be useful for one of my “A” races. If you find yourself racing every week or so and are frustrated that you are not improving, the old idiom about less being more absolutely applies here!

Thank you and good night

It’s been an honour and pleasure to write for Fast Running these past 12 months. When I first got the call to be part of the Class of 2018 I thought that perhaps they’d dialled the wrong number. Getting to share my thoughts and take the readers on my journey has been great. It has helped me reflect on myself in an odd sort of way too. From being part of a silver medal winning GB team at the Euros, to DNF’ing at the Autumn 100 and of course the outstanding experience that was the Pyllon Endeavour, 2018 has been tumultuous and life affirming period.

The #1 highlight for me though was seeing how Louise set about kicking cancer’s ass. Yeah, she’s not beat it all yet – the all-clear takes a few years – but she is standing over it like Ali to Foreman in that most famous of sporting pictures. For me, everything I do now in running and life is with a sense of gratitude and happiness. I am inspired every day by those around me and especially those close to me. And will be using that to fuel the best 2019 I can have. I hope you do too.

Thanks for reading and all the best.

The post Being thankful for the highs and lows of the calendar year appeared first on Fast Running.

Rewind to 2011, September is the month. I am fat. There’s no other way to put it. I am weighing in at close to 15 stone, that’s nearly 210lbs. My second kid, Caelan, is a few weeks old. There’s a picture of us. I look unwell. I am out of shape. But I am smiling and I am happy.

Well, or so I thought.

Let’s qualify happiness at the time. I am happy. I have a cracking wife, two boys who are vibrant and healthy and work isn’t a drain on my life. But the travelling was. My diet was horrific. My habits sedentary. I hadn’t played football for five years and I’d given up running completely. Prior to this I was nothing more than a hobby runner, 100 miles per month kind of level of effort.

Life was good. Health was bad. I hated the sight of myself in pictures or videos. But I’d always find a way to put off dealing with it. I’d been busy. A way to ignore the growing shame that was growing with me in both a physically real and an internal way.

Then something sparked. I got into running, big time. I had no idea of the journey I would go on. Prior to 2011 I had never heard of ultrarunning. I found the more I ran, the fitter I got and the more content I became in myself. I began to realise that running was a great thing for my physical and mental well-being.

My stress levels dropped, my focus improved and I stopped looking at myself as being obese (+30 BMI after all) but instead I saw myself improving all the time. I had scope for improvement and I started to enjoy exploring the limits of my potential.

I wasn’t suffering from depression, far from it. I was really happy with life. This isn’t some story about how running saved me. Rather it helped me find my true self. And that’s the point, doing something you love a lot, a lot of times, can only mean you are spending more of your time on this spinning rock being happy.

Just because I was happy didn’t mean I couldn’t be happier.

Pyllon Endeavour

It’s this kind of sentiment and experience that has myself lucky to be part of a team of 8 class runners and people who will attempt an epic challenge on November 16 to raise awareness and funds for mental health, and specifically the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).

The #PyllonEndeavour was dreamt up by Paul Giblin. 3x Top 10 Western States finisher and 3x West Highland Way winner. In simple terms, we will run as a relay team on the classic West Highland Way route from Milngavie to Fort William and then back again. That’s 192 miles. We start at 4pm. The run will be in the dark for 75% of it and we will double up on more remote and technical sections to ensure runner safety.

We will be attempting to complete the run in under 24 hours. That’s 192 miles, close to 30,000 feet of ascent, mostly in the dark, across some of the remotest parts of Scotland and from the lowlands to the highlands and back again. Each runner will complete a distance greater than a marathon in the endeavour.

The goal

Our underlying aim is in promoting the benefits of exercise, camaraderie and team work in respect to your own wellbeing, and especially when it comes to mental health.

Yes, we will raise funds too as that is a nice bolt on but if we make one person think more about themselves, if we spur one person into asking for help or finding a solution to their current challenges then we will have made the difference we are truly aiming for.

I am really excited about running with these guys, they are all exceptional athletes in their own right and being part of this team is an honour.

Will we complete the run in under 24 hours?

I’d say it is 50:50. There are so many variables that we cannot control such as the weather, injuries on the day, logistical mishaps, a runner getting lost. It’s what makes the challenge so daunting and thrilling. How we react is as important as how we plan.

Running has been hugely beneficial to my mental health and self-actualisation. I wasn’t unhappy at all, but I didn’t realise just how much growth and opportunity I had physically and mentally.

