Oscar's Everyone Day

23rd June 2024
In 2021 Oscar the Grouch proposed one day each year where "we unite as a community and EVERYONE records an activity of some sort - a dog walk, a run, a swim, a ride, ski if you want...".

Sadly we lost Oscar in March, so I'd like to dedicate Everyone Day to him. Thank you for the inspiration you gave us Oscar.
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fetcheveryone

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Easy Street

1:55pm, 28 May 2024
The build up to Sunday was a big bag of nervousness, indecisiveness and trying to find a weather app that didn't show rain. We'd had heavy rain during the week, followed by a couple of warm-ish dry days, which I'd hoped would dry the trails out somewhat. The dog woke me up at 2.30am on race day, barking at something random, and I could hear the rain lashing down outside.

One of the key decisions I had to make was which shoes to wear. I had three choices. I could go with my 1500-mile Nike Pegasus, which have been through a lot with me. I've done off-roading in them and they've coped reasonably well. And they are comfortable. I also have a pair that I put into retirement at about 550 miles. Given that their replacements have done so many miles, I was toying with the idea of bringing them out of retirement. And then I have a pair of trail shoes. I have only done 9 miles in them. Given I've had a long period of injury free running in Pegs, I've been loathe to run in anything else. Perhaps the sensible choice would be to go with the lesser-mileage pair - but I felt an attachment to the knackered pair that I felt duty bound to honour, with "one last hurrah" as my boy put it. The uppers are starting to come away from the soles, the tread is very worn down, and the sole of the right foot looks like it's collapsing near the ball of the foot. But hey, one last hurrah (a decision also helped by new Fetchie usc215, who advised me to listen to my feelings). Plus I stuck the other two pairs in the car, knowing that I could change them any time I ran into Katie.

The morning of the race came fresh and breezy; and adrenaline got me out of bed at 6am. I put my kit on straight away, and (as always seems to happen), my insides knew it'd be good to get on with things. The local shop had a deal on with blue-flavoured Lucozade, so I filled my soft bottles with two 500ml Blucozades, and put the other two in Katie's support bag. I had fruit pastilles, a Marmite sandwich, a big wad of toilet roll in a plastic bag, the mandatory foil blanket, my airpods, mandatory bank card and sunglasses.

I was ready far too early, so we sat for ten minutes, and I tried getting all Zenned up, but also went for another poo :-) And then all of a sudden it was time to go. The race HQ was at Shuttleworth which is about a half hour drive from us. It was a relatively low-key set up, with a field of about 200 runners. They had an inflatable start/finish gantry, a registration tent, a coffee van and about a half dozen portaloos.



Before too long we bumped into Badger (if you're reading this, I hope you stayed awake to watch Aggers and Tuffers last night), who was very encouraging and lovely; and RichHL who gives great hugs and says calm reassuring things like "if you fall over in the mud, the worst that'll happen is that you get a bit muddy". I was worrying a bit about my choice of shoes at this point, and trying to see what the tread was like on everyone else's trainers.



The start was scheduled for 9.00, but the organiser let the toilet queue die down, gave a quick briefing (the majority of important info was sent out in a Youtube video a few days prior - great idea) and we got on our way at 9.04am. Ran past Katie, and we swapped "love you's" heart.

The first wee bit is across the well-kept grassy areas in the grounds of Shuttleworth, before it goes up into a winding wooded area. There was a slight incline here, but it just felt too soon to break into a walk, so I plodded it out, trying to keep my pace nice and relaxed. After about 1.5 miles we were out onto a little stretch of road, and then up the steep track to St Leonard's church, where I took my first walk, and had a little chat with Badger. I do pretty much all of my training totally solo, so I'm really not used to chatting whilst running. I hope I didn't come across as uncommunicative. We hit the first patches of proper mud as we passed the big fake tree (see my blog about a month ago), and many of us picked our way around a huge puddle, whilst one lad just ploughed right through the middle of it. I pulled a little ahead of Badger during this phase, and turned my focus to trying to run relaxed, and to not going too fast.

We reached the point where we join the loop (just before the 3 mile point), and the mud started to properly make itself known. I slipped and slid and swore like an adolescent Bambi, but judging by the people ahead of me (and the number of skid marks on the ground), no amount of tread would have prevented this. I was conscious of how much lateral movement I was doing, trying to pick good paths and strong footholds. The mud went on for about a mile, before some respite through drier fields, then back to more mud. Then my first nice surprise of the day - Katie popped up around 5 miles, standing at the top of a slight incline (so of course, I ran up it!) for a quick snog. Ahead was a slightly beefier incline, so I walked up that with her before it flattened out and I was off again.



Then a glorious section of road and dry trail, during which I felt pretty happy with my lovely road shoes, whilst all around me, people lugged their extra grip along the tarmac :-) I realised that even though I didn't have as much grip, my shoes might not retain as much mud on the bottoms as those with luggier soles.

From there, it felt like a short trip to Broom, and the first checkpoint at 9.6 miles. There was no immediate sign of K, so I leaned against a bench and got some crap out from inside my shoes. I've always read that if you've got something irritating in your shoe in an ultra, deal with it ASAP, before it does some damage. But I guess this only applies if you're not about to replace it with more crap the next time you move your feet.



K came down the road, and encouraged me to have some grub at the checkpoint. I grabbed some crisps. I didn't know whether I needed to check in, or cross a mat or anything like that, so we faffed a bit whilst figuring that out. "No, just fill your boots" was the advice from the martial. "Empty my trainers, more like". Anyway. Another quick snog and I was off again.

This was by far the most difficult leg I'd say. Having de-crapped my trainers, they weren't fitting quite right, and I got some irritation under my right foot (I realised yesterday that this ended up being a blister). The terrain was difficult, and my mood was a bit low. I played Katie's emergency playlist to try to cheer myself up, which helped a lot, although I cried at the JCB Song, and had to give myself a talking to. Katie popped up again just off the A1, which gave me a bit of a lift.



From here, some quite humourless terrain, a mixture of muddy sodden grass, and ground too knobbly to do anything besides walk on it. I took my first "I've had a gutsful" walk at this point, and let a few runners come past me. I must say, everyone is very respectful - on narrow trails there's a lot of "excuse me", and "do you want to come past", and holding of gates etc. A guy just in front of me trips on something and does a wonderful commando roll. I stop and walk with him for a minute or so to check he's ok, but he seems totally fine. I remembered Katie's advice for the day, which was simply to "cope". So I coped.



I got a friendly hello from BrianJ who popped up just before CP2 (17.7 miles) where Katie was waiting for me. I leaned against a wall and ate half a bag of crisps, and had a worrying moment where my head went a bit light. I think you can see in my face that I'm not totally happy here.



Katie slapped some suncream on my bonce, and pointed me at the watermelon at the aid station. It was absolute manna from Tesco. I got through 4-5 chunks of it, and felt a bit more determined. I refilled my bottles (one Blucozade, the other orange squash), and K walked out with me for a couple of hundred yards, and then I was off and running. She told me I'd broken the back of it, and I tried to take this sentiment with me. Shortly after this, I think I felt the first slight twinges of discomfort from the left side of my groin, and we had a brief downpour which was mostly welcome.

I was spurred on, thanks to the knowledge that I'd soon be on somewhat familiar ground - I'd done a recce run that began at about 20.3 miles about a month ago. I walked up a hill, and then saw the starting spot as I jogged down the other side. From here on, I had covered every part of the course, even if only once.

The marshal directed us runners through a gate (mercifully there were no stiles on the whole route!) and it was way boggier than I'd recalled. A massive puddle had to be navigated, and then a gentle incline, which I'd run up on my recce, but there was little chance of that now. The path was actually muddier than when I'd run it in early April. The incline topped out, and I got a bit of running in on the other side.

At some point, we went through a gate, which had the seemingly obligatory puddle on the other side. My shoes were in a half decent state at this point, so I tried to circumnavigate it by gingerly holding on to the branches of the bushes on either side of the gate. However, my foot slipped straight into the middle of the puddle, and I had to grab the branch firmly, puncturing my finger on a hawthorn. "OH FUCK THIS SHIT" I yelled. Unbeknown to me (I was listening to some Archers at this point), there were three ladies trotting up the slope right behind me, one waiting and watching me skid about like a tool. I apologised for my language, and let them go ahead. I guess they felt sorry for me, because in the next few hundred yards they pointed out potential places where I might slip again.

One of the things that seems to happen in ultras (based on my vast experience of precisely one ultra) is that people form little trains. I stuck with the ladies for about three quarters of a mile, running when they ran, walking when they walked, all of us strung out in a line with me at the back - but eventually they dropped me at the top of another hill. It's one of those things that helped make navigation easy, and also probably encouraged me to run at times when I could easily have wimped out.

Alone again, another green alleyway of mud approached. And I think I finally got my mud technique on point. It came with the realisation that if you stand in the deepest part of the mud, you can't slip any deeper. Every slip I'd had until now was me sliding from high ground into a lower position. Accepting and embracing the mud (not literally, you weirdos) was the way forward.

I got through that unscathed and unpunctured, and onto a very welcome little stretch of farm track leading to the Clophill Eco Lodges. There were two kids plus a dad at my next turn point. The kids both had signs, so I stopped to make sure I read them. One said (I think): "Remember your goals" - I told them that mine was to survive. And the other said "Pain is just French for bread" :-)

From here, another familiar bit with a sheep field on the left, and wait, what's this? The photographer? And Katie standing with him! I got hugs from them both, and Katie and I walked on for a bit. I told K about my sore groin, and she offered me some quad massage, but I decided against any sort of stop. We walked a little lumpy road section (about a quarter mile) together, and then after a quick pic I pushed on again to join another little train as two blokes made their way through the next set of fields.



I was still feeling a bit of benefit from some familiarity with the route here. I knew that there was a short and kind bit of road coming up. Then another nice surprise, as two more friends (Leatherhead and Loggerback) were grinning and saying encouraging things to me.

There's a nice little stretch of concrete path that goes through a field, down and back up into Haynes. As I got to the top, the Star Wars theme tune came on, so I sailed into the checkpoint pretending to be an X-Wing :-) Katie ran in the last 50 metres with me, and I had a fumble with RichHL. I think he went for the high five, and I went for the fist bump, and we ended up with a high bump and a fist five. Either way it was lovely to see him too!



CP3 is at 25.4 miles, which also meant I had about 9km to go. I loaded my face with watermelon and orange segments - there's nothing quite like near exhaustion to make fresh fruit taste amazing! K replenished my Blucozade, and one of the marshals filled my other bottle with blackcurrant squash. Katie poured a bottle of water over the back of my head, which felt absolutely brilliant.

Another walk out of the checkpoint with K whilst I wriggled bits of orange out of my tongue. A few runners came past, and I remember encouraging them, and saying "come on now, last leg". Eventually I found my running legs, and ran away from Katie in decent spirits.



With about 5 miles to go, it was time to put on the playlist that my boy had made for me. I had an inkling he was up to no good when I saw that it was 35 songs long, with a running time of just over an hour. It opened with John Cena's WWE walk-on song. It filled me with a great deal of joy, and I ran through marathon distance and into ultra territory feeling pretty happy (if slightly crazed-looking).



Then the little bastard had put 33 copies of 'Easy Street' from the zombie series The Walking Dead. If you've never seen it before, there's an episode where the baddies try to break the spirit of one of the main characters by playing the song on repeat. It has become, literally and metaphorically, a long-running joke :-) I managed to listen to it seven or eight times before breaking. And he finished it off with the 'Rocky' song - the one that everyone knows.

I knew from my recce that the running from 26.2 through to about 28.2 was fairly straightforward - a compressed grit forest track wide enough for big vehicles - so I was hoping to make some decent progress here. But my groin was complaining a fair bit (plus I was a getting a very occasional spasm from calves and hamstrings) so I had to make do with some short runs and walk recoveries, which was a bit frustrating - but hey, this is supposed to test you, right? I played run-walk tag with a lady, but eventually she came past saying "I just want this done now" :-)

The final turn off the loop comes at the 'Lego bricks' at 28.2, and it was nice to see BrianJ again. He said something that I couldn't hear, because as I turned, I realised that it was actually quite windy. The wind had been behind me on those last couple of miles. It turns out he was referring to the wind!

I ran and walked on. I saw L&L again, and they gave me some encouraging words. Back through the woods, and the fake tree again. I had to smile when looking at some of the muddy areas that I'd been quite a bit more careful about on the way out.

Happily, I realised I was getting close to the church, which meant a sharpish downhill. I jogged down that, and I have a feeling it helped stretch my groin out a bit, as I didn't feel it too much after that. The road section was very welcome, and then it was time to go up into the woods to Shuttleworth.

The path up into the woods was much steeper than when I'd run down it over six hours ago - I guess that's something to do with the number of people who'd run over it. And I had time to notice the *hundreds* of beautiful foxgloves. I stuck the Star Wars theme tune on a couple more times, and tried to imagine the point at which I wouldn't want any more walk breaks. A few inclines in the convoluted woods path had their say, and I had a brief chat with another walker, but then with half a mile to go, I got my run on, and didn't let it go.



Out onto the manicured lawns of Shuttleworth, desperate to see the finish. I can hear tannoys. I can hear aeroplanes. I can see the bloody finish! The lawns are covered in tiny orange flags guiding me around the last few trees, and a beautiful gentle mud-free downhill. I spot RichHL, and Katie wearing my dryrobe (I asked if she could bring it to the finish). I do a little dab, and I can hear the spectators giving me some encouragement. I'm gonna do it!



Over the line in an official 6:32:43, and I get my medal. Into the arms of Katie for a hug, and she asks me if I'd like to lie down. I would, but then I spot the deckchairs - and there's one free. I sink into it, and my goodness it feels so goooooooood! Within seconds of me sitting down, four old-timey planes did a synchronised flyover - it probably wasn't for my benefit, but it was pretty cool :-)



Katie grabs me a drink from the goody table - it's a non-alcoholic beer. Not the best taste in the world, but it's all good because I am done. My lovely, epic, always there for me Katie then brings me a race t-shirt, a warm sausage roll and a bottle of coke as we clapped in more finishers :-) I got to my feet a couple of times for finishers, once to see commando roll man and see how he was doing, and also to congratulate Badger on his performance. He came and joined us on the deckchairs.



I noticed that Badger's chum had taken his shoes and socks off, and wondered why I hadn't already done it, as it looked amazing. The shoes came off pretty easily, but the socks were another matter entirely. It took a small committee to de-sock me, the crucial point being the decision to pour some water on them to soften up the rock-hard material! Katie poured more water on my toes which made me squeal but felt amazing.



After about 45 minutes, we made our way to the car, just as a big black cloud came over and dumped a whole load more rain on everyone. I know you're supposed to say "never again" after running marathons, but within that time, I'd already told several people I'd do more ultras!

Home, and after a brief lie down on the bedroom floor, during which I read the comments on my training entry, and ate my spare (and slightly warm) Marmite sandwich, I went for a shower. The first part of this was pawing at the mud on my legs whilst pointing the shower at them. I am not convinced that they are properly clean yet, and the toenails may just need to grow out in order to be the normal colour again.

