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I have been running for about two years now and have been running barefoot for the last seven months. I ran my first races in 2009 (Sussex Beacon half marathon and London marathon) raising money for Meningitis Research. I had several injury problems, particularly with my knees and decided to try barefoot running in July last year. Apart from a couple of minor problems with blisters and over training I have been injury free and even my long standing back problems have gone.
I do parkrun as often as I can and volunteer if I can. I ran the Brooks 10k in November, running the Sussex Beacon again this weekend and will be running the Brighton and London marathons a week apart in April completely barefoot and raise money for VICTA (Visually Impaired Children Taking Action).

Barefoot running won't be fun on Brighton's roads

I've had a few distractions in the last couple of weeks which have taken my attention away from running a bit. I got a second 20 miler in before I started tapering though, so I feel fairly well prepared.

Cheering on someone else for a change

Despite the fact that I completed a 20 mile run this weekend, I thought I'd dedicate this post to my friend Nessie (Jo), who this weekend became a victim of that little known crime, Running Identity Theft. It was Nessies birthday on Sunday (I won't say which one) and she had chosen to spend some of it running the Hastings Half marathon.

He's a rude runner, baby

Sometimes, runners can be really rude. It doesn't happen very often, but every now and then, another runner will annoy me to the point where I want to chase after them and telling them to get over themselves.

Not out of the running yet

I have spent the last couple of weeks going over my options. My painful foot has been making me wonder if I would even make the starting line of either marathon so I needed to figure out a plan of action.

Tattoos and races slow down training

I have had to rest up a bit after picking up some inflammation of the Anterior Tibialis tendon sheath (it runs from big toe to ankle, then up to the knee) in the Sussex Beacon half marathon last weekend so have mainly been working on the cross-trainer to keep my fitness up.

Running the Brighton Marathon barefoot

Having been running barefoot for the last seven months, on a whim I signed up for the Brighton Marathon, and then managed to secure a place in the London Marathon through the charity VICTA.