Train of Thought

A (serious) hobby jogger's blog about running and training. 

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You might be wondering why someone who isn’t a professional runner, nor a professional coach, with personal bests that sit firmly in the category of “club runner” has chosen to write a blog about training. You may also think “why the hell should I take running advice from a guy whose best performance is 7 minutes behind the world’s top 10k runners?”

It’s a valid question, and I don’t claim to be the foremost expert on all things distance running. I do, however, have a certain perspective that I believe may resonate with many dedicated and aspirational amateur runners.

I’ve been running since 2005, and during that time I’ve seen the ebb and flow of training systems, fads and shoe technology, and I’ve tried just about everything to take myself from mid-pack “hobby-jogger” to race winner. I am what many would call a “running nerd”; someone whose passion and desire to improve far outstrips his natural talent. As a result, I’ve experimented with just about every training philosophy, system and session; I’ve had long periods of stagnation, and sudden bursts of improvement; trained extremely hard, and relatively easily; injured almost every part of my lower body (except my bones – never had a bone stress injury); and made just about every mistake one can make in running.

And so, I’m here to tell you what I’ve found works – and what doesn’t.