It has been life altering for me. Getting into the sport has made me fitter, happier and more successful. Just imagine what it can do for you, no matter your own current position.

But it doesn’t have to be running, I would suggest almost any form of physical exercise would likely afford similar benefits. For me, running just works on so many levels. The old maxim about “love what you do, do what you love” applies ten-fold here for me.

Updates and further information about the #PyllonEndeavour can be found here. We’d love to hear from you, and if you can help with goodwill, support and promoting awareness over the weekend we’d be eternally grateful.

James Stewart features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2018’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can read James’ previous posts here and further information about the ‘class of 2018’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Finding my true self through running appeared first on Fast Running.

Autumn is dominating the mind right now. The return of the pre-dawn runs. Long sleeves winking at me from the top of the running drawer.

The odd smell of fustiness that comes with gear that hasn’t been used for 6 months or so making the tempting wink easier to brush off, but eventually the cold overpowers the want to smell spring fresh.

For now, sleeveless tops and mid-thigh shorts are still the order of the day. [It’s not pure baltic yet – Ed.]

Another reason for autumn being at the forefront of the mind is the upcoming 100 mile race I have. It is the Centurion Running Autumn 100 (A100) which takes place on 13th October. It’s a four spur course, four times 12.5 mile out and back sections along the Thames Path and Ridgeway trails from Goring.

Goring is where the late, great George Michael lived. That could be a cue for some really bad puns but of course, writing for a serious running website means I don’t have the Freedom to make such crass jokes, or indeed I have to be aware that any little Careless Whispers about the site could cause reputational damage to Fast Running.

That kind of thing is better left for the Fastlove website. Wham! And that is enough, please…

‘Cause I’m not plannin’ on going solo

Preparation is going well for the race. Really well. The field is starting to look pretty stacked with some high quality runners on the start list. Just finishing in the top 5 will take a great run. That’s what you want as a runner and a competitor; a field that forces you to reach for your best.

I’d much rather finish third in a deep field than first in one where I am a clear favourite. At the top level we all strive to be the best we can be, and then results will take care of themselves. I hope!

Guilty feet have got no rhythm

Since I last dropped a blog here I have had a couple of low key races. The first was the Tom Robb Memorial trail run. It is a local seven-mile trail race which, as the name suggests, is a memorial run for the aforementioned Tom Robb. Sadly, Tom – who was suffering from dementia – went missing a few years ago in the valley in which the race takes place. He is yet to be found.

The race raises awareness and money for various charities. I won the race in 2017 and despite improving on my then course record time by nearly 80 seconds I could only come in third place behind a couple of proper racing snakes. Short races hurt!

The second race I had was a week later at the Highland Perthshire Marathon. An undulating two loop road race starting and finishing in the beautiful village of Aberfeldy. I was lucky enough to take the win despite having to ease back the last eight miles as my right quad tightened.

The run itself was just what I needed and wanted in a period of intense training. I find a good solid marathon or short ultra is perfect preparation for a longer race six to eight weeks out.

Waiting for that day

At this stage in ultra training it is tough. Long runs, 50-60k training runs on trails, are the norm at weekends. Early starts are earlier to get an extra few miles on the clock and as well as training the legs there is the small matter of trying to nail a race day nutrition plan. That means experimenting with eating, drinking and the likes whilst doing the longer efforts.

There is also gear. What packs to wear in order to carry the mandatory equipment, which shoes are best for the conditions, what hairspray should I use so that my side shed looks slick on those top quality Centurion photos? It’s all stressful you know!

Then there is making sure my gear matches, can you imagine how bad it would be to have a green top with blue shorts? As we all know, blue and green should never be seen.

Albeit that could be a very Glasgow specific mantra based on the fractious footballing rivalry that dominates my home city in everything from the colour of the pub pool tables to the fact that you cannot buy green Pepperami at one of the stadiums. Yep. I’ll wear what I want and I’ll wave my hands in the air like I don’t care.

Going for it

It’s nearly time. My last 100-mile race was A100 last year and that was a bit of a trial. I was well outside my target time after suffering with illness and sickness for the last 70 miles of the race.

I’ve changed plenty of little things this time around to try and make the differences needed to avoid a repeat. Next time I put a blog you will know the outcome. As Mr Michael sang, “you gotta have Faith…”

James Stewart features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2018’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can read James’ previous posts here and further information about the ‘class of 2018’ can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Before this summer becomes an autumn appeared first on Fast Running.

It’s kind of odd writing for a website called Fast Running when I don’t regard myself as anything like fast. The athletes featured tend to have marathon or 10k PBs that I would struggle to match in a car with a nitro button going downhill, downwind and being chased by Sonic the Hedgehog after hitting one of those boost chevrons.

But fast is relative, huh? I mean, in my sport I do run nine-minute miles for 24 hours which is fast. However, my seven year-old can knock out sub nine-minute miles, but as I reminded the cocky wee shite, when he can do it for more than the length of Don McLean’s American Pie he can start giving me his patter.

Fast over a longer distance starts to become much more difficult to discern. And then less about physical capability and more about the heart, the mentality and the desire of an individual.

Across the months of July and August, I have been blown away by friends who have had a go at incredible feats of human running endurance.

They ultimately came up short in some cases or in others tasted the kind of satisfaction that for most comes only from completing The Times crossword on a Sunday after starting on the Wednesday.

Dave Proctor

First up was Dave Proctor’s attempt to run the entire breadth of Canada. Dave is an incredible athlete. He holds the record for 24 hours on a treadmill at over 164 miles. Think about that for a minute. Dave was using the attempt to raise funds and awareness for the Rare Foundation.

Eventually, he had to pull due to injury and for the sake of his own health, but has since continued his journey around Canada to keep the cause at the forefront of local and national conversation.

I was totally engaged in this as I’d spent some time suffering alongside Dave at the 24-hour world champs last year and he told me the story of his son. The love and determination was oozing from him. It got him much further than it should have been physically possible given his injury.

Dan Lawson

Secondly, the story of Dan Lawson’s JOGLE attempt has been well documented on Fast Running. I was lucky enough to run around 20 miles with Dan on day three as he crossed over the Forth. We met some great folks on the way and seeing the love for Dan both in the flesh and in the online community was inspiring.

When Dan came up short it was gutting, but it was in the knowledge that he’d given it his best shot. Running 9 x 90 mile days back to back is attempted only by the brave and the stupid, and I know Dan ain’t stupid.

In the end the factors at play are so varied it doesn’t take a lot to miss out on the target. And even so, the reaction has been immense. I was honoured to spend a few hours with him and wished it had been more.

Race Across Scotland

My last piece of inspiration was the Race Across Scotland. This is a 212 mile west to east race across the Southern Upland Way. This is a trail that has scant marking, lots of bogs, undefined paths and some rather challenging undulations.

I spent a fair bit of the last week dot watching as the runners battled to beat the 100 hours (yes, 100 hours) cut off. The terrain is brutal, the conditions underfoot and overhead were, well, Scottish.

Yet, from DNFs to unreal performances the inspiration was oozing from the little red dots on the tracker.

The guys who attempted these events are all fast in their own way, it’s all relative. Let’s see David Rudisha get from the Forth to Carlisle in 17 hours. That’s fast. It’s mind-blowing. Or covering the breadth of Scotland on terrain best used for sheep grazing and hiding bodies in just three days with nothing more than blisters and poles.

Here’s the punchline, the conglomeration of three such epic personal challenges and races in the last few weeks has really caused me to develop an itch in the place marked “extreme adventure/challenge” in my skin. The question is what?

There’s so many options out there but perhaps in 2019 I need to find something to scratch that itch with. I am open to suggestions (as well as bribery and free nut butter).

James Stewart features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2018’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can read James’ previous posts here and further information about the ‘class of 2018’ can be found here.

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The post What really is ‘fast’? appeared first on Fast Running.

“I would give all my fame for a pot of ale.” There you go. How many Fast Running articles will you read this year that start with a Shakespeare quote? Probably none. As you like it (see what I did there?). Well, actually the answer is one if you are reading this.

I was looking for something sage from that less-famous Scottish spin-off The Bevvy Merchant of Venice but really that one is all burps and farts. McShakespeare wasn’t as couth as his English cousin. Think comparing Alfred the Butler from Batman with Groundskeeper Willie and you get the point.

Back to the ale. I mention it as June was a bit of a down month for me. The ultra racing season doesn’t fit with normal calendars; it revolves around your chosen races and June was like a season end for me after the European 24hr Championships. I was able to take a couple of weeks off from training and worrying about every small thing I ate and drank and just relax for a while.