I got a text from my dad saying well done, and that my mam had been refreshing the tracker about every ten seconds to check on my progress. She says she doesn't think she's got another ultra in her :-)

After we'd both showered, I suggested the pub - so we spent an enjoyable couple of hours on Guinness and wine, and feeding the occasional crisp to the dog. I even managed a 2 yard recovery run on the way home, which hurt a lot, and made the dog get so excited he started chewing his lead; and made Katie laugh a lot :-)



Yesterday we walked a couple of miles to the village duck race (bit of an anti-climax that) and back; and today we walked the dog early before it started throwing it down. Aside from feeling a bit heavy-legged, and a bit of tightness in my quads, everything seems to be holding together ok. Unlike previous off-road runs, I don't have that 'trashed calves' feeling, which I'm seeing as a real bonus.

This morning I binned my shoes, with 1590 miles on the clock. I can fit my finger through the hole between the upper and the sole now, and the consequent erosion around that area is probably what caused the foot irritation. The sole of the right foot is now pretty compressed/collapsed. And they probably weigh about twice as much now, what with all the mud they absorbed. But they did me proud!



I thought I'd copy RooA's post-ultra template for reviewing how things went:

Training
I think this went as well as could be. The 25 mile long run three weeks ago was a great confidence booster. I feel like I tapered pretty well. Seeing some of the course in advance helped. I'm excited to see whether I can hold on to this purple patch.

Pacing
The race results have two timing checkpoints at 13k and 28k. Overall I was 112th, and at the two timing points I was 109th and 106th. I'm pretty pleased with that, as it felt like I got passed by quite a lot of people in the second half. I think I over-egged it a bit in the first third, and maybe used up quite a bit of gumption maintaining that in less-than-ideal underfoot conditions. But once I got my head around walking, I feel like I turned in mostly consistent mile splits (except at the checkpoints) by making sure I got a good balance each mile. I am pleased with my overall time. The first third gave me some expectations of something quicker, so there was a bit of a mental adjustment midway - but had you offered me 6:32 at the start, I would have taken it.

Nutrition
I learned on the job when it came to fuelling at aid stations, and I was massively helped with that by the calm reassurance of my lovely Katie pointing me at the best options. I seem to do ok with sugary drinks (nearly 3 litres during the event) and fruit pastilles, supplemented by Marmite sandwiches and some crisps.

Kit
I found kit that worked for me and stuck with it. Along the way I've tried various combos that didn't work for various reasons - mostly to do with chafing tbh. I have finally found all the pockets on my Salomon vest, and worked out what all the bits of string do. I'd happily recommend it as a hydration vest. There are times when trail shoes would have provided a little more grip, but I'm mostly happy with my choice of shoes because they *felt* right. Maybe a few hundred fewer miles on the clock might have been nice.

Mentality
As I found on training runs, long runs give you a lot of time to go up the creek and through the mill. I worked through the bad spots in my own particular way, and the ladies who heard me swearing like a wounded pirate didn't seem too offended. There seems to be a certain point in my longer runs where I can stop counting upwards and start counting downwards - and this really seems to help.

Luck
The luck for me is being married to Katie. The pink bits on this screenshot show you all the places she was at on the day. I don't think I'd be smiling so much about the whole thing now if it wasn't for her support.



The Aftermath
Things are settling nicely. I haven't had the huge post-race appetite I'd been expecting, but I've had some treats. For the last 2-3 months I've had barely any cake, hard cheese, biscuits or pastry. So perhaps my body has been mollified by the lemon drizzle cake that the Jigses brought round on Saturday, or the 'pain and cheese' that we ate at lunchtime yesterday. I can still feel it all in my legs, but it's improved nicely. I am up for another one.

The Event
It all seemed to go very well, so big thanks to the organisers (Runaway Racing) for that. Low key, but done right. All the checkpoints still had plenty of food when I got there, despite being in the second half of the field. The navigation was easy, with orange ribbons guiding the way, and friendly marshals at any significant / dangerous crossings. They'd been out on the route during the week to strim as many nettles as they could. I have no complaints, and only praise for them.

I will leave you with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDDAYxoFNWs
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • Lots of positive. Well done
    Derby Tup
    2:05pm, 28th May 2024
  • Excellent bloggage :) and congratulations again, that's a fine debut star
    Rosehip
    2:09pm, 28th May 2024
  • I love everything about this, but in particular Fetch Mam's comment :-)
    LazyDaisy
    2:15pm, 28th May 2024
  • Brilliant running, brilliant blog. Well done sir!
    Metro_Nome
    2:18pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done. Blue flavoured Lucozade? Were you fuelling on WKD Blue?!
    StuH
    2:20pm, 28th May 2024
  • You'll be planning the next one within days
    Diogenes
    2:21pm, 28th May 2024
  • (and very well done, byw)
    Diogenes
    2:22pm, 28th May 2024
  • Easy Street Ha! Congratulations. 👏
    Fairy clogs
    2:26pm, 28th May 2024
  • I really enjoyed the blog and especially Mam's comments:-)
    Welshpoppy
    2:29pm, 28th May 2024
  • Brilliant bloggage! I know that ultra marathon running isn't for me but glad it went well for you. You worked hard at the preparation for it so deserved a good result. Well done 👏👏
    Ness
    2:34pm, 28th May 2024
  • Yea, very well done, sounds like a good event and a nice route that would have been even better had the weather been kinder, but can't do much about that. I've only done a small handful of events this distance and they've all been a learning experience, but sounds like you trained well and did most stuff right on the day too. And nice to have such great support :)
    Joe1970
    2:36pm, 28th May 2024
  • Great blog! Well done on a super run too :-)
    Pothunter
    2:41pm, 28th May 2024
  • That's a great race report. You have an amazing memory for every detail of the race, I really enjoyed reading that. Congrats on your first of many ultras.
    Shades
    2:42pm, 28th May 2024
  • Bravo! Well done 👏 Enjoyed the blog :-)
    DIY Diva
    2:51pm, 28th May 2024
  • Brilliant blog about you epic move to the Ultra world and what better way to retire a pair of very loved shoes. I think your mam's comment that she doesnt have another ultra in her is brilliant - my auntie said that to me after my first 100k but then tracked me most of the night on my next one. Here's to Meridan and whatever you find in between!!! Congrats Sir! and well done to Badger too.
    geordiegirl
    2:55pm, 28th May 2024
  • and... I like the ultra feedback so I might well adapt that for my post run reviews too - thanks Fetch and RooA
    geordiegirl
    2:57pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done!
    chunkywizard
    3:19pm, 28th May 2024
  • A excellent run and a great blog.
    Canute
    3:20pm, 28th May 2024
  • Respect 👍
    A true tale of grit and determination.
    Alice the Camel
    3:36pm, 28th May 2024
  • Brilliant. Sorry I didn't manage to get along to cheer you on. As for Badger he is brilliant to bump into ... And has popped up at some of my best races. Katie is not luck, she is testament to you good judgement.
    DocM
    3:43pm, 28th May 2024
  • Fabulous and your mum made me lol
    D2
    3:50pm, 28th May 2024
  • Fabulous blog and a huge well done. I’ll be channelling my inner fetch from now on. 🙌🏻 the Force is strong with this one. yellowsaber
    runnerbean
    3:56pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done! You looked good both times I saw you. Yes I was on about the wind, it got up really strong and I was getting bombarded by all sorts of vegetation!
    BrianJ
    4:03pm, 28th May 2024
  • What a great blog! Congratulations (and I love your mam’s comment) :)
    jennywren
    4:18pm, 28th May 2024
  • Love this blog. Perfectly executed. And that picture of you and Badger at the finish is priceless. Bloody well done.
    LindsD
    4:32pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done, sounds like a great race. I embraced mud and puddles a very long time ago and thoroughly recommend just getting stuck into them (pardon the pun)
    Runningbauble21
    4:36pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done. Great write up as well as a great Ultra.
    Daz Love
    4:41pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done! I loved reading this, it made me giggle. Embrace the mud, I've now perfected the 'slut drop' and don't feel I've really done a trail if I've come home clean. Really recommend Squirrelnut Butter for chaffing and it's brilliant as a skin healer.
    WayOfTheDruid
    5:13pm, 28th May 2024
  • Brilliant blog. (And run, obviously.) Hope you continue to feel good and do goon to do another one or two....
    3M
    5:30pm, 28th May 2024
  • Nice bloggage. That was Her Outdoors who just wanted to get it done, I think. Nice to see you getting it done too. Hero.
    RichHL
    6:00pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done, love the blog
    Mandymoo
    6:30pm, 28th May 2024
  • Awesome, impressive, and great blogging :)
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    6:34pm, 28th May 2024
  • All sounds fantastic until you mentioned marmite sandwiches
    colindglen
    6:51pm, 28th May 2024
  • Great bloggage and well done for such a good first ultra 👏👏 Love the photo of you and Badger and well done to Katie too for finding you so often 😁
    SarahWoo
    7:16pm, 28th May 2024
  • Well done 👍
    Seratonin
    7:27pm, 28th May 2024
  • 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
    minardi
    7:41pm, 28th May 2024
  • Epic running and epic bloggage.
    There’s clearly a lot to be said for having someone willing to give you a snog every few miles 😊
    And a fitting last hurrah for the shoes!
    Top work all round x
    Bintmcskint
    7:49pm, 28th May 2024
  • Fabulous blog and well done to you and Katie. I know how your mum feels; I’ve followed my daughter on various trackers. You make me want to do an ultra, but that’ll have to wait a while.
    laterunner
    7:51pm, 28th May 2024
  • Fantastic.
    Fenland Flier
    7:54pm, 28th May 2024
  • Fantastic work and blog. :)
    Garfield
    8:03pm, 28th May 2024
  • Great blog, great run, well done 👏
    Jaks
    9:10pm, 28th May 2024
  • Awesome 😊
    Qwerty
    11:06pm, 28th May 2024
  • 👏
    RRR-CAZ 🇬🇧
    11:17pm, 28th May 2024
  • Great write up Ian and massive congrats to getting it done!!
    FunkyPOM
    12:11am, 29th May 2024
  • Great blog and great achievement
    riggys99
    2:02am, 29th May 2024
  • It's amazing: that pic of you at CP2 you look done-in and world-weary, but at the end, you look ten years younger! The power of finishing an ultra!
    McGoohan
    7:27am, 29th May 2024
  • Llongyfarchiadau Fetch. Da iawn wir!
    Rascal
    9:23am, 29th May 2024
  • Whoop, whoop! Welcome to the dark side. Ultras are... different, special, challenging, wonderful. And def not for everyone. Very well done indeed. :-) G
    HappyG(rrr)
    12:39pm, 29th May 2024
  • Well done, Mr Fetch.
    RooA
    5:30pm, 29th May 2024
  • Great stuff. Awesome job :)
    Corrah
    6:10pm, 29th May 2024
  • Great blog - I’d read Katie’s version of events first and I enjoyed reading it that way around. Well done to both of you!
    cathrobinson
    7:08pm, 29th May 2024
  • That sounds like a lot of fun, the first CP photo is class!

    See, I told you to embrace the mud! You can't fight it.

    "Pain is only french for bread" I am going to remember that one!
    cackleberry
    10:16pm, 29th May 2024
  • Great blog, great performance - well done!
    ♪♫ Synge ♪♫
    11:14pm, 29th May 2024
  • Good work. Welcome to the Ultra Club
    Mr. K.
    1:17pm, 30th May 2024
  • Fantastic stuff!
    Funky Chicken
    5:18pm, 30th May 2024
  • Great run, well done! You actually make running that far sound quite appealing! X
    clare1976
    9:41pm, 31st May 2024
  • That looks lovely, well done 😀
    Lisrun
    9:58am, 2nd Jun 2024


Track me on Sunday

5:01pm, 23 May 2024
I've built a little tracker, so that my folks can keep an eye on my progress around the route this Sunday:

fetcheveryone.com/fetchtracker.php

The map shows the route, and there'll be a an icon representing my most recent location. If you zoom out a bit, you'll find me in my garden office in Bromham right now, to the north-west of the route.

It relies on me visiting the page, in order to capture my location - so it may not update all that often, and certainly not until Sunday morning. I've also added a bit below the map where I can type text updates.

I hope it's working :-)
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • That's great! Good luck! 🍀
    Ness
    5:04pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Love it! Hope you are still smiling so broadly come the race
    Diogenes
    5:05pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Enjoy the run - good luck!!
    larkim
    5:08pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Cool
    EvilPixie
    5:12pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Good luck!
    Garfield
    5:17pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Fetch does race tracking.... this could get busy!! haha seriously good luck and I'll be stalking you.
    geordiegirl
    5:25pm, 23rd May 2024
  • All the best for Sunday.
    Eynsham Red
    5:29pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Nice, best of luck on your adventure!
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    5:31pm, 23rd May 2024
  • That’s really cool
    Elsie Too
    5:58pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Smiley face. Hopefully it's like that all day Sunday.
    Ocelot Spleens
    6:21pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Enjoy :)
    Rosehip
    6:59pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Enjoy!!
    cathrobinson
    7:31pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Best of luck, run well. 👍🏻
    Eawoman45
    8:29pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Fabulous work. Best of luck 👍🏻
    DIY Diva
    8:32pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Brilliant 😁 Best of luck
    panad
    9:20pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Awesome, good luck!!!
    WayOfTheDodo
    9:26pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Pob Lwc Fetch #ultrafetch
    Rascal
    10:26pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Nice! Have fun
    LindsD
    10:29pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Good luck 🤞
    Qwerty
    11:21pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Good luck 🍀. Have a great day.
    Jaks
    2:22am, 24th May 2024
  • Good luck, hope you enjoy your adventure!
    roberton
    8:46am, 24th May 2024
  • Massive good luck. And have fun! One foot in front of the other. Relentless forward progress. Dean Kanazares and all that! Pain is temporary. Keep going for the full time, no matter how slow it feels. I got grumpy when I was going too slowly, but e.g. West Highland Way race, you can do whole 95 miles within 35 hour cut off at effectively under 3 mph. Just. Keep. Moving!! :-) G
    HappyG(rrr)
    9:23am, 24th May 2024
  • Good luck Fetch, some of my friends are marshalling. I hope to be along to watch at some stage
    BrianJ
    10:09am, 24th May 2024
  • Have a great run.
    Dibble
    12:36pm, 24th May 2024
  • That's really cool. Good luck for Sunday!
    RooA
    3:04pm, 24th May 2024
  • Nice! Best of luck!
    ♪♫ Synge ♪♫
    4:35pm, 24th May 2024
  • That's exciting! Have fun
    D2
    5:23pm, 24th May 2024
  • good luck. have fun
    Spanners99
    8:53am, 25th May 2024
  • Woop, woop. Many congrats. Look forward to hearing blow by blow tale in the blog. :-) G
    HappyG(rrr)
    8:53pm, 26th May 2024


V2 Training Beta

1:56pm, 23 May 2024
An updated version of the training entry beta is now available. You can access it via the link at the top of any of your training entries. Here are some of the changes in this latest version (and read yesterday's blog for more background):

1) The 'Benchmarks' have disappeared from the header at the top of your training entry. Instead, you'll find a drop down menu titled 'Fastest...' just below the new multigraph. Click this, and it shows you the times for each of the benchmark distances you collected. If you choose one of these, it will (a) zoom the map to show you exactly where it happened; and (b) zoom the multigraph so you can see your stats for that period too.

