Jess Guth drjessguth - Bluesky Statics

Feeling seen, feeling the history and feeling the possibilities I have lost count of the number of Law Schools I have walked into over the years. I have obviously studied in and worked at several. I have visited many many more. But I can count the number of Law Schools I have walked into where the walls have been dominated by portraits or photos of women. Until earlier this month that number was precisely zero. One of my more famous (read public) tantrums came in one of my previous roles where, in a staff meeting, we had agreed that we should brighten up the hallways in the Law School with some law relevant pictures.

Here is Blog number 2 of my 'Jess gets stuff out of her brain to create headspace' series.

21.02.2026 19:31 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Student outreach work – why bother? I have got a few things I want to catch up on - and you'll be pleased to know it is not another Heated Rivalry post (I do mention it though). It feels like I spent most of January asleep and most of February trying to wake up and catch up. I have not caught up, of course I haven't. If I could actually catch up, that would suggest I don't have a full time job... anyway. In the middle of my flu sickness absence, just as the coughing and snot production switched into crippling fatigue and stomach issues, I had a couple of days of almost coherence.

Student outreach work – why bother?

I have got a few things I want to catch up on - and you'll be pleased to know it is not another Heated Rivalry post (I do mention it though). It feels like I spent most of January asleep and most of February trying to wake up and catch up. I have not caught up,…

21.02.2026 16:59 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Heated Rivalry: What if nobody knows you are their person? I was going to stay away from writing more about Heated Rivalry. Let's be honest, the internet - and social media in particular - is full of Heated Rivalry analysis. I haven't properly read any of it. I have scanned some and some pops up on on my feeds and I note it as I scroll through. Some of it seems like good analysis raising interesting points, some of it seems completely unhinged and some if it so sort of dumb that I wondered whether the authors watched the series with the volume turned right down and their eyes closed.

Heated Rivalry: What if nobody knows you are their person?

I was going to stay away from writing more about Heated Rivalry. Let's be honest, the internet - and social media in particular - is full of Heated Rivalry analysis. I haven't properly read any of it. I have scanned some and some pops up…

10.02.2026 21:29 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Having Flu, The Spine Race, and Heated Rivalry Not really a running or a work post so I didn't know what to do with it. Just roll with it, I am.I have had a really weird week and a bit. I have been knocked out with flu so maybe my brain has just gone to mush. I have been trying to think about writing. I have been trying to think about work stuff. But I have been distracted by chaos in the world, by the scary geo-political shit we’re in the middle of. I have also been distracted by the state of Higher Education and legal education.

I didn't know where or if to post this at all but here you are anyway.

18.01.2026 20:53 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Having Flu, The Spine Race, and Heated Rivalry Not really a running or a work post so I didn't know what to do with it. Just roll with it, I am. I have had a really weird week and a bit. I have been knocked out with flu so maybe my brain has just gone to mush. I have been trying to think about writing. I have been trying to think about work stuff. But I have been distracted by chaos in the world, by the scary geo-political shit we’re in the middle of. I have also been distracted by the state of Higher Education and legal education.

I didn't know where or if to post this at all but here you are anyway.

18.01.2026 20:53 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Happy 10 Year Dopey anniversary 10 Years ago today I ran my first marathon. And my first marathon was part of my first Dopey Challenge. 10 Years. The world has changed. I have changed. And yet it also seems like yesterday. I had a much longer blogpost in draft. I was trying to make sense of the last 10 years plus of running and what I have learned. But I couldn't quite get the words right. I am not sure I am quite clear on what it is I wanted to say. Or maybe it's my flu-fogged brain.

10 years since my first marathon! Feels like I should have something profound to say - but I don't. But I have flu so maybe it'll come.

10.01.2026 18:14 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Feeling Good. The bed was warm and cosy this morning. I wasn't really quite ready to wake up fully and start the day and taking coffee back to bed and curling up with my book was very tempting. But I can curl up and read at any time, the chances of me getting out and running diminish with every extra minute spent in bed. And I did sort of want to run. I wanted to finish the week on a high and have done my three runs this week. I am also not at all sure about what the weather is going to do over the next week and if it gets snowy/icy, I won't run.

