LauRunning

I ran Marathon Pour Tous 10k, a nightime run for the general public organized by Paris 2024 during the Olympics. It was a cool experience, but a tough run battling the heat and tiredness. A sleepy finisher. Why Marathon Pour Tous 10k I first head about the Marathon Pour Tous (Marathon For All) in autumn 2022 on the Runner's World website and was immediately intrigued. The Paris Olympics were going to host a marathon open to the general public on the same course the Olympics athletes would run.  That sounded like such a cool and once-in-a-lifetime experience. When I read the article originally, I had just run the Yorkshire Marathon, where I got a great time, and was keen to find my next marathon to run.  While two years away at this point, I figured I might as well take a chance at trying to get a spot in this run. The way to enter it? I had to download an app and participate in running challenges each month, which were logged through the app. Each challenge said it was associa...

I ran a 10k at Dalkeith Country Park through the Bluebell Trail on an incredibly warm day. A wooden finishers medal. Why Bluebell Trail 10k I signed up for this race in 2020, but that never happened thanks to a worldwide pandemic. I thought about doing it in 2022, but I was away from Edinburgh that weekend. I didn't look into doing it last year, but I did go to Dalkeith Country Park in May of last year, which is the first time I was there when the bluebells were in bloom.  It was incredibly gorgeous, which made me keen to do the race in 2024. The journey I could have cycled to this race, but it's pretty hilly to get to, so I opted for the bus. My tired post-run self would come to greatly appreciate this decision. The convergence of runners started early this race. I met a fellow race participant at the bus stop, and there were quite a few other runners taking the same bus to the race. The race Hot, sunny day It was a gorgeous day out, sunny and high of 69F. Hot weather doesn...

My partner and I traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon to run a half marathon during Shakespeare's birthday weekend. I came away with my second-best half marathon time, and John ran a PB. USA running outfit is back. Why Shakespeare Half Marathon I had originally considered the Shakespeare race when I was looking my first half marathon race to run in 2020. Luckily, I opted for Falmouth in March instead, which went ahead right before everything shut down during the pandemic. I had looked into running the Shakespeare race last year, but I couldn't find reasonable train fares. Finally, 2024 was the year. I found reasonable train fares and accommodation (well, reasonable for 2024). My partner, John, said he'd join me as well, fulfilling my main criteria for 2024 racing: running with people. The journey We went by train, with one connection in Birmingham. I thought we had lucked out with there being no strikes impacting our journey and the train leaving on time, but right before we got...

While running is still important to me, I didn't enjoy racing in 2023. I'm hoping to make racing more social in 2024. Manchester Half Marathon was the most enjoyable race of 2023. A year of unfulfilling races Like 2022, I ran 5 races in 2023. I'm actually surprised my race total was the same as last year because I felt like I wasn't looking for races for most of the year. Most of those races didn't feel worth my time. I regretted signing up for the Edinburgh Winter Run 5k and paying money to run a route on my own I've done quite a few times before. Edinburgh Winter Run 5k 2023 recap Fox Trail 16k was beautiful and ultimately worth it, but I didn't get any sleep the night before and it was a long, early bus journey to get to the race. Beach running at Fox Trail 16k. Fox Trail 16k at Fox Lake recap Edinburgh Half Marathon didn't feel very special this year without getting a PB like I did last year.  Edinburgh Half Marathon 2023 recap The Loch Ness Marathon...

I took advantage of being in Manchester for a conference and came a day early to run the Manchester Half Marathon. Why Manchester Half Marathon I'm speaking at the ContentEd Conference, which I noticed conveniently fell the Monday and Tuesday after the Manchester Half Marathon. Wanting to take advantage of work paying from my train down to Manchester, I came a day early so I could do the race. The journey John came with me for the race, and we took the train down. Nothing exciting to report about the journey other than for the last half hour, the train got very busy with young folk going to see a big fight happening in Manchester with a YouTube star.  Canal walk and finding the start line We didn't do much before dinner other than checking into our hotel. To make the walk interesting, I chose a route along the Bridgewater Canal Tow Path which had some pretty sights along the way. The only other thing I did was while John took a quick nap, I went to find the race start line so I...