Category Archives: Fell running

VO2 Max and HR zone testing

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Last week I (Tim) went to get a VO2 max test on a treadmill. It involved running for a certain amount of time – well, technically til I fell off – at ever increasing speeds and inclines. I lasted all of 6 minutes before it all fell apart, which, apparently is about right. Anything over 7 minutes and you probably haven’t started fast enough, and anything under 5 minutes, you’ve probably overestimated your fitness. I quite like the scientific rigmarole of having a face mask and a Heart rate monitor, and lots of stats being pumped out of a computer…. … Continue reading →

Physician- Heal Thyself – a fairly long one – I must apologise.

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There is a lot of information out there about Janda’s “Lower Cross Syndrome” – It is characterised by anterior hip tilt and an increased lumbar lordosis. According to what you read, this may – or indeed, may not lead to lower back pain or other musculoskeletal problems. The fact that this syndrome led to pain was a fairly well accepted theory for many years and a lot of physiotherapy was focused on remedying this anterior hip tilt through the stretching of “tight” hip flexors and strengthening of the “weak” or “loose” core and somewhat amnesiac glutes. (How, exactly do glutes … Continue reading →

Hip flexor / adductor problem…?

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Last August I ran Cracken Edge Fell Race. On the way down the final hill into the finish, I really let go and hammered it as hard as I could. It felt amazing just to run that fast. However, that was the beginning of something that has plagued me for quite a while. The day after the race I woke up with a pain in my lower abs/upper leg, like a muscle strain, but not quite. It was difficult to sit up to get out of bed and I found myself rolling over to drop onto the floor as an … Continue reading →

DNS or DNF?

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Did Not Start or Did Not Finish? This is a question that I think about a fair amount in terms of runners and cyclists that have been injured. When you have a race coming up, get injured training for it, or just generally in the run up to the big event, what do you do? Try and fudge through – start and see what happens, gambling on finishing and potentially making things a lot worse, with more time off and rehab afterward, of taking a DNS on the chin and getting on with rehab and training? I’ve been there myself, … Continue reading →

Jasmin Paris – Paddy Buckley Support

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It was going to happen at some point this year. Jasmin had already smashed the records for the Bob Graham – which I had the pleasure of supporting – back in April. She went on to take the overall record for the Ramsay Round, won a couple of Extreme Skyraces, came 6th in the UTMB (Ultra Tour de Mont Blanc) and generally did more long, gnarly running than a lot of Fell runners do in a life time. The obvious hole in her 2016 Palmares was the Paddy Buckley Round, and when the email came asking if I’d help support, … Continue reading →

Jasmin Paris’ Record Breaking Bob Graham Round – Support

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It isn’t every day you get an email asking if you want to be involved in a “fast BG”, and when it did come through from Jasmin, my reply was “absolutely, no question…um… when you say fast… how fast exactly”? The Bob Graham can most easily be described as a Fellrunning challenge in which the runner must traverse 42 Lakeland peaks in 24 hours. About 67 miles of running, with nigh on 8000m of ascent. It is a pretty tough day out, and just by setting out you certainly are not guaranteed to be finishing it with in 24 hours. … Continue reading →