Running | fit chicks & fast women

Browsing All posts tagged under »Running«

Muti for the mind, body & soul

March 28, 2014

My first thought when sitting down to write this was to liken the SA’s Trails in Motion film festival to a multi-day stage race. But then I realised this was a pretty silly idea. Over more than a day, the events may span, but there were no lows, only highs, no GU brews only beer brews […]

Run or die

March 20, 2014

At the BRC last weekend, I finished absorbing the words of world-renowned endurance runner and total rockstar, Kilian Jornet. His book, Run or Die, had been on my list for an age, which can sometimes spell disappointment when it comes to actually reading it… you know, when expectations shoot through the roof in the build […]

Peace over pressure

March 17, 2014

This past weekend, I spent at KZN’s Buddhist Retreat Centre. A true gem, the BRC sits on a massive country estate, immersed in indigenous bush and forest and overlooking a giant lush green valley that can’t help but take your breath away. A towering Buddha sits quietly within the grounds, a Stupa marks the perfect […]

matters of the mind

March 5, 2014

Last night I went to a talk here in Durbs by Buddhist teacher Gen La-Kunsang. On the invite were these words: ‘Discover powerful and practical methods to increase happiness and become a more confident and joyous person, capable of bringing real benefit to this world.’ Reading this, I was immediately intrigued. I’m a bit obsessed […]

‘the Julia way’

March 1, 2014

Just a few weeks ago, I touched down at ‘home’ in bonnie Scotland, after a trip to Italy. On the face of it, the purpose of the holiday was for time on the piste but in reality, it was a week or so of pure indulgence, one where a calorie-laden buffet was never far from […]

home

February 4, 2014

There is something about running at home that’s like no other run. Just walking even… the familiar sights and smells, the millions of memories that come flooding back as you catch a glimpse of a tree where you once climbed or a flower once planted on a summers day. I thought about this, this morning […]

Reaching the sky

January 29, 2014

I’ve had a few run ins with trails and mountains in the last twelve months… last year, on several occasions, they beat me down and showed me who’s boss. First up, I never made it to a race in Nepal last March due to Maoist road-blocks causing havoc on the road to Pokhara aka Annapurna […]

Wonderful races in wonderful places

November 4, 2013

Yesterday afternoon, despite a rather long-winded ‘to do’ list of client deadlines and demands, I found myself stretched out on the sofa, researching race plans for 2014. It’s something I look forward to towards the end of every year, that chance to write your wish list, to plot and plan wonderful races in wonderful places. […]

Gold. It’s pure gold…

October 27, 2013

I rarely read fiction books. Even as a child, I was never a big fan of fictional stories. I just preferred non-fiction, ‘real’ stuff that could be learnt and applied to my own life and thoughts. Non-fiction seemed somehow more grown up and fiction, more the place for faraway fantasies and escapism. But recently I […]

Dicing with death

October 8, 2013

We’ve talked about it a few times, Deon and I, whether there’s something sinister about doing hill repeats in a cemetery. Despite it looking a beautifully, peaceful place, with swaying palms, lush green grass and vibrant flowers, it remains the resting ground for those loved and lost. Should it be out-of-bounds then, to runners looking […]

Beauty on Bromo

September 3, 2013

This past weekend I ran the Bromo Marathon in East Java, Indonesia. I was heading east anyway, “working” in Koh Samui next week so what’s an extra four hour flight, I figured. Besides, seeing as my little sister lives just 100k or so from the race venue, it seemed crazy not to include it in […]

Support in sport

August 18, 2013

A couple of weeks ago, I put a quote up on Facebook that said: “There are friendships that have been forged by dedication and by pain, by defeat and by accomplishment, by mud and by sweat, by laughter and by tears. Friends who have seen each other when we look our worst and when we […]

My two feet

August 11, 2013

I met a friend running around the Marina yesterday and we chatted about it being nearly a year since I went carless. You see, last summer I made the decision to sell my car with the intention to change or upgrade. It sold quickly and then various adventures got in the way of sorting another. […]

Tricks of the trade

August 1, 2013

It is totally normal for me to have race wobblies. In the days or weeks prior to any event, I suddenly have a breakdown in confidence … wonder whether I can finish, ask myself why I didn’t train with a little more discipline and structure, berate myself for succumbing to that extra glass of vino […]

Lakeland love

July 29, 2013

The other day I had a message from the very awesome Gavin Grobbelaar (aka the star behind The Multisport Basement for all you Saffa’s out there). He asked what a good 100 miler in the UK was but having only ever done one race in Britain before, a flat multi-day from Oxford to London along […]

Running for life

July 19, 2013

Runners … and indeed any other sports guys and gals, tend to fall into one of two camps. On one side, there are those who train as a means of participation … to work towards events and compete. They love to set goals and have a tangible purpose to their daily efforts. And then there are […]

