My last two years in racing have looked pretty different to how I expected, in 2016 a new job meant tons of foreign travel and little time to get out on a course, 2017 saw a bigger challenge; Pregnancy. I managed to stay in ok shape during my pregnancy, but have found it difficult to “bounce back”. From postural problems and persistent split abs, to just not having the time and energy to exercise, I’m not quite at the stage I had hoped for by now. I was massively over ambitio

It’s safe to say that we’re pretty short of any Obstacle course races or mud runs up North, the scene is pretty different and it's not quite caught on in the same same way *yet*. So, when there’s a chance to do one not only in my hometown, but a stones throw from my front door, you can bet I’ll be there! I’d taken part in Rough Runner once before, and this time decided to take on the 5km, for two reasons: I’ve recently had a baby and knew I wouldn’t be able to do more than 5k

If you have ever participated in any type of training plan for a big event (road race, obstacle course race etc), you will have heard the words “taper”. To some this means a huge jump for joy, as it means you have hit the biggest week / run / workout in your training plan, and now it’s time to step it off a bit. For others, this means the start of a grumpy period of time before the big event. Some people even note due to cutting back their level of intensity, they get sick. S

Why the fuck do you care then? No seriously, why? I recently ran the Windsor Spartan Beast, my 11th Spartan event, and only 3rd not in the “Elite” wave. The first time I ran open it was because I’d missed my wave by a few minutes at Asburnham (stupid parking). The second time I was 24 weeks pregnant, the third, 8 weeks post labour. I started the race at 10.30, early enough to get round before the day was out, but not so early that anyone would mistake that time for anything n