2) the HR trace on the multigraph is now multicoloured to reflect the different HR zones you were working in during the run. NB there's a bit of a bug in the tooltip here - the HR is shown six times! I'll get that sorted.

3) the detected hills have also been added to the multigraph - they show as coloured bands, moving from light to dark red for steeper hills.

4) on mobile, there were quite a few issues with buttons overlapping and blocking each other. These should be playing nicely now.

5) I culled all the individual graphs e.g. the heart rate trace, the elevation trace, etc. These are now accessible in the multigraph.

6) I've made a new section called 'Further Analysis'. This has stuff like the heart rate distribution, your list of hills, your cadence distribution, your run-walk ratio, power distribution (where available), and your predictions and full benchmark list.

Still to come

1) The pace chart on the multigraph to be colour coded according to which zone you were in.

2) More work on mobile performance. How's it faring on your mobile? In this most recent iteration, I've culled about 14% of the code that makes this page - but there are probably more efficiencies to be had.

3) An option in the 'Splits' section that shows you your watch splits with all the usual columns.

4) Still need to look at the crenelated vs sawtooth pattern for intervals. Not much feedback on that.

How you can help
It's much better to find problems now, rather than when I finally replace the existing version of the page - but unfortunately, sometimes that's the *only* way to get people's attention :-) To help make that experience nicer for everyone, have a look at your recent training entries, and if you spot a problem, you can leave a comment. When commenting, please make sure:

0) it is relevant to what I've been doing! No asking for long sleeve buffs! :-)
1) it includes a link to the training entry where you spotted the problem;
2) you explain how to recreate the problem e.g. "I zoom in to show miles 2-4, and turn on the cadence line";
3) if it seems relevant, let me know what sort of device you're using i.e. a desktop or a mobile device;
4) ditto for the browser you are using e.g. Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Mosaic, Nexus ;-)

--

Right then. Only about 67 hours until my ultra. Wibble.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • I really would like to get the benchmark back where they where, much harder to get a grip on them now. Maybe they can be in both places.
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    2:10pm, 23rd May 2024
  • This may seem like heresy, but I'd swap around the location of the map and the graphs. The map is actually the least interesting bit now, especially for my "own" activities, so seeing the graphs first and maps second would make most sense. Or maybe just have the maps closeable, as the graphs are? Love the section where the cadence / HR / predictions / benchmarks are consolidated into one chunk. Very clean and clear.
    larkim
    2:12pm, 23rd May 2024
  • On the "fastest" bits, I would prefer to see the section where that bm was achieved highlighted, but not simply zoomed into; it loses its context by being instantly zoomed into, even though the data is there to show which section of the run it actually was.
    larkim
    2:13pm, 23rd May 2024
  • btw, can't see the watch splits on the multigraph any more?
    larkim
    2:17pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Just re-uploaded an interval session I did on a treadmill, and noticed that because the incline is set to 0.5 the whole graph is coloured pink as it is one consistent "climb". Looks odd. But a minor thing - fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=23165022 Must remember to delete this too at some point. (On this one, the splits are showing, btw, but they seem to have vanished from my other runs?)
    larkim
    2:27pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Which other runs pls?
    fetcheveryone
    2:35pm, 23rd May 2024
  • All of them! e.g. this from Tuesday fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=23156544 or this one from Feb fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=22766169 However, this one fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=22725027 which is a treadmill run from Feb still shows them?
    larkim
    2:37pm, 23rd May 2024
  • I'm guessing these have been split out from the warm up and cooldowns, right? The meta information for the splits is held in the original upload.
    fetcheveryone
    2:42pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Agree on the map thing larkim said.
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    2:44pm, 23rd May 2024
  • No, those were "raw" activities, just bog standard single runs without any trimming etc. I certainly didn't edit Tuesday's run at all.
    larkim
    2:45pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Just re-uploaded this one from March 2023 - the original on here has no watch splits, and neither does this newly uploaded one - fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=23165082 (new one), fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=21669121 previously uploaded one
    larkim
    2:50pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Just had a look at Tuesday’s run. The splits come every mile, so they don’t get stored. It’s only when you deviate from something periodic that the meta information is stored. Because most runs are just auto mile/km splits, there’s no point storing them - you just choose ‘Mile’ or ‘km’ in the splits tool.
    fetcheveryone
    2:51pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Btw, if you want the splits tool to default to miles, just go into your training settings and tick the ‘unitary splits’ tickbox.
    fetcheveryone
    2:53pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Ah, OK - I expected to see them on there too, thought I'd seen them yesterday. My bad. My preference would be for them to be there all the time, whether or not they are evenly spread, but if you're not capturing that info then it isn't displayable! How would that interact with garmin's "track" feature which should create regular laps based on running round a known 400m athletics track? Would they not be recorded either?
    larkim
    2:55pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Again, if it's a regular repeated distance, there's no point me storing that meta info, as you can just choose it from the dropdown. The value this will bring is during effort/recovery sessions where the distances of both differ from each other.
    fetcheveryone
    2:58pm, 23rd May 2024
  • I really like the BETA! :) 👍
    But discovered 2 small errors: the "fastest section" in the multigraph is different from the map (conversion miles/km: e.g. fastest mile is only 1km in the multigraph); HR is displayed several times.
    usc215
    3:23pm, 23rd May 2024
  • It still looks good to me! (Can I have a long sleeved buff please? ;) )
    3M
    4:53pm, 23rd May 2024
  • "Still need to look at the crenelated vs sawtooth pattern for intervals. Not much feedback on that."

    What's this referring to? I have lots of interval sessions I can look at and feedback on.

    I've looked at the pace on this entry: fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=23139954

    Pickup seems slow assuming the lines for laps are the right place. Can't see a time reference as I scroll so hard to be 100% but Garmin is potentially applying some smoothing but the acceleration profile seems to slow.

    I'm also missing the last couple of laps lines on that session. It is captured in the splits in comments.
    SPR
    5:27pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Please don't remove the benchmarks :)
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    8:36am, 24th May 2024
  • Out of interest on the "auto splits" not showing on the multigraph, if I set off on a run with autosplits clocking the miles, but later in the run for some reason I hit the manual lap, would that show up? How do you distinguish between the meta info that you store and the data that you don't? I can still see a benefit from showing them on the graph as markers (e.g. if you did a session which was 1 mile on, 1 mile off (autolapped) for 8-10 miles you'd get no lines, but if I did 2 miles on, 1 mile off (manually lapped), you would, and there isn't really anything that the system knows to distinguish between the two).
    larkim
    9:25am, 24th May 2024
  • Another vote for keeping the benchmarks, or at least making them clickable in some way. I often click through to the benchmark page to compare with previous runs, to find out if it was the xth fastest km over the last six months/year.
    njosmith
    9:47am, 25th May 2024
  • The benchmarks are still there in clickable format (as well as the dropdown on the multigraph) - they're in the 'Further Analysis' section. See?
    fetcheveryone
    11:04am, 25th May 2024
  • Not sure if it relates to Beta or not. Did a parkrun first thing, but any subsequent run that day seems to link itself to the parkrun event in yellow, even if I call it Run-General for example.
    Surrey Phil
    1:22pm, 25th May 2024
  • No i don't see them anywhere besides in the dropdown box. i really like them visible in the small boxes all the time. I don't think they take up that much real estate either so you cant have them there too?
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    1:40pm, 28th May 2024
  • Do you not see them in the "further analysis" section further down? Tabular presentation. Not as "front and centre" as they are in their current summarised form in the existing log template, but there nonetheless.
    larkim
    1:43pm, 28th May 2024
  • Ahh, i see, yes there they are. Thanks Larkim :)
    I do like the boxes better though, easier to see at a fast glance.
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    2:03pm, 28th May 2024


New Training Log Beta

9:32am, 22 May 2024
I've been working on some updates to the training log pages.

The changes are by no means complete yet, but I wanted to give you the opportunity to try some of them out, and help me find the most obvious issues.

On any training entry, you'll see a link at the top of the page that allows you to see the beta version.

Here's a run down of the major changes (and the feature requests they correspond to):

1) on the old screen, there was a section called 'Pace' with a set of pace bars, and below that a section called 'Splits' with a table of splits. I'm combining these into a section called 'Splits'.

2) I'm introducing a new 'Multigraph' section, which lets you overlay all your stats in one graph (FR1525). There are a bunch of buttons at the top right of the graph that allows you to switch different lines on and off. It also shows a more detailed (rougher) version of your trace, rather than applying excessive smoothing (FR1744).

3) I'm introducing the ability to use the watch splits in analysis on the multigraph (FR925). I've been storing this data in a usable format since August 2022 - so anything since then should be fine. Note that if your watch splits are just miles, or just kilometres, there'll be no noticeable change. But if you've gone out and run (say) 10x400 with walks in between, AND you set your watch up to track the session, then you'll get some vertical dashed lines like this example:



4) You can also zoom in on part of the graph (FR209). So if you had a great five miles in the middle, and want to see your stats for just that bit, you can (desktop) drag your mouse on the graph, or (mobile) do a reverse pinch to zoom in on the section you want. When you've done that, you'll get some stats for that section e.g. time, average pace, average HR, average cadence. From memory it's all a bit squished on mobile, but I'll get to that.

Still to do

1) I'd like to make the pace and HR lines on the multigraph show different colours corresponding to the effort zone you're in.

2) I am thinking that the multigraph removes the need for the individual HR, cadence, altitude and power graphs down below the splits section. I will probably get rid of these, and make a section called something like 'further analysis', where I can group together all the little graphs and tables on the lower right. These mostly focus on distributions e.g. your HR distribution; your run/walk/still ratio; your hill list; etc.

3) Mobile performance. Right now, this is probably gonna be fairly sluggish on mobiles. The longer your session, the more phone memory it will eat up. I will be working on making it more efficient.

4) Please note that the little dropdown at the top of the new 'Splits' section will take you back to the old version of the page. When these changes go live, it'll all work out ok :-)

5) I'd like to bring the 'Benchmark' buttons into the multigraph. So you could click e.g. your 5k benchmark time, and it'd zoom in to show you the relevant point on the trace where you achieved this.

6) If I can fit it in without cramping the lines, some y-axis labels on the multigraph. At the moment you can mouse or tap any point to see the pace - but it'd be nice to have that visual guide on the axis. Also, the y-axis lines don't currently correspond to anything that feels 'natural'. They are currently something like 'metres per second' - but it'd be better to have mins/mile or mins/km.

7) I'd like to do more with watch splits - like adding some summary stats to the multigraph for each one. But I'm worried that it'll be overkill.

8) because there's a *bit* of smoothing in the graphs still, a lot of interval sessions have a bit of a 'sawtooth' shape, rather than a sharper crenelated shape. I'll see what I can do to resolve this. Perhaps some sort of smoothing control would work. Smoothing is, in part, a legacy thing, because back when I last worked on these graphs, watch data was flipping terrible :-)

How you can help
I test as much as I can - but you all have your own unique data, and your own way of doing things. Testing for every scenario is *much* easier when there are hundreds of pairs of eyes! You are welcome as always to leave a comment to let me know what you think of the changes in general - and no doubt you will :-) If you're reporting a problem in a comment, please make sure:

0) it is relevant to what I've been doing! No asking for long sleeve buffs! :-)
1) it includes a link to the training entry where you spotted the problem;
2) you explain how to recreate the problem e.g. "I zoom in to show miles 2-4, and turn on the cadence line";
3) if it seems relevant, let me know what sort of device you're using i.e. a desktop or a mobile device;
4) ditto for the browser you are using e.g. Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Netscape, Mosaic, Nexus ;-)

These steps make it as easy as possible for me to *recreate* what you're seeing. And if I can see it too, then I'm half way to fixing it :-)

I will make changes throughout today, and update the beta page with the changes periodically. Thank you for reading. You are, as always, a scintillating beast.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • That's really interesting but a lot for my little brain to take in. I'll have another look later.
    Ness
    9:40am, 22nd May 2024
  • This sounds promising :)
    Velociraptor
    9:41am, 22nd May 2024
  • Excellent improvements! I've just had a look at my last run using the beta, really good tool. The multigraph provides everything I'd want in a concise and clear way, the other charts underneath for heart/elevation/power/cadence can go now for me (or have an option to disable them).
    Sigh
    9:41am, 22nd May 2024
  • First glance, really like the multigraph a lot. I'll have to think about my own data though; I typically program the watch for a session e.g. warm up (until lap button pressed), 5 x interval / rest (based on lap buttons), warm down (until lap button pressed) so the whole workout is in one activity on Garmin. But then use the split facility on here to trim out the wu/cd so my log separates those out and leaves the "intervals" section separate. But the split / trim functionality loses the splits, so the dotted lines stuff doesn't work. e.g. see fetcheveryone.com/t-23107810 My preference is not to have to to restart the watch for a new activity for the warm up / warm down etc, but you don't build the site just to fit with my peculiar ways of working!
    larkim
    9:42am, 22nd May 2024
  • I love it so far, but i miss to have uploaded pictures higher up on the page.
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    9:46am, 22nd May 2024
  • I would also like to get other data that i can see in runalyse.
    Dew point on the run, is that from the garmin file and weather data?

    Garmin vo2max with 2 decimals, as seen on runalyse. There's no way of seeing that in garmins universe at all.
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    9:50am, 22nd May 2024
  • @Bowman - that's FR104.

    @larkim - in theory, you don't have to split your activity. If you have (say) mile warm up, 10 x 400 with little walks, mile warm down, each section *should* be delineated by a dotted line. This seems to fit with your preferences if I've understood you right.
    fetcheveryone
    9:50am, 22nd May 2024
  • And @Bowman, please see point (0) of 'How you can help' ;-)
    fetcheveryone
    9:50am, 22nd May 2024
  • That was two of my feature requests, I think! Ability to use intervals / splits as recorded by watch AND ability to analyse just sections of a recorded event to see stats for that section. Magic, thanks! :-) G
    HappyG(rrr)
    10:06am, 22nd May 2024
  • Love the multigraph - looks perfect at first glance, and also the love the zoom feature :-)
    If I always want to see say Pace, Altitude, HR, but am never intersted in Power, Stride, etc could it be set to remember what your last set of options were ( or set your preference for which you want to see in Settings somewhere ) so it always shows those ?
    K5 Gus
    10:09am, 22nd May 2024
  • @K5 Gus - that should be doable - but if I don't get around to it during this set of updates, bung it in as a FR so I don't forget.
    fetcheveryone
    10:12am, 22nd May 2024
  • No obvious feedback, beyond what you'd said yourself - scales on the y axis, and auto scale of pace (seems not to fit the available space)? :-) G
    HappyG(rrr)
    10:13am, 22nd May 2024
  • @HappyG - the issue with letting the pace have the full run of the height is that it tends to clash with the HR and cadence lines. These tend to be towards the top of range for most of your run, so if the pace line is in the lower half of the graph, they can play nicely together.
    fetcheveryone
    10:15am, 22nd May 2024
  • I used to, once my running was up to it, start watch, warm up, stop watch, start watch do intervals, hills, Tempo, stop watch, start watch, do warm down. So that I could look at it all separately. Now the lap button is your best friend, you can just hit your paces/HR/ time. No problems. Toggling between cadence/HR/pace would be good.
    Ocelot Spleens
    11:19am, 22nd May 2024
  • That all looks good to me. Thanks.
    3M
    11:20am, 22nd May 2024
  • Love the multi graph thing - noticed one thing tho , if you scroll down to the Heart Section, on the Right Hand Side where is says BPM, my blue squiggly line is off the top of the chart. Doesn't look right to me.

    I'm using Chrome on a 24 inch monitor so I don't think it's me.
    bigleggy
    11:31am, 22nd May 2024
  • I thought i kidna was, and i had lost that 104, sorry :)
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    11:46am, 22nd May 2024
  • You lost me at beta!
    minardi
    12:00pm, 22nd May 2024
  • aweome, love the multigraph and the watch splits. Is it possible to make the split selection sticky? so when i make the splits say every 0.5km thats what I get on the next entry I choose to look at?
    DocM
    12:11pm, 22nd May 2024
  • The split choice is based on the length of the run currently. So if you run a 5k, it might make more sense to be looking at 500m splits, whereas for a marathon, five mile chunks may be more useful. I'll have a think about that.
    fetcheveryone
    12:19pm, 22nd May 2024
  • I was going to make the same comment as larkim. I like to split the warm ups/cool downs away from the session.
    westmoors
    1:29pm, 22nd May 2024
  • Hi, liking the multigraph but it would be good to have the data from each interval displayed, either in the multigraph or in the splits section further down so I can see average pace, HR etc for each interval. Let me know if you need more info
    chunkywizard
    2:15pm, 22nd May 2024
  • @fetcheveryone On the splits, I split the run up so that my log has a chunk of runs called "warm up" / "warm down" with average pace that's appropriate, and the actual interval sessions themselves are then comparable with each other (e.g. if I do an intervals session that has 4 miles wu, then 5x800m, then 3m warmdown, its not comparable with another one with 2.5m wu/5x800m, 1mcd. But the intervals bits in the middle should be. Which is why I'd like the Garmin laps to carry across between the various splits of the run. But like I say, if I'm the only person doing it that way it's not great value to the site if you code it especially for me!
    larkim
    3:18pm, 22nd May 2024
  • I do the same as Larkim, ie one activity with WU, Intervals, Recoveries, CD programmed into the watch as a workout. I don't top and tail the WU/CD I just ignore them. The bits I am interesting in is comparing the intervals to one another, eg tonight I am doing 10 x 600m so I'd like to see my pace for each of the 600's and how the heartrate peaks and falls across the intervals.
    chunkywizard
    3:30pm, 22nd May 2024
  • Seems to me what @larkim wants could potentially become much easier if the split/trim tool gains the ability to quickly specify the lap boundaries as the split point(s)

    Sounds excellent, Fetch; I look forward to playing with it after my run later. Have a campachuchu on me. Ciao and bella ;)
    ishep 🇪🇺
    4:45pm, 22nd May 2024
  • Should I be able to see watch splits here currently? fetcheveryone.com/training-log-view-beta.php?id=23139954

    The multigraph looks good for the type of session I did here. Would love splits a well, ideally to the tenth if possible.
    SPR
    6:31pm, 22nd May 2024
  • larkim chunkywizard it does seem odd to have coding to do something that could easily done manually?
    SPR
    6:36pm, 22nd May 2024
  • I’m using Safari on an iPad mini and the new multigraph buttons are not selectable (i.e. nothing happens when I press one) when I’m using portrait mode. Works fine in landscape mode. I’ve tried several training entries and it’s the same for all of them. The graph box also overlaps part of the “Splits”header below it when in portrait mode.
    Fragile Do Not Bend
    10:44pm, 22nd May 2024
  • To add to my comment above, I have the text size set to 115% on the browser due to dodgy eyesight, when I put it back to 100% and refreshed the screen the graph buttons worked properly and no overlap.
    Fragile Do Not Bend
    10:47pm, 22nd May 2024
  • Not a fan of the split graph and chart is together again, it takes up so much space.
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    1:31pm, 23rd May 2024
  • You can close that whole section by clicking the bar at the top?
    fetcheveryone
    1:38pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Love this - much better and simpler than the current version.
    faithfulred
    2:55pm, 23rd May 2024
  • Noooooooooo nooooooooo noooooo, I neeeeeed my heart graph to stay exactly as it is with the colours and the line, all nice and seperate and clear. Not over-layed on another graph. Please? I'm begging here, I can't cope with that changing.
    RooA
    7:43pm, 23rd May 2024
  • I hate the multigraph. It looks like strava and strava is shit, to be blunt. Please keep the option to have each parameter in its own, useful, readable graph. Changing line colour to show HR zone is going to be way less readable than the current graph.
    Slowboy
    7:46pm, 23rd May 2024
  • As others have said it would be really good if the lap splits could be used instead of distance in the splits section. The info is there in the Notes section but it's pretty hard to read particularly if you're doing some wacky session e.g mona fartlek with different effort times/recoveries. If that lap summary info was selectable in the splits section so you'd get a nice graph and summary data it would be perfect.
    Jonesy the Jog
    1:05pm, 26th May 2024
  • I like the multigraph but would like the pace line to be multi-coloured like HR.
    westmoors
    1:32pm, 26th May 2024
  • "You can close that whole section by clicking the bar at the top?"
    yes i know, but like to see the graphs, but not the rest :)
    Bowman 🇸🇪
    2:01pm, 28th May 2024


Five Noahs

9:44am, 16 May 2024
I had another weird food-related dream the other night. I was in an American diner/bar, trying to get my hands on an oyster, because they were valid substitutes for postage stamps.

I thought I'd record another update in the flood saga, as we're now just past five Noahs (5x40 days) since the flood. In case you don't know about the flood, here's the blog from October: fetcheveryone.com/blog/3/2023/10/473835

Anyway... the short version is that not much has happened.

After muchos shenaniganos, the people from EON turned up two weeks ago to replace the gas and electric meters, which had both perished underwater. And I finally got a refund from them for the direct debit that they continued to take in that period from October through to now, despite the lack of electricity and gas to the property.

I had hoped that the plumber would be able to come the following day to reconnect the boiler to the fresh gas meter. But the EON engineers only have jurisdiction as far as the meters - so the house is still without power until an electrician effectively plugs the house into the electric meter. And without power, the boiler can't be tested. So I had to cancel the plumber, and ask them to send an electrician instead, and he's due to come tomorrow. Assuming the household circuits are in order, I can then re-book the plumber.

The other thing that's happened is that another man came to test for asbestos in the walls, prior to them being hacked back to brickwork. It's ancient artex, so there was a strong chance of it. He turned up about a month ago, was in the house for about five minutes, and took a tiny scraping from the wall in the front room. About a week later it came back positive. The house is not big - it's just two up, two down - but According To His Job Sheet he wasn't due to test the back room. I pointed out to the insurance company that if they were hacking off all the downstairs rooms, they should surely test the back room too. "Oh yeah", they said. *rolls eyes*.

So the asbestos man was due to come back the same day as the meter man. They gave me a window of 8am-Noon, so when the meter man finished, I sat in the car outside the flooded house and read my book (Three Body Problem - v.good!); and made a charity shop run with some old toys (sob). The asbestos man did not come. I phoned the company, and they said that he was running late. I told them I had waited long enough, and had better things to do. After our week away in Devon, we've rescheduled asbestos man for today. Once again it's an 8am-Noon slot, but fortunately I am not having to wait at the house, I'm getting a call when he's nearly there. Apparently.

I've also had a 'schedule of works' from the company that will do the renovations once things get started, along with a request for me to pay the £350 excess on the policy. The rumours on the street is that once that schedule starts, the renovation company has 10 weeks to complete the work, otherwise they start losing their payment from the insurance company. But the schedule has some things I need to correct. For example, I don't want them to texture the freshly plastered walls. And there's no mention of replacing the stair carpet, the bottom third of which was immersed in goodness knows what. I asked if someone could contact me to discuss the schedule, and suggested that there was no point in me paying the excess until we'd agreed the work. I have an email saying that someone will contact me, and about four weekly reminders to pay the excess. Plus they can't start anyway until the asbestos testing is done.

All of which sounds like horrific delay, but it's actually working out fine. Our temporary rental place is lovely, both in itself, and in terms of location. It's 'a bit bland' as my son's gf put it - but we've got what we need. The initial rental runs until June 15th, but my hope is that we'll eventually end up with three one month extensions (they are too tight to agree to one three month extension!) that take us to mid-September. The boy is going to university around about then, so if we can get him there without having to first move him back to the renovated flood house, it vastly simplifies some equations. I just need a few more people to not do what they promised when they promised to do it, and we should be good.

--

Thanks to everyone who set up a Kindle Unlimited trial, or (lol) set up a wedding list. It has raised a further £33 for the Fetch funds :-) Links in the preceding blog if you can spare five mins.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • The world works in mysterious, uncoordinated ways that sometimes work out for the best..
    Diogenes
    9:48am, 16th May 2024
  • Still all sounds very long winded.and frustrating though. Hope it works out well though!
    3M
    10:14am, 16th May 2024
  • Fingers crossed on more delays. Thanks for the reminder - just set up a wedding list :-)
    Elsie Too
    10:54am, 16th May 2024
  • I’m now getting married in 2026, apparently. I think Nic would have something to say about that.

    That sounds like a whole lot of hassle, but good that your rental place is lovely.
    cathrobinson
    11:39am, 16th May 2024
  • What a palaver but hopefully working out for the best in the end.
    Fenland Flier
    11:46am, 16th May 2024
  • Sounds like headbanging stuff
    minardi
    12:26pm, 16th May 2024
  • I’d have bought a gun by now I think.
    runnerbean
    12:27pm, 16th May 2024
  • Most building projects are operated along similar lines of inefficiency, if I recall correctly. You don't want "Asbestos Man" after a flood, he's the super hero for a fire - you need "Butyl Man".
    Sigh
    12:56pm, 16th May 2024
  • You've always appeared to be a very patient person to me, which is quite lucky in the circumstances...
    Goofee
    2:32pm, 16th May 2024
  • All of those shenanigans would be driving me absolutely nuts, I'd be having a lot weirder dreams than using oysters as postage stamps lol
    Runningbauble21
    4:28pm, 16th May 2024
  • I agree w Goofee. Hope the delay is just right.
    LindsD
    5:40pm, 16th May 2024
  • Frustrating
    DocM
    7:11am, 18th May 2024


Diamanté Celebration Spatula Kit

12:37pm, 14 May 2024
Thankfully last night I had no dreams about snooker chalk salad. And I think my legs are appreciating the rest. This week will be relatively light, and next week even lighter - at least until Sunday :-)

If you were kind enough to take out the Audible free trial a month ago, this is another warning to cancel it unless you want to carry on using it. The final amount we raised was £340 (so 68 people took the trial), which I plan on putting towards some upgraded parts for the Fetch server (some more storage space most likely).

It turns out that Amazon do these offers every so often. There's not much point in me repeating the Audible one for a while, as those that took the trial will not be eligible. But here's one for Kindle Unlimited:

amazon.co.uk

You get 30 days unlimited access to over a million ebooks, and other readables. For every person that signs up, FE gets £3 - and it doesn't seem to matter if you take on the trial and then cancel it soon after. You still get the 30 days of freebies, and in theory I still get the £3. If that works for them, it works for me.

And if you've already got a Kindle Unlimited subscription, I reckon it's highly unlikely that you have an Amazon Wedding List. Here's the link - and it appears that all you've got to do is create a list and add something to your list. Each list earns £3.50 for FE.

amazon.co.uk

It doesn't specify any further criteria for being an eligible wedding list creator. It doesn't say you can't already be married. It doesn't specify that you need to be in a relationship. You don't even have to like people. So why not make your wedding list today? You could add that special diamanté celebration spatula kit you've always wanted to share with your loved one. Or literally anything, it seems.

Have an awesome day.
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • Hopefully if it’s as simple as that I may have created my wedding list!
    jelly
    12:53pm, 14th May 2024
  • Can’t beat a blog about spatulas…
    cathrobinson
    1:00pm, 14th May 2024
  • I have created my Kindle Unlimited subscription, despite not owning a Kindle. Clearly Amazon knows who I am already as they didn't even ask for my bank details... And by the way, if any Fetchies on a free Kindle trial want to download any free Kindle books for the duration of the offer, I'd be far too modest to recommend any Kindle books by a certain G G Glen. Just saying ;-)
    GordonG
    1:16pm, 14th May 2024
  • Oh it’s been a long time since our wedding I might just have to think about a new one (I’ll keep that same Mr gg though he’s got used to me now)

    And kindle go on then I apparently had it when I bought my new kindle and didn’t get a single book. But forgot to cancel - thankfully Amazon could see that and refunded me the £60 😬

    Took a while to work out how to cancel Audible but I’m sure to work out kindle and a good financial gain for fetch too win win.
    geordiegirl
    1:23pm, 14th May 2024
  • If I create a wedding list, can you guarantee against
    a) Off Roader getting very suspicious and/or furious?
    b All my relatives thinking I'm getting passive aggressive and letting them know what I really wanted, just 35 years too late?
    um
    1:27pm, 14th May 2024
  • I already have kindle unlimited (and all books by GG Glen) but I'll work on the wedding list later.
    Elsie Too
    2:01pm, 14th May 2024
  • Love this
    LindsD
    2:23pm, 14th May 2024
  • It won't let me do KU as I've abused the free months far too frequently in the past, but I'm now hoping somebody buys us a very expensive bean-to-cup machine for our 20th wedding anniversary. Although only I can see the list. Will this still get you the dosh?
    RunnyBunny
    2:44pm, 14th May 2024
  • I've set up a wedding list :-) Don't tell himself!
    minardi
    3:43pm, 14th May 2024
  • Signed up to the kindle one. Pleas remind me to cancel soon! (I will wait just a a little bit to make sure they pay your money!
    chunkywizard
    10:48pm, 14th May 2024
  • Oooh, interesting... shiny... I hope my goldfish brain doesn't forget about this before lunchtime.
    Helegant
    9:30am, 15th May 2024
  • Alas, my account is apparently not worthy of the Kindle Unlimited offer. However I was able to create the wedding list.
    JCB
    5:12pm, 15th May 2024
  • Have created a wedding list!
    TheScribbler
    9:52am, 16th May 2024
  • I have created a wedding list....Dont tell OH just yet :)
    Welshpoppy
    10:24am, 16th May 2024
  • Fantasy wedding list done.
    GetOutTheDoor
    11:31am, 16th May 2024
  • Glad to be of help with the Audible temp sub. :)
    Garfield
    5:10pm, 16th May 2024
  • Have also created a wedding list. I'll have fun living vicariously! ;)
    Garfield
    5:19pm, 16th May 2024


Marmite Excalibur

12:45pm, 13 May 2024
Last night I dreamed I was a guest at a sports-themed buffet. Each food was inspired by a different sport. My abiding memory was of the snooker chalk salad. Whole snooker chalks, in a blue-green mayonnaise. Unfortunately, the one I bit into was somewhat underdone, and I woke up feeling nauseous :-)

Anyway, I'm back. Did you miss me? Last week we took K's mum and aunty to a cottage in Devon (and brought them back at the end). We got to enjoy all the lovely weather, and a nice bit of relaxing. And I got to explore my hobbit fetish, with a 24.8 mile loop that felt like a proper adventure.

fetcheveryone.com/t-23096998

Side note: my watch has butchered the altitude - so here's the altitude profile taken from here: fetcheveryone.com/routes-view.php?id=1863472



The run was a dress rehearsal for the GCU. Prior to this, I'd run a totally tarmac 20 miler at the end of March, and a half marathon recce of the GCU which included about 9 miles of trail running. The former had gone incredibly well, but the latter had left me wondering how my legs would cope with trails. I came away from it with calves that felt like they'd been shredded by torsion.

I put together a route that went from our holiday cottage in Thurlestone down to the coast, and along the SWCP to Salcombe, then via a loop that gave me just under 25 miles. I figured that our week off would mean I had plenty of time to bail out, and to walk as much as I needed to. Katie was also on hand to collect me at any point along the route.

My preparation was somewhat lazy - I ended up with fruity jelly sweets and a 500ml bottle of Oasis for my fuel, bought from the village shop. I supplemented the drink with 500ml of water, and made myself a last-minute Marmite sandwich. It all fitted nicely into my hydration vest, which I'm now pretty comfortable with. For entertainment, I downloaded some albums: Weezer by Weezer; Parklife by Blur (skipping Boys and Girls and the title track, as both have been overdone); Grace by Jeff Buckley; Post by Bjork; I Should Coco by Supergrass; and Fat of the Land by The Prodigy.

I set off at just after 7.30am on the Bank Holiday Monday. My first point of interest was bumping into Katie and the dog as I reached the coast path. It coincided nicely with the first uphill, so we had a little walk and a catchup before I left her at the crest of the first hill. The first 2.5 miles was stuff I'd covered before, so it was a nice loosener.



There followed a stretch from Bolt Tail to Bolt Head. This was a gorgeous section with beautiful sea views, and gave me a good flavour of how much I'd have to mix running and walking. Midway along this stretch, there were some very horny cows that decided to stand in the most inconvenient place possible. I trotted until I was near, then marched past them confidently whilst not making eye contact.



Every down and up brought with it a new gorgeous scene, and a load of distractingly challenging terrain.



Although we've been fairly near the cliff edges on previous bits of the SWCP, I've not felt especially scared. Not only would I have to trip and fall, I'd have to overcome a significant amount of friction to end up getting into trouble. But on the section between Bolt Head and Salcombe, I had to be a little bit brave. In the next pic, the pointy rocks are Sharp Tor, and the path is carved into the side of the hillside. I chose to walk this bit just to be sure. The pictures don't do the vertigo justice! The path goes to the right of the sharp rocks, so it looks like you're heading for the edge of the world and the path looks very narrow.



Here's where I reached the railings just beneath Sharp Tor. Although I was a wee bit scared, it was utterly amazing - my favourite bit of the whole run. As you can see, the path up close is a decent width.



The ups and downs leading to Salcombe and the 10 mile marker made the whole section feel like it had taken ages, but simultaneously, my head was very busy with the challenge of all the ups and downs so it felt like it went quickly too :-)

Just before heading into the fancy-looking Salcombe, I got a beautiful view of the bay. It's just not possible with my photographic skills to capture something this breathtaking in a photo. You'll just have to imagine how much joy it gave me.



The next five miles to Kingsbridge were harder for different reasons. There was a fair bit of tarmac which was obviously easier underfoot, but the hills just kept on coming. And there were some farming fields that were very tough - my shoes got wet through several times over in the long dewy grass. My toenails (which I had forgotten to trim) got very upset at being cramped up inside wet socks. I also got the skin on my arm broken by an over-excited dog who leapt up at me. And the navigation was that bit harder too. The coastal paths are well-trodden, but inland there's a bit more guess-work when paths can go one way or another at hedge lines. My mood wasn't great during this section as you might imagine. I missed the excitement of the coastal path.

It was a relief to reach Kingsbridge. The High Street was looking pretty with multi-coloured flags.



Half way up the very steep street, I refilled my vest with a different flavour of Oasis from WH Smith (does nowhere in Devon sell Lucozade?) and bought an emergency Snickers. And there was a nice moment where I realised that I could reach back between my shoulder blades with my left hand, and reach my sandwich. I drew it like a wholemeal Excalibur and took a few bites as I marched up the street.



It's the first time I've eaten anything more substantial than gels, sweets or small fruit segments on a long run - so I chose against inhaling the whole thing, and just took a few bites. It went in very nicely. It may be entirely coincidental, but my mood improved at this point too. Going through 15 miles felt like a big psychological boost - my watch was showing less than 10 miles to go, and I knew that I could just knock off half a mile at a time. I felt confident for the first time that I'd be capable of achieving what I set out to do.

The hills didn't stop though. Miles 15 through 21 were on country roads, so there was a fair bit of running/marching alongside big hedges whilst cars gave varying amounts of leeway. Most of them were totally brilliant tbf. My legs were holding up nicely, although I was getting a bit of discomfort from my right quads on the bigger downhills. I stopped for a little chat with a lady with poles who was on the comeback trail after a dodgy knee.

At mile 21 I turned off the road onto what was not much more than a farm track with a grin. If you imagine two circles, one titled "signposts", and the other titled "things that are one mile away from Venn", here's where they intersect:



On a lane slightly narrower than an Amazon van, I gave way to an Amazon van. He went very slowly, but I still had to Matrix my head out of the way of his wing mirrors, and stand with my feet at quarter to three in order to avoid getting them flattened.

Then came another off-road section which was not only steeply uphill, but also on the kind of mashed up earth that is hard to walk on, let alone run. I met a herd of cows that coalesced around me as I walked, and stood looking just a bit sad as I exited their field.



A very short respite along a farm track, before more off-road. Two valleys stood between me and the last bit of road that led home. I drew Excalibur once more, and took in the mighty power of Marmite. I met two farmers buzzing around on their quad bikes. One had two beautiful sheepdogs who escorted me politely through their field.

And then I was on the road again. My watch confirmed that I'd done most of the planned miles but crucially *all* of the uphill bits. It occurred to me later to put a marker against the amount of elevation I'd tackled. Snowdon is 1085 metres, and all estimates suggest I did something like 1200 metres. Nice :-)

I broke into a trot, and was very pleased that it didn't hurt. The last mile or so felt a bit long, but I just *knew* I'd see Katie around a corner at some point. And there she was, marching out to me with a rucksack full of Twiglets (think of them as tiny Marmite Excaliburs) and water. I gave her what I hoped was a big grin (but in reality was probably quite scary). Her rucksack meant she wasn't up for running the last 0.3 miles with me, so I kept on going until I got back to my start point, then after buying another drink from the shop I walked back to meet her.

Post-run, I had some quality time lying on the bedroom floor. K very kindly made sure the bag of Twiglets and some drinks were within reach. And recovery went great. I cooked dinner for us all that evening, and accompanied Katie on a two mile sunset walk to the cliffs overlooking Burgh Island.

My watch was totally unimpressed though.



The following day I was groaning a bit; sit-to-stand was interesting; my calves had the same torsion-stress feeling; and the sole of my right foot felt a wee bit like I'd bruised it. I had one small blister on one of my big toes. But some gentle walking helped ease things off, and I managed another 6.2 miles on hilly roads just 72 hours later which really helped to loosen everything off.

My new cadence breakdown tool gave me 18 miles of running (55% of the time), and 6.8 miles of walking (41% of the time) and 4% of the time was spent standing still - a mixture of being lost, taking pictures and talking to dog owners, walkers and farmers.



I am really very happy with how it went. The GCU has only 462 metres of ascent, and a hillscore of only 29, compared to my route with 1200m ascent and a hillscore of 103. So I feel like I am well-placed to tackle the hills, and that my 24.8 is worth a few more miles if you flattened it out a bit.

I've come up with some bits of knowledge that have helped me get this far.

Redefine 'Long Run'
Back in October last year, I ran 17.5 miles off the back of not much training. Previously with long runs, I'd have crept up a mile or two at a time; but this felt like it came out of (almost) nowhere. I just told myself that it was something I could do, and I fell for it. For too long, I've seen long runs as just a bit scary, but I am trying to turn them into 'just a thing'.

Even short runs can be a test of what you are willing to do
When I can, I've been adding extra bits to my runs. Usually just a little extra loop for a mile or so. Just to make it more than I intended when I left the house. It's a good way to practice finding that bit more in the tank.

Never decide that things are going badly when you're going uphill.
Self-explanatory really. Hills feel hard, but that's because they are. Get it done, and decide how you feel afterwards. Usually better!

Cut your damn toenails.
Obvious. Please remind me to keep mine trimmed and/or sanded down before the GCU.

Remember that there are good and bad patches ahead.
This long run was a mood salad. The cliff-path miles were slow going in many ways, but utterly fascinating. The farmers fields and muggles that followed were tough going. The mood lifted in Kingsbridge - I knew I could do it. Then some slogging. Chopping wood and carrying water, as Jigs once put it. And then delight. Then Twiglets and groaning. You can get through all of it.

Trust in the Marmite Excalibur
Always keep one handy.

There are now just under two weeks until my first ultra. The trick now I guess is to rest up and be prepared. If you're interested in reading more accounts of new-to-ultra runners, I can recommend the in-depth accounts of her recent experience from RooA: fetcheveryone.com/blog/105376

AND there are still spaces if you want to enter the GCU: runawayracing.com
Click here to suggest fetcheveryone's blog for today's highlights.

Comments

  • When we did that stretch, there was a noisy dico/rave boat in the bay. So we were zipping through and not noticing the risk.

    Followed a bit later by the velociraptors. I bet they'f have made you speed up ...


    An impressive run !
    um
    1:18pm, 13th May 2024
  • Excellent bloggage. Although bleurgh to marmite…
    cathrobinson
    1:22pm, 13th May 2024
  • That’s a brilliant run. I forget about my toenails too and I’m going to try marmite sandwiches for fuel at some point. They sound great. Did you have butter as well or just the black stuff?
    Corrah
    1:29pm, 13th May 2024
  • It was Flora, as I'm off the butter atm.
    fetcheveryone
    1:30pm, 13th May 2024
  • *makes a note* I have that too but I always seem to say butter :) I’ve used marmite as a drink before in a looped ultra during the night like bovril I guess. It worked well. I really fancy marmite now.
    Corrah
    1:33pm, 13th May 2024
  • Mmm... Marmite. I love Marmite!

    Lovely bloggage!

    My favourite aunt had a lovely holiday flat in Kingsbridge. Sadly she's recently sold it (made sense under the circumstances) but a lovely part of the world that I think she'll miss visiting.
    Ness
    1:48pm, 13th May 2024
  • Fabulous bloggage and photos although one or 2 of them made my vertigo wibble a bit. Well done medal
    minardi
    1:50pm, 13th May 2024
  • I agree with the marmite sandwiches and also recommend a bag of trail mix. Nuts, sultanas, dried apricots etc. Perfect fuel. Good luck with Greensand.
    Fairy clogs
    1:53pm, 13th May 2024
  • That's a tough old route, you are nails, and not just the ones on your toes.
    Diogenes
    1:58pm, 13th May 2024
  • great blog. Are all of those photos available in Conquercise? ;-)
    chunkywizard
    2:10pm, 13th May 2024
  • Solid food rather than gels is priceless. Good run and a good blog. Going out even for a walk on fitted legs is valuable
    Derby Tup
    2:29pm, 13th May 2024
  • What a lovely outing!

    I often meet cars/vans/tractors on narrow lanes and think it would be much easier if *they* stopped and allowed me to inch my way past than the other way round.
    Alice the Camel
    4:20pm, 13th May 2024
  • ive used marmite sandwiches on long runs and agree they are awesome
    DocM
    4:25pm, 13th May 2024
  • My stomach (and other) muscles clenched as I thought about the cliff edge path. Funny thing is I don't normally get vertigo anyway! Nice going, and preparation, though.
    P.S.: That is a very hairy wrist!
    3M
    4:41pm, 13th May 2024
  • super outing :)

    I've managed just 10/11 miles so far - I may find the Greensand a little more challenging than you will :)
    Rosehip
    5:44pm, 13th May 2024
  • Garmins are lying sods sometimes. Well done, boss!
    RichHL
    5:59pm, 13th May 2024
  • Good luck. Cracking run. I use nakd bars x
    oldbiddy
    6:30pm, 13th May 2024
  • Marmite = good.

    When I was running well I would always add an extra loop or two onto a run if I felt I could. You just never know.
    Oranj
    7:44pm, 13th May 2024
  • The Gloom is definitely lack of fuel! When you feel sad or angry, even just a little bit, eat. :-) Nice running, now go cut your toe nails.
    RooA
    8:24pm, 13th May 2024
  • Top trip. Nice cow-meeting.
    Dvorak
    9:40pm, 13th May 2024
  • Great blog and a highly worthwhile long run - good stuff!
    ♪♫ Synge ♪♫
    9:54pm, 13th May 2024
  • V positive. Well done
    LindsD
    10:18pm, 13th May 2024


About Me

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

Blog Archive


Expand All
2024 (53)
June (3)
Oscar's Everyone Day
New training entry view is live
Snap Poll :-)
May (7)
Easy Street
Track me on Sunday
V2 Training Beta
New Training Log Beta
Five Noahs
Diamanté Celebration Spatula Kit
Marmite Excalibur
April (13)
In case you haven't cancelled it yet...
Weasels and spiders
Blog Listings Change (nowt major)
Six New Badges! Adding pics to Conquercise zones.
Night Races - Can you help?
Sifting Chunks: Gradient versus Pace
Audible Free Trial - You get free audiobooks, I get five quid!
A donation from JH
Andy Townsend :-)
GCU50: Citizen on Patrol
Fetchpoint: The Game - Where I'm Headed
Fetchpoint: The Game - a consultation
Heavy Roller please
March (11)
I can eat fifty eggs
Oscar the Grouch :-(
If a Fetch fails in a forest...
Trialling a new weekly update email
Lasting Power of Suspicion
Fetch Virtual Challenge 2024 *bunting*
Swittle's Funeral
Cadence
Tea & Trails Podcast
Down to my last pen
A bench for swittle
February (8)
The Lightning Struck Tower
Swittle
Cholesterol
This year so far in pictures
Three Noahs
Fetch is as strong as you make it.
100k - what do I need?
Paywalls are BS: I'm on a podcast!
January (11)
Chasing Round Numbers - A Cautionary Tale!
MOTM - Decision Made (and a competition for EVERYONE!)
MOTM - a chance to rethink
Training Home Page updates
How much walking will I do?
Training Plans - Further Updates
Training Plan List
Butter Police
Why no app?
Useful Chat!
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
2023 (136)
December (6)
Nearly forgot...
Jam today
Removing another bit of Google's invasiveness
Fancy an extra challenge over the next 12 days?
Chewie, we're home!
Two tips for today's advent challenge
November (13)
Spammy McSpamface
40 days and 40 nights
EfM confirmed!
New Training Log Beta! 😲 (aka Change Is Not Good)
Escape from Meriden
Waiting for your training?
Route of the Century?
I didn't know I owned a nutcracker
Design our anniversary shirts/vests!
Holiday Reading - plenty of fiction :-)
Swimming in a metaphor
Hello
Off World
October (11)
Fl'update
To think I tried to mop it up!
Vote Please: How many F'Laps will you try to do?
F'Laps 2024
Long Run
So it still needs a name...
Front Garden Ultra?
The Boy is a man!
Festive Fetch Calendar
Creative K's
Signs
September (7)
Training Edit Screen - time to ditch it...
Stock check
The Doctor K Cup - October 7th!!!!
Removing the training edit screen
A Happy Applecart
Happy 19th Birthday!
Forgotten pictures
August (14)
Just in case
Weekly Total Hours
Dim Brys Dim Chwys
All hail our robot overlords!
Your local parkrun
Fool on the hill
Survey Follow Up
A survey?
Did you know?
I made a thing
VC Day
FBI Agent
What keeps you going?
Be careful what's in your paste buffer (and July training update)
July (13)
Delight
Respecting your eyeballs since 2004
Hot Stuff, coming through
Ocean Colour Scheme
18 years, 10 months, 13 days and counting...
Ooof #fail
Our listings need you!
Pics from the end of the swim
A whispered, half-remembered dream
Try the Heatmap!!!
Teaser
100 Running Words (and my June summary)
July Virtual Mile
June (8)
Last Big Swim
I can't be the only one...
Which is the real me?
#EveryoneDay
The legendary sixth samosa!
WSW Main Page Layout Changes
May Summary (contains swimming!)
Hoodies pre-order closes at 10am
May (17)
A new WSW challenge
Tagging images
Hoooooooooooooodies!!!!!!!!!!!
Another Sweatshop Competition
Did you get an email?
Fifty Years Ago - Part VIII
Fifty Years Ago - Part VII
Fifty Years Ago - Part VI
Help on a slippery slope
Fifty Years Ago - Part V
Fifty Years Ago - Part IV
Fifty Years Ago - Part III
Chuck-off: Round 2
Not my king?
Fifty Years Ago - Part II
Fifty Years Ago
And that was April
April (10)
Centurion Safari!
Sheep treats (and a routes feature)
And I’ll sail her up the west coast, through villages and towns.
15,746 places to 💩
Track Your Blood Pressure
A couple of quick fmail updates
Rusty Metal and a Cycling Grudge Match
Please help me kick the fmail tyres!
Onset of Summer Watch. Have you got Onset of Summer? +fmail!
Premium?
March (10)
And that was March
Try the new fmail system
Can you help my boy?
Tell A Friend?
Some Sweatshop Competitions
Sign up to our 2023 Virtual Challenge
Review: FORM Smart Goggles
UTMOST vs Treadmills
33,258
Embranglement!
February (13)
And that was February
This year's Virtual Challenge
What does Points make?
Automatic Everything Collector
Peaky Finders
FAO Fitbit users
My favourite training graph
You've got this.
Coffee Survey (for my stepson)
Access all the tips
Tiny Usability Changes
Cod science
Hot Tips
January (14)
Monthly Infographic Bug Fixes
No, but really...
Have a play with the monthly infographic
It's not ready yet, but...
Introducing Fetch Premium
Help me design a new Monthly Infographic...
Still following?
Fettle
Definitely Not Betting
Do you follow? (plus burp chat)
Advance warning for stalkers!
I'm back (and the Fetch LS, SS and NS shirts preorder is open)
Attention Fitbit Users
Review 50 albums in 2023 (badge!)
2022 (144)
December (8)
Treasure Hunt Day 1 - the best gift
Important updates to the Fetch Relay
Introducing the Fetch Relay 2023
Who Am I? (Solved, thanks) And How Am I?
Confessions :-)
12 Days of Christmas Treasure Hunt
Chewie, we’re home!
A few pics from the Foffice :-)
November (24)
Yesvember - Day #30 (and Festive Fetch Calendar Eve!)
The Fetch Festive 160.934 :-) [Yesvember #Day 29]
You'd better watch out... (plus Yesvember Day #28)
Brace Yourself (and there's one spare bobble hat!) and Yesvember - Day #26
Hats in the post! Plus Yesvember Day #25
Look what arrived!
Yesvember - Day #24
Training Graph Manager - usability update (Yesvember Day #23)
Yesvember - Day #22 - Cheating?
Last chance to enter the Advance Performance comp
Yesvember - Days #11 thru #14 (plus Jumpy Boy)
Weather on the training home page watch. Have you got weather on the training home page? (Yesvember - Day #10)
Oh, and... it's Yesvember - Day #9
Another bit of the internet fenced off
Yesvember - Day #8 - taking steps
Yesvember - Day #7
Yesvember - Day #6
Yesvember - Day #5
The curse of swimming GPS
Yesvember - Day #4
The Les Mis effect
Yesvember - Day #3
Yesvember - Day #2
Yesvember - Day #1
October (15)
October gives way to Yesvember!
Anyone fancy a threeway?
More thoughts on races
Racing, post-pandemic
Contracts exchanged!
Competition Time!
Last call for Flobble Hats
A record year for swimming?
Woburn Lido
Order your Bobble Hat! If you like.
I appear to have entered a race! (plus new Garmin import queueing system)
Eric the Eel
Get your hobbit on
The Doctor K Cup: Saturday 8th October!
I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind
September (16)
Take This Bus To Cuba
Fetch Bobble Hats
Trumpeting
Training View tweaks (switch maps, game overlays, mile markers)
Training View tweaks (and a play button bug fix)
A long ride and a cold swim.
Play Button
UTMOST Wava & Bike Division Rebuilds
New UTMOST leagues for cyclists and WAVA fans
The Doctor K Cup
Chance encounters
Do I ditch our Facebook stuff?
A keeper, from my feedback inbox...
Ultra distances - update
Adding ultra distances to Fastest Fetchies league.
Try the new Training Groups pages
August (11)
Training Groups Update - Coming Soon
Garmin Queue Issues
Donations without reference numbers :-)
New Elbow Laws
No longer the 3398th fastest Fetchie over 10k!
Pulling counties into league tables
What was I thinking?
County Champion?
Just bear in mind that you asked for this.
Wahoo and Coros users
How to make half a million quid (batteries not included)
July (6)
Club Listings
Book giveaway :-)
Updated Race Portfolio
Updated Targets Page
Exactly ***1*** Spare Ladies L Cycling Jersey
Search All Blogs :-)
June (10)
Imagine you could search all the public blogs...
Banking Scandal at Fetch Towers!
7pm on Baker Island #everyoneday
#EveryoneDay - Sunday 26th June 2022
Spare Challenge Coasters
The North West Passage
Feature Request Voting - Know Your Limits!
UTMOST Division 8: YIKES!
Shepperton Weight Gain Programme
UTMOST Division 9! Sub-50 10k :-)
May (16)
Four hours left :-)
Division 10: No hope of escape?
Book giveaway :-)
Division 11: No place left to hide
New HR Analysis
They're here! Well, not exactly *here*, but...
A quick Darth Mode update
Darth Mode! And a few biscuits for the hyperdrive.
Division 12: Two hours of pushing broom
Dark Mode: Beta
PB Potential? Fancy a quickie? ;-)
Division 12: Running Out Of Road?
Thank you everyone!
Making UTMOST moves :-)
Do you want a Fetch shirt?
I did my UTMOST :-) (plus new sharing infographic)
April (7)
Today's plan
NEW UTMOST BADGES!!!!!
A plug for some races
Raspberry Pavlov
Win a book :-)
United Colours of Cross Training
A little Streetview adventure
March (11)
The lockers are a pound.
Advice for Gym Noobs!
Feedback made easier
#EveryoneDay June 26th 2022
Fetch Virtual Challenge 2022 🎈
Thanks Chunky: parkrun routes!
Sniffer Dogs
Yikes!
Fetch Cycling Jerseys - Update
Route Plotting tweak
The Crow: A Pipedream!
February (7)
Fetch Kit Spares
Updated Race Listing Pages
Introducing Rundle!
I appear to be training for an OWS event!
Fetch Cycling Jerseys!!!
Does you wantz free shoez?
Post Office tomorrow - kit spares
January (13)
Updated Flanci Design (now with more Fetchness)
Badge Collection Graphic!
Updated elevation trace
Book Lists :-)
Updated sharing infographic - do you like it?
Spare Fetch Kit
Badge page refresh / feature requests
Flanci / Fetch Leggings
New Badge Pages
New hill badges
Join me on my fitness journey!
Are you the farmer?
Blog every day challenge - finishers
2021 (187)
December (14)
Book List
Ten years ago today...
A big slobbery elephant snog.
If you don't like hills, this must be getting tiring :-)
When does a hill end?
Hill finder - prototype v2
Hill Finder - prototype
2022 Targets
Chewie, We’re Home! Happy Fetch Independence Day!
Embed badges, plus a new badge :-)
Updated people page
Seeking map
Streak Watch
The new Fetch buffs are here…
November (23)
Almost there...
The Fetch Library
Update your thread titles
Ascent dissent
Mute a thread
Shortcuts
Training Import Queue
I fell off (but not really!)
Croeso i Fetcheveryone. Ydych chi'n siarad Almaeneg, Swedish neu Eidaleg?
New mobile nav
Last call for shirts
@
Just a trim please
Brought to you by wind power
300 miles later
Golden Ticket Shocker!
Banjobax (aka KOG)
Home and Away kit preorder - with long sleeve option
A little competition - win a copy of Daniels' Running Formula
Garmin testers - thanks
Add your grub stops!
Points Of Interest: Grub Stops
Garmin-owning testers wanted
October (19)
New home and away shirts and vests
Benchmark league - a few more updates
Benchmark league table
Hill areas
Preorder is now open!
'b'uffs then
Necktube design #1 & #2
Buffs (well, neck tubes)
Report dodgy GPS stuff
An apology for people who follow my training
New cycling and swimming badges
New Conquercise Feature: Grids
Sprouting a tiny biking antler :-)
Have a try of the cycling gradient analysis
Struggling with my big ring
Cycling: gradient vs pace
A question for cyclists
For Doctor K
Shan't.
September (14)
New comments (FID 1212)
Forum post previews
Garmin imports with a snippet more info
Gallery upload options
Golden Tickets
"No need to panic donate", says Williams
Forum Quotes
Spoiler Alert!
20th of March and all that.
Have you signed up yet?
This bit of crappy Upminister nearly cost me my f***ing life.
A guide with no pages
To steal a catchphrase from a wise lady...
Multiple choice polls
August (11)
Pre-Race Training - Updated
A connection!
New Member of the Month sponsor
Best Weeks - bug fixes
Your Best Week Ever
Rainbow Kit - preorder is open
Age Bests - filtering out the mistakes :-)
Sign up, sign up, for the Doctor K cup
A message from my lovely wife ❤️
Another batch of rainbow kit?
Spares: Event Clips, Swim Hats and a few rainbow tops
July (10)
A bunch of site goodies :-)
Hello kitty
Holy Simmering Mercury Batman!
Settings
A heart rate question
Sleepy Shuffle?
365 graph
Slipping on ma noob shoes
Meatronomes
World's Sexiest Bridges
June (11)
Benchmarks - a *tiny* little improvement
Race Leaderboards - some small improvements
Race Finder - Update
Up there ^
Routes - more updates
Last call for FE Event Clips
Server update
Minor code problem
Some little updates to your route list
Feature requests - two years on!
More than just a rainbow
May (8)
Rainbow Kit - update on delivery time...
Fetch Ron Hill Cycling Jerseys
Pre-order your rainbow kit now :-)
Jimi Hendrix vs Run DMC
The return of parkrun - a poll
Something in the woodshed...
Default to walk
A tour of the Fetch Office
April (11)
Instabanned :-)
I has Instagram
Fetch Event Clips
FERC
Castle Challenge Coaster!
My chess rating
Jab - symptom watch
This just in...
REVIEW: XMiles selection box
Let FE pay for your coaching qualifications :-)
Castle Challenge - A Quick Blog
March (18)
The Fetcheveryone Castle Challenge
Running vs Cycling Cadence
Fetch vests and shirts (and swim caps)
Elevation vs Follow Roads
£500 of England Athletics courses up for grabs!
TomTom users
Music by year: 1993
10k Analysis: Part 7 - Length of Training Runs
Music by year: 1992 (plus some 1991 additions)
Bot sniffing win :-) plus daily blogger count!
User profiles
10k Analysis: Part 6 - Training Pace Again
Time to update your injuries :-)
User profile - sticker button.. EDIT and race standard
More user profile adjustments
User Profile tweaking
Cute story of the week*
10k Analysis: Part 5 - Training Pace
February (17)
Year on Year mileage comparison
Elevation graphs
It's all kicking off in chess club!
Music By year: 1991
10k Analysis: Part 4 - Weekly Training Habits
Tagging virtual races
Chasing rainbows
Rainbow Shirts
Lance!
Blog writing improvements
10k Analysis: Part 3 - Accuracy of human predictions
Music by year: 1990
Smacking bots
29 slices - my seven days of dinner
10k Analysis: Part 2 - Age and Performance
Pass it on
10k Analysis: Part 1 - Distribution of best 10k times
January (31)
January
Mobile Usability Team Helping All Fetchies...
Salmon Ramen Recipe :-)
Salmon Ramen (for TBR)
Backup dog
The best GPS watches in the world... volume 1
Pick it...
People who liked...
Obscure bugs
Zen & The Art of Heart Rate Training
FIT file import - temporary issue
Keep the change, ya filthy animal
The honeymoon is over
Dirty data
Mobile Usability
Oops
Readership!
Stay sticky
It's Hip To Buy Squares
Related Threads - Exposé :-)
The Batshit Association
Jobs
Tag Team
Feed the monster!
An ad for Fetch Chess Club :-)
Estimating VO2Max
Three little birds
A not uncommon swelling
Church Mouse January
Honey, where's my super suit?
Not here.
2020 (128)
December (6)
Blog A Day 2021?
9 years ago today
Chewie, We're Home! Happy Fetch Independence Day :-)
Be Prepared
Becoming an effluencer
A few Fetch Mugs left
November (10)
The Festive Fetch Calendar is back!
FIT file import
Mugs!
Thank you, mysterious Fetchie!
Chess
UTMOST in the age of COVID-19
This'll cheer you up for sure...
Lost in translation?
Annual Infographic... updating now.
In theory...
October (11)
Training Plan Analysis
Mini plans with the training plan
5k with The Boy :-)
Welcome to tomorrow
Thank you
Become tradeable!
Pre-Race Training Volume
Doctor K Cup Week
Last orders
Advice for a friend
Trader Makeover
September (6)
The shop is open!
Hoodie Colour!
New Fetch Hoodies
A big up/holler!
VO2max
A benchmark derailed by GPS data *nerd*
August (8)
10k analysis
Officially a Sheepy Shuffler!
Pi Watering
Pre-order Avoid Everyone Face Masks
I got sent these...
Other sites? :-O
Benchmarks - an infinitely configurable set of ladders.
Try the monthly infographic :-)
July (10)
Update on Monthly Training Infographic
New Infographic
Monthly Summary (with a little tweak)
A quick Garmin update
Open Water / Wild Swimming Database
Avoid Everyone - spares
OWS Locations
Thread-level search
New Sharing Graphic & New Pastures
My first lamp post
June (16)
Replacing the Who's Training page
Combining some pages
In pursuit of the Gridmaster Ultra
15th Anniversary Kit - Spares
Shoelaces
A new How To video
Training Plan Updated
Black Lives Matter
Avoid Everyone Spares + Second Batch
Wikipedia page
Another YouTube video for sharesies :-)
Getting data to Fetch from **other places**
Feature Voting - some further updates
Feature Voting - speeded up
Another How To video - this time, Conquercise
Fantastisches Tweeten
May (13)
A video for sharing
Bees!
Fetch Introductory Zoom Presentations
A promise to all Fetchies
Fetch Virtual Weekend: Replacement Bus Service
How has Fetch use changed?
Fetch Weekly Virtual Races
Zoom Meeting - Thursday 9 til 10am
WAVA Standards Update
WAVA Standards + Poll
Fun with Age Grading :-)
New Badges Day
The test shirt fabric has arrived :-)
April (14)
Zoom Podcast - watch the video
What is WBC?
If you did the free Amazon trial...
Some small amends (and shirt version)
Pre-orders open
I was only joking, but...
If Fetcheveryone did lockdown merch
Site outage - Thursday 16th April 11pm
On exercising responsibly
My Sports Quiz - how would you have scored?
Your creative thinking required
WBC My Favourite Teacher (a bit later than the deadline)
Updated Training League
Server Downtime, Thursday 9th 00:01BST to 04:00BST (and thank you!)
March (13)
New Fetch Game: Hide and Seek
Free trial of Audible
Do you have a good memory?
New Opt-In for Fetch Miles
New Badges for Fetch Miles
The Fetch Five: Don't Let CV19 Win!
Amending event dates and notifying of cancellations
A green light comes on over your head, and you can get on with life
Most Popular Shoe Brands 2019
A review
Android: Session I
Compare Your Training
Book Now to avoid disappointment :-)
February (10)
Imports from Suunto, Fitbit, Polar and TomTom.
Plot A Route - mobile improvements
Happy tugging!
Something to play with
Adding A New Feature
February Treasure Hunt
Server Downtime
Miles = Smiles
Build Your Mile
Pop Will Eat Himself: Update
January (11)
Clarence the Cadence Kitten
Trim your trails :-)
Seven Day Leaderboard
Let's try that again
Some minor blog amendments
Try the new Forum Search Prototype
Pop Will Eat Himself
A card from HowFar?
Thank you HowFar? (Statement, not a question)
Take the red pill
Climb every mountain
2019 (134)
December (7)
The Christmas Poem
Where your treasure is...
Listen to the dog breathe
Chewie, We're Home
Thursday's Challenge
Which GPS?
Fetch Shop (of sorts)
November (12)
The zeroth challenge
Polar users - auto import
Calling all Polar users
Mobile Optimisation
Calling all Android users
Did your ads disappear?
Pin that sucker down :-)
Easier tagging
Category now editable from VIEW
Kit now editable from VIEW
Working towards tagging
Manual Add Training bug
October (16)
Boring Cricket Blog
Books Part 2
Books :-)
42
Training tags Part 2
Training tags
Let's Jazzercise
My precious
Cricket Week 4: Footage :-)
Forum Training Threads
Benny Neutrino Returns
Cricket Week 3: Wingardium Leviosa!
Benny Neutrino's Filter Tips
Cricket Week 2
Continuing Amazon Affiliate Saga
In case you haven't seen...
September (11)
Updated: Spare Anniversary Kit
Affiliate links
I did a cricket!
Fetch365 - enjoy responsibly
Filth
My dear old things
Buddies vs Follow
Server Invoice Day
Our new MOTM sponsor
Fetch Power!
Race Listings: Please Read
August (5)
Everyone *rainbow*
Almost there...
Quick blog
Country Badges
A new set of badges
July (6)
Pre-orders open
Anniversary Shirts v2
Fetch 15th Anniversary Shirts
Fetch Fest 2020
Shout Outs
Missing imports from Garmin yesterday
June (13)
Who Squares Wins: 64 screenshot
Who Squares Wins: 64 Player Edition
Training summary - older pages
Training sub-menu rejig
Try the infographic
Steady Edina
Annual Summary Infographic
The height of daft things
The training summary - the morning session
The training summary - a wordier blog
Try the annual summary thing
How to listen to the Fetch Podcast
12 month summary mega-graph!
May (15)
£79.99 off the bottom line
Competition
parkrun reviews - now with routes
Fix It Friday; Project Joker Week 2; and some shout outs.
Fetch Kit Cupboard Sale
The bonus ball
Project Joker - Week 1
Fix It Friday
A quick update on the server
Fetch 15th Anniversary Kit
There is a good service operating
Oof.
In case you're wondering...
Trouble auto importing from Garmin?
Fix It Friday: Stuff that came to me in dreams
April (12)
Feature Voting - now with virtual badges :-)
The moment of triumph!
New Feature Voting
Fix It Friday: What would your horse be called?
Marathon Pacing: tyre-kickers required
Fix It Friday: Back to Basics
Podcast Poll
Fix It Friday: The League Of Everyone
Dom, dom, dom, I've got DOMS, I've got DOMS!
Crouch, Touch, Pause.... longer pause... what am I doing again?
Training Log - Update
Site Update: New Font
March (15)
Fix It Friday: An Endless Mission
Naming and faming :-)
2nd in my age category!
Fix It Friday: Brought to you by Surprise Inset Day
New training log
Route Matching - Ready :-)
Fix It Friday
What's your unit of measurement?
Ciderthon competition
Fix It Friday: Stroopwafels of Doom!
Route Matching - Update
This week's cool list
Me in the river
Big Fetch Miles 2019
Fix It Friday: Fingerprints!
February (13)
A Maths Challenge
Fetch Legends: Activate!
Whose coat is this jacket?
Fix It Friday: The Fix Awakens
Joining the awesome list...
Fix It Friday
Naming and faming :-)
Fix It Friday - Monthly Summary
Training Month Summary
Podcast Q&A
If you can't read this, don't panic.
*redsaber* The force is strong with these Fetchies!
Fix It Friday *bluesaber*
January (9)
Some shout outs :-)
Fix It Friday!
Podcast Ep 3, plus some naming and faming :-)
Fix It Friday
Fetch Chaos
Oooh! Second chance Berlin trip! And new subbers, podcast episode, and Trader.
My week of running
Naming and faming - this week :-)
Naming and faming :-)
2018 (138)
December (8)
A Christmas Message (in podcast form)
Rungeon :-)
Hey, Everyone!
France Trip Vote
Happy Fetch Independence Day
Actual free trip to France (incl. flights)
Litter
Sombrero's Lovely Cards
November (14)
Hoodies + other spares
Spare Fetch Kit
Festive Fetch Calendar 2018
Avatars
Book Giveaway - Can We Run With You, Grandfather?
Fix It Friday
Bedford Harriers Half - place offered
Updated Kit Bag
Family Fortunes :-)
Any adidas experts out there?
No Fixes Today - just two challenges
Big Fetch Mile Cardiff
Fix It Friday
Festive Fetch Calendar 2018
October (14)
Hello landlubbers
Embedded polls
Member of the Month
Fix It Friday
Spare Fetch shirts and vests
Abingdon
Fix It Friday
My Fetch Mile
One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner.
Fix It Friday - 'Ave It!
Automatic route matching
Automatic route matching
One last reminder for those cycling jerseys
Fix It Friday - Forensics and User Experience
September (14)
Fix It Friday
Server Downtime 2.30pm 26th September
Never Again
Fix It Friday!
Handling your weirdness
Cards ordered :-)
Just wondering...
Fix It Friday :-)
Try the Fetcheveryone Tutorial
40 days and 40 nights
Fix It Friday
ARION insoles - review part 1
Fetch Shirt - Black Ones, and sizing
Shirts and Vests Pre-Order
August (14)
Fix It Friday
Blog Height squished
Site Outage Last Night
New Mobile Nav
Fix It Friday
New feature - how you doin'? :-)
Sunflower spread
Fix It Friday
A new pre-race mileage graph
Fetch Social: Draycote Water September
Fix It Friday: The Supermarket Analogy
A run with _andy :-)
Suunto 9 Review
Fix it Friday
July (5)
Fix It Friday!
Five Get Wet In Devon
Big Glasgow Weekend - Part 1: Gies A Cwtch
Tom Williams Interview - Final Part
Glasgow Big Fetch Mile Results and Pics
June (17)
Abingdon Week 17 - P&D Booster rockets
Interviewing Tom Williams: Part III
Walking League (and one just for Nellers)
Follow Roads - continued
Week 18 in the bag
Tackling turds
Abingdon Marathon Training: Week 18
Interview with Tom Williams - Part 2
Server
Five Questions (ready for serious answers)
Kick some tyres for me
Interview with Tom Williams - Part 1
Five Questions
Follow Roads saga
Google maps progress, plus Abingdon plans
Training Summary - Infographics
Who Squares Wins - ranking update
May (10)
Training log maps converted
More mapping updates
Who Squares Wins - The Wizard's Hat
De doo doo doo... another one bites the dust...
Invisible changes
Silverstone 10k
Three year throwback
Why your support makes the difference
Some high mileage Fetchies
dryrobe winner
April (14)
Interviewing Tom Williams
Swimming Caps!
#finishformatt
New batch of shirts and vests
You make big mistake my friend
Fetchpoint
Glasgow Big Fetch Mile announced
Two tickets to the Running Awards
Pics from Dudley Big Fetch Mile
Notes for London Marathon Fetchpointers
Results from today's Big Fetch Mile
Who Squares Wins - prototype board
Attention London Marathoners!
New game - coming soon
March (9)
Intervals, Solidarity, Swimming and Fmail
Ready to give the new fmail a try?
More on fmail
New fmail system
Win a dryrobe :-)
For jabberknit...
Updating the Training Home page
Pics from Bedford Big Fetch Mile
Sledgends :-)
February (13)
Buffs On Sale
Big Fetch Mile Bedford
Vlog :-)
Marathon Talk
Important GDPR stuff - PLEASE read
A page of historical importance
Vlog :-)
Road Rash, Marathon Prediction and T-Shirts
This :-)
Capturing the dog
It's BACK!
Enter Wilmslow Half Marathon
An advertisement
January (6)
Local Fetchies - Opt In
Revealed: World's Best Shoes
How I chose the Big Fetch Mile venues
Big Fetch Mile 2018 - Venues & Provisional Dates
Try adding an image to your training entry
Mileage Targets 2018 - Update
2017 (147)
December (12)
Mileage Targets 2018
Thank you
Brownie Recipe :-)
Phew
Fetch Hoodies + Buffs SALE Update
Chewie, We're Home
Fetch Hoodies SALE - what's left
Fetch Hoodies! SALE!!! (and Buffs available too)
Chewie, We're Home
Sharing pics
Fetch Jingle Mile Cambridge photos
Glorious Failure: Bedford Harriers Half Marathon
November (20)
Serpents, hamstrings and inversions
A special anniversary approaches...
Hamstring and prototype updates
Training Log Prototype - Today's Improvements
Red Venom sale
For what it's worth...
Training Log Prototype - Update #2
Training Log Prototype - Update
Big Fetch Mile - venue hunt
RT for a Garmin
Training Log Prototype - To Be Fixed
fetcheveryone.com/amazon
The Weekly vLog (by me)
Thanks :-)
New Training Log Prototype - Available Now
Thanks for following
VLog - footage from the Cardiff Big Fetch Mile
Big Fetch Mile[s] 2018
Win a place in the Surrey Half
I vont to scan your barcode.
October (12)
Big Fetch Weekend :-)
Fetch Mile Results
Festive Fetch Calendar :-O
Calling Parkers everywhere!
In which I decorate a cake.
Regent's Park Fetchie Discount
Elevation in colour
"I didn't come here to walk to Sparta!"
New elevation info
Chicken Ballot-ine, with a side order of beef
New training log headers
Ballot day tomorrow - help needed
September (19)
Weekly vLog - COCONUTS!!!
River Thames Half Marathon
The lollipop update
On failing gracefully
Doctor K Day
Fetch Kit Sale - Updates
Weekly vLog
Fetch Kit Sale
Training Log View Update
Fetcheveryone Weekly? Vlog?
Fetchie Race Discount - Regent's Park 10k
Training Log Tags - Live
Training Log Tags
Weekly vLog - Derby Mile, and a pause to salute the legendary Doctor K
24 hours later
Doctor K donation page
Doctor K
Fetch Weekly vLog
Derby Mile - tomorrow!
August (8)
Race Prices; and an alien earworm
Straight outta Cromford - the Fetch Weekly vLog!
A Fetch vLog! With prizes!
Quick search location for sharing
New WAVA graph
Weird FIT file thing
Back from me 'olidays :-)
Linking race results to training log entries
July (12)
Race Pricing - crowdsourcing
Appdate for Android and iPhone
Inhalers
Fetch Mile - Cardiff?
Bookends
Race listing omelette
Coding and town planning
Please review your races
A2B winners
Motivational Sounds - the final 10
Two more Big Fetch Miles? :-)
Bedford Fetch Mile Results
June (19)
Big Fetch Mile
Motivational Sounds
Fetch fug - updated design
Fetch fug (available at the Fetch mile)
I've done the naughtiest thing ever.
Donating Blood - my Vlog
Fapp In the App Store :-)
Can I kick it?
A***biscuits
This just in...
For Bean
Your app status is Waiting For Review
A2B
Fetch Caps
Garmin Communicator Plugin
Fetch App - strong and stable testing
HTTPS is here
Fetch App progress
https access to the site
May (14)
Fetch App
Apostrophes
[Untitled]
[Untitled]
Site down at 11pm
Round and round the garden
Try the new home page layout
Server down tonight @ 11pm
Browser testers wanted
The Big Fetch Mile!!!
Site *NOT* down tonight. [cough]
Bluffer's Competition - Winner
Bedford parkrun timelapse
Return of the cap
April (8)
Fetchpoint (London and Milton Keynes!)
Base camp, VMLM
Bronze!
Just for D2
Off to the awards
Bloodvlog
Hoodies - it's on!
Updated Training Home Page
March (6)
'Train' page
Project Joker
Hoodies and Londons
Hands up, hands UP! Draycote Water 10
Bluffer's Competition
Project Joker
February (12)
Draggable?
Running Awards shortlisted
Route Plotter now with OpenStreetMap
Plan for Bluffer's comp
Update to Route Plotter
First update to the route mapper
For Angus
Virtuous Circles
Competition coming soon
Race Guide Ads
Club La Santa vLog
Fetch Fixtures
January (5)
Word Clouds
Buckets Ready
New Home Page
Do me a favour...
Limited Companies, filing accounts, that sort of thing
2016 (128)
December (11)
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
Five Years Ago Today
Pantsfest! May the stains be ever in your favour!
#FEXIT
Photoshop SOS
Attention: Fitbit users
Bedford Half 2016
Luton Fetchmob: Breaking Point
Vote Fetch!
Breaking news: Paris Marathon
November (21)
How to end a LiveChat.
Define wrong
TomTom Runner 3 Review - Any Questions?
Deliveryman
Movember: Project Beard: Day 24: Beardraggled
Festive Fetch Calendar 2016
We're gonna be in the Hudson
Hey Chiefy
I've written summat
Going Postal
A special mention
Training Log Beta
Spare Hoodies
Updates to Training Beta
Movember: Project Beard - Day 8 (The Seven Day Itch)
Vote for Fetch
Training Log Detail View - Some Changes
Aberdeen University Study
Consultation V2
[Untitled]
Fetchpoint - October Winners and November Prizes
October (16)
Alien nuggets!
Keeping a tight lid on the biscuit tin
Training Log Beta
100 Running Words
Pssst....
Fetchmob, December 3rd
Where to mob?
Little things
That All-Time Mileage League
The sudoku that keeps on giving.
Sub-25 for 1km :-)
Fetchmob - December 3rd
New Training Log Preview
Fixed the overlap...
Why the new training log isn't ready yet...
vLog
September (12)
Doughnut or Donate
Training Log - Sneak Peek
Fetch Shop Sale! Old stuff clearout!
vLog!!!
The consultation system...
Garmin support for timezone info
The GMT/BST/Timezone problem
Training Log Consultation...
Training Log - Consultation
Fetch Social Runs
Subscriber shirts, vests and hoodies, and determination.
Fetch Voluntary Subscriptions
August (3)
Ze Gryndylows! My first #OWS :-)
Testing Fetchpoint exclusion zones
Fetchpoint scoring system
July (7)
Conquercise Prize Draw?
Fetch Games: Checkpoints (and what's wrong with them)
More owls...
Your Favourite Fetch Game?
Even More Utmost Than Before...
Chiswick!
15 days later...
June (10)
Five days on...
[Untitled]
A quick thank you...
What do you think?
If you'd be so kind...
Poised
Which watch?
Run Bedford 10k
Import from a TomTom
Attention TomTom users
May (10)
Race Distance poll
An ungainly fish
A five year plan
What Club La Santa can learn from parkrun
Cream Me Up, Scotty
Greetings from Club La Santa
And a quick poll...
Club Charter
A poll about intervals
More owls!
April (11)
Robin Hood and his Merry Dad :-)
Warning: Dull - some screen res stats
Responsive Design Update
For all you marathoners
A Poll
Fetchpoint
Ditching the forum categories?
Moving to Responsive Design
Sandy 10: Be Kind To Horses
Owls!
For Adam and Jamie
March (11)
Bacon Smoke!
Benchmarks Update
Bath - Race Report
PB!!!!!!!
An annoying eight-year-old.
Let's Cook and Cut and Paste :-)
Let's Cook :-)
RIP Gramma
Book Winners
Dog farming
Site header update
February (5)
Book Giveaway
Pi Club
Pi Project Update
Because I'd like to check the blogging badges are working...
Crapruary
January (11)
Snooker Freak
Badges - Another Update
Unlockable Badges - Update
Unlockable Badges
TomTom Runner 2 Review
Gallery updates
Snowball coding and Fetch Unlockables!
Achievement Medals - what do you reckon?
Run The Sum
2015 Book List (and a bit of a review / plan)
Festive Fetch Calendar - Winners
2015 (175)
December (7)
Red Red Wine
A Poll
Gis a job!
Bedford Half
REMEMBER!!!
Vote for Fetch
Now you've hopefully got the idea...
November (13)
The Festive Fetch Calendar
Don't get excited or anything...
Slightly Dismal Friday
Pre-order your Fetch Buff now :-)
A message from our sponsor
Dr Fetch will see you now
Only the grumbliest, achiest chocolate... :-)
The Stanford Experiment
Buff Design
Snugs - Review
Love, Commitment, Support
The pre-wedding blog!
Good morning Fetchers, good morning Everyone
October (9)
Monthly Totals
Did you write a blog yesterday?
The First Rule of Web Server Maintenance
The gain line
Fectch
The zipper challenge!
Sugar daddy
Now in colour!
Competition Time!!!
September (14)
Teach your kids (or yourself) to code
Sticky Training Choices
Goodies: GetMore water and the Alcatel OneTouch Watch
Shirt size guidelines
This nearly made it...
Subscriber Shirt Design
I've got wood!
Humbled
New Beginnings
Some more questions answered
Swimming
Some responses to your comments
Standing on the shoulders of Fetchies
Funtleks
August (8)
24 hours in the south
24 hours in the north
Fetchies Assemble!
Thank you
Better knowledge than riches
Fitbit Urge
The villainous Mr Fetch!
Uncomfortable rear
July (8)
Why don't you play Conquercise?
Another week of strange training
Book Giveaway - Winners
GPS Reviews
Criteria for reviewing a GPS
Auto-bike-detector :-)
Win some bookses :-)
Half Way!
June (13)
Time Lapse Clouds
TomTom Bandit - very QUICK first impressions
My wings are like a shield of steel!
Running plus Cycling update
Embarrassingly...
Stalkers Paradise!
Recommend me a bike :-)
Holy Steamrollers Batman!
Rest day (no such thing)
Sqveeeeze!
We will now imitate the flight of a goose :-)
You made me ink! Snorkel safari :-)
Good morning from CLS :-)
May (10)
Club La Santa :-)
The AWESOME Power of Fetchies!
Home Insurance Shaftage :-/
Editing Forum Posts
The Future!
Some London Marathon stats
Walking On The Moon
Hardest parkrun?
New found wisdom
Week 1
April (11)
Marathon vLog
I owe some hugs!
And that concludes the voting from the Danish judges
Adventures in geocaching
Your video clips wanted!
Jelly with no spoons
Random Ultra
Suncream in my eyes - a review of 'Running and Stuff'
Books what I've read this year
Measuring the effect of wind
Wind Roses
March (18)
Watching the tide roll away
A great week of running!
Happy Jigs Wisdom!
Mobile Fetch
I don't do this very often...
Breathless Optimism
20 miles yesterday
This Week's vLog
Decision Trees and the sub-4!
Democracy Street
Mayan Maths
Bath Half (at last)
Still a chicken
Costume Drama in Bath
TomTom importing
Updated 'Train' page
Zonked
Nearly
February (29)
Pheasant
An Unexpected Journey
Wind picking up...
An unplanned kit alarm
Race Pace Test
2nd place
Week ends
Bounceback
Barking carrots
Bedroom pizza
Top of the mountain
Blogs get the mobile treatment
Supersonic Katie, and a marathon pace question
Back home
Racing parkrun ;-)
Unblocking the sink
Start in Darkness
Some times I'd like
Mobile Site - Forum Section
All-Time Leaderboards
Batteries
Sword fighting
PB Attempts
Duct tape and WD40
Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants
Lessons
Shoe horning
Training vLog Week 13
Big February Project
January (35)
Cake, invalidated
Small sips
LiRF, award shortlist, beginners, books, boy.
Dog Available :-)
Cutback
New Recipe Section
Lazy
Another threshold run
New Beginnings
Blah
But far more importantly...
Fetch Beginners Programme
Give it a go :-)
Training vLog - Week 11
Threshold Run (a running blog)
Long day, short blog
(Lack of) Pump Action
A thread to follow
This Boy Can
Local Leaderboards for Checkpoints
Choking.
February 18th
Godzilla!
The Travelling Checkpoint Salesman
Acorn Antiques
Bearing Up
Deleted Bridges and Dodgy Lasers
I'm Batman!
Healthy and Appy
Punch O'Clock!
The plan, then.
Ten mile toes
On Parliament
[Untitled]
Bold Claims, and a Challenge for 2015
2014 (262)
December (9)
A trip to Wales (vLog)
Christmas Messages from Fetchies
Various
FERC London Marathon Places - Draw
It's gone in my sock...
Festive Fetch Five
This Week's Training
To the Post Office!
Training vLog - Week 4
November (12)
I Am Groot!
Slightly Dismal Friday
Week 3 - in which I nearly drown my wife!
I said yes :-)
Free Daps! aka Test GORE-TEX® footwear this winter!
Training vLog - Week 2
More chances for VMLM entries
Marathon Talk
My first training vLog :-)
Second place?
In :-)
Questionnaire about personality traits amongst runners
October (16)
Adidas API
Horseplay minimiser
Running with the big dog
Flat and Windy
Who'd like to test the Garmin API then?
Advantage Borg
Deal?
Jumble
Milk Tray Reps in the Rain
Geneva
Quote
Hatfield 5k, and some other running thoughts
Site layout changes
Vote for Training Plans
Maths help
3-2-1
September (8)
A quick device poll
Garmin Connect API
Cake at the lake :-)
Empowering Women
This Week's Training
Tick :-)
Article help
First outing with the Harriets
August (7)
Book club and Harriers
A treasure trove for bookish types
What I did on my Summer Holidays
Local decoration
The Fisher King
Mojitos and no mosquitos!
Cake-athlon
July (26)
James Mason
Missing Week
Camping View
Wild Camping
Quick
Transalpine Race
In brief
Urgent! Pair of runners wanted!
Fetch Kit Available to Pre-order :-)
Fetch Anniversary Kit - Preview
API and FAK!
That dog has a puffy tail
More books
Reverse Moses
Zombies vs Plants
Shovel required
Nightfever
Dayfever
Catcher in the Rye
My sister the psychologist
Drink your strong limey drink
Keep me in the loop
Bread knives, hedgehogs and the dog in the night time
Whoops
Pinteresting
Q&A?
June (34)
Checkpoints video
Walden
Happy boys and giggly imps
Spring loaded
Elbow grease
Fetch 10th Anniversary Kit
Fetch YouTube Tutorial - Race Guide
Finding the Library folder on a Mac
Stoat!
Sonic screwdriver
Live wires
Wiring help needed
Garmin Express Experiment
Scalded sloth
Garminge
Potching
New Forum Layout
Further updates to the blog layout
New blog layout
First woodpecker
Beastin' parkrun
Pantoball
All was well
USA! USA! USA!
Marking Territory
The People's Poet Is Dead :-(
Holy Water
Throwing shapes
Life moves pretty fast
Recursion is beautiful
Win an OS Explorer / Landranger map of your choice
Intervals with a Suunto Ambit 2S
Tick
Economy done two ways
May (31)
[Untitled]
Vorsprung Durch Lego Technic
How do I liberate my boy from his XBox?
Questions?
Life in the Woods
Lazy
MovesMissed
Intervals with a TomTom
Electioneering
[Untitled]
Tree fluff
More camping
Zen and Camping
Not eaten by bears
Bear food
Camping List
Camping Venn Diagrams
Floppy dog
Routes but not Rathbone
Illustrator wanted
Masking
Highlights
The Cosmic Ballet Goes On
Silverstone 10k :-)
Quick one
[Untitled]
Superhuman snooker
Dogturdflagman
Numbers!
Whittlin'
Chapter 1
April (29)
King Bin
Quiet day on Feedback Mountain
Listing
42
Go directly to parkrun. Do not pass Godzuki.
A day in Wales
[Untitled]
Spanner
The Lost Diadem of Fetchbook
Falling asleep in my dinner
Egg
Sofathon
God gave rock and roll to you.
Sugar Mule
Not bad, consid'rin.
Tinkering
Can U Dig It?
A weekend in Wales
Looking forward to Oliver!
Thank you, and more App talk
RIP Nan
Blah
Appy
Pyjamas at both ends.
Thump. Saturday has started.
Sore tum :-/
Zombies aside... first impressions of the new TomTom
TomTom Runner Cardio Press Event
Am I pregnant?
March (31)
Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes Cornflakes
Sandy 10
#bedfordhappy
Me on YouTube
New graphs live
Follow the dot
Only the best for the Captain's table
Mrs Diahann Wagner is GOING HORNY
Sport Relief Win
Hot dogs, quick blogs
Toton Sidings
A sign!
Owen Farrell visualisation technique
Kebabs!
Booster fails to ignite
Myton Rugby Run (5 Miler)
Rugby before rugby
Sweetcorn antidote
Custard factory
Pooped
I did some intervals :-)
Speed work?
Many things
A bit cabbagey here.
Angry Wasp
Minty
Rainbow's End
Core Dump
Bath Half (in detail)
A quick overview
Down to business in Bath
February (28)
Made it to Bath
Unexpected hugs
Slider
I like to go a-wandering
Spring cleaning
Tongue-lolling
Because We're Worth It
I don't know what!
Thanks Jim
Enough now
Clearing the pipes
Crouch, Touch, Pause...
Medication, that's what you need.
Symptom Tour
Hello FBI
Dazed day
Why I'm an optimist
Mobius birds
Snotty knuckles
In this house...
Retch Everyone
Carrots
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also
Ultrahalfmarathoner
Angry Birds
Belching
Clarkson averse
Good day :-)
January (31)
*bunting* *cake*
Bigger Boys
Zombies!
Pretending to be Saga Norén
Waiting for the AA
Ship shape
Readthrough
Technology takes you further
Love Garden
Cushions
High Heel Striker
Bit of a rubbish one
Ta
Hot Re-fills
Coding Grinch
An august prediction
Some Running Goals for Q1
Wipe-clean dog
Breaking it down
Snakes and Ladders
Bigger Ponds
Drink Your Weak Lemon Drink
All in All
Panning the pancake
Does JK Rowling own a dog?
Back to the kitchen table
Steve Davis shoes
Pigs on a water slide
Sloshing
Protocol
19 books :-)
2013 (29)
December (3)
Oh...
Engine Management Light
Hannibal Vector
November (3)
Speed skating
Stew-pendous
Cool Hand Grandpa
October (3)
Bookish
Minecraft Cake
Random dump
September (2)
Blog by Email!
Catchup blah
August (3)
Big Green Caterpillar
Questions answered - final CLS blog
Last Days at Club La Santa
July (10)
A nice morning of swimming and tennis
Please Read: Questions for a sports coach
Snorkeltastic
Hitting the straps
First Impressions at Club La Santa
Mile High Blog
Clocking off
For the second week running...
Another Club La Santa catchup
The Floor In The Plan
June (3)
Club La Santa
Bulk Uploading, and win a book
FERC Charities 2011-2012
March (1)
Bath Weekend
January (1)
Meet Steve
2012 (39)
December (2)
Tired Now Boss
Bath - Week 14 + Foodbank
November (3)
White Level Reading
Bath - Week 15
Bath - Week 16
October (2)
Onwards!
C'mon Dave
July (1)
RIP Arnie
June (2)
Rub some bacon on it
18 weeks
May (9)
Techy not tetchy
Time for a techy blog
Time to walk the dog
Stevington 12k
Properly coldy
Still a bit coldy
New blog design live
A bit coldy
Blogs Redesign
April (2)
Easter
SERIOUSLY LORD FETCH, SORT IT OUT
March (8)
A long run up
Running Tick
Weekend
Sport Relief Mile
Back once again
Swimming sweetcorn and other vegetables
Joy Rides, Sticks and Medals
Training Tip
February (9)
And...
Katie, ICT, and some more MySQL
May The Ground Force Be With You
Functions
Well done Batman.
Optimisation Crossword
Snow Days
Gallery, and parkrun
Pleased
January (1)
There Are Some Really Sexy Girls On Fetch







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