Having been reminded that I wanted to run round Wimbledon Common (thank you) and given how nice the weather was today I kicked on my funky shoes and pinged off. The kit is still really good; this toe-strike thing is feeling more & more comfortable.
suburbs
Clapham Junction to Wimbledon is a funny zig-zaggy effort at the best of times (i.e. on a bike) and I hadn’t put a heap of effort into planning my route. In short I was lost within ten minutes of leaving the house. …

More teeth gritting outdoor sport in the Midlands. A glorious trail run with Mark across, around, up & down the Derbyshire hills.

I ran this route a few times when I lived here on Quality Street (yes Quality Street, really) and recently Mark & I took part of this trail when we went mountain bike riding around/ up/ across the North Downs.
It’s a great run actually; kicking off by the Merstham Cricket Ground, across the Reigate Hill Golf Club, along a sheltered piece of footpath, little bit of road, through the grounds of a private school, bridle path through the woods up to the Reigate Hill carpark, bridge, proper country lane between …

I’ve stretched my legs a few times around the Merstham Lakes now. Each time I’ve found new parts to explore and there are still more intriguing footpaths and options that I haven’t taken. I’m really pleased that this area has been paid attention – the conservation and the accessibility – because it’s really pretty and valued a lot by the locals.

Six perfect days at Lake Annecy with my little giselle.
Doing all our favourite things but attempting them at a gentle, relaxed pace.
Breathing the amazing air, drinking (pore-ously and pot-ably) the delicious water, baking in the gorgeous sunshine and then, unfortunately getting soaked in full on mountain rainfalls.
Et après…
Two days in Paris with lovely Kate, doing, er, not a lot but loving every second.

I love trail running, I really do. Whenever it was that I first started and then carried on, I’m really happy that that happened. Since leaving Australia I haven’t done heaps of sport and last week in Switzerland was my first run in absolutely ages so I was slow off the blocks with this one, it took me until 2 o’clock to leave the house!
la location
I’m in Annecy, which is South East France, near the Swiss border. It’s absolutely stunning here, Lake Annecy is milky blue, the hills …

Ever since I got my VFFs I’ve wanted to take them on the Manly Scenic Walk, and since this weekend was a relatively quiet one on the LJ11 scale today was the day. After the usual procrastination it was time..
It was a beautiful day: clear, crisp, sunny and I was happy to see so many people out on the walk, it really is so beautiful. I’ve always enjoyed getting past Fairlight etc and actually hitting the bush tracks on the walk and that’s where I came in to …

Couple of nights camping just across from Palm Beach.

Gorgeous weather, some good wildlife and lovely scenery.

Lots of lazing around, a bush run and a dash’n'dodge when it started to rain.

Inspired by science, and a good book, some new footwear to try out.

Marathon around the Glenbrook area of the Blue Mountains on a beautiful, but hot hot hot day.
A challenging course that included climbs, rock, sand, viewpoints, climbs, bush, climbs.
Hard work but satisfying, good fun in (very immediate) retrospect, and an inspiration for new goals…
And, I’ve never drunk so much Pepsi on one day!