What’s been really interesting is that I have never recovered so well from a race. As at mid-July I am back training at a high-level once again, not peaking, but doing some serious sessions and runs. I am up Croy Hill regular; dodging the once baby bullocks but now curious bulls that are all over the land, as is demonstrated by the two tonnes of cow dung I bring back from every run up there just now.

Oh, the ale!

Yeah, as I was saying, taking some downtime is essential to recover physically and mentally after a race. You can’t go 100% all of the time, otherwise, you burn out. Now, this doesn’t mean I am sitting on a couch eating potato chips and watching TV like the bad guy from Toy Story 2. No, June was always going to be a bit of an off-season treat for me. My family had fought through a frenetic six months up to then. And mentally I needed a break as much as physically.

When you put so much into an event emotionally it can be draining. You start to question your motivation. Getting the head off of the pillow at 5am every morning becomes harder, just a little bit, but enough to be noticeable. Like a light bulb that has dimmed, or a TV that has switched to SD from HD. The sharpness dims. And it is OK to admit it. In fact, it is brave to do so. Even braver to do something about it.

And that’s where ale comes in. I may run for Great Britain and I may do literally thousands of miles per year running, but it is not my life. Far from it. My family is. And as the ability to earn a living from ultra running is about as likely as Theresa May building a cabinet that will stand longer than an Ikea one then I need to actually work for pennies.

The important things in life

Off-season, as it was in June, was a few weeks where I attended to the important things in life. A weekend away with Louise. Time with the boys. Nights out with friends, who think you have disappeared into a world where hummus has replaced chocolate and that a late night is being up after your six year-old.

Ale: back in June we went to the pub one Friday night when I didn’t have to run for five hours the next morning. It was great. There were adults mingling. Some even looked like they were doing ‘mating; rituals. Things like laughing at bad jokes, drinking radioactive looking test-tubes of sugar-laden alcohol, or, worse still, singing together on karaoke.

Downtime is essential to recover physically and mentally

It was a throwback to a world that I don’t miss that much but enjoy stepping into occasionally, and that is ok. I love spending time with friends and especially Louise and the boys. Whether that’s out and about at night or during the day it doesn’t really matter but changing the pace, the moderation, the focus, every now and then really helps when it comes to the periods of intense training and sacrifice.

I guess the point of all of this is I am refreshed and raring to go again. I am back training hard. I have a 100-mile race in October, and, gulp, a marathon and one of those 10k things in September. It is back to training hard. Next week Louise, Euan, Caelan and I head to Salou for a 10-day break, but I will run every day while away. My vertical gain will come from the water slides stairs. I’ll get lots in. More if the boys enjoy them too.

Jeez, I keeping forgetting the ale. I am not really a big beer fan anymore, prefer gin.

James Stewart features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2018’ and will share his running journey throughout the year. You can read James’ previous posts here and further information about the ‘class of 2018’ can be found here.

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The Great Britain athlete finished 11th at the 2018 European 24hr Championships and helped GB to a team silver with 244.35km. Yet it was far from a perfect day for the Croy runner, with stomach issues and low points to battle through, Stewart shares what got him through.

“My rocket 88, the fastest in the land, crucial velocity, crucial velocity!”

That was the first one to come out. The first of 23 planned ear-worms. A method for compartmentalising the 24 hours I’d be running round the park in Timisoara. Something to look forward to every hour or so. The opener was Crucial Velocity by Clutch. Chosen by the hard-rocking Pat McCann.

What am I going about you are probably asking. Let me explain.

24 hour racing is a battle of wits with oneself. The physical distress of the race is well known and I wrote a bit about my race last month. There are basically 4 things which can go wrong in a 24 hour event, or any long ultra for that matter:

1. The body goes

2. The gut goes (with stuff going either up the way or down the way (or both!))

3. The ability to consume carbs goes

4. The head goes

I am great believer in trying proactively to make sure that #4 doesn’t happen. That might be through staying positive, practicing mindfulness or in the case here, coming up with a distraction technique.

Inspired by teammate James Elson writing “Arms raised in a V*” on a whiteboard at Belfast last year and how that made me feel, I decided pre-race to ask some folks to write me a song lyric of their choice to give me something mental to consume during the event.

This article is about how it didn’t work in some ways and then how a particular card hit me hard and became my go to one.

Too much of a good thing?

On reflection I had too many of them. Getting them from the first hour didn’t have the effect I’d hoped, chiefly as I didn’t need a pick-me-up that early. Think of it like taking paracetamol for a sore head but not actually needing it, so that when you do need it the effect has been dampened.

