Category: Running

An ordinary person, doing something extraordinary

Post author By Ray Poynter
Post date April 27, 2022
2 Comments on An ordinary person, doing something extraordinary

A few days ago I ran 270KM (168 miles) in just under 3 days. I consider that extraordinary – but I don’t consider myself extraordinary. Here is a post about what I did, and what I learned about ordinary people and extraordinary goals.

The event was the inaugural running of the Pennine Bridleway Trail Challenge (you can read about next year’s race here). Because it was the inaugural race and because of a few dropouts, we started the race with seven competitors. The start was at Middleton Top in Derbyshire, which is the start of the Pennine Bridleway. (In the UK, a bridleway is a route that is permitted for people, cycles, and horses.)

Running

Britain’s Most Brutal Sprint Race

Post author By Ray Poynter
Post date January 20, 2022
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This post is about taking part in the 2022 Montane Spine Sprint Race.

If you already know about the Spine Race, you can skip this paragraph. The Spine Race is held twice a year (January and June) and currently comes in four versions. The full race is 268 miles (about 431KM) along the Pennine Way, from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm in Scotland. The runners do their own navigation, the route is a hiking path (with some scrambling) and is hilly. In the Winter the runners have seven days to complete the course, this drops to six-and-a-half days in the Summer. There are also: the Challenger Race (108 miles/ 174KM) which I ran last Summer, the Challenger North Race (160 miles / 257 KM) and the ‘Sprint’ which is ‘just’ 46 miles (74 KM). The winter version of the Spine Race is referred to as ‘Britain’s most brutal race’.

Tags Running, Spine

Running

Today is my comma day!

Among people who have a running streak, your comma day is when you have run everyday for 1,000 days. For me, that was today.

My current streak (there have been other, shorter, steaks before) started on 31 December 2018. During the last 1000 days I have run every day, always 2 kilometres or more. My total distance over the 1000 days is 9,692km (6,022 miles), that is an average of 9.7km a day (or 6 miles a day). The longest single run was 108 miles in Junes of this year (but that took 38 hours, so it was two days’ worth of running).

Tags Running, streak

Running

108 Miles of the Spine Challenger Race in 38 Hours

Post author By Ray Poynter
Post date July 9, 2021
No Comments on 108 Miles of the Spine Challenger Race in 38 Hours

On Saturday, 19 June, at 7:30 in the morning I set off as a participant in a 108 mile (174 km). race along the Pennine Way. 38 and a bit hours later I finished the race, at 9:42pm on Sunday. I ran it slightly slower than I had hoped, but I was very pleased to finish 26th out of 111 runners. Here are some of the highs, lows, and whys about that race – and my target for next year.

But, first things first, I dedicated this run to raising money for my favourite charity, CoppaFeel!, raising awareness of breast cancer amongst young women in the UK. So far, thank

Tags Running

Running

My first 100KM Run

Last Saturday (May 25, 2013) I took part in my first 100KM race (the London to Brighton Challenge), raising money for the breast awareness charity CoppaFeel! (more on the charity later, but you can donate via my JustGiving page). Last summer I walked 100KM in the Oxfam Trailwalk and I ran in an 80KM race […]

Tags Running

Australia Running

Australia’s Toughest Marathon?

Post author By Ray Poynter
Post date May 3, 2013
No Comments on Australia’s Toughest Marathon?

At the end of May I am running a 100KM race, the London to Brighton Challenge (to raise money for the CoppaFeel breast cancer awareness charity), if you’d like to sponsor me, please visit my JustGiving page. Although I have run an 80KM race before, this will be my first 100KM, and it requires a fair bit of training and ideally mini-goals along the way. One of my challenges, in terms of my training schedule, was that April was a heavy travel month for me, with conferences and meetings in Vietnam, Japan, and Australia – so I was on the lookout for a goal in Australia to add focus to my training.

Tags Marathon, Mount Mee, Running

Charity Running

Running 100K and hoping to raise £1000 for charity

Post author By Ray Poynter
Post date March 7, 2013
No Comments on Running 100K and hoping to raise £1000 for charity

On May 25th I am aiming to raise money for a great breast cancer awareness charity called CoppaFeel by running 100KM (about 62.5 miles) from London to Brighton, in under 15 hours, as part of the London to Brighton Challenge.

Running

Running the Saints Way for Coppafeel

Post author By Ray Poynter
Post date August 3, 2011
No Comments on Running the Saints Way for Coppafeel

Every year I like to set myself a physical challenge and I like to utilise that challenge to raise money for charity. This year I am going to run the Saints Ways in Cornwall, from Padstow on the North coast of Cornwall to Fowey on the South Coast. We are still tweaking the route but it is likely to be just under 30 miles (about 48 KM).