Solo trips, returning miles, and the slow honest pursuit of actually going.
I started travelling solo last year. The first trip nearly didn't happen. I almost talked myself out of it three times before I went. Then the world cracked open.
Since then it's been Nairobi to see the Taka Taka Zero bakehouse I'd spent twenty months fundraising for at Durham, Marrakech with hot air balloons over the Agafay desert at sunrise, and Madeira where I spent forty minutes hiking Pico Ruivo with a tour guide and eleven Germans before realising they all spoke fluent English.
None of these trips went to plan. That's mostly the point.
I'm also running properly again. The 2027 London Marathon ballot is in. The Six Star pursuit is a long road and I'm at the start of it. I write about all of it: the trips, the runs, the side quests, the slow days, and the bits in between that make any of it worth showing up for.
The pursuit
The Abbott World Marathon Majors. Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York. Six races on three continents. One medal at the end of all of them. The journey starts with the 2027 London ballot.
Ballot pending
April 2027
In pursuit
TBC
In pursuit
TBC
In pursuit
TBC
In pursuit
TBC
In pursuit
TBC
Ballot pending In pursuit
Travel
Three trips so far. None of them went to plan; that's mostly the point. The full stories are coming to the journal.
Nairobi, Kenya
Twenty months of fundraising at Durham, then finally seeing the bakehouse with my own eyes. The trip that recalibrated what "meaningful" meant.
Marrakech, Morocco
First proper solo trip. Sunrise over the Agafay desert at 2,000 feet, then a quad bike I had no business driving, and a camel called something I never caught.
Madeira, Portugal
Pico Ruivo with a guide and eleven Germans. Forty minutes in I realised they all spoke fluent English and had been politely waiting for me to join the conversation.
Running
Returning to running properly, with the 2027 London Marathon as the first real target. The Six Star pursuit starts here.
Current target
The first real race. Build the base, build the patience, see what 18 months of consistent training looks like when you actually mean it this time.
Now
Rebuilding aerobic base and consistency. Easy miles, easy effort, week after week. The fine‑tuning comes later, closer to race day.
Soon
Weekly notes from the build. The good runs, the bad ones, what worked, what didn't, and why I kept going.
Coming soon
Stories
The journal is being written. The first stories from Nairobi, Marrakech and Madeira are landing soon.
Get notified