Nonetheless, I was enjoying the cards. Louise, my best friend and wife, carefully coordinated the collection of the lyrics and wrote the cards out. Mick Seymour, my crew chief on the day, would hand me the cards every hour or so.

When I was tumbling into the distress of a slowdown, caused by issue #2, a card handed to me lit a flame. It reminded me mentally of why I was here. Of sacrifices made. Of love.

Heavy eh? I mean, this is a running blog. Not some sort of NME mash-up where McAlmont & Butler meets Led Zeppelin via I Am Kloot to inspire a middle-aged sweat monster to keep running literally day & night [We have no idea what that means either – Ed]. But it is relevant.

Without strong resilience and mental fortitude you will never realise your full running potential. No matter your chosen distance. This is just how I chose to try and make it work in an event.

I don’t ever see the day when David Rudisha stops after the first lap for a lyric card. But hey, you never know. He might have read one at the start.

The song

The song that hooked me had quite an effect. Was it a heavy metal riff monster that I could draw magnificent energy from? You know, something like AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, or perhaps Motorhead’s Ace of Spades? Nah. It was a personal resonance that if left unexplained would mean nothing to but a few. I better explain. Here’s the lyric.

That is, obviously, Badly Drawn Boy’s Magic in the Air from his Mercury Music prize winning album The Hour of Bewilderbeast.

In doing this for the race I’d hoped to land on something that would get me emotionally charged and give me a boost of determination. Something that if I was flagging it would make me want to push and push and PUSH!

It worked.

As I finished the lap with this in hand I shouted to Mick, “This card only from now on, every hour!” And I ran. During that lap, card in hand, I held back some tears. The enormity of the event coinciding with the enormity of the choice.

I yelled “yas!” as I pushed. It connected and resonated so loudly that it scared birds from the trees, literally. I grew 6 inches. Which some would joke is like doubling my height.

Why? That’s the beauty of music. It can have such an effect. I’d searched for it to inspire. James Elson’s little nugget from 2017’s World Champs became a turbo boost for me in 2018.

Who selected this song is important. It was Louise. I mentioned her above. It was our wedding song. Not a conventional song choice for a wedding. But it had resonance then and even more so in Romania.

We’ve had a frenetic and challenging 2018 so far and many people will know why. In that moment memories and smiles and sacrifices came flooding through. A gulp, a bit lip later and I was doubling down in determination and inspiration.

And then every hour I topped up on that fuel to remind me of the feeling, the stimulation and the reason. It worked gloriously. I don’t well up often but my call to Louise at the end was delivered with a croaked voice but buoyant mind. We ran the last 6 hours or so together.

A thank you

To those who took part in this little mind game, you know who you are, I thank you wholeheartedly. I ended up with not all cards given but I read them all after the race and each and every one made me smile. I am a pretty lucky guy on so many levels.

*Pearl Jam’s Jeremy

The post Every song has meaning, but can it make you run for 24hrs? appeared first on Fast Running.

Across the river Bega, a bar erupts in a cheer. It is the kind of roar that tells you something special has just happened. The commentator is screaming in Romanian and I can see the big screens clearly, Gareth Bale has just scored a wonder goal in the Champions League final.

Meanwhile, I am emptying my belly over the fence being sick once again. Even so, I wouldn’t have swapped a seat at the bar for the fence I am hunched over in the Ion Creanga park in Timisoara for all the tea in China at that moment.

Yep, welcome to 24-hour racing!

This was the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 24-hour European Championships, the 22nd edition of the event. The culmination of months of training and sacrifice; of early mornings, beer abstinence, many pairs of trainers, of tubs of vaseline and more malt loaves than I care to count.

I had the honour of pulling on a GB vest for the second time. This followed a disappointing debut in Belfast at last year’s World Championships where I dropped out with injury.

Gah! The sickness! Was lightening about to strike twice again? Not if I had anything to do with it. If I was to measure my race on the pure “plan” and “outcome” numbers alone I’d be writing this with more than a twinge of disappointment.

The short-story is Great Britain took a podium in both the men’s and women’s races. Team silver and bronze respectively. But as we all know thanks to Jack Bauer, 24 hours is a long time and so much can happen! And it did.

I went into this race in the best condition I’d ever been in. Not just mentally but physically. Numbers had borne that out in both training and performance testing. Coach Paul Giblin has worked with me for over four years now and some tweaks and changes in this period had really got me in the best place possible. Of course, I’d need luck to perform to my potential.

