Runs Writes Code

On the day of my PhD graduation I was able to introduce my parents to two of the people who have had the most influence over the last few years of my life: my thesis supervisor and my coach. It got me thinking about how important people are in each other's lives. A simple suggestion can change the course of your life: In my first term at (undergrad) University one of the professors, Joad, asked if I was planning on continuing on to a PhD. I had to look up "PhD"... In my first year at St Andrews, Steven R, suggested I join Fife AC... I wonder if either of them remember, or realise how profound the impact was. You can be set off in a new direction, but it's the people along the way who keep you on that path. I've met some fantastic people both in academia and athletics so I was delighted to be able to introduce so many of them to my parents on Thursday. Graduated! With Mum and Dad Photo: random sucker After the ceremony - which included an honorary fo...

Finding this hidden gem wasn't easy. The flyer on the website was for 2013, but once I'd been linked up with the Facebook page I thought my troubles were over. I hadn't counted on getting lost in Dundee trying to find it! Templeton Woods looked beautiful in the evening sun. I love the way light plays through treetops making dazzling, dancing shapes like a kaleidoscope. My quads felt tight and sore as I warmed up. This was to be my third race in six days so it wasn't a surprise! I enjoyed skipping over tree roots and dodging trees as I explored the first half mile of the start and the finish. All Photos: Gordon Donnachie John counted us down and then we off, flying up the path. Amie was right behind me so I was running a little less comfortably than at Hill of Tarvit and probably faster than was sensible. The long easy climb was followed by a short sharp descent and climb then we broke out of the trees and headed down to the reservoir. I got into my stride a...

Chasing the boys… [Photo: Jordan Young] It had rained all day and was still raining. It was the kind of fat-dropped, drenching, relentless rain that penetrates every single atom of your clothing from the socks up. The thought of just going home didn't just pass through my mind it sat there like a rain-hating toad, goading me. I was a shivering little rat on the start line and then the horn squelched and I was one in a pack of soggy runners churning up the hill. For some reason the hill didn't feel as steep as last year, I lost a few places to men near the top though. That meant being stuck behind them as I got into my stride. I had to squeeze through barely-there gaps and try not to be too annoying. In hindsight I'm not sure I did too good a job, so sorry if any of you are reading this... It was a pleasant surprise to be running easily and ahead of the next woman. My ancient, abused Inov8 190s were superb as usual finding traction in all the mud. I pushed on through...

Organising a "Chariots of Fire" race on West Sands in St Andrews, and leaving no one disappointed, is a formidable task but Ben McLeod pulls it off every year, having turned the 2011 race into an annual extravaganza. Ben's powers of persuasion range from attracting race sponsors to getting some 500 runners to dress in white… Photo:  David Smyth All runners get a medal, a Fisher & Donaldson fudge donut, musical entertainment, fruit, local beer and the chance to reenact the famous beach scene from Chariots of Fire. Prizes are donated by local businesses and a decent wedge of cash goes to the chosen charity: this year was the Association of International Cancer Research. I won the 2012 race largely because no one faster turned up, but this year there were some speedy women on the start line. The "Chariots of Fire" music played us over the start and we were off at a decent pace. I was running in second (woman) for most of the first km so decided to take...

The Long Road to London I had secured my Championship Entry at the Great North Run but was beginning to doubt I was going to do it justice. Since the GNR I had been diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis, secured my biggest race win and then picked up an injury which ruled me out for the whole of February. Fairly or not, I laid the blame for the injury on the medication I was taking for the arthritis. It had exacerbated the mastocytosis and - I believe - pushed me into a state of overtraining. The fault though was my own for ignoring all the red flags, like maxing my HR on the first rep at training that evening (and still being 10 seconds slow over 800m), an elevated resting HR and steadily climbing ALT, fatigue on an easy run… Hindsight sucks. February was a write off training-wise, and it had also launched a thousand ships of doubt about my ability to continue competing. I cross-trained for a week, made the injury worse, sulked for a week then started cross-training again. The s...

Don't take a backseat with your body, it's the only one you're getting. This post puts together some things that have helped me get my life back from mastocytosis (mast cell disease) and early inflammatory arthritis Research : Find out everything you can about your condition from reputable sources. If your condition has a charity, start at their webpage. They should have links to the latest research. The Internet can be a great source of information but you need to be able to judge what is backed up by scientific research and what is bunk. There is a lot of bunk. This is why it is a good idea to start out with the charity site. After that you'll be armed with enough knowledge to spot the bunk. Bunk at its most benign is misapplied science/understanding, perhaps by fellow sufferers. At its worst its twisting the facts to sell you something. Lifestyle : Consider what changes you can make to improve your 'background' health. Add more fruit and veg, preferabl...

I would bet that everyone with a decent level of fitness has had those days when running felt so amazingly easy it took on a Zen-like quality. My mind has never felt so entirely at peace as on the Fife coastal path on a clear day. The usual buzz of thoughts, of tasks undone, problems unsolved, melts away and there is just the sea and the sky and the ground moving smoothly beneath my feet. This is as close to pure meditation as you can get without candles. Yet it has taken me years to realise that I run best when my mind and body work together, not when I use my mind to overpower my body, to force it to move faster and for longer than it ‘thinks’ is a good idea. It is true that in order to improve as a runner you have to get quite close to the edge, to push out one more rep when your lungs are burning and you feel like there’s a monkey on your back. But it is also true that there is a really fine line between success and failure, between improving as a runner and getting injured. ...