The Inside Track

I am an ex Rosyth Dockyard - Constructive Apprentice in Fabrication, Welding and Shipbuilding. I am currently an Engineering Manager for Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) supporting the Royal Navy.

I’ve been a member since February 2018 - despite recently saying on a Sunday Social run I joined Feb 19 - time certainly does fly when you’re having fun.

It has to be how accessible it is. You don’t need any expensive kit or equipment (although everyone likes a decent gadget and fancy pair of trainers). You can travel light and set off for run anywhere. Even when travelling on business you can easily go for a run once at your destination, which is especially great after a long flight. You get to see things you probably would have missed if you didn’t go exploring.

Walking (and CaniX’ing with) our Border Terrier – Dave. Planning where to parkrun on Saturdays has become a bit of an obsession – we are ticking off the (unofficial) running challenges as it adds a lot of fun into parkrun. Looking for excuses not to get on with the DIY in our new house is an art form I have currently mastered. Ruth may start clamping down if she reads this though.

I like all cuisines but my favourites generally all have bold and spicy flavours. I am trying more Japanese dishes at the moment and love their Soba noodles.

Having only recently become more dedicated to running (cycling was previously my main sport) I am still trying a lot of races out to be honest. I prefer 6 to 10 miles off-road races so I will say the Sodbury Slog. I really enjoyed it this year and out performed what I thought I could do This gave me a huge boost in confidence having been struggling with injuries earlier in the year.

I’ll go with Pomphrey Hill Pavilion having turned up 111 times (at time of writing) for parkrun there. It has a great atmosphere that is inclusive to all. It is one of the main reasons I kept running, when I was mainly cycling, and has allowed me to view my improvement over the past 6 years. I was tempted to say a beach on Barbados but 20 metres with a belly full of rum probably doesn’t count.

I think a parkrun in Japan would be epic. If there was an actual race on at the time of travel, it would definitely be on the cards.

Test thy mettle