Matt Gets Running

Thank you, every­one who sponsored me for the Bris­tol Half Mara­thon. My com­pany were kind enough to match all the dona­tions, too. So, work­ing it out, with the dona­tions, the match­ing, the gift aid, and the small fee Just Giv­ing take, I think I raised £272.50 for St. Peter’s Hos­pice, which is bril­liant. Due to […]

Yup! Another day, another medal. I’m get­ting quite a col­lec­tion now! I enjoyed the Bris­tol Half Mara­thon on Sunday, des­pite hav­ing had some reser­va­tions about my weight and the amount of train­ing I’d been doing. I didn’t think I stood much chance of beat­ing my per­sonal best from the Bath Half. At least I arrived relaxed and […]

Yes, the race pack has arrived With two half-marathons under my belt now, I feel fairly con­fid­ent about this Sunday’s Bris­tol Half, des­pite the fact that the belt in ques­tion has had to expand by a notch or two in the last few months. A hol­i­day in the Lake Dis­trict actu­ally saw me lose a […]

Just like to say a big “thank you” to my spon­sors for the Bris­tol 10K! In total, I raised £135. That’s matched by my com­pany to make £270, and count­ing the gift aid we’re at £301.03 for Saint Peter’s Hos­pice. That’s a fab res­ult, so thanks, all! I’d ima­gine I won’t be shak­ing my virtual […]

The Bris­tol 10K was my first race, this time last year. It’s a good, fun race, with a whole lot of people — 9,000 fin­ished this year — and it’s right on my door­step. It only takes me twenty minutes to get to the start line, and then we run right back past my flat […]

It has not been a bril­liant run-up to the Bris­tol 10K. I feel pretty good, mind you, and I’m sure there’ll be no prob­lem doing it. But I’d had hopes of los­ing more weight (I’ve plat­eaued since I was ill a few weeks ago. I’m well now, just not back on the wagon.) And I […]

A very heart­felt thanks to every­one who sponsored my Bath Half run. The RNLI are a great cause, and they need all the dona­tions they can get. All in all, you donated £120 at my Just Giv­ing page. My employer kindly matched those dona­tions, and with that, plus the Gift Aid that can be claimed back from […]

I’m sit­ting in a café writ­ing this blog entry, look­ing smugly out at the weather I would have been slog­ging wetly through if I’d gone out for my nor­mal Sunday run. It’s a typ­ic­ally Brit­ish Spring selec­tion of ran­dom sun­shine, showers and hail out there, rotat­ing about every five minutes. Nice. Luck­ily, I took a […]

From recent exper­i­ence, here are a few tips on how not to train for a half mara­thon: Pick a half-marathon that’s run at the begin­ning of March. This makes sure you have to keep train­ing through the freez­ing, dark winter months. The Bath Half Mara­thon is an ideal choice. Pick an over-ambitious train­ing plan that […]

Although this was only meant to be a 2K fun-run, actu­ally get­ting to the start line felt more like a mara­thon. But finally, after find­ing a suit that actu­ally fit me, and after the first attempt was called off due to ice, the Bris­tol Santas on the Run race for Children’s Hos­pice South West went […]