Month: Jul 2025

The Heat Is On

I should be able to publish my second book in August and my third book is underway, but I have another challenge in one weeks time. After six months of various injuries I have missed so many runs. This affects my writing because a lot of planning is done on long runs. Now I’m back, I managed to secure a place on the Yorkshire Wolds Ultra. It’s a 55k race with 4,100 feet of elevation. So, a little recce was required. The Millington Loop is only 34k with 3,000 feet elevation, but it gave me chance to assess fitness, the views from the top of the Yorkshire Wolds are lovely, and in 27 degrees of sunshine it was a warm one.

Needless to say five hours out in the middle of nowhere, on your own, certainly gives you time to think. I killed a character off and then resurrected them, changed the plot completely, reintroduced an old character, and decided on an ending for the next book 😂 I guess it’s a little like therapy, but on the move and without a therapist, haha. My wife has told me I could benefit from therapy, but never to do it. She feels I may leave the practitioner with some form of traumatic disorder 🤷

Five hours was a bit slow, but that’s what happens when you stop to take photos and admire the view. I thought the circles at Thixendale were a mystical, archaeological site dating back thousands of years. But they were created by the artist Chris Drury in 2011. Oh well, I didn’t waste too much time praying to the long lost God’s of my ancestors 😉

So, if you do ever feel a little down, I can suggest getting out into the countryside, wherever you live. Run, walk, crawl, if need be. But in comparison to concrete, tarmac and the facilitation of life, it’ll certainly help.

Happy trails, folks x

Whitby Wanderings

I was supposed to be running a 74k Race on Saturday 5th July, but missed the deadline for entry. It was at that point my wife asked what we were doing for our wedding anniversary? Ooops. I quickly booked a hotel Dunsley Hall just outside the seaside resort of Whitby. I thought a few hikes (which means I get to think about my own book), some good food and maybe a glass of wine or two, would get me some brownie points.

You may not have heard of Whitby, but you will have heard of Dracula. Whitby is most famous for, apparently, Count Dracula, Captain James Cook, and Jet Jewellery. Personally I think the stunning scenery, the Abbey, the fab hikes, and the Fish and Chips outweigh the other three.

What about Dracula, or should I say Bram Stoker? Good old Bram stayed in Whitby in 1890 and I guess he was rather struck by the Abbey and the graveyard. He’d read about Vlad The Impaler and six years later his book was finished. In the book there is a ship wreck and Count Dracula comes ashore at Whitby disguised as a dog, well you would wouldn’t you? The rest is history.

There isn’t much to say about the other two, unless you are a Captain James Cook fan or a lover of black jewellery. Capt., Cook went to Whitby to sign on to a boat when he was 17 and Jet is a black gem stone. So, moving onto the hikes. I love running, but you know that. I also quite like a hike. So this is what trundling around in the Whitby countryside looks like 😉

Happy Trails, folks x