“BECOMING A RUNNER TAKES TIME”
After the Ironman 70.3 worlds I needed to take some time off as was a little burnt out with the time I needed to train for triathlon as well as trying to juggle family and businesses. We all have such external pressures and it’s all about managing those pressures with the time available to us. I have been at this triathlon game for over 10 years and had made the decision to step away from triathlon after the worlds. I needed something I still loved that would keep me interested in training and decided I would build a focus on running but to do no more than a session a day.
Having past issues with Achilles, knee meniscus and back issue I needed to take some time to strengthen up my body and to get injury free. This ment as a 50yr+ man some resistance exercise and a gradual build towards milage. But after years of the focus being none speed focused I wanted to work on areas I have never training for such as 5k.
Since the summer of 2025 (see results page) I have ran a few 5k park runs which are an eye opener as to how hard the feel especially combining from an ultra endurance background. But they were fun and used as part of training rather than a true competition. I did ok but would like in 2026 to be in the 16min category.
Having only done a few races in 2025 I did get a few good hits out at the Redcar and Ely half marathons. At both races the weather was not great (especially Ely) where we had just come of a mini storm in the UK so these where really only about trying to get best race out of the legs on the day than any real time. I managed to scoop a win at Ely, which was some motivation coming into 2026.
Whilst its early doors I did a half marathon in January to keep me honest over xmas and just squeezed in a 1.19 but my legs where hammered as much of my training had been on the treadmill. Soft treadmill running is great for the joints and to build consistency but it does not toughen up the quads for hard UK road running. My last race (the past weekend) was a home town (well where I was born) race in Hartlepool. It was the first time a half marathon was ran in 40 years, so would have been rude not to attend.
The course ran by ‘Wild Deer’ events was a good race simply because of the local support but the course was a bit of a mess with some very twisty sections around a car park and marina to make up the distance due to roadworks going on in the town. I know this was not what the organisers wanted for the course but if they can resolve this into a simpler course in 2027 it should do well.
Next for me is to find a flat and fast course for the next half marathon. I am in my best run shape and eager to break 1.17 before starting a marathon block before Valencia marathon at the end of the year.
I hope you guys are dogging great and triathlon training is in full swing this season. I’ll get more post up this summer so keep tuning in.
Best in racing, Mark