Feeling Good.

The bed was warm and cosy this morning. I wasn't really quite ready to wake up fully and start the day and taking coffee back to bed and curling up with my book was very tempting. But I can curl up and read at any time, the chances of me getting out and running diminish with every…

04.01.2026 18:25 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Do what you can, when you can Well, Christmas is safely packed away in the loft. According to my fitness watch I both finished 2025 and started 2026 strong. Actually, I did no such thing. I finished work on the 19th December, I had a pretty quiet time but it has really taken me until now to feel even remotely rested. I finished 2025 slowly recovering from exhaustion and being at capacity for too long. The first day of 2026 has been the same. With Christmas decorations taken down, the house returned to its normal, though not yet fully cleaned, state, my thoughts turned to going back to work.

Do what you can, when you can

Well, Christmas is safely packed away in the loft. According to my fitness watch I both finished 2025 and started 2026 strong. Actually, I did no such thing. I finished work on the 19th December, I had a pretty quiet time but it has really taken me until now to feel…

01.01.2026 19:26 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Here we go again – or new year, same me, or something Hello 2026. You seem friendly enough so far. And just like that it's January again. The New Year, New You brigade has stepped up another gear. I saw a post earlier about how to drop 20 pounds in just 2 weeks, then another telling me that 'A summer body could be yours in just 6 months - however heavy you are now' (or something like that, it was snappier). I have seen adverts for fitness apps, for upgrades to otherwise free fitness apps, for training programmes, for running plans, for fitness gear, for gym memberships...I have seen an avalanche of nonsense hit my social media feeds.

Happy 2026 All.

01.01.2026 15:24 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Waiting… It feels a little like we need to collectively get on with it now. This year I am not at all keen on this in between time. I feel like I am waiting. Waiting for what, I don't know. But waiting can be a full time occupation so it's annoying. So in an attempt to not wait for whatever it is I am waiting for, I went for a little run. I even warmed up with some stretches first. I was hoping for maybe a 2 mile run/walk, ideally pain free.

Waiting…

It feels a little like we need to collectively get on with it now. This year I am not at all keen on this in between time. I feel like I am waiting. Waiting for what, I don't know. But waiting can be a full time occupation so it's annoying. So in an attempt to not wait for whatever it is…

30.12.2025 12:57 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Still struggling but in a less annoying way So yesterday, it turns out, was just a really stupid day. Today is less stupid. I am still struggling a bit. I am at least wearing the right socks (for now anyway, there's still time to change my mind) and the fact that it is Sunday seems less irritating than yesterday being Saturday. In other words, my brain is less weird. I am back to rolling my eyes at the fitness crap as I scroll passed. I could block some of the content I suppose, but that would require engagement on some level - so nah.

Still struggling but in a less annoying way

So yesterday, it turns out, was just a really stupid day. Today is less stupid. I am still struggling a bit. I am at least wearing the right socks (for now anyway, there's still time to change my mind) and the fact that it is Sunday seems less irritating…

28.12.2025 14:32 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Struggling From our Early Dec trip It was my birthday yesterday. It was a lovely day, as was Christmas day before that and Christmas Eve. They were all lovely. They were as we planned them, they were calm and quiet, I enjoyed cooking and yesterday I enjoyed Kath taking over and being looked after and spoilt. We had lovely food with our mums, cuddles with cats and not a 'should' in sight. It was exactly as I had hoped it would be. And today I feel completely flat. Somehow it feels like the last 2 or 3 days were not at all what I wanted, like they were all about other people and not for me.

Struggling

From our Early Dec trip It was my birthday yesterday. It was a lovely day, as was Christmas day before that and Christmas Eve. They were all lovely. They were as we planned them, they were calm and quiet, I enjoyed cooking and yesterday I enjoyed Kath taking over and being looked after…

27.12.2025 21:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Can’t think of a title for what this captures! I am struggling for a title because the usual ‘starting again’, ‘back to basics’… don’t quite fit. I had a therapy session this morning which was well timed because I have been struggling this week. Talking it through was so helpful and it all makes so much more sense now- I was/am completely over peopled. After a busy week that included a day on main campus, presentation to the Executive, 3 days of conferencing, running a team day, marshalling at a half marathon and then the great north run, my system is in shock.

