Constantly pushing myself to find the limit... I haven't found it yet!

2017 was my first proper season of competing on the big stage. I won my first marathon, achieved a top 10 at a major city race, brought my PB down to 2:36, as well as finishing my first 100 mile ultra race from London to Oxford.

2018 is going to be an incredibly exciting year, with many more marathons and ultras in the diary, as well as building up my and working with brands to create content.

I never stop dreaming about what's possible and I am determined to push myself above and beyond to see how far I can go!

2:38:08

London Marathon 2017

How did I get here?

overweight plodder to race winner!

London Marathon 2002

My first ever race, aged 18!

Geneva Marathon 2017

Top 10 and first Brit in 2:36:48!

Thames Path 100

23 hours of running lay ahead!

I first ran at school, finding solace on the cross country course. It was simply some time to myself a few times a week. I didn’t run in the athletics team, in fact I’ve never ran for a team in my life, I just enjoyed it and knew that one day I might be good at it.

So I entered the London marathon ballot around my 18th birthday, got in, and caught the bug. That day I finished in 4:03, not too bad as I honestly had no idea what I was doing! Then between the ages of 18 and 31 I ran about 12 marathons, all in the 3:20-4 hour mark, nothing special, but running was only ever for fun during this period.

Then in my early 30’s I had this need to try and get good at something, I couldn’t coast along being average all my life, so set out on a quest to read everything, teach myself, give myself a project to be the very best I could be.

FAQ's

Got a question?

Feel free to get in touch!

Some FAQ's

What motivates me?

Simply the quest to get better, quicker, push my limits further than I ever knew possible. When I started running seriously my first goal was a 3 hour marathon.. running at 4:16/km for 42.2K seemed such an impossibility, I couldn’t get my head round it at all. Now I sometimes do recovery runs at that pace. Never lose sight of where you’ve come, but also keep pushing on in the ultimate quest to find how far you can go.

Am I a pro?

I wish! There is a possibility it could happen one day, but for now I'm concentrating on coaching and getting the miles in for training. The race schedule is pretty stacked for 2018, so I'll be concentrating on improving my times and working my way up the rankings.

No. I don’t have any official relationships with any brands. I’ve done a few one off projects, these don’t involve any money, just a bit of exposure and sometimes a pair of shoes or some kit. 99% of the kit I use is stuff I’ve bought and paid for myself. I'm sure something will come along that is right for me but until then I will just be concentrating on my running!

Am I sponsored?

This year the goal is 7000km. So that’s about 135km a week. If I stay injury free then that should be achievable. Of course it isn’t consistent week by week as there will be peaks for a race build up as well as lighter rest and recovery weeks built in. You can follow all my training on Strava.

How much do I run?

Diet and Nutrition

fuelling the miles

NO MEAT ATHLETE!

I'm a vegetarian and try to stick to a plant based diet. I'm never one to preach, so I always say to whoever asks to do your own research and find what works for you. For me being this way has little to do with running and all to do with animal welfare, but the more I read about the running related benefits it makes so much sense as well.

So what do i eat?

I try and focus my diet around unprocessed plant based foods in their simplest form. I tend to eat lots of pasta, brown rice, oats, beans, lentils, seeds, leafy greens, fruit, avocados, olives, milk and every vegetable under the sun!

Because I run so much, most of my diet is made up of carbohydrates and in the few days leading up to a marathon this will increase to get the body full of glycogen to burn for the race!

I also make a conscious effort to eat and drink when I get back from a run for recovery purposes. Usually just a shake and then a proper meal an hour or so after.