Normally I live for the weekends. This weekend, however, CAN come too quickly for me. Not that there's time to do anything about it. You see, the 2013 Scottish Ultra Marathon Series kicks off with the 33 mile D33 race this coming Saturday. This time...

Those of you who would rather lop off one or more limbs rather than run on a treadmill should just stop reading now. There’s pretty much nothing that I can say that will convince you to come on over to the ‘dark side’. For everyone else...

So, 2013 is upon us. Following on from my previous Running Bug post, 'Everybody Needs A Goal', I want to ask - What's your goal? Set a new goal the SMART Way . My main goal in 2013 is a new PB at the West Highland Way Race in June. ...

So, you are a 'few' pounds (ahem, more like stone!) overweight , asthmatic, never been particularly athletic, smoked (often heavily) for the best part of 16 years, and have a far from Adonis like figure. Choice of sport - running ultramarathons...

In the run up to the 2012 West Highland Way Race I was pretty stressed, from the daunting prospect of completing the 96 miles of the West Highland Way in one go and under the 35 hour cut-off, to the prospect of sleep deprivation, chaffing, blisters and...

November the 1st, a date of great importance in the Scottish running calendar. Race applications for the West Highland Way Race are now open. It’s time to make a choice, to decide whether you want to enter this, the ‘holy grail’ of Scottish...

Ever since completing the 95 mile West Highland Way Race , back in June of this year, my weight has been slowly creeping up and the weight loss that I had managed to achieve at the beginning of the year has all but gone. Read more Weight Loss Tips. Those...

An excellent, highly informative day was had by all at the inaugural Scottish Barefoot Run and we even got a glimpse of what summer should have looked like, albeit a slightly windy version from our viewpoint over Edinburgh from the crags underneath Arthur's...

Thanks for all the views on my ' Tips For Running In The Heat ' post last week. Hopefully there was something of interest in there and you got another run in the sun before our summer came to a premature end (did it ever really start this year...

"There will be weather" . This by now infamous line from the West Highland Way Race may sound daft out of context but anyone running that weekend, in the torrential rain best described as 'apocalyptic weather conditions', will fully...

It's been a while since my last post here on The Running Bug, coming up for a month now - a veritable drought! That's not to say that nothing has been going on. Quite the opposite in fact! Since my last post, I have run 2 different ultramarathons...

Given the ‘summer’ we have been experiencing of late, I am sure that many of you have found yourself in a similar position to the one that I was in this weekend past. I hadn’t actually intended to post again so soon, given that I only...

It is coming up to 2 weeks since I completed the 95 mile West Highland Way Race and the body and energy levels are finally starting to feel more like they should. I don’t know what, exactly, I expected in terms of recovery after a 95 mile run but...

Warning: the following blog post is quite a graphic account of my quest for a WHW Race goblet. I travelled down to Glasgow on Thursday evening, leaving straight from work, in the hope that this earlier than previously planned departure would provide...

Wanted: West Highland Way Race Support Crew. Must be prepared to give up an entire weekend, put up with interrupted sleep (at best), drive around the countryside and ensure that your runner is clothed, fed and constantly running/walking/shuffling/crawling...

When it's all you can do not to pump your hands in the air as one of your favourite trance tracks comes into the mix, you know that it's as near to a perfect run as you can get and this run was certainly a contender on that front. Coming off...

It has been two days now since my second Cateran Trail Ultramarathon and I am feeling more than a touch battered! I had an excellent day. The race organisation was superb and the marshals were on top form as always. John Stanton, author and founder...

I received a message from a running friend, Alan Stewart, last week to inform me that he had just “caught your little article in May’s Men’s Running mag” . I had no idea what he was on about initially but, admittedly, had fallen...

I am back at my desk, happy not to be moving too much as I have a pretty bad case of the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). The good news is that I did it, I managed to complete the 53 miles of the Hoka Highland Fling. I even bagged a new PB by some...

I'm not talking about fighting between Running Bug members. I'm talking about the flu bug, the sickness bug or any other kind of illness. It's bad enough when it strikes at all but, surely, the most inopportune sickness is that which strikes...

Why speed? Not a post about road safety but, in fact, about the 'need for speed' when it comes to running. Speed training is something that I have failed to embrace and, indeed, shied away from. Until now. Back in the days when I realised that...

I haven't posted here on The Running Bug since back on the 20th March. The reason for my absence was an extended leave of absence to mark one of my own milestones - hitting the big 4-0. I couldn't have 'timed' my 40th better. I have...

The D33 Ultramarathon, 17th March 2012 Those of you who follow my blog will likely be aware of my descent into panic in the week leading up to the D33 ultramarathon , the first race of the 2012 Scottish Ultra Marathon Series. Plagued by anguish...

Those of you with a race in the near future will likely be turning your thoughts to tapering. Do you taper? Have you tapered before? What works for you? If you have any experience of tapering, good or bad, please share it with everyone in the comments...

Saturday morning started off sunny enough, or at least it did for the first 3 miles. With the prospect of a long day ahead, I did not think twice and stopped to pull on my trusty North Face Triumph jacket. If ever a product was aptly named, it was the...