Recent Posts

• Week 64 – Days 445–451 – Running buddy for Marathon 127 in Laos, Dani joins Andy and I for (10km of) Marathon 128 in Taiwan, lots of bridges for Marathon 129 in South Korea -   Day 445 – Myanmar 🇲🇲 to Laos 🇱🇦 via Thailand A simple travel day today, taking me up to 219 flights. I mentioned yesterday I’d update you all on my three sections of kit and gear I carry with me. Maybe some of you will find it useful. You can see a full list […]
• Week 63 – Days 438–444 – Marathon 125 in the heat of Thailand, followed by sightseeing and more heat, and dust, for Marathon 126 in Myanmar - Day 438 – Angkor Wat, Cambodia 🇰🇭 to Phuket, Thailand 🇹🇭 My 125th country of the expedition, and I’m already plodding through my fifth continent nicely. The end is in sight – still a long way off, but I can feel it coming. Even with over 200 days still to go, I’m sadly now closer […]
• Week 62 – Days 431–437 – Lakeland run for Marathon 123 in Vietnam, running past temples for Marathon 124 in Cambodia - Day 431 – Hanoi, Vietnam 🇻🇳, Marathon 123 The warm red colours of the sun touched only the tips of the buildings across the city in the early hours of the morning. Motorbike horns beeping, street traders hustling, and the city had woken up once more. After a very attentive breakfast service with stunning views […]
• Week 61 – Days 424–430 – a thunderstorm during Marathon 121 in Hong Kong, Petronas Towers for Marathon 122 in Kuala Lumpur, ending the week in Hanoi, Vietnam - Day 424 – Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵 to Hong Kong 🇭🇰, China 🇨🇳 I had a little insight into the crazy world of Tokyo, just 72 hours-ish – a real whirlwind. A city of 10 million people, and yet all I saw were smiles, friendly gestures and kindness. It’s a place I will certainly return to. […]
• Week 60 – Days 417–423 – Blistering hot Marathon 118 in Brunei, the smells of Marathon 119 in Manila and a runner’s paradise in Tokyo for Marathon 120 - Day 417 – Brunei 🇧🇳, Marathon 118 35°C in the shade, and 5 litres of water. From horizontal to vertical was a challenge this morning. The sun was rising slowly and the temperature with it. It may have been 35°C in the shade, but I wasn’t in the blooming shade. I waited for a while […]
• Week 59 – Days 410–416 – Catching up in the UK before Marathon 117 in Singapore and back to the heat - Day 410 – United Kingdom @prostatecanceruk needs your help! 1️. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. 2️. Over 400,000 men are living with and after the disease in the UK. 3️. Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer – that’s more than 11,500 men every year. If you’re male, over […]
• Week 58 – Days 403–409 – A fabulous market in Tbilisi for Marathon 115, bonus Marathon 116 in Armenia then home for a few days - Day 403 – Tbilisi, Georgia 🇬🇪 Marathon 115 My favourite market… Thanks to the wonders of jet lag, my body was extra less keen to fall out of bed this morning. The city of Tbilisi is small, mountainous and bustling. As with most great cities, a river runs through the centre, providing both trade and […]
• Week 57 – Days 395–402 – Double support for Marathon 112 in Slovenia, 30-mile Marathon 113 in Kosovo and Marathon 114 in Macedonia - Day 395 – Ljubljana, Slovenia 🇸🇮 Marathon 112 I met the President of Slovenia today, the brilliant Mr Borut Pahor. As I drew back the curtains of my huge suite in my glorious hotel, the warm light hit my face, my pupils reacting slowly to the sun – BLUE SKY. For the first time in […]
• Week 56 – Days 388–394 – Early-doors Marathon 108 in Bosnia, slushy Marathon 109 in Serbia, wet Marathon 110 in Montenegro and a back-to-back Marathon 111 in Albania - Day 388 – Sarajevo, Bosnia, Marathon 108 People are what make this world great. Yes, there are a few anomalies, but on the whole, the human race means well, most of the time. And the people I met this morning were an exceptional bunch. Wet, cold, slushy, slippery, windy at times – today’s run had […]
• Week 55 – Days 381–387 – On the road again, Marathon 106 in Sofia, Marathon 107 in Istanbul and on to Sarajevo - Day 381 – Birmingham to Cranborne, UK Today was once again a day of unpacking, washing, sorting, charging everything, backing stuff up, getting my head around the next three months of travel logistics, and repacking. Thanks to my mum and dad for continually supporting my journey and for helping the team and myself to get […]