Can’t think of a title for what this captures!

I am struggling for a title because the usual ‘starting again’, ‘back to basics’… don’t quite fit. I had a therapy session this morning which was well timed because I have been struggling this week. Talking it through was so helpful and it all makes…

12.09.2025 09:51 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Doing Hard Things Round 2: The Great North Run Photo by gillyphotography.co.uk Last weekend was a weekend of running adventures. Different adventures and experiences. On Saturday Kath took part in the last of the 2025 Due North CIC trail half marathon and 10 km series. I marshalled and had a lovely 90 minutes or so at the top of Malham Cove clapping and cheering on runners doing both the half marathon route and the 10km route before heading back to the finish to help hand out goodie bags and pies. It was glorious and energising and inspiring. Kath did really well, the runners were fabulous and it felt inclusive, supportive and fun.

Doing Hard Things Round 2: The Great North Run

Photo by gillyphotography.co.uk Last weekend was a weekend of running adventures. Different adventures and experiences. On Saturday Kath took part in the last of the 2025 Due North CIC trail half marathon and 10 km series. I marshalled and had a…

09.09.2025 09:19 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The media framing of “free speech” is so ridiculous that now people boycotting someone because of their bigoted views (ie exercising their freedom of speech to disassociate) is seen as “cancelling” while the state locking up people who dare to protest genocide generates limited to no media outrage.

19.08.2025 13:10 — 👍 50 🔁 11 💬 0 📌 1

Public law practitioners: have you been involved in litigation regarding automated decision making by Government, or do you think you might be in future? The @publiclawproject.bsky.social are keen to speak to you.

28.08.2025 09:53 — 👍 8 🔁 18 💬 1 📌 2

Doing Hard Things Me, about half way round the Rasselbock Half Marathon I started this post quite some time ago - just after finishing the Rasselbock Running Half Marathon at Sherwood Pines just over a month ago. What I started trying to articulate then was that I like to think that I am quite good at doing hard things, that I am ok out of my comfort zone and that I trust myself to do have a go, figure it out and get it done. Just sometimes, I forget. I signed up last minute and did the half marathon to prove that I can indeed still do hard things and that doing those impossible things can indeed be fun.

Reflections on recent running adventures.

18.08.2025 08:38 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Happy more waking than running After my Happy Running in Bath, Edinburgh and at home, we headed to Seahouses for a week of writing and thinking for my DBA. We had a lovely little apartment and the perfect location and as well as some lovely walks on the beach I also had one little run. I didn’t go far and I found it really hard and was initially frustrated at the lack of fitness. I was also a bit unsettled because we’d had to change plans. The initial plan was to drive Kath to Craster for her to run back and for me to have a plod there before driving back.

Happy more waking than running

After my Happy Running in Bath, Edinburgh and at home, we headed to Seahouses for a week of writing and thinking for my DBA. We had a lovely little apartment and the perfect location and as well as some lovely walks on the beach I also had one little run. I didn’t go…

21.07.2025 15:02 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

UK Black Pride

If you can afford it, please consider donating to support UK Black Pride. The event is a nourishing space for many LGBTIQ+ folk who come from various racalised and religious backgrounds. With funding cuts, UK Black Pride needs donations to help keep the event free for everyone. Link below. Thanks! 🌈

18.07.2025 11:00 — 👍 9 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0

Labour suspends Diane Abbott for second time over racism comments Party investigating after MP said she did not regret remarks about people experiencing racism in different ways

Racism is a system of inequality that stigmatises, polices, and impoverishes various groups of people based on ideas relating to skin colour, culture, geography, religion, etc. So of course it targets folk differently depending on their body or community. No one should apologise for pointing it out.

