Training, strength, endurance, nutrition, and what breaks.
I’m sixty-nine. Two marathons in twelve months at sixty-eight, and now a barbell instead — 143kg off the floor by December, which is a serious number for a man my age, and one I might not get. The point isn’t the events. The point is arriving at eighty still able to pick heavy things up.
I’m not an athlete. I was distinctly average at sport as a boy and I’m a distinctly average athlete now, carrying twenty-seven fractures, two arthritic knees and a shoulder that won’t rotate. What I have is consistency: fifteen years of training, on average, every other day.
I spent nearly thirty years in sports nutrition, which means I read the research rather than the marketing, and I’ll tell you when the evidence is thin. Expect numbers, sources, and the sessions that go wrong as well as the ones that don’t.
New Month, New Sport, New Goals A month ago I ran the London Marathon. Didn’t enjoy it; see my account here. That’s two major marathons inside twelve months: New York in November 2025, then my recent ramble around East London. Somewhere around mile sixteen of …
Tough Day In East London London Marathon was tough. I believe any endurance event decides what it gives you. London decided to give me a tough day. But if it was easy, what would be the point? Right? Pheidippides died at the end of his …
One Tough London Marathon Training Week There are weeks in marathon training when everything clicks. And then there are weeks like this one — when everything clicks, you hit your targets, and your body very politely tells you it has had quite enough, thank you. …
Back To The Grind It’s eight weeks to London Marathon. I don’t feel on track, although my fitness score on TrainingPeaks says I am. I haven’t posted here since before Christmas. That doesn’t mean I’ve been doing nothing, rather that I’ve been focused elsewhere—more of …
It Matters More With Each Year My 2026 goals: I’m raising the bar. Next year I turn sixty-nine, and instead of easing off, I’m deliberately making things harder. The plan is simple on paper: two major marathons, not one, and a clear step up in …
The Start Line When the cannon fired on Staten Island, I felt calm. That surprised me. Coming back from serious injuries, the months of training, the self-doubt all melted into one thought: just run your race. Remember, average is good. Ahead of me I could …
900 KMS NYC Marathon minus two weeks. I’m at the business end of my running adventure now. I’ve run 900 kms in training now, far enough to have left my front door, turned east and started running like Forrest Gump, and running through Calais, then …
I recently appeared on a podcast hosted by Coach Parry, a world-class coach who specialises in training over-50s runners. We discussed my training leading up to the New York Marathon. If you’re an older runner – and that can be any age from 50 onwards …
Enough Already New York Marathon – six weeks away. It’s been far too long coming. Tomorrow will see me go past the 800 kilometre training mark. I’ve plodded—and I mean plodded—through a 5km training plan, then 10km plan, then half-marathon plan, and I’m now on …
8 Weeks to the New York Marathon Eight weeks from today, I’ll be crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge out of Staten Island, headed for Manhattan. The New York Marathon will be my first marathon. My first at age 68. And one that’s been a long time …