The race

The temperatures were as feared with peaks of 30 degrees. That meant plans were quickly discarded and a need to be sensible early on needed. “Apply once” P20 sunscreen was applied multiple times to deal with the heavy sweat, constant ice packs and sponging being used to keep the core temps down. The race started at 10am and by noon the place was sweltering. Only a tropical thunderstorm around 6pm helped get the heat down to a more sensible level.

Despite this, I’d run pretty well. I was way down the field and feeling good. Just ticking off the kilometres and saving energy. I’d need to look up my numbers but I hovered around 30th place for the first 12 hours. Just where you’d want to be.

But… a familiar foe was to surface. Ironically as the temperature dropped I started to feel ill. This can easily happen when you are working at such intensity and trying to fuel. You cannot function without carbs, but there is a balance to be struck with what you take in and what you can use. Without getting too graphic I was quickly recycling anything in my stomach up and out. This causes multiple issues; no fuel, dismay, severe energy drops, mental bonks to name a few.

I’d planned to push once the temperature dropped but instead I was struggling to stay afloat. The loop was 1.236km and instead of just under seven minute laps I was throwing down 10 mins+, with one over 20 mins for good measure. At this point my race was collapsing.

The team

Yet, this is where the team comes in. From crew to runner to supporter. You have to believe these setbacks are inevitable and can be overcome in a 24-hour race.

With some great pep talks from almost all of the team, I was getting back on track. We constantly adjusted my fuelling strategy to get a formula that would work. Want to hear what it was in the end?

Around 100ml of coke alternated with salty crisps or a chocolate chip cookie every 15 mins. Can you imagine Usain Bolt grabbing some Pringles (other brands are available) as he hares down the track? Or Mo looking for Quorn goodness?

Once I had squared up the sickness I was reborn. I’m threatening hyperbole here but the last 10 hours were probably the most enjoyable I’d ever run. At 9pm on Saturday I was ready to quit ultra running altogether, by 9am Sunday I was flying (in relative terms) around the park and already thinking about the next one before this one was even done!

A medal was in sight

Men’s team manager, Robbie Britton, told me around 1am that if I could get back moving well we’d have a chance of a team medal. That lit a spark. My team needed me. It might seem silly but I’d felt I’d let them down last year and I didn’t want a repeat. If I was allowed to swear here I’d repeat what I said to myself repeatedly for a full lap as gathered my mind and body. As a clue, it rhymes with “let’s do this mothertrucker…”

The information coming from the crew with three hours to go was ‘we’re in a podium position’, with Germany slightly ahead and France with a big lead. Could we hold on and improve the position? This gave an extra spurt to us all. Every lap meant we were getting closer. With two hours to go we moved into second. The French were out of sight. Consolidating silver was the aim. Even though we were closing the French team down there was simply not enough time to catch them.

In the end, I did my fastest three laps as my final three. Moving to an agonising 210 metres short of 10th place. I’d gone from about 18th place to 11th in the last few hours.

Reflection

Did having a long ropey spell mean that I had excess energy towards the end? Or did the lack of proper food intake mean I was running on fumes? Did I finish strong because I’d been forced to hold back? So many questions.

And that is the beauty of this event. It never goes perfectly, in fact, going “good” would be a great outcome. The race forces you to dig deeper than any other. The clock is always ticking, the finish line never moves closer. There is no line. Just the relief bringing hooter that signals to your legs and body it can close down now. It is the most fun and futile of ultra running events in equal measure.

There we have it. A team silver for the guys and a bronze for the gals. A great showing. A word on the performance of the women, as there were only three on the team, and the best three cumulative distances that count for team scoring, it meant they all had to perform and stay out there.

Tracy Dean, Ali Young and Wendy Shaw showed the kind of mental fortitude and guts that is an example to us all, Wendy messaged me this morning saying “I was worried I’d end up being stretchered off…” yet there was no prospect of her stopping. The suffering you are willing to do for your teammates out there is quite incredible. Wendy’s statement says it all. The team comes first, always.

For the men, we had James Elson, Paddy Robbins, Craig Holgate, Steve Holyoak and Dan Lawson. It reads like a who’s who of GB ultra running and I am immensely honoured to run alongside these guys. They are incredible athletes and teammates.

As for what’s next for me? Rest.

James Stewart features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2018’ and will share his running journey throughout the year. You can read James’ previous posts here and further information about the ‘class of 2018’ can be found here.

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