Seeking asylum in the hills & transcendence on the trails

Latest

UTMB 2014 – heartache and pain

Hi guys, UTMB 2014 was a painful one for me in more ways than one. Loads of you tuned in, wished me luck, tweeted etc and I feel like I’ve let a lot of people down. I’m sorry for that. Anyway, here’s the truth of it. Make up your own mind.

On the first climb of the race the nagging doubts in my head were confirmed. I was tired and my legs were empty. No real strength or response to my demands. I knew then for sure I hadn’t really recovered from the most stressful and busy period of my life at work. Since the WHW race towards the end of June my work at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games went into overdrive. It was all-consuming. I was still determined to train and I made the necessary sacrifices (mostly sleep), squeezing in runs at crazy times (morning marathons at 4am etc) whenever I could. As the Games got closer I was lucky to have any time at all and Games Time itself was almost a complete write off other than the few hours off we got each week (when the last thing you wanted to do was run). By early august I was exhausted and undertrained. I just hoped I’d have enough in the tank and maybe the lack of training might somehow work in my favour. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  August 31, 2014 | Categories: Alps, Mont Blanc, Offroad, Paul Giblin, UTMB | Tags: , , , | 12 Comments

West Highland Way Race – 2014 (report)

I’ll keep it brief, since it’s been a while since the race.

This time it felt different. Circumstances meant I couldn’t focus so much on the race due to work, certainly not at the same level as the year before. That said, when I could finally confirm I was doing it (last minute) I had trained well and was feeling strong.

Chat before the race was all about Robbie Britton – ‘2013 Ultra-runner of the Year’ in the @ukrunrambles initiative. He’d be fast. He’d run the first sections at record pace and I’d never be able to stick with him. In truth I was happy to hear those statements and to get the chance to see up-close what the hype was all about. Talent and potential don’t account for everything that’s needed in a 100 mile race and where I may be lacking in those I make up in other ways. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  August 18, 2014 | Categories: HoneyStinger, Nathan, Osmo, Paul Giblin, Running, Team Nathan, Trail, Ultra, Ultra distance, ultramarathon, West Highland Way, West Highland Way, WHW | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

British 100K Championships / Anglo Celtic Plate (race review)

I’ll keep it brief.

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be racing for my country at the Anglo Celtic Plate 100K and British National Championships in Gravesend.

The 100K road race is a funny one on today’s ultra scene but if you look into the history books (or speak to the human athletics wikipedia A. Stott) it’s a bit of a legendary format – the longest distance road race recognised by British Athletics (sadly). It’s far from my normal cup of tea and if I’m honest I didn’t feel hugely excited about the thought of nearly 50 laps on a 2K tarmac loop coming off the back of an amazing week in the Alps at the Runners Refuge (blog to follow). Don’t get me wrong – it was an honour to represent my country and I wasn’t going to go at it half-heartedly.

Posted by  |  May 7, 2014 | Categories: 2014, Anglo Celtic Plate, Bare-x, Barefoot, British 100K Championships, HoneyStinger, Osmo, Results, Running, Team Nathan, Team Scotland, Ultra, Ultra distance, ultramarathon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

UTMB – 2013 (Race review)

Yep, I know. The race was the end of August. But time has just flown past with training, racing and work. So here it is – some words about UTMB 2013.

For anyone who doesn’t know anything about the race it’s probably the premier mountain ultra in the world. Certainly Europe’s most prestigious. All the best ultra-runners normally attend and this year was no different. UTMB is made up of 4 x separate races, 3 of which are solo events: The CCC (just over 50 miles), the TDS (just over 70 miles) and UTMB (just over 100 miles). No fun-runs or relays here. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  February 16, 2014 | Categories: 2013, Alps, Mont Blanc, Paul Giblin, Running, Team Nathan, Ultra, Ultra distance, UTMB | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Altra Zero Drop – Lone Peak 1.5 (review)

Kit Review

So, the dark nights are actually drawing in. Scrap that. They’ve already drawn in. It’ll be dark, cold and wet runs for the foreseeable future. Not all doom and gloom though, it’s a chance to dig out those merino baselayers, re-proof the gore-tex and get muddy / snowy. Maybe even squeeze in some time to write up some kit reviews! So, let’s start with some footwear.

Altra have recently launched their zero drop shoes in the UK. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  December 4, 2013 | Categories: Altra, Gear, Lone Peak, Review, Running, Running shoes, Trail, Ultra, Zero drop | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

24-hour ultra support – the real hard work

NicolaYou asked…..so here it is. The view from the support team on what turned out to be one of the toughest races of my year. In her own words….my sister, Nicola (Vadar). Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  November 20, 2013 | Categories: Race, Running, Support, Team Nathan, Thunder Run 24, Ultra, Ultra distance | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Winter WHW trial (08.11.2013)

On Friday I set out on a challenge that was never really meant to be. I had other plans that had been scuppered by circumstances and bad timing’s (a recurring theme for me of late). So rather than do nothing and waste the ambition I decided on a double WHW. Yep, I know, off-the-cuff like that doesn’t quite give that particular challenge enough respect. A fair accusation I guess, but I do know what’s involved in a WHW both in summer and in winter. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  November 15, 2013 | Categories: 2013, Nathan, Offroad, Paul Giblin, Running, Snow, Team Nathan, Training, Ultra, Ultra distance, ultramarathon, Uncategorized, West Highland Way, West Highland Way, WHW | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Thunder Run 24 – race report (July 2013)

Ok, so I can finally talk about the worst race of my life.

Yep, the Thunder Run 24.

I was actually pretty excited about it as things had been going well after wins at the Kintyre Way and West Highland Way races. This was to be my first ever 24 hour race. I’d really wanted to run the Glenmore 24 the previous year but it clashed with UTMB.

The Thunder Run is an off-road 10K loop with around 150m of ascent per lap. The start / finish area was in the middle of some fields with runners and support crews all camping on-site. When we arrived it felt a lot like a festival without the booze and music. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  October 23, 2013 | Categories: 2013, Feetures, Nathan, Paul Giblin, Team Nathan, Thunder Run 24, Ultra distance, ultramarathon | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

West Highland Way 2013 – race report

Photo courtesy of Thomas Loehndorf

There are loads of great blogs written already about this year’s race and hundreds more from earlier races so rather than cover most of the same I thought I’d be better just trying to answer the actual questions I’ve been asked most often since I made it to Fort William……..and…….won the WHW race (still feel slightly awkward saying that). The other bit is even more awkward! Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  August 7, 2013 | Categories: 2013, Clif bar, Endurance, Nathan, Paul Giblin, Race, Running, Ultra, Ultra distance, ultramarathon, West Highland Way, West Highland Way race, WHW | Tags: , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Part 3 – Kintyre Way Ultra 2013)

The final part! ‘At last’ I hear you say.

The Kintyre Way was 2 weeks after the Fling and I was really keen to do it after the disappointing performance. It was pretty tight in terms of recovery but I felt that a 67 mile run along some trails with some new scenery was probably the best tonic and would also provide a decent gauge on potential performance for the West Highland Way race  June 22nd.

This was the first time I’d done the race so was excited at the prospect of some new running routes. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by  |  June 17, 2013 | Categories: 2013, Kintyre Way, Paul Giblin, Race, Results, Ultra, Ultra distance | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment