RUN 116 - Three Brooks & Patchway Common

I'm still getting used to running in English streets and countryside, the countryside is a little easier, find a bridal way and you can keep going for miles across public paths. The country roads can be tricky, often narrow with no pavement and sometimes thick bushes lining each side of the road, there can be few places to take cover when a car eventually comes along. Running the streets is simpler, but without the grid system of Chicago that i'm used to and the expanse of space, i'm constantly navigating changing direction and figuring out where to turn next, all while keeping an eye on the overall distance to ensure i end up back at the start and complete the right training distance. It's a skill i'm learning, sometimes i'll not plan a route at all and simply run wherever my feet take me, this run today was a half mile of schedule, which is pretty good. It's important to me to keep the running environment stimulating, a big part of my running has become in part an opportunity to explore new places, especially where the landscape is less dramatic than that of Lake Michigan in Chicago. [4.5m - 34:31 - 07:40/m]

[One of the Three Brooks; obligatory shopping cart, check]

RUN 115 - Forest of Avon & Compton Greenfield

Fell running in Great Britain dates back to the 11th century, a product of the environment, cross country running too is much more accessible to runners that the often busy, small roads of the cities and even countryside, where there is often barely room for cars to pass each other let alone runners on the road too. That's ok with me, discovering a new public footpath across the countryside, following the trail or the kindly direction of locals out walking their dogs takes me through places and terrain i could not have planned and to see things i would never have expected; fields of mud, hairy cattle with big horns, beautiful church gates, hills and views.[10.65m - 01:38:03 - 09:12/m]

[Beautifully powerful and silent, cattle]

RUN 114 - Wintry Christmas eve

Having lived in Chicago for the last 6 years, snow and ice is not as exciting for me as my fellow countrymen and women, but i am pleased to be able to run and train in a variety of surfaces, so my Christmas eve run was really enjoyable today. This town doesn't have quite the drama of Chicago's Lake Michigan, but add a blanket of snow and its really quite beautiful. Ive always enjoyed varying weather conditions, they do so much to make every run interesting and varied. Not only the scenery but the terrain and challenges to a runner, especially cross country. My next marathon is on the island of Portland on the South coast of England, at the end of January its possible the weather could still be quite wintry so being able to prepare for all conditions is really important to me. [3.4m - 30:35 - 08:59/m]

[English Countryside, north Bristol]

RUN 113 - Brockwell Park, London

One of the great things about being a runner in London is the number of parks, (todays run was around and across Brockwell Park, which is well over 200 years old) probably a hundred who knows? They all have something different to offer, and are great to run randomly across to meet any distance. One of the things I love about running is the sense of being part of a larger community of runners, but recently I've encountered a lot of grumpy runners unwilling to simply say hello, so if you see me running and I bid my head or raise my hand in a friendly gesture, say hello back, it won't kill you. [5.92m - 52:45 - 08:55/m]

[Brockwell Park, London Beyond]

RUN 112 - Bayswater & Hyde Park

I took the tube over to Bayswater, I've been trying to find a particular item for a stocking stuffer and I knew the chances were good I'd find it there, which I did! I also knew where I could cleanup and change after running, there's a lot to think about when you're a runner! Hyde Park is beautiful & much bigger and more varied in terrain than you'd imagine, if you stray off the footpaths. I'm still in the recovery stage from This months marathon, so an easy 3m run around the Serpentine and back to Bayswater was perfect. [about 3m - about 30mins]

[126 steps to the tube, perfect thigh warm up]

RUN 111 - Embankment, London

Running can be a solitary pensive time, even when running with a partner, which i haven't done in a while, i'm not much of a talker and just enjoy the company of someone who shares my passion. It occurs to me that your environment can be like a partner too, especially a lake like lake Michigan, and a river like the Thames. Running with the river, like the lake before, is a guiding comforting experience, a constant that stays with me on the journey, constantly changing, but always there. Sometimes my love of photographing the places I run can be a little consuming, and you never know what to expect ... today, i noticed a lady on the South Bank that i recognised from a TV documentary i'd recently seen... the Worlds most pierced woman! [about 5m - about 45mins]

[Skateboard Paradise on the South Bank]

RUN 110 - Streatham, London

I'm in London again this week, i forgot to bring my Garmin & Road ID with me, i don't know how far or fast i'm going and if i get hit by a car no-one will know who i am!... more likely i'll be mauled by a dog though. I like dogs, they like me too, they especially like to chase me. My next Trail Marathon in Portland, England is in 6 weeks, i've planned out my training and am excited to see how i'll do at this next event, now that i have a time from my previous race to work towards. I need more extreme cross country training, but its not really possible where im living and travelling to. More repeats will help, i'd love to do another stair climb but i haven't found any in the UK. Unless i move to Wales Cornwall or Yorkshire im not going to be able to train over similar terrain, although i could plan some days out to the Breacon Beacons perhaps, take my wife and i'll go run for a few hours, then have lunch together when im done... otherwise i'll keep running. [about 3m - about 28mins]

[Streatham, Tooting Bec Common]

RUN 109 - Brook Way, Bradley Stoke

It's been a week since my first trail marathon, while the race itself was amazingly difficult my recovery has been really good. I've had no aches pains or stiffness and after a day or so felt completely recovered, I took the week off running just to be sure and today I felt great, I need to figure out a training schedule for the next Marathon in only 6 weeks, my cardio and endurance levels were quite good, I need to build muscle in my quads and calves to cope better with the hills and climbing. [2.05m - 17:46 - 8:47/m]

RUN 108 - The Gower, CTS Stage 2

Today is the proudest and most painful day of my running endeavours since it all began 3 years ago. I completed the Endurancelife Coastal Trail Series Stage 2 in The Gower, a designated area of "Outstanding Natural Beauty" I don't care about the time, I wasn't last and I finished without injury which is brilliant! I've never run in such constantly demanding challenging conditions or terrain, but being able to rely on the never ending support of my wife family, and fellow runners is a constant to running events worldwide. Whether it's telling me at mile 17 that I look great and that they believe in me (even if I've just run 2 miles across sand into a biting cold headwind and feel like death, and probably look awful) or a kind runner giving me a pain killer for the agonizing inner quad pain that's been crippling me from miles 18 to 22. Runners are awesome people! And so is my wife and family! Pushing through stomach cramps from miles 23 to 26 I started to get my legs back and feel some energy, which I needed to ascend, traverse and descend the annoyingly located 800ft high Rossilli hill right at the 27 mile mark through to the finish. The resent and sprint for the line were exhilarating, conditions underfoot worse than ever, surface water, mud to my shins, 5 kinds of animal poo not to mention more rocks! Sprinting to the finish to my ever patient wife and parents, I'd made it across beaches, rivers, pebbles, rocks, thick mud, forests, sand dunes, constant undulation and brutal hills. The event was perfectly organised and flawless! and I met a bunch of brilliant people crazier than me! Can't wait for the next one at the end if January! [28m - 06:01:46 - 12:55.2/m]