18.07.2025 10:00 — 👍 22 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 1

Happy Running You might have guessed, if you have been following my blog for a while, that I have not been in a happy running phase. It's been about persuading myself to get out at all and then just trying to get through to the end. It's been about trying to stick to a plan, about building consistency and not being hugely successful with any of that. And then there has been the silly self-consciousness and lack of self-belief. All the nonsense that led me to benching the brain a little while ago.

Here's some happy running for a change

30.06.2025 20:59 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

a lucas & friends birthday card with two lit candles on top of a cake ALT: a lucas & friends birthday card with two lit candles on top of a cake

@drkatrinantweiler.bsky.social

16.06.2025 06:51 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Reflections on Fugitive Practices in the University: Labouring in the Wake of Violence - Feminist Legal Studies Feminist Legal Studies -

“This moment necessitates that we trace & map the linkages between the various forms of oppression & harm we witness, locate their manifestations in the spaces we move in, & draw on these lessons to fight back.”

@norajaber.bsky.social & @leilaullrich.bsky.social reflect on being feminist fugitives.

13.06.2025 17:35 — 👍 7 🔁 10 💬 0 📌 1

Showing Up For Yourself I have had a funny week. I didn't run until Thursday. And I nearly didn't then. I was so tired on Thursday. I just felt dead and empty. I struggled to focus on work. I had a window at lunchtime and I was so tired that I had to do something. My initial thought was to try a power nap but I was really worried I would sleep through the alarm and miss a meeting in the afternoon. So I put my gear on and went for a run. It seemed like a slightly insane idea but it worked.

Showing Up For Yourself

I have had a funny week. I didn't run until Thursday. And I nearly didn't then. I was so tired on Thursday. I just felt dead and empty. I struggled to focus on work. I had a window at lunchtime and I was so tired that I had to do something. My initial thought was to try a…

08.06.2025 19:53 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Benching the Brain I wrote about my Philly running adventures and noted I was going to come back to the plans for consistency and my inability to actually stick to those plans. So here we go. We got back from Philly and I felt good about running. But then I did almost nothing for 2 weeks. I managed some yoga but not as much as I wanted to really and I felt like jetlag properly kicked my butt. I didn't really get going until this week. I dragged my butt out for the first run of week 4 of Couch to 5km plan on the bank holiday Monday.

Benching the Brain

I wrote about my Philly running adventures and noted I was going to come back to the plans for consistency and my inability to actually stick to those plans. So here we go. We got back from Philly and I felt good about running. But then I did almost nothing for 2 weeks. I…

01.06.2025 15:12 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Philadelphia running We’ve been back from Philadelphia for 2 weeks now so it’s about time I caught up! I’m in the middle of a lush Spa Day so finally feel like I have the headspace to write. Philly was good for running for me. Here’s a summary: The Liberty Bell Run 1: the first morning we had a little explore round the block from the hotel using Couch to 5km week 3 intervals. Run 2: We ran (week 3 intervals again) to the Museum of Art and then obviously we took it in turns to run up the Rocky Steps.

Philadelphia running - finally catching up with blog posts

27.05.2025 12:49 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

He really was

25.05.2025 18:50 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Black and white small kitten on a cushion facing the camera

In case anyone needs a kitten fix. Here’s our Odin 5 years ago just after he first came home.

25.05.2025 18:49 — 👍 10 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

So Kath just called baseball ‘Fancy Rounders’ and that’s what it will now always be in my brain

10.05.2025 23:38 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Setting Foundations? Setting Foundations? Is that the right way to look at what I am doing at the minute? I completed the final run of week 2 of the Couch to 5km programme I am doing. A day late really but it's a bank holiday so counts as weekend. I did mean to run yesterday but my period was really heavy and I felt crap. Maybe I should have just gone and got it done but I didn't. I also ran Saturday so maybe it's ok and a rest day in-between is better anyway.

Setting Foundations - uneventful really but with a bonus Einstein cat picture.

05.05.2025 17:52 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Posts by Jess Guth (@drjessguth.bsky.social)