27. Juli 2019

The staircase up Mount Everest, an office workout

No need to climb the ladders up Mount Everest if you have the staircase of an eleven-floor office block to scale. This staircase is going to replace the hill training for me in the months to come. Around 8890 meters over 2068 floors in 17 weeks. Let’s see how difficult that is.

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5. Februar 2019

Running the North Downs Way─XNRG Pilgrim's Challenge 2019

Postcard-Britain! The 66 mile race course took me from Farnham over the very pretty & snow-covered North Downs, until the snow subsided and was replaced by mud, past Box Hill until Redhill and back the next day. This post is about the madness that is required to enjoy such an adventure, and the odd things that you might encounter.

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16. Dezember 2018

Runsightseeing: Thirteen London parks in a day

London has so many parks. Today, I managed to run and visit thirteen of them on an extended sightseeing trip, discovering various artwork while doing so, and passing through many different neighbourhoods. I failed to complete the XNRG Santa Virtual Ultra Challenge, but I regret nothing.

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26. November 2018

Running the Ridgeway─Druid's Challenge 2018

A comeback to the world of ultra-running. This time, I ran (and walked) the Ridgeway from Tring to Swindon in three days as part of the XNRG Druid’s Challenge.

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7. Mai 2018

Run to work—Notes on kilometer 124

In the last five weeks: 15 run-commutes completed, 124 kilometers logged, £43.50 saved on public transport. The trick? Always having my kit ready the night before.

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31. März 2018

Run to work, revisited

With my recent move to East London, running to work has become a topic again. Surprisingly as it may sound, getting the logistics right is the hardest part. Here is my plan on my comeback to run-commutes.

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26. November 2017

A Walk in The Woods: 2017 Edition of Wendover Woods 50

After having watched the second half of the film adaptation of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in The Woods, I can’t help but spot the remote similarities: an ambitious challenge, an uncompleted journey through the “woods”, and a literary attempt to explain the adventure. In my case, I gave up during a footrace of 50 miles and about 3000 m elevation gain, known in the runner’s world as Wendover Woods 50.

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8. Oktober 2017

Lakes in a Day: I've dunnit, finally

Finally my dream has come true, even though things were different than imagined: A race report of Lakes in a Day, traversing the Lake District in 50 miles with 4000 m ascent.

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2. Mai 2017

Running the XNRG South Downs Devil's Challenge 2017

It’s bank holiday weekend in the UK. What better thing to do than joining a bunch of nutters for a three-day foot race from Winchester to Eastbourne, covering 156 kilometers and many hills? I could not come up with a better idea, so here is how it went.

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15. April 2017

Garden of England: Running from Ashford to Canterbury

This Saturday, I decided to explore the North Downs Way between Wye and Canterbury. A trip report touching many things: navigating with phone and compass instead of maps, public footpaths and plough teeth, explosives and barbed wire, parking lots in unexpected places, and oceans of bluebells.

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15. Januar 2017

Country to Capital 2017: Resurrection

The annual Country to Capital race takes a few hundred enthusiasts from Wendover to London Paddington in what is said to be the opener of the ultra marathon season. There are stark contrasts between country and capital, and it was interesting to observe the gradual transition.

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27. November 2016

Wendover Woods 50: First Ultramarathon

November. Saturday. Dark, foggy, chilly. These were the conditions for around 200 loopy runners to set off on a loopy five-lap course through the small, pretty & hilly Wendover Woods. 50 miles later, and after arduous 3000m of ascent, I got a fairly thorough taster lesson in ultrarunning.

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4. September 2016

Enham Alamein: Andover Trail Marathon

This weekend, I traveled down south from London to participate in the newly setup Andover Trail Marathon. The start and finish was in Enham-Alamein. A place that caught my attention – El Alamein? Historical and personal battles.

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2. Juli 2016

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Giants Head Marathon

On the last weekend in June, I ran (and walked) the Giants Head Marathon in West Dorset. Well-organized, welcoming, laid-back, and not so simple to get to. Highly recommended.

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24. April 2016

To run or not to run – that is not the question

At the end of last year, I had decided to spend more time outside of London to discover the rest of the UK. In order to make that happen, I booked a few races in various parts of England. Today, on the weekend of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, this brought me to Stratford-upon-Avon.

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13. November 2015

Quantify this: Running

It’s easier than ever to track your mileage in running, cycling, and many other activities. But why would one do that? For the present self to celebrate past accomplishment?. Or to post it online here for promoting one’s virtual self? No. I want to track running mileage in order to adjust my course and correlate exercise with race performance.

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2. August 2015

Getting lost in a marathon: an extra mile for free

As if the race wasn’t long enough on its own, some runners did not pay enough attention and had to run the extra mile in the Vanguard Way Marathon, a nice and challenging race on scenic trails south of London. A humoristic take on how to get more out of the race than you paid for.

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16. Juli 2015

Run to work: Review of first year

Run to work statistics: 41 commutes, over 200 km distance covered, 17 hours spent on exercise, around GBP 86 saved on public transport, not so fresh air, and a ridiculous number of trolleys avoided by not having to go through one of London’s busiest train terminals.

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25. August 2014

Eastbourne via Beachy Head towards Seven Sisters

Spending a day at the Channel near Eastbourne, escaping to more scenic running routes than London can offer. Wind and rain. The weather forecast calls it “heavy drizzle”. Impressive.

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31. Juli 2014

Run to work: Review of first month

Time to have a look how my experiment worked out in the first month. Running to work has lived up to my expectations and has never yet failed to lift my spirits. There is room for improvement, but the 14 runs totalling in more than 70 km were worth every kilometer. Here are the few lessons learned.

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28. Juni 2014

It's a long road: Marathon through Hyde Park

How is it to run a marathon? Having asked me this question often enough, I decided to settle the matter and run laps in Hyde Park until I either give up or finish. No starter fees. Without time limit. Lessons learnt from a long journey.

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19. Juni 2014

Bike to work? Run to work.

It’s 5.5 kilometers for me to my workplace in London. I took my running shoes instead of public transport. And I will do this again. The idea is not new, though – and people are already shouting on the web for making running to work tax-deductible. But it’s not tax that matters. It’s trading commuting time against exercise.

29. September 2013

A runner's self-experiment: Lidingöloppet 2013

The annual racing series on Lidingö is extremely popular and was booked out way in advance this year. Out of curiosity (and because I succumbed to the excellent marketing), I took part amongst thousands of others in the 30km race on Lidingö. Here is a review of the event.

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