sam_the_pt

🏃‍♂️ COMMUNITY RUN 🏃‍♀️

Join us on Sunday 14th June at 9:00am from Up & Running Chester for our latest community run.

Open to all abilities, this is a relaxed social run with great people, good conversations, and plenty of support along the way.

We'll also be having a quick catch-up afterwards about The Dee Project and our upcoming 120km Source to Sea challenge in support of The Gunjur Project. The JustGiving page is now live, so it's a great chance to hear more about what we've got planned.

📍 Up & Running Chester
⏰ 9:00am
📅 Sunday 14th June

Everyone is welcome – bring a friend and come and be part of it. 💙

What a venue for a 10k.

Crosby 10k

Honestly, just look at these pictures… this could be anywhere in the world. Beaches, sand dunes, coastline, trails. Way better than staring at the same road for an hour questioning your life choices.

One thing I know is I never get bored at a Barking Mad Event. Their races actually feel like proper adventures rather than just “run down this road, turn around, come back.”

No massive hedge rows. No dead straight roads for miles. Just proper unreal locations and courses that keep you switched on the whole time.

If you get bored easily like me and still want to race and push yourself, honestly jump on one of the Barking Mad Events. Different class.

Pictures
.photography

8 months ago I stood on the start line of my first Backyard Ultra with absolutely no idea what I was doing.

I wasn’t an ultra runner.
Didn’t have the experience.
Didn’t really have the training.
Just curiosity, stubbornness and a pair of trainers.

Since then something has changed.

Not just physically, mentally too.

I’ve stopped obsessing over pace, PBs and trying to prove I’m a “fast runner”. Truth is, I don’t even really enjoy road racing that much. Give me hills, trails, heat, sand dunes, long conversations, getting lost, problem solving and just grinding away for hours instead.

I’ve realised I’m not built for perfect splits and smooth tarmac.
I’m built for discomfort, long days and just keeping moving forward.

The biggest thing I’ve learned is this:
Walking isn’t failure. Slowing down isn’t weakness. The goal is to keep moving, keep adapting and keep showing up.

Over the last few months I’ve:

- ran through sand dunes in 30° heat
- got lost on trails more times than I can count
- stopped to help friends through races
- trained tired
- learned how to fuel properly
- learned when to push and when to back off
- and honestly just started enjoying running again

Now there’s more on the horizon:
Backyard ultras, a 50k mountain ultra, The Dee Project, long training days and a lot more miles.

I’m still not the fastest.
Probably never will be.
But I genuinely believe I can go for a very long time now.

And weirdly… I think that’s what I was looking for all along.

Before anyone says anything…
Yes, this is an AI picture of me in a sports bra.
Apparently this is what peak GLC performance looks like.

BUT honestly…
How good has GLC become lately? 😂

Tuesday evenings are absolutely packed every single week, there’s a waiting list nearly every session, and the atmosphere in there has been unreal.

What started as a class has genuinely become a little community of people getting stronger, fitter and more confident every week — and that’s pretty cool to watch.

Because the demand is so high now, just a little reminder:
If you can’t make it, please cancel your space as early as possible so somebody on the waiting list can jump in.

There’s usually 10–12 people trying to get into the Tuesday session, so freeing up a spot genuinely helps someone out.

ALSO…
Thursday 9:15am is EXACTLY the same class as Tuesday 5:15pm.

Same workout.
Same vibes.
Same legs shaking walking down the stairs afterwards. 😂