Blog Posts 

After Race across Scotland, I said I wouldn’t train for anything specific until something caught my eye that sparked ALL-OF-THE-FEELS. Deep down, I already knew what that race was but, I also couldn’t count on getting in, so I became hush-hush about it knowing that the possibility of me getting in was slim pickings. I’d accepted that if I wanted to keep the 2hundy endurance flow going, I’d probably need to sign up to a race that didn’t actually give me ALL-OF-THE-FEELS…But alas, I set my alarm for 4:00AM on Wed Feb 4, changed my work schedule so I’d have access to a computer and sat watching the count down with a racing heart for 17 mins until entries officially opened Noon, UK (5:00AM Canada). As soon as the countdown zeroed out, I got straight through to the entry page, paid the fee and sure enough the next refresh was a confirmed entry telling me I was on the start line for the 2027 WINTER SPINE!I then went back and tried to “re-enter” purely out of curiosity to see what would have happened had I not been sat on my mouse curser waiting to pounce. The result was a 340+ que of people waiting to submit their details in the hopes for a spot. HOLY FKBALLS. I’m actually in!!!!!!I’m not quite sure if it was the days spent visualizing entering, “putting it out to the universe” aka getting the Pennine Way maps and books as Christmas gifts, non-stop chatter about how incredible this race looks, being a committed dot watcher for years on end or, simply LUCK of the draw but, I didn't have to try multiple times over multiple years to enter so whoever was looking over my shoulder or, rooting for me in their corner last Wednesday, I bloody owe you. THANKS A TONNE!So, the SPINE huh? What is it you ask? Well, my friends let me tell you…The SPINE is a 268-mile (430km) point-to-point ultra with approx. 10,732m of vertical gain (35,000feet). Starting in Edale, Derbyshire (UK) the route heads North following the full Pennine Way (Britain’s oldest and most iconic trail) ending in Kirk Yetholm, Scotland. The race itself is self-supported with 5 major checkpoints spread out across the distance. Self-supported means no crew, no pacers and no friends or, fam to cheer you on. Racers are allowed 1 drop bag of 20kg that’s transported by the event team along the route. If racers come across, pubs, shops and cafes it’s acceptable to gain supplies and it’s also deemed acceptable to receive aid from the kindness of locals along the way however, planned support is an absolute no-no. In addition to the drop bag, racers must carry a pack with a fair amount of mandatory gear including a sleeping mat, bivvy and sleeping bag (We ain't going to be traveling light for this one!). To add to this beast of a race, the Pennine Way in winter is a mix of beautiful conditions! Picture snow, crusty ice, mud, sideward rain, wind, fog & peatbog that can swallow runners up to their waist (Can you see why this race gives me “All of the feels”!!!) and, despite the Pennine Way being well signed posted (Given it’s a popular long-distance hiking trail), the route will not be pin-flagged or, taped the way ultras tend to be in North America and so good ol map and compass navigation is key, especially if GPS fails. Racers have 157 hours to complete the SPINE starting Saturday Jan 10 at 8:00AM finishing on Friday Jan 16th at 8:00PM, if not before.Although there are quite a few distances to choose from and the event is also held in Summer too, after years of dot-watching the winter Spiner's and seeing the content out there, there’s nothing that stirs up the soul quite as much as the full winter edition so, I figured if I was going all in, I was going ALL IN!

After 9 months "off" (23-2024) and 1 year of training (24-2025) I returned to Race across Scotland (RAS) in August 2025 for round 2 (Read about round 1 here).

Since I started ultra running in 2016 I said I’d keep pushing the distance until I reached my limit. The question I kept circling back to weeks after is, “Did I reach my limit?”.

We’re less than a couple of weeks out from 2023 and as always I look at the winter holiday period as a time to reflect on the year as a whole and to start preparing myself for the year to come. It’s the time of year where I get fired up about the forthcoming year, specifically targeted towards running goals.

Nutrition in general is an area I have never paid too much attention to; I eat when I’m hungry and I’m hungry if I don’t eat. I eat a well-balanced diet with a variety of food and luckily, I have no dietary restrictions or allergies. Most of all, I never constrict myself of anything I want to eat and I regularly fill my face with treats and have zero guilt! I am by no means a “text-book perfect-fuel savvy runner” though and I have had my fair share of bad eating habits (Pre-during-post training and racing) some of which have become routine and as a long distance/endurance runner have not set me up to reach my greatest potential.

After casually chatting with a gf through Instagram about her up-coming goals / race schedule I quickly learnt she was looking to sell her FatDog entry and with it being a race high on my agenda, I was immediately sold and instantly intimidated! (What’s the saying “If your goals are not terrifying, they’re not big enough?” Yah, this one check marked that criteria!).

I felt it for the first time after my first 125km race 2 years ago. I finished the race, rode the highs and then BAM a week later I felt restless, anxious and empty that my goal for the season was over. I felt emotionally hung over. I’d rode this intense high, pushed up in a wave of endorphins and then boom I was drowning in a tidal of come down emotion. With another event on the horizon the negative feelings didn’t stick around for long before I was fired up and excited for the next race in line however, I knew "Post Run Blues" were real and so in the back of my mind nearing the end of this summer I anticipated how I might feel finishing up my 3rd race of the Triple heading into Fall, a time of rest and recovery and likely a time when I’d feel a few shades of blue (Which certainly made their royal blue appearance just over a week post race).

CDR 2021 = my first DNF, my first case of the run pukies & a day I will not forget for a LONG time to come.(P.S lots of pukies, run pukies, stand up straight pukies, on my knees pukies…. pukkkkkiesss!!!!)

The Build

"Ready?"

This time last year I wrote an article called "Set a fire alight & it just keeps burning", I was ending 2019 FIRED UP heading into 2020 with so much energy! I was fresh out of a relationship that had come full circle, I had re-connected with old acquaintances and I was expanding my social life (Big news for this introvert), I was 6 months deep into having a coach and I just came off of an incredible race season with a body that had never felt so conditioned and so strong. I was full of optimism, a new lust for life and it was all really exciting & then 2020 hit – you weird & wonderful year…

"You’re a mess" 3 words that politely got hurdled my way today…

What the title says…

The Golden Ultra – 3 day day stage race with the options of a longer distance "Full Pint", a shorter distance "Half Pint" or, a 120km ultra (new for 2019). Participants can enter the 3 day stage race or, they can pick and choose their own events.

I first heard of the Canadian Death Race in 2016 when I told my friend Tyler I had signed up to a 50KM race. We got chatting about ultras and we fantasized about what it takes to run a race of that distance and how insane people must be who actually participate. Yet, we also wanted to be one of them so we spoke a little more and did the whole "One day" sigh and shrugged it off.

It all started a couple of years ago when I met my then partner Chris S. He’s the type of guy who loves stats. A real data analyst. So for him it was more of a question of "Why wouldn’t you want to find out all of the intrinsic details of running? and all of the #’s that coincide with it?" It’s logic, right? He bought books, he read articles, he bought a Heart Rate (HR) monitor and a foot pod and he eventually went to a sports lab and did a Lactate Threshold Test. 

I first laid eyes on the Vancouver Marathon back in 2014. I initially signed up to the race to complete once, to tick off as a bucket list item and to say "I have ran a marathon". Yet, I’ve found myself towing the start line of this race year after year. I absolutely love the course, the city and most importantly the community of people that show up both on the start line & through the city communities. However, as I sit here writing this I’m very much debating whether I’ll be returning next year and it kind of hurts my heart.