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An image of Yeadon Tarn in Leeds
Running Trailrunning Ultrarunning

Starting 2023 as I hope to go on….

North Leeds Greenway Ultra Another month, another Punk Panther event! I began 2023, on New Year’s Day, with the North Leeds Greenway Ultramarathon, a 34 mile/3600 ft circuit of North Leeds from Otley. Starting off with the steep climb up Read more

By Petra, 3 yearsJanuary 2, 2023 ago
Roadrunning Running

Breaking 50

A tale of guns n’ chips, and no prizes…. During 2017 and 2018 I made a few fairly serious attempts at breaking 50 minutes for 10k. Now, to explain for any non-runner readers, whilst this has proven to be a Read more

By Petra, 3 yearsDecember 29, 2022 ago
Runners at the start of the Ribble Valley 10k race
Tooting Bec Lido in winter
Running

It’s not going swimmingly

I know, it’s a running blog, and this post is going to be about swimming. But hey, it’s my blog so I can write what I like surely 😉 I like running and I like swimming, but I am not Read more

By Petra, 3 yearsDecember 26, 2022 ago
Mountainrunning Roadrunning Running Trailrunning Ultrarunning

Ballot fever

My race calendar for 2023 is taking shape, there are some definite dates in there with races entered, but two big question marks remain and I’m waiting with bated breath for ballot results coming my way on January 1st and Read more

By Petra, 3 yearsDecember 18, 2022 ago
Running Trailrunning Ultrarunning

Christmas Cracker – Sat 10 Dec 2022

The Christmas Cracker is a handicap race and is the final race of the year for Otley based endurance event organiser Punk Panther. One of the run directors sets off first on a 32 mile / 3700 ft route and Read more

By Petra, 3 yearsDecember 15, 2022 ago
Mountainrunning Running Trailrunning Ultrarunning

2022

Looking back at a fantastic year It was my intention to open this blog with the first race of 2023 but I am eager to make a start with this new project 😊. As 2022 is rapidly drawing to a Read more

By Petra, 3 yearsDecember 15, 2022 ago
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aquathlon backyard ultra ballot CCC Centurion Running Chamonix Cheviot Goat Cheviots christmas Coast to Coast Courmayeur Cumbria Eryri handicap Hardmoors Hardraw lifeguard marathon eryri Montane Spine Race mountain running mud Nav4 North Downs Way Northern Traverse Northumberland open water Ourea Events Pennine Way Punk Panther road running Robin Hood's Bay running Snowdonia Marathon Eryri Spine Challenger North Spine Race swimming trail running training triathlon ultra running UTMB Wainwright Wales winter Yorkshire

petrabijs

Happily retired 😊 | Trail and ultra runner🏃‍♀️‍➡️🌳| Still runs the odd road race 🛣️ | Green Runner 🌍| Blog writer 📝

