HOW DID YOU GOT INTO RUNNING? I'm not too sure I ever 'got into' running. I've always walked quite a bit, starting when I was old enough to go to pubs and usually missed the last bus home. At least when I got home I was sober and slept well. Five or six years ago I started running a bit to / at / home from work, and jogging rather than walking the weekend 25 or 30 miler - then joined Macclesfield Harriers, and have been managing to fit in a bit of running most days since then... as you get older and slower you just have to run further.
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF I consider myself lucky to be able to get out whenever I want running on the hills - I live on the doorstep of the Peak District, and there is lots of great running not far away. I've been able to see all sorts of interesting places, (as well as Bleaklow at 3am in March several times... ) and I'm pretty fortunate to have like minded partner, and lots of friends, with the same passion for going to some of the more remote and beautiful parts of the country - and the world - and getting completely and hopelessly lost.
WHAT TYPE OF RUNNER ARE YOU? Both my eyesight and sense of balance are terrible so I prefer running on 'relatively' good ground - steep climbs and longish runnable descents without too many big rocks to fall over !! I particularly like the Yorks Dales but then am slightly biased....
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SO FAR? I've always carefully avoided winning anything, or setting any records by the simple strategy of lack of ability coupled with a completely non-structured training plan. This has the added advantage that even a miniscule amount of training and effort above your average allows you to achieve a PB, even after 10 years !! I was particularly pleased to polish off the last of my not-insubstantial food supplies on the road section at the end of my BG. And completing all 12 of the ultra race series a couple of years ago was a bit of fun.
THE SERIES THIS YEAR - WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND WHAT YOU INTEND TO DO? I completed the first four races in the series - three of them for the tenth time, and the Manx race, which was quite a hard race, but a major challenge to get to the start of !! I'm hoping someone else will get round 4 races soon and knock me off the leader board !!
OTHER RACES/EVENTS YOU INTEND TO ENTER We've a team in the Petite Trotte event which is part of the Tour de Mont Blanc race. We expect it to keep us out of mischief for a few days. I'm hoping to get round the Bullock Smithy the week after but we shall see ! and hopefully the Long Mynd 50 the next month.
WHAT YOU THINK OF THE KIT YOU WEAR FOR YOUR SPONSORS? I've found the velocity shoes good for longer off road runs, the Blur more suited to shorter, rougher terrain. Both have good grip on grassy slopes, gravel trails and rocky ground - in fact all terrain where a trail shoe is preferable to a road or fell shoe, and the substantial uppers and toe box definitely protect your feet. Thorlo socks seem fairly indestructible as well as being very comfy. The Capestorm windproof is a great bit of kit, weighs nothing and really keeps you warm, it goes wherever I do.