Core conversation

July 5, 2013

I know I write often about happiness, which may seem a diversion from the running, fitness, health and wellness theme of this blog but in actual fact, happiness is bound so tightly to all of these … and to pretty much everything in our existence. Only if we are happy as individuals, can we pursue […]

Nuggets for novices

July 2, 2013

I was asked recently whether I had any golden rules for being an ultra runner … what nuggets of advice I would share with novices … or indeed, any runner, as even when you’ve done a ton of races, you’re constantly learning new things, about kit, about training, about what works and what doesn’t, about […]

Flipping failure

June 29, 2013

I seem to have found myself discussing the concept of failure a lot recently and specifically, not being afraid of it. It’s a pretty stupid word really. I mean, there is no such thing as failure, provided you give something your best shot and you learn from the experience. We all face so-called ‘failure’ in […]

Excuse abuse

June 26, 2013

Here in Dubai, it’s that time of year when your alarm goes off and it’s so tempting to not get out and run … it’s baking hot by dawn and if you’re like me and already pressed snooze one too many times, the sun is shining at super strength, long before you’ve laced up those […]

Pick, plot, plan & prepare

June 11, 2013

I wrote an article for The Sweat Shop recently about the key elements you should consider when picking a trail race. Here it is … for any of you would-be trail runners. I don’t believe there’s a single soul in the world who’s ever looked back after swapping pavement pounding for the tales of the […]

Confession time & going minimalist

May 23, 2013

I have a problem. Even though I’m quite happy to commit to my Tori-style non-training-progamme with no structure, no heart rate monitoring and little attention to time or distance … and even though I don’t actually do long training runs (even for races up to 100km in distance, I never do a training run longer […]

It’s all about the cupping …

May 20, 2013

Whilst coffee has no direct correlation with fitness or running, health or wellness, it does play a pretty major role in fuelling me every morning and in particular, up mammoth mountains, over super long distances and often at crazy altitude. In fact, before I’ve had a good injection of the black stuff every morning, I’m […]

PB running

May 18, 2013

PB I hear you cry? Personal Best? No no, today a quick tip re a wonderful analogy I heard on an interview recently. When it comes to your race strategy, think peanut butter. Consider that we’re each like a jar of peanut butter, which is filled according to our training, health, strength, stamina, courage, endurance […]

Flow, form & feeling on fire

May 14, 2013

The other night I enjoyed a perfect yoga class … one of those practices when everything just flows. You feel powerful, strong and invincible. Your balance is beautiful, your core on fire and your monkey mind is sleeping or something because you are totally in the moment and thinking of nothing else but your flow […]

Safety in numbers

April 25, 2013

I was listening the other day to a first time marathon runner describe their experience of training for and participating in last weekends London Marathon. She talked about getting on the train towards the race start and being surrounded by hundreds of runners … all seeming like experienced marathoners, all appearing cool and calm, all […]

Clouds without linings

April 17, 2013

When thinking up blog material, I try as I might to think of a positive spin … top takeaways, lessons to learn, messages to marvel over and so on … but when tragedy strikes, I find myself lost for words. Sometimes, shit just happens, without rhyme or reason, and it’s impossible to find a silver lining […]

Food glorious food

January 16, 2013

Signing up for a race in the French Alps this summer, I noticed a very cool question at the end of the registration form. It was: ‘What food would you like to see at the aid stations?’ Brilliant! Now needless to say, I suspect they don’t intend to cater for the diverse needs of a […]

Shades of grey

December 15, 2012

I’m sorry if this title drew you in with promises of slide-off-your-seat eroticism … that I shall leave to the brilliant and beautiful mind of EL James. Rather this post is about the ever-increasing blurred lines that exist between hiking and fast-packing, running and exploring, expeditions and adventures. I’ve thought about this often and I […]

Put some 80/20 into 12/13

December 12, 2012

So the silly season is pretty much upon us now. The weather is cooler and there’s a festive spirit in the air. During my morning runs, I catch myself belting out Christmas tunes at the top of my voice. By day, online shopping seems way more enticing than any of this work malarkey and by […]

Meals & miles

December 9, 2012

I picked up a Runners World book the other day called ‘the new runner’ by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield. It’s a great read full of tips and tricks to enable even the most sceptical of runners to discover that running is indeed one of life’s greatest pleasures. The basic message is simple: that anyone […]

Introverts unite

November 14, 2012

I listened to a great interview yesterday with Marshall Ulrich. Marshall is a phenomenal ultra runner, mountaineer and philosopher. If you’ve never watched his documentary about running across America, do so and you will feel forever inspired to raise your own bar. As for my personal connection with Marshall, the last time I saw him […]