The Big Red Run. Getting outside the comfort zone.
The comfort zone – it’s a place we all like to hang out. We know how it feels, we know it’s a safe place to be and the outcomes of any actions in the comfort zone are very predictable. But it’s not where all the fun happens, it’s not where we learn and grow as […]
HK100 – Am I good enough?
Mile 27 Coach Scotty Hawker had a break through performance at the recent TNF100. In this blog Scotty takes us back to the Hong Kong 100 where he finally gained the belief that he could compete with the best ultra-runners in the world. The lessons he learnt in this race can be used by all […]
Blood, sweat and lava dust on Mt Rinjani
One day after Catherine and I had decided to spend a month or two in Bali between relocating within Australia Catherine stumbled upon a photo on Instagram that mentioned the Mt Rinjani Ultra. A check of dates confirmed we would be in Bali when the race was on and I quickly decided that if there […]
Great North Walk 2013
I stood on the start line for the 2013 edition of the Great North Walk 100 miler full of confidence. I had trained well and had two good lead up races – finishing 8th at the Yurrebilla 56k race then winning the 46km Freedom Trail Race. A week later I managed a 9 hour training […]
What do you think about when you race?
It’s a question I often get asked so I thought I’d give you a peek inside my brain to see what was going on when I ran the 56km Yurrebilla Ultra Marathon recently. Some would argue not much but you might be surprised! For those that haven’t heard about YUM (as the locals call it) it’s […]
The Great North Walk 2012
Running 100 miles (actually 108 in this case) is never easy no matter how well prepared you are. In this case I knew I wasn’t as prepared as I would have liked to be. Sometimes there are more important things in life than running and the last 3 months has been one of those times. […]
Hardmoors 2010 lives up to its name
Saturday approx 3am Guisborough Woods, 49 miles covered, race time approx 10 hours The darkness envelopes me as I run silently through the forest, only the beam from my headtorch illuminating the trail. It is cold but not uncomfortably so, five layers of clothing, two beanies and a pair of gloves are doing their job […]
World Trail Championships 2009 Serre Chevalier
On returning from a two week holiday in Morocco I received an email confirming I had been selected for the Australian team for the World Trail Challenge. To be accurate I was the only member of the team and the only person who put in a nomination for the event, but I was told that […]
World 100km Championships
Five weeks ago I was in some of the best running from of my life. A typical training week was a 2 hour run Tuesday including an hour of sprinting up and down hills, Wednesday a marathon in under 3 hours, Friday 45-60km hilly run and Saturday 30km in just over 2 hours. My legs […]
The Pennine 100 Challenge 2008
From a race with 2300 competitors in 2007 in the UTMB, things were a little different on a wet windy weekend in the Peak District for this tough 100 miler. The gale force wind cut through my five layers of clothing causing an involuntary shiver. The continuous rain over the last 15 hours had long […]