• Week 54 – Days 374–380 – From Oman to Jordan and hard grit in Marathon 105, back in time for the National Running Show in the UK - Day 374 – Muscat, Oman The Grand Mosque, mountains, new friends, the National Museum, parliament, the beach, an opera house, a great viewpoint, sitting on the floor, and a beige banquet of local food – so that’s pretty much my day. Oman is beautiful and the people are so friendly. The buildings are no more […]
• Week 53 – Days 367–373 – Hot Marathon 102 in Bahrain, friends and a family for Marathon 103 in UAE and a beach run for Marathon 104 in Oman - Day 367 – Islamabad, Pakistan In 11 days’ time I am flying back from Jordan especially to speak at the National Running Show on the afternoon of Saturday 19th January. If you want to hear some tales of my journey so far, then pop along. There’ll be tons of great brands and speakers, and the […]
• Week 52 – Days 360–366 – New Year with friends before Marathon 101 in rainy Islamabad, Pakistan - Day 360 – United Kingdom Watch out for a stats update in the next few days… The last day of the year… and what a year! I’ve already thanked all the brilliant people who have supported this year… if you are one of them, please know that I’m so very grateful for all your support. […]
• Week 51 – Days 353–359 – R’n’R days in the UK, Christmas, Cornwall and reflecting - Day 353 – United Kingdom Christmas Eve. Today was spent on an all-out attack on the admin of life – washing, tidying, sorting, charging, stacking, backing up, writing, and generally sorting my immediate surroundings in order to begin the next cycle of prep for the final half of this expedition. As it’s Christmas it got […]
• Week 49 – Days 339–345 – Empty cycle path in Minsk for Marathon 96, sheet ice for Marathon 97 in Kiev and filling up on fast food after Marathon 98 in Chișinău - Day 339 – Vilnius, Lithuania Cabin in the woods, a frozen lake, icy roads and a crackling fire. I’ve always wanted to build a cabin in the woods, sit by a crackling fire and basically do nothing; just sit, think and write after a long run in the snow. No people, no traffic and no […]
• Week 45 – Days 311–317 – A mountainous Marathon 85 in Zürich, Marathon 86 in Liechtenstein and a full day in Luxembourg, including Marathon 87 - Day 311 –Zürich, Switzerland, Marathon 85 of 196 Marathon 85 is done, and in the company of super-lovely people in glorious sunshine. I couldn’t have asked for more today. The deep reds, oranges and yellows covered the landscape ahead, behind and above us as we twisted through the hills to the summit. Reaching the top […]
• Week 44 – Days 304–310 – A day in Paris, visas in London, a day and a night in Toulouse, back to London, ending in Zürich, ready for Marathon 85 - Day 304 – New York, USA to Paris, France In yesterday’s post I said goodnight after boarding my flight from JFK to Paris. It was a long day – and today has turned out rather similar. After a cramped and pretty cold flight I landed safely at Charles de Gaulle airport at 7am this morning. […]
• Week 43 – Days 297–303 – Cold and wet for Marathon 84 in the Netherlands, Halloween in the Big Apple followed by the New York Marathon, with 50,000+ - Day 297 – Amsterdam, the Netherlands The cold front, uh oh. Most of today I was sat with my hands wrapped around my mug of hot chocolate, sat in a beautiful cafe by the canal, in Cafe de Jaren. A scrummy tomato soup, fresh ciabatta with salted butter, plus ham and eggs, Holland style. I […]
• Week 41 – Days 283–289 – Jet lag, gossip during Marathon 80 in Dublin with the ladies (and Mark), before a quick pit stop in the UK - Day 283 – Las Vegas, USA to Dublin, Ireland So today ended mid-air. Always very confusing for me when I land on a different day to when I began. I eventually managed to pack my bags, shower and head out of the hotel at about 9 this morning. Without the bellboy to help, I would […]
• Week 39 – Days 268-275 – Wintery weather in Iceland and a cold Marathon 79, sight-seeing in the windy city before the Chicago Marathon and a sub-3 - Day 268 – UK to Iceland Travellers, runners, adventurers… don’t you just love that feeling of waking up in your own bed and by the time the day is coming to a close you’re falling asleep in a different bed, in a different country, having filled the day with stuff you love? There’s something about […]