Running Tales

Anyone who knows anything about running knows about the brilliant Couch to 5k app, but Patrick Howard went more than one step further when going from Couch to Ultra in just 18 months. Struggling with his weight, a former heavy smoker and looking to boost his confidence, Patrick started running to get fit. His first 1.8 mile jog round the block was a painful run/walk, but he knew straight away he l...

Running has been a double-edged sword for David Swales. He first took up the sport in an attempt to counter type 2 diabetes, but it was after sprinting to the finish in a 10km race that he had his stroke. It has left him facing daily challenges, all of which are chronicled with striking honesty in his blog, 'It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger'. David has a fascinating relationship with h...

Running Tales spoke to Mark Kennedy way back in Series One, Episode Three about how he has benefitted from running after suffering a serious brain injury while on the holiday of a lifetime. Since then Mark has gone on to complete an ambition 14 years in the making - to become a member of the 100 Half Marathons club. To celebrate he has written a book about his incredible achievement. ‘Half Man, Ha...

Nikki Page founded Love London Running Tours to offer sightseers the chance to see the capital city in a unique and fun way. The fledging business catered for all abilities and gave people opportunities to see London and get fit at the same time. Fitness instructor Nikki even took in running city tours in places all over the world, including Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur. Sadly, Love London Running T...

When Ross Jeavons ran the London Marathon in three hours seven minutes last year, his over-riding feeling was disappointment. Despite not discovering running until a few years ago, Ross had found an affinity with it - leading to him aiming to beat the three hour barrier. But he hit the wall in the last few miles and was left crestfallen despite achieving a personal best. Fast forward almost a year...

This week Running Tales was live at the Bedford Festival of Running to speak to Dannii Levi. You may remember Dannii's story from Running Tales Series One, Episode 47 where Michelle spoke to her about dealing with Raynaud's disease, a condition which results in reduced blood flow to people's fingers and toes - and can make running impossible. On Sunday, though, we spoke to Dannii after she complet...

One of the most popular parts of many runners' weeks is parkrun. The 5km event takes place up and down the country - and these days across the world - every weekend. At it's most basic level every local parkrun is based on the efforts of a core team of volunteers, who work as event and race directors to make sure thousands of people up and down the country are able to get their running fix at 9am...

Erik Heine's story is intrinsically linked to that of his son, Stephen. Born in 2006, Stephen was diagnosed with a rare disorder that affects all areas of his development when he was just 18 months old. He always loved watching Erik, a keen runner who has competed in the Boston Marathon, in races, but wasn't able to take part himself until in 2014 he was given the opportunity to participate in a p...

Sarah Longstaff has big plans - and most of them involve running. Despite not having run more than six miles previously, she - egged on by her Instagram followers - decided to run 30 miles to celebrate reaching 30 years old. The milestone had been causing Sarah some worry, but the challenge proved the perfect pick-me-up to get her over her fear of failure. Only hip surgery - she ran the 30 miles d...

Carl Wright is a 64-year-old ultra runner, lay pastor and environmentalist. He only started running at 55 (and hated it!) after being told to lower his blood pressure by his doctor. A 5km became a half-marathon and before he knew it, Carl was running ultras - although his first was something of an accident when his niece egged him into turning a 25km race into twice that distance. Carl is also an...

There has been much talk this week in the parkrun community - and beyond - about the fantastic achievement of 92-year-old Arthur Walsham. Despite his more senior years, Arthur completed his 300th parkrun at Longford Park in Stretford, near Manchester. It reminded us of our Running Tales chat with Northampton parkrun legend Bob Emmerson last year. In July 2021, Bob - then 88, now 89 - was stranded...

When Michele Heller started running aged 38 her aim was to get fit and lose weight. More than 10 years on, she has slightly loftier goals. Having already completed 11 marathons across her home country - including Boston, Chicago and New York - the US resident is aiming to tick off all six marathon majors. Michele is set to run London this year, with Tokyo and Berlin firmly on her bucket list. But...

In recent weeks on the Running Tales podcast we've spoken to a number of ultra runners about their fantastic stories. Today, we've decided to do something slightly different with the podcast, taking time to look back at our archives to pick out some pearls of wisdom from ultra runners we have previously spoken to. This episode includes audio from Comrades marathoner Deon Elhers, Benjamin Davies -...

Tom Palacio is preparing to complete a 50 miles ultra to raise money for Brain Tumour Research. Tom is aiming to run the distance in less than 12 hours on July 16 after his friend, James Pullen died from the disease in 2015. Along with his friends he has previously raised more than £20,000 for research into brain tumours. Rugby player Tom's experience of running had previously been largely reserve...

Fundraising is second nature for Gary McKee - he's raised close to £1m for Macmillan Cancer Support. Previous endeavours have seen him cycle across Brazil, climb Kilimanjaro and trek through New Zealand, and plenty of his challenges have included running. He's run from Lands' End to John O'Groats, completed 100 marathons in 100 days, become the first person to run the Fred Whitton cycle route and...

Ben Davies started running three years ago after his young niece sadly passed away. When his wife started a fundraising challenge for Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital, he supported her - but he didn't really like the running! Struggling with his mental health, he suddenly stumbled across ultra running - and without stopping along with the way to tick off all the distances in-between he started clo...

At just 26, Alex Staniforth has already become an expert in overcoming challenges. From epilepsy to a stammer, bullying and mental ill health problems, Alex's biggest challenges have been close to home. Running and the great outdoors have helped him to face them down to become a record-breaking adventurer, motivational speaker, author, mental health ambassador and ultra runner. His incredible stor...

In October 2020, Martin Lopez was fighting for his life. Having contracted Covid-19, he was in intensive care, his situation exacerbated by a blood clot. As he battled to recover, he noticed that those around him who best fought off the virus had lived fit and healthy lives. When he came out of hospital, Martin decided to change his life - and he took up running. But he's not someone to do things...

Michael Hobbs-Aldridge had one of the his best seasons of running in 2019. The British Masters athlete won both the Northampton Half Marathon and Milton Keynes Marathon, but under the surface things weren't quite right. Doctors had detected a potential problem in Michael's heart, a ticking time-bomb that could go off at any moment. Fearing the worst, Michael put his running on hold and subjected h...

Adam 'Tango' Holland was only 23 when he completed his 100th marathon, becoming the youngest person to complete that lung-busting achievement. With a personal marathon best of 2:24:24 and more marathon/ultra marathon wins than anyone else in the UK, Adam is a serious athlete. Today (Bank Holiday Monday, May 2) he took part in Milton Keynes Marathon where Michael Young won the race in a new course...

It was third time lucky for Michael Williams as he completed the gruelling 860 mile JOGLE earlier this month. The event, which gets it's name from the course than runs from tip (John O'Groats) to toe (Land's End) of Britain, takes place over 17 days meaning runners face distances of more than 50 miles on most days. Michael, an experienced ultra runner as you can hear on Episode 11 of Series One of...

Bruce Fordyce is a running legend. The South African has won his home country's premier event, the gruelling Comrades Ultra-Marathon, an incredible nine times. His achievements also include winning the London to Brighton race three years in a row, but these days he's more at home taking on a 5km parkrun. As the chief executive of parkrun South Africa he's completed more than 400 runs and toured al...

At 88 years old, Bob Emmerson is a popular and famed figure at Northampton parkrun. He's completed the 5km race a grand total of 399 times, with only the coronavirus pandemic preventing him from reaching the milestone mark of 400 already. Bob's running career goes far further back than parkrun though, with broken records and a garage full of old trainers signs of his achievements. I spoke to him a...

Like many of us Louise Hannam-Jones' life has changed during the last year. Coronavirus and the plethora of lockdowns it instigated got her thinking about her own mental health and wellbeing. As a result, she started her own Instagram account - The Wellness Curator. It has proved so popular Louise is now taking on clients to teach them how to be fitter, healthier and happier. Running is an integra...

Qualified couples counsellor Karin Blak is the author of 'The Essential Companion to Talking Therapy' - a guide to what therapy is and how it works. With the Covid pandemic bringing fears of a mental health crises, Karin is keen to re-frame the discussion. Time to analyse and talk about our problems means, she says, this could be the chance to start a mental health revolution. One of the ways Kari...