Peter Hampshire

Pike O'Stickle (hill) surrounded by cloud

Snow on a hill with a mix of cloud and blue sky

Mountains in the Lake District with a cloudy sky above them

Looking across towards Scafell and Scafell Pike mountains

First trip to the Lakes for a recce trip for leg 3. Leg 3 starts in Dunmail Raise near Grasmere & ends in Wasdale. It's the longest & toughest leg with 2000m of ascent. We had mixed weather with snow, rain & sun. We did about 2/3rds of the route today, plan to do the 2nd half tomorrow.

2 people in ski clothing and equipment standing on a viewpoint on a snowy mountain

A view across snowy mountains in the French Alps

A view across snow covered mountains in the French Alps

A view down a ski slope across to snow covered mountains with a cloudy sky

Just returning from a fantastic week of ⛷️ in the French Alps.
There were massive amounts of snow.

PS Ignore the mention of 300-500 miles for shoe life. Regular readers of our posts will know that the advice is out-dated, misleading and used by manufacturers to drive over consumption. Love the shoes you own.

Lots of good advice in this article on how to reduce the cost of a marathon.

Supporting your local marathon is great for reducing costs, reducing carbon emissions (over 90% of emissions for events arise from travel) and supporting your community.

Great to see recommendations re preloved kit.

Joyce Carol Oates @JoyceCarolOates how is it possible to cram so much ignorance--"English-Scott-Irish origin" -- into such a small space? miracle of a person said to be "world's richest man" has no more grasp of US history than a crumpled paper tissue underfoot in a men's restroom not recently cleaned.

joyce is going after elon again

Black and white photo of a man (me) being hugged by a woman with a hat on and curly hair

It's 24 years today since I got married to this amazing person.
I appreciate all her support & encouragement for the irrational challenges I do.

Snow covered rooftops from a window, looking up to ski slopes on a mountain. Church belfry on the right

Made it!
Briefly touched foot in Italy before we got here.

The 2026 Barkley Marathons began with one of the strongest fields ever. The starting field came from 15 Counties as well as 15 States, and included ten women. The course seemed not to care. Over 70% of the field is done. #BM100

St Pancras Station view looking towards the station clock. A train on the platform with the sun shining through the metal roof

Some sunshine at last!

We are off skiing ⛷️ in France this week. Travelling by Eurostar, spending a night in Paris, then a TGV to the Alps. Just waiting to board the Eurostar with a short delay on the way down to Euston. Love travelling by train.

High time shoe manufacturers* moved on from the myth 🐂 💩 that trainers need to be replaced every 300-500 miles.

And Strava need to do the same.

Over consumption is bad news for the planet 🌍

* the big brands are the prime culprits

Agree, particularly in newer versions. I have on old pair of Mudclaws that have outlasted a newer pair 😳

Agree, I've had the same pair of shoes since 2018 (although I do rotate mine).
Have finally got rid of them but have replaced with another pair bought 2nd hand which were worn once.
Off road shoes take more of a battering but intend to repair the soles once the lugs wear out.

On my first go, I just didn't eat or drink enough, and ran out of energy. Also made some expensive navigation errors over leg 3.

A black and white photo of Bob Graham wearing shorts with his hands in his pockets

Planning & training for a 2nd Bob Graham Round attempt has started! I will (hopefully) set off at 6pm on Friday 15th May up Skiddaw. Got a few recce weekends between now & then planned, mainly concentrating on legs 3 & 4. Support crew also taking shape. Feeling a lot more confident than last time.

A tower of a hill

First race since the Spine CS today, Pendle Way in a day (a 45 mile circular trail finishing up Pendle Hill). Felt good despite the bog & mud. Hoped to finish by sunset but had to a foggy, dark climb up Pendle with v. poor visibility. Pleased with my time (10h 18). Finished 42nd & 3rd MV50.

My first thought was "it would pass kit check for the Spine Race" 😅

Yeh it was amazing. Still on a high!

Good luck!

Snow capped mountain seen beyond pebbly burn

Path through rugged landscape towards a sea loch, with dead tree and several young saplings

Old cottages lining a beach

Bench overlooking coastal cliffs

The ever-popular West Highland Way is leading the rankings, followed by the Cape Wrath Trail, the John Muir Way, the Scottish National Trail, Great Glen Way and the Skye Trail.

Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him.

White. Hot. Rage.

I've just looked up the Cocodona race and found out that it's a 250 mile race! That is a massive challenge you've taken on!

Yes 6hr per checkpoint. Be really harsh otherwise!

The winter @spinerace.bsky.social just got more brutal. The rules are changing next year, reducing the overall time allowed for completion from 168hrs (7 full days) to 156hrs. And the total time allowed for competitors to rest in Checkpoints is reduced from 8 to 6hrs. #SpineRace

Excited to be giving three talks over the next month. January I'll be at the National Running Show on a panel with Sophie Power + Lisa Jackson. Then in Feb I'm with @emmajourno.bsky.social at @inov8.bsky.social Sheffield followed by a solo talk at Fort William Mountain Festival. Pls come say hello!

Jars of marmalade on a kitchen work surface

Today, I've mostly been making #marmalade.
Classic Delia Smith recipe, with a few spoons of black treacle.

Map My Pizza Run: Turn Your January Run Into Pizza - Franco Manca At Franco Manca, we prefer things a little more fun - and a lot more pizza. That’s why this January we’re launching Map My Pizza Run: a simple challenge that rewards your run with sourdough pizza

Until the end of the month, Franco Manca - who do very nice pizzas - will give you £1 off for every kilometre you run (as long as your run is in the shape of a pizza). Ultra runners could be eating a lot of free pizza this January! www.francomanca.co.uk/stories-and-...

This time last week I had no idea what an adventure I would be having on the Pennine Way #spinerace.

(I've already downloaded the race pack for the Winter Challenger North!)

Oh no! Kevin Munt has retired at Housesteads. His race has finished with about 50 miles to go. Juan Patjane still trails behind the red lantern by about 2 miles and needs to get to Bellingham before ?midnight to make the cut off..