Another mini-adventure on foot. As I will be havin Another mini-adventure on foot. As I will be having another crack at the @spinerace Challenger North next January I want to reacquaint myself with the route. Decided to start at the top, my fave section, from Hadrian’s Wall to the finish at Kirk Yetholm 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Took the train up to Bardon Mill (one stop before Haltwhistle) on Thursday afternoon, walked 3 miles up to #winshieldscampsite ⛺️A real gem. Early start 06:45 Friday, setting out fast hiking for Byrness with a lunch stop outside the Coop in Bellingham. Kept an open mind on whether to camp at Byrness or push on. Weather forecast remained very favourable and I was feeling good, so after a stop in #stfrancischurchbyrness and stocking up on water there (thank you @runningbishop and @diocesehexhamnewcastle ) I pushed on at 7pm to cross the Cheviots overnight. And wow, my favourite hills did not disappoint. The bogs were dry 🤩. Sunset (spot the #cheviotgoats🐐), a brief stop at Hut 1 where I got my stove out to heat up the chocolate milk I had carried along from Bellingham. Then a full moon and a magnificent sunrise I witnessed from Auchope Cairn and Hut 2. Another brief stop there, before going over the Schil and reaching KY at 6:30. 58 miles with 9500 ft hiked in under 24 hours. I was in time for the first bus 🚌 out. Back home at lunchtime for 🛏 💤 
I met one (!) walker on the way, near Padon Hill, coming the other way, and we had a brief chat. Two people in a tent at Hut 2 likely there for the sunrise too, I heard them talk but did not see them. Absolutely no one else on the trails, which surprised me. Good thing I don’t mind solitude 😉
Blog post 📖 about my hikes in May i.e. the Dalesway and this one may well be forthcoming in due course.
Having been on the injury bench for almost three m Having been on the injury bench for almost three months now 👎👎 walking is just about keeping me sane. Not at all the same buzz as running, but for now it has to do. This week I walked the 81 mile #Dalesway from Ilkley to Bowness-on-Windermere in three and a half days, camping ⛺️ in Kettlewell, Dent, and Sprint Mill Bridge near Burneside. Three big days, leaving just ten miles to the finish yesterday. The weather was disappointing, lots of rain, with the worst of it on day 2 whilst crossing over the bleakest and highest ground of the route into a headwind, it was type two fun for sure. But lots of lovely stretches through gorgeous hay meadows along the rivers Wharfe and Dee. Lots of lambs, calves, ducklings and goslings.
I had covered the trail before, in 2022, as a non-stop ultra with @punkpantherevents Going in the other direction that time. Nice to revisit it in this slower format. Three nights of poor sleep (despite being delighted with my new @durstongear tent) did give me a bit of the ultra experience, with that horribly familiar level of exhaustion that we ultra runners seem to crave 😉
With thanks to my friend Gill for walking some later miles with me, bringing along proper food, and giving me a lift home 🏡
This weekend I was meant to run the @centurionrunn This weekend I was meant to run the @centurionrunning Thames Path 100 race, but a torn meniscus put paid to that plan 🥲. With typical runner’s optimism I had left my decision too late to cancel my Friday night AirBnB, and I also had a non-refundable LNER outward ticket to London, so I decided I might as well offer my services as a volunteer 🦺, as well as have some time in London to myself. End result: two lovely walks around Kew, Richmond and Wimbledon, including seeing deer swimming 🦌🦌🦌 in Pen Ponds in Richmond Park, a visit to some old haunts in NW London, as well as helping on registration before the start in Richmond, and then at the finish line at Queen’s College Sports Ground in Oxford. Had a great time working with other volunteers and Centurion staff, met old friends and made new ones, and had the sheer privilege of seeing just about every single finisher come over the line, from race winners in the early hours to the very last finisher just before 3pm. Special highlight was seeing the first ever F70 to complete a Centurion 100 miler come over the line, Jan Payne was looking fresh as a daisy too! Let’s have it for older women 👏👏 I returned home on Sunday night tired but very happy. Will I be running the Thames Path in 2027 instead? Watch this space 👀
Another beautiful sunset at Hook of Holland from t Another beautiful sunset at Hook of Holland from the Stena Brittanica 🚢 🚙 . So long 🇳🇱 🇩🇪 🇪🇺@stenalinenederland @stenalineuk_to_holland
🚨New RunningWords blog post out🚨 3 weeks ago I ran 🚨New RunningWords blog post out🚨
3 weeks ago I ran the @nav4adventure Lady Anne’s Way 75 mile race from Skipton to Appleby. When I say ‘ran’ that should not be taken too literally….there was an awful lot of slipping, sliding and slithering involved. You could say it was ‘a little muddy underfoot’. And rain ☔️ overhead. It didn’t look like the photograph that’s for sure! That one is from the recce. Still, it’s an event I would really recommend. Have a read and see if you could be tempted to have a go at this lovely low-key race in one of the most beautiful bits of England. Link 🔗 in bio.
The upside of weeks of grey skies and rain is that The upside of weeks of grey skies and rain is that a sunny day can make you deliriously happy ☀️❄️ on a simple local walk. Even my horrible cold 🤧🦠 failed to spoil my enjoyment.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/dying-to-climb-a-histor https://www.gofundme.com/f/dying-to-climb-a-historic-everest-expedition
A great bunch of us @ilkleyharriers ❤️💚 hiked, jogged, ran or cycled up and down from @lastazioneilkley to Keighley Gate. Each loop is 4 miles and over 900ft of ascent. This whole venture in support of the wonderful @shaunna.burke who is living with incurable cancer and is set to climb Everest again, having first done so in 2005. I went up and down to the Gate 8 times today, nothing too extraordinary for an ultra runner, but I can assure it was getting a bit painful towards the end 😖 as it’s all pretty steep. Any donations to this wonderful cause very much welcome! 🙏
🚨New ‘running words’ blog post alert 🚨 A week ago 🚨New ‘running words’ blog post alert 🚨 
A week ago today I set out on the brilliant @centurionrunning #winterdowns100 race. It felt tough at the time, but I had a pretty good race really (especially looking back 😉). Read all about it, as usual it’s quite long as I like to ramble on a bit….feel free to just look at the fabulous pictures instead!
🔗 in link tree in bio. 
📸 @further.run 
📷 @